Send virtual love this Valentine’s Day

Scrambling to make last-minute dinner reservations and to order a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses before your local florist is left with only withered strands of baby’s breath? You don’t even need to leave your computer to send your own personalized message of love this Valentine’s Day.

With Unlisted videos, you can send a message to your sweetheart without anyone else knowing you’re sometimes referred to as “Honeybear”. When you upload your video, mark it as “Unlisted”. Then you can share it with only those people who have the URL.

There are also a number of free web applications that can help you create original personal videos from text and images and easily upload them to YouTube, like Xtranormal, Stupeflix, Animoto, and One True Media.

Cool video Valentine got them to agree to an actual date? Whether you’re a regular Casanova hoping to keep things exciting this year or an awkward first-timer trying to make a good impression, a search for ‘Valentine’s Day’ on YouTube returns over 250,000 videos dedicated to making every aspect of this day perfect for you and your significant other.

The YouTube community provides a wealth of videos that you can access to help you make the date a success. Learn how to set the right mood with tips on creating your own floral arrangements, candle centerpieces, romantic dinners and Valentine's day chocolate mousse. They can also help you look your best with make-up and wardrobe tips.



We all know that there’s more to a great date than ambiance and food, so the most novice dater can spice things things up with tips on dancing, flirting and even kissing. Searches on YouTube for ‘how to kiss’ are up 61% since 2008.

If things don’t go so well, you can also look for ways to make breaking it off slightly less painful. And if you’re like millions out there spending Valentine’s Day alone, this video will help you make sure the best date you have is then one with yourself.

Rachel Snare, Account Manager, recently watched “Chocolate Mousse for Valentine’s Day.”

How to share videos on YouTube (and 50 other things you might want to teach your parents)

My mom recently purchased a new camcorder and she’s having a blast capturing just about everything on video. She often calls me to describe what incredible event she’s just documented and suggests that we watch it together the next time I visit. Unfortunately, now that I’ve moved across the country, my trips back home are rather infrequent. If only she knew how to share videos online, I’d be able to view them with her no matter where I am.

I’ve already set aside time to teach my mom how to share videos when I visit for the holidays, but I’m sure many others could also benefit from such a tutorial. In fact, thoughts like this inspired a handful of us at Google to create TeachParentsTech.org, a place where “kids” of any age can send basic how-to videos to their moms, dads, uncles--whomever. Here’s the one I created about sharing videos on YouTube.



To see more videos or to send someone a tech support “care package” of your own, visit TeachParentsTech.org.

Rita Chen, Associate Product Manager, recently watched "YouTube 2010: Year in Rewind".

“World’s smartest dog” JustJesse197 is “On the Rise” winner

Voting is in, and a channel showcasing the irresistible cuteness of a Jack Russell terrier named Jesse is the winner of this month’s “On the Rise” competition.


See why Jesse’s so lovable in this video and via these words from his trainer, Heather:

Jesse and I have a wonderful relationship, and we have got where we are now through love, respect, patience, mutual understanding, and trust. Tricks are a wonderful bonding experience. It is so much fun seeing Jesse thinking while learning, and he has so much fun performing his tricks. We keep training sessions short, fun, and upbeat. You can tell when Jesse is having fun because he has a huge smile across his face :) He is such a joy to live with, and I cherish every moment we have together.

Some of Jesse’s top videos are on the homepage today, and we’ll be back soon with a new crop of “On the Rise” channels for you to vote on. Feel free to also leave suggestions in the comments below, though please note that comments are moderated due to spam.

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently watched “Jesse goes to New York City!”

Chief Household Officer: Using new media know-how to run your family

Ask any working parent and they’ll tell you they have two jobs; the day-job, and the one that takes up all the other hours of the day - that of “Chief Household Officer.” Today's multi-tasking CHOs are full-blown owner/operators of their households, employing all the same methods as corporations—from programming the daily calendar to Tweeting the kids home for dinner, from running weekly budget meetings to implementing long-term financial strategies.

