Market7

We tested the new version of Firefox 3.5 (download it here) and the results were impressive.

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We’ve actually done a few releases since the prior “New Release” blog post, but the new code that became live last week includes especially notable functionality that further enriches commenting on video content by allowing file attachments to the comments. Here’s a demo of that:

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One scenario we’ve thought about for this functionality is for our more sophisticated and video-oriented users to use screen-capture software for putting their thoughts together, much like I used screen-capture software for the demo above (some evidence of that at the very start & very end of the demo). These users could do a screen capture of the player itself — move the playhead around, draw on-screen, talk to their actions, and overall richly capture thoughts about the video on which they’re commenting. Then attach the file produced by screen-capture software to comments in the Anotative Player.

Other notable new features we’ve released in recent weeks include:

• Wider overall screen for entire video.Market7 application, effects of which include presenting video at 640 pixel width, so less compression effects for videos uploaded at that width, or some multiple or factor of that width
• Auto-complete when typing in character names that already appear in Collaborative Script
• Can modify name of an invitee from Team module while invitation is pending
• Free “Production Assistant” accounts can delete files from project (although still limited to 100MB of total uploads)
• Double arrowheads out & in above comment roll in Annotative Player perform expand-all and collapse-all for all comments and their replies
• Improved formatting and information in pdf export of comments from Annotative Player
• Reduced clutter in Annotative Player by collapsing several buttons (ex: Download, Replace) to a single “File Actions” drop-down button
• If a comment in the Annotative Player applies for a duration of the relevant video, so its time marker indicatesa span from a start to an end, clicking on that span will play the relevant duration (ie just from the start to the end relevant to the comment, not the entire video)

As much as I’d like it to be, music and programming are very different disciplines. That isn’t to say that they aren’t complimentary. I play guitar, and although I probably wouldn’t call myself a musician, I’ve been playing for 16 years and I think that entitles me to an opinion.

To start with, as pointed out in the RailsConf talk by Jonathan Dahl - Five Musical Patterns for Programmers - there are some striking similarities in process for writing music and writing code. I really enjoyed his talk, but I found myself really disagreeing with the premise the more I listened. Programming is like building instruments.

Sure enough, sheet music and source code share a common responsibility. They enable the execution of the intent of the writer. In stark contrast however, once code is written and run it always performs the same while even the oldest and most familiar pieces of sheet music are subject to the interpretation of the player. This is an inextricable part of what makes music so compelling and conversely why we can depend on (good) code to provide us with consistent functionality.

But wait, you say, when I use flickr or facebook or twitter or any other running body of code, the input I give it changes the experience. But I would counter by saying it’s more akin to the way a musical instrument itself is largely agnostic to the music you decide to play on it. Photos I upload to flickr or inane details of my workaday life I post to twitter are bound by the form the running code creates. In much the same way a piano cannot sound like a banjo any more than I can post more than 140 characters at a time to twitter, code defines timbre.

“The quality or tone distinguishing voices or instruments; tone color; clang tint; as, the timbre of the voice; the timbre of a violin.”

I have been on a low-intensity hunt for a new guitar. Currently I have a low-cost but serviceable Yamaha that has served me well since I moved here. A well-made instrument can make the difference between a good performance and a great one. Although it’s entirely possible to play even the best-made instrument poorly, that doesn’t change our perception that the instrument itself is capable of producing beautiful music. The quality of tone is the product of a number of factors in the build and maintenance of an instrument, likewise with code. When we do our job well we produce tools that enhance and complement the abilities of our users. To continue the instrument metaphor, we all set out to make a Stradivarius or a Steinway, but sometimes we end up making Squier II Strats.

How do we avoid this? The first step is to test-drive. A luthier checks his work constantly, verifying that the instrument performs well against conventional standards and that it is internally consistent to the best of the instrument’s ability. The same goes for piano makers (if they have a special name I am sorry, I don’t know it.) and more to the point, programmers. This is a matter of craft and adherence to best-practices in development. And finally, it is vitally important that most all of the work done is seen by at least two pairs of eyes. Granted that we generally pair program at Market7, I can only recall a few times when a peer review hasn’t improved the quality of code delivered.

There’s a site called Killer Startups that profiles a dozen or so companies each day, and solicits votes from people who browse the site. We were profiled yesterday.  If you agree we deserve it and want to vote for us, please do (click the rounded rectangle with the plus sign in the upper-left of our profile). I don’t think the polls ever close. As of right now we’ve got the most votes for the day, and we’ve even rapidly entered the top 10 for all profiled during June 2009. Thanks Killer Startups!

