

Why mobile video sucks - vu0tran
http://blog.framebase.io/post/43655960048/why-mobile-video-sucks

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orangethirty
IMHO, mobile video use is about to grow. This due to the amount of web apps
coming out that focus on it. Ten years ago no one would even dream of a
service like Instagram being a success. Who would want to take pictures with
their cell phones and post them on a site? Turns out, millions of people. I
think that video has that same potential. Just think about the possibilities:

\- You can record the moment your {girl : boy}friend says yes to your marriage
proposal and post it online ASAP.

\- You can record that really funny joke your friend does and share it.

\- You can do product placements and all kinds of marketing with it and people
will never be any wiser.

This argument that people don't want to appear on video is wrong. People crave
the attention video gives them. A quick visit to youtube is evidence enough.

I do think that the time limit for each video has to be around 10-15 seconds
and not 6 seconds like Vine does. Its a bit too short.

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stcredzero
_> Ten years ago no one would even dream of a service like Instagram being a
success. Who would want to take pictures with their cell phones and post them
on a site?_

Are you kidding? People were taking pictures with camera phones like crazy
soon after they were widespread. Digital cameras and camera phones changed
society. The only reason why Instagram took so long to appear is because the
likes of Verizon and AT&T suck at software and aren't nearly as motivated by
what people want as they like to think.

~~~
orangethirty
You obviously don't get my point. Which is that we are about to reach the
point where video is going to be used for short communication like images,
tweets, and status updates. That has not been properly done before due to
network speed, phone hardware, and software.

~~~
stcredzero
_> You obviously don't get my point._

No, I get that point. The "who could imagine" part about Instagram/digital
snapshots is what I objected to. All it takes is to step outside of ourselves
and look at larger trends. Easier said than done, I know, but the signs were
all there for photos _from the time of feature-phone cameras_.

I'm not so sure the signs are there for video. Calls can be spur of the moment
casual. So can sending a photo. Video calls are a little too much like a get
together or a date.

When video calls get to the point of casualness where lots of people are drunk
dialing so they can show an out of town buddy something stupid at a bar, then
there will be something there.

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zwieback
I was on a (p)review team for a short-film festival for a number of years. I
learned a lot about what makes a video appealing to me, roughly in order:

1) Sound! Bad sound can ruin a video even if everything else is perfect.

2) Editing is key, we rejected a lot of 10 minute films that could have been
turned into great 2 or 3 minute pieces.

3) A good story trumps a series of pretty pictures

All of these are big problems for quickie mobile videos so I think tools for
sound and editing could really help.

~~~
zmitri
What's your take on stories told in photos -- eg this
<http://backspac.es/r/V0bCokJWnt/how-it-happens>

That was also made on a mobile phone

~~~
zwieback
I think that's a great format for small screens. I could also imagine it as a
storyboard for a video, or for mixed sequences of still images, audio, text
and videos.

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stcredzero
I think things like UStream combined with the likes of Google Glass is the
future. Live stream voyuerism doesn't require editing. If drunk video calls
could be made with the ease of drunk dialing or texting. We'll have passed the
threshold.

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nessus42
I agree with all that, but I still shoot a lot of video--mostly of concerts.
In fact, I just shot about 20 minutes of a Kate Nash concert last night in
Boston with my iPhone. (She was great, by the way. She's gone punk!)

~~~
retroafroman
As a fellow concert goer, I generally hate that people do this. I think it's
distracting to everyone. However, I'll admit I think someone should record the
best moments. I think it's better to enjoy the music and show rather that
spend the effort to try and properly catch it. Not only that, but even at
events which have been professionally or at least well recorded, I rarely go
back to watch the video later. How much video you shoot do you actually go
back and watch?

~~~
nessus42
What I find distracting is the 7 foot tall guy who always decides to stand
right in front of me. People recording bits with their cell phones don't
bother me. Generally, I don't hold the camera over my head, so that if your
view is not blocked by the back of my head, it won't be blocked by my iPhone.

As to how often I go back and watch the clips, that would depend on how much I
like the band. If I had been able to record Kate Bush perform in 1979, there
was a time in my life when I'd probably watch it every day! I recorded two
whole Marina & the Diamonds concerts and a bunch of clips, and I watch them
from time to time. Also, 19,131 people on YouTube have watched one of the M&tD
concerts my friend and I recorded. As for Kate Nash, I'll definitely watch the
clips again, and I have some friends who will want to see them.

I also occasionally go back and watch these clips I took of Sade:

    
    
       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqdS-4J1_KY
    

333 other people have watched it.

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nasalgoat
I think he's looking at it from the wrong perspective - the winner of mobile
video will be the short-form "moment capture" apps, not the long-form edited
video.

It needs to be fast and easy.

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jgh
YouTube? UStream?

Video production isn't mainstream? Come on now.