“Chief Household Officer” is a new series, produced by Howcast and brought to the web by HP, that takes you inside the real-life households of these remarkable working parents and focuses on the cutting-edge techniques and innovative technologies they use to keep their families running.



New videos will be updated weekly, so be sure to check in each week for useful how-to information from decisive CHOs who have made taking charge of their families and homes truly a 'growth industry.'

Karen Cahn, Head of Sales, YouTube Partners, recently watched Gary ""Baba Booey" Dell'Abate Pitch on Jimmy Kimmel Live".

Uploading 101 with Professor Compressor

This week in Howcast’s ‘Modern 101 for emerging digital filmmakers’ we’re pleased to welcome guest lecturer, Professor Compressor. Professor Compressor is one of the most revered thinkers in web video and is renowned for his ability to compress and upload videos using the proper codecs, in the correct aspect ratios, and at the precise data rate, so that they look, as he would say, ‘wunderful!’ Professor Compressor comes to us through the magic of video all the way from an Indian archipelago via Eastern Russia to share his expertise on uploading great-looking web video.



Thank you for watching Professor Compressor’s compression video! Here you can find all the pertinent notes from today’s lecture:

What is a codec?
A codec is the format in which you compress your video. It could be a variety of different formats, but the most modern, powerful, and commonly used codecs are H.264 and MPEG-4.

Why H.264 and MP4 (MPEG-4)?
H.264 and MP4 are wunderful codecs! They allow you to have a tremendous quality video at a fraction of the file size. Lets look at a theoretical example:

You’ve finished editing and have made a beautiful 1920x1080 master file. But it is in the Apple Pro Res format, and is over 2GB. This file won’t work for the web. The video codec is too large and the file size is too big. Inevitably you will end up with a low quality video, because the master file is not designed and optimized for the web.

Take that file and transcode it into an H.264. Since web players are designed to work seamlessly with H.264, you won’t have to worry about choppy or corrupted playback. And H.264 encodes your video in such a way that you won’t see a noticeable drop in image quality. What you will see is your 2GB master file shrink to less than 500MB -- perfect for the web!

Help, my footage looks stretched or squished and there are black bars bordering the footage!
This is a common problem that results from uploading an incorrect frame size. When uploading, you need to make sure the video is in the correct frame size for the player. This could be a variety of different frame sizes, varying from SD to HD, so check your website’s FAQ on uploading for instructions. The most common frame sizes are: 640x360, 640x480, 720x480, 1280x720, and 1920x1080.

This problem could also result from an incorrect Pixel Aspect Ratio. Pixel Aspect Ratio (or PAR) can be a little confusing, but the simple way to think of it is that this setting tells your program what aspect ratio to encode your video, at the pixel level. It determines how the digital information is presented and viewed onscreen. I recommend square pixels for HD, PAL for PAL, and NTSC for NTSC, though this can vary.. The best option is to play around with this setting when exporting until you get your video looking pristine.

Help, my video looks muddy and detail is lost. My text looks almost pixelated and the video is generally very low quality.
Low image quality is usually due to a low data rate when exporting your video. When exporting your video, you’re given many options; one of these is data rate. Setting the data rate to automatic will usually result in the best image. It is also highly recommended to do a multi-pass encode. It will take longer than a single-pass encode, but it will result in a much smoother video with higher image quality.

Well, that was a lot of information! Digest it, experiment, and start uploading those WUNDERFUL videos!

Nardeep Khurmi, Howcast’s Post Production Specialist (a.k.a Professor Compressor) recently watched "Pygmy Jerboa".

Q&A with Chef John of Food Wishes

Chef John Mitzewich is the voice behind YouTube’s most subscribed cooking channel, Food Wishes. Chef John today posted his 500th video to YouTube, and he recently took time out to answer a few questions about how he makes his videos and the trends he’s seeing as a YouTube chef.

How do you decide what to make videos about?
The whole concept of the "Food Wishes" channel is "What's your food wish?" I get tons of recipe requests, and try to honor the most popular wishes when I plan my dishes. Other times, I'll just start cooking something and realize it would make a cool video, so I'll throw the camera on a tripod and begin filming.

How seasonal are your videos -- both in terms of how you think about what you create and how your audience fluctuates?
Since I film what I eat, and I tend to eat very seasonally, the videos are generally quite in tune to what's available that time of year. Also, if I know a certain seasonal dish is coming up (like chicken wings for the Super Bowl), I'll try and plan something a few weeks ahead so people have time to learn and make it.



What are some other trends you've noticed in viewership of your videos, subscriber growth or fan comments over the years?
Subscribers and viewership have both grown steadily over the last 12 months and are increasing faster compared to when I first started out. I've more than doubled both my subscribers and viewership this year compared to last. It seems every year that the holiday season is when my entire catalogue gets a boost, as I think more people are looking for that special recipe to make for their family and friends. My viewership has also been pretty diverse. I get a huge range of ages, from kids cooking their first recipe, to seniors who've never cooked before getting into it for the first time.

What are the keys to really great cooking videos?
To me, a great cooking video is one that makes the viewer feel like they're making the video with you, not just watching someone make a recipe. I want to bring the viewer right into the scene. Close, interesting shots of the food, with an engaging, affable narration are what I try and use to achieve this.

How important is a mouth-watering thumbnail?
A great looking thumbnail that is clear, bright, and close-up, is second in importance only to the recipe title itself.

What is a common mistake budding cooks make when making videos?
They try to do a TV-style cooking show. You're on YouTube, not Food Network, so stop trying to do an imitation of a network "stand and stir" show. Generally the viewer is way more interested in the food, than the person making it; so stop trying to "perform" for the camera, and just show us the cooking.

Do you have any insight into how much technology, like YouTube videos or iPad, is moving into the kitchen?
I know this is a huge trend! I get all kinds of emails from people that tell me they take their laptops or iPads into the kitchen to cook with. A library of your favorite video recipes from YouTube on your iPad IS the cookbook of the next decade.

Thanksgiving. How do you approach this holiday as a video-making chef?
I just try to film a nice variety of recipes suited to entertaining. People are at their most insecure when cooking for friends and family during the holidays, so I want these videos to make life a little easier (and more fun!).

Anything else you'd like to add?
For someone who doesn't cook, watching a video recipe is the best, and most enjoyable way to learn. As food television trends towards reality shows and contest-based programming, I predict YouTube becomes the primary resource for on-demand culinary instruction.

Annie Baxter, Communications Manager, recently watched "Peach Brulee Burrata Recipe."

YouTube Holiday Solutions Center to the rescue

With Thanksgiving around the corner, another holiday season moves into full swing. Every year at this time, we see searches for cooking videos and turkey recipes surge on the site, and it’s one reason we’ve aggregated many great culinary videos on a single channel, the YouTube Holiday Solutions Center, which is back for its third year.

For 2010, we’ve spiced up this holiday destination with even more recipes and how-to tips, including:

This tasty and easy-to-follow stuffing recipe from Howcast...



Ideas to decorate your home for the holidays from Real Simple Network...



A guide to building a gingerbread house with the family from Epicurious.com...



We’ll be updating the channel daily, so make sure to check back regularly. We might just have that solution you’re looking for.

The YouTube Holiday Solutions program is brought to you by Target.

Lee Hadlow, Marketing Programs Manager, recently watched “How to Carve a Turkey.”

Emilynoel83 wins the first “On the Rise” spotlight

Meet Emilynoel83, a morning news anchor who's also a “makeup addict” who loves to make videos about beauty products. Today she's on our homepage. And you put her there.

Last week, we announced a new initiative to give rising channels greater visibility and hopefully also more subscribers. We selected four channels whose subscriber base flourished in the last month, and we asked you to choose which one should go on the homepage. As you can see, Emily won by a significant margin.

Here’s a few words from Emily herself:


The growth of "Beauty Broadcast" has been slow and steady since late 2007, gaining subscribers that are more loyal than I could've imagined. My YouTube channel is my passion, and I'm thrilled to think that more people can become part of it as a result of this poll! As many have found, Beauty Broadcast isn't just about makeup... but also positivity, fun, and inner beauty. Thanks to this opportunity, I hope many people will go "On the Rise" right along with me! :)



We’ll be back soon with four new channels for you to vote on in the next edition of “On the Rise.”

Mia Quagliarello, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched "Katy Perry & Russell Brand Makeup Tutorial."

Great videos on a budget: how to fake a zombie attack

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, is writing weekly guest posts for the YouTube blog on filmmaking in the digital age. You can catch up on previous posts here.

Last week, we made some arguments for why quality matters in web video, and we heard from Howcast filmmaker Luke Neumann, who said that it matters “because you never know who’s watching.” Duh! Watching Luke’s videos, you can tell he’s motivated by much more than that, but as we said last week, it’s a good starting point.

Luke’s been making Howcast videos for about a year now and he’s got more than 50 under his belt. From the beginning, he impressed us with videos like “How To Yodel,” where he showed he could build a story around a simple script, work in some cool camera angles, and make us laugh. Last week we featured one of his newest spots, “How To Survive a Zombie Attack.” If we thought Yodel was pretty darn good when it came in a year ago, you can imagine "Zombie Attack" knocked our socks clean off.

Luke clearly strives for the best every time he uploads. The web offers free access to audiences like no medium ever has. As filmmakers, we’re tasked with not squandering this access. Every upload should be better than the last to keep this audience coming back for more and to refine our skills for the day when perhaps we are handed that huge check to make something.

We asked Luke to let us in on how he does it. How did he make this gorgeous zombie video on a budget that would barely cover the average wedding video? How did he create that apocalyptic feeling, complete with fiery explosion? And, how did he make his zombies look like they’re decomposing before our very eyes?

Here’s Luke’s first “Behind the Scenes” video for Howcast. This is the first part of a new series where we’ll be letting you come behind the scenes to see how our filmmakers make the most creative how-to videos on a DIY budget. Step 1: Cover yourself in plain old dirt to look like you’ve been to hell and back. The Walking Dead producers could learn something from Luke!



Want to learn more about how Luke created Zombie Attack? Visit his blog where he posted in-depth tutorials, photos and a cool trailer.

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched “Howcast: Vlogger Wanted!”

Fill bowl with cereal, add milk, turn on camera

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, is writing weekly guest posts for the YouTube blog on filmmaking in the digital age. This is her second post. Her first was “Embracing exploration: being a filmmaker today.”

Partly motivated by wanting to hear why our filmmakers produce Howcast spots or upload to YouTube, and partly curious about what they eat for breakfast, we decided to interview them about web video last Friday morning. Since our filmmakers are all over the world, we had to conduct the interviews remotely and ask them to send in their footage.

It turns out they like to eat cereal, drink juice, and sip coffee. Puzzling creatures. It also turns out they have a lot to say about why they started uploading to the web, what’s great about web video, and what’s not so great. We received over 100 minutes of footage and in the end, produced a five minute video.

From Craig Staggs explaining that he started putting videos on the web, well, because there was nowhere else to put them, to Oriana Syed talking about the pressures of having to produce more quickly (and possibly skimp on her work) to William Reed’s idea that his web projects offer a taste of what he could do with a real budget, all 11 of our filmmakers shared honest valuable insights.

Open a box of your favorite sugary treat, add milk, and watch. Get to know them a little better by checking out some of my favorite Howcast spots they created in the links below. Then, please, send them (and us) your questions by posting them in as comments below or as comments to the video. (But please note: comments are moderated due to spam.) These guys have a lot to say and I’m sure they’d be happy to share more of their experiences producing for the web.

So, without further adieu, we present some of our awesomest filmmakers: Craig Staggs, Dimitri LaBarge, Michael Sanchez, Luke Neumann, Morgan Crossley, Andrew Quinn, Oriana Syed, Barry Michael, William Reed, Mark and Lisa Morrison.



Come back next week for another session of our "Modern 101 for Emerging Digital Filmmakers." Next Friday: our list of websites every filmmaker should know.

Heather Menicucci, Director, Howcast Filmmakers Program, recently watched “ChatRoulette.”

Destination: Beauty! YouTube’s gurus help you look your best

Get your eyeliner sharpened, your mascara pumped, your hair ready to be oh-so-carefully tussled -- today, we're launching our first-ever beauty program, "Destination Beauty," sponsored by L'Oréal Paris. The year-long initiative will feature a constantly refreshed selection of videos offering tips and tricks on looking your best from partners like Panacea81, KandeeJohnson and Seventeen Magazine, all of whom are authorities in this space. Take a peek at the videos below as examples of what you'll find on the channel.

Emulating Katy Perry's "California Gurls Video" look:



Getting violet lips:



Constructing a quick summer up-do:



Check back every Monday for a new dose of only-on-YouTube tutorials in categories like makeup, hair and trends.

Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager,  recently watched "Get Leighton Meester's Cool, Colorful Eye Look!"

YouTube Summer School, Session 2: Art

Alright, alright...settle down, class. It’s time for another session of YouTube Summer School.

You’ll remember that the semester started last week with a deep-dive into physics; now we’re on to a loftier subject -- art! Our educational platform, YouTube EDU, brings world-class art lessons from esteemed professors right to your desktop. So whether you’re simply curious about drawing techniques and portraits, or looking to learn more about new forms of art, take a look at this playlist for a sampling of art videos on the site. Topics range from making comics to surveying Roman architecture:



We can’t promise you’ll be the next Bob Ross after watching these, but we can guarantee videos like this will be available anytime you’re in an artsy mood, and will continue to grow as our university partners add new content.

And just to review what was covered last time, take this pop quiz on some of the material covered in videos in our physics module. Please list your responses in the comments below (please note comments are moderated due to spam). At the end of the semester, we’ll crown some of our “Grade A” students.

1. According to Professor Walter H.G. Lewin at MIT, are you taller standing up or laying down?
2. What is the name of University of Minnesota’s wide receiver that got hit with 10.78 Gs of force when he scored a touchdown against UC Berkeley?
3. A vacuum uses the power of 8-10 horses. A plane taking off uses the power of 100,000 horses. On a typical day, the world uses how many “horses”?

OK, class dismissed!

Mandy Albanese, Communications Associate, recent watched “Ceramics Inspired by Marine Life.”

Food Network looking for its next star on YouTube

Calling all video-making chefs! The Food Network is taking to YouTube to find culinary talents to compete for the chance to host their own TV show. Chef Bobby Flay explains:



Your task is to submit a video showcasing your personality and cooking skills to http://www.youtube.com/foodnetwork. The grand prize winner will get a private audition with Food Network execs Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson in New York City.

If you want to start sizing up the competition, try to top yummeo as he concocts fish tacos:



Entries are due July 16, 2010, and “The Next Food Network Star” is brought to you by Samsung.

Good luck!

Sadia Harper, Howto & Style Manager, recently watched “The 90 Second Gourmet - Coq Au Vin.”

Nylon produces “YouTube edition” of magazine

Nylon Magazine’s “Young Hollywood” edition, which hit newsstands on Tuesday, marks the first time a printed magazine has so tightly woven itself with YouTube for a special issue. The publication is using its YouTube channel as an extension of the content in the magazine, taking you behind the scenes of photo shoots and offering exclusive videos in which the young stars speak directly to the YouTube community.

Kick-Ass’s Chloe Moretz on her favorite video...



Twilight's Ashley Greene reveals what she’s watching...



Naturally, Nylon didn't just stop at Hollywood. They also gave some major props to some of the top beauty gurus on YouTube: MichellePhan, DulceCandy87, and KandeeJohnson are just some of the beauty experts you'll find in the pages of the magazine and in Nylon's videos:





Nylon will be uploading more videos while the magazine is on shelves. So go pick up the May issue and subscribe to NylonMagazineTV for the latest interviews.

Sadia Harper, HowTo & Style Manager, recently watched “Young Hollywood 2010 - Emma Stone.”