As this blog hopefully conveys, Market7 prioritizes input from users to determine our development efforts. That inspiration is right now driving a suite of features that diversify how users can communicate within video.Market7.

Our most universally popular module is the Annotative Player that allows teammates on a video production project to share feedback about footage, which guides the editing process. Until recently, the sole method of annotating in the player was the same I’m using now — text from fingers fluttering over keyboard. Video pros have requested various alternative ways to express themselves. One animation studio asked to annotate with drawings in the frame, over the video image, which we recently released.

Above is a screen-capture I just created, with an ugly red cloud in the upper-left, to illustrate our on-screen drawing functionality. It’s a terrible example because of my very crude artistic skills. But its being terrible underscores the point of this blog post. Drawing is not for me. Ever since working for a magazine I’ve been most comfortable writing. I like assembling words in front of me, considering how they flow, and refining in a few edit passes.

Understandably, people whose profession is video production tend to have more visual and dynamic preferences for means of communication than just text. The animation studio requested drawing, and others have asked to express themselves with richer media, and within a week we’ll have some more ways to share thoughts about video, and that will expand even further in another release soon to follow.

As this blog will make explicit in our next few New Release posts, Market7 is expanding the range of voices users of our software can exercise. And we appreciate their voicing desires to us, so we can best equip them.

After spending time with many great producers, there are a few things clients can be aware of that will make the entire process much better. Much of the conflict between content producers and clients stems from mis-communication or misunderstanding one another. A few things that can cause particular frustration with producers:

Here is a funny video that sums up the challenges of working with SOME clients (don’t be this client)

After a couple of grueling but exciting days driving all around LA for meetings, I came home and collapsed exhausted last night, woke up this morning to start digging out of the email hole I’m now in, and was delighted to come across the following from Brian Baumley, our great PR guy:

“Hey guys – I reached out to Jennifer Van Grove at Mashable yesterday to talk about Market7 and online video collaboration. She thought that the company would be a good fit for the Spark of Genius series that the site runs and asked me for some additional info.

This morning, her story posted – way faster than I thought it would. Either way, it’s a great hit and you can check it out here: http://mashable.com/2009/06/09/market7/.

The comments are already lighting up and people seem to be digging the service.”

A couple of years ago, while researching whether & how to start Market7, one of my habits was to survey people on how much on-line video they watched. It was not scientific, and not really documented, but my recollection is that when asked about 70% of people had watched video during the prior month, and perhaps 30% in the past week.

One of  my regular reads is the the eMarketer Daily, and last week included one with current answers to my questions from a couple of years ago. If my numbers were accurate, then the growth is amazing. 62% of us report watching online video at least weekly. It seems that the percentage of people who watch online video on  a daily basis is about the same percentage I estimated a couple of years ago to be at least weekly.

What are we all watching? As more TV programming goes online, some of it is mainstream content, but relying again on my empirical evidence, based on what I check out and see my colleagues and others around me doing, much of it is more obscure too. You might even be watching me! If the numbers bear out this observation, it’s the realization of the long curve phenomenon for video. If we’re watching video made by just about anyone, that means everyone — enterprise, institution, community group, government office, start-up and more — we all have to consider how we present ourselves in video just as seriously as our web presences were planned a dozen years ago.

Here are some similar (& excessively modest) thoughts from one of the not-quite-mainstream (but not nearly as marginal as claimed) online video sources I watch regularly.

I am off to LA this weekend to make friends with entertainment industry A-list producers at the Produced by event.  It’s part personal (as a producer, I am always looking to learn from the best) and part professional (these are the types of production houses Market7 would love to have as clients).  It got me thinking about what makes a good producer and what attracts a person to becoming a producer.

A Producer is the originator of creative content.  It all starts and ends with him or her.  They are typically self-starters who can recognize good ideas that have artistic or commercial merit. In our Market7 travels we have seen our share of great and not-so-great producers.

Here’s my short list of what separated great producers:

1. Passionate about creating
2. Sensitive about story and audience (thinks of every project in terms of the story it tells)
3. Organized (or at least have the ability to be organized)
4. Problem solver mindset
5. Exceptional with people (knows how to pick ‘em, knows how to treat ‘em)
6. Smart enough to put together a project, then guide it to and through the marketplace

Market7 will help you with #2, #3, #5, and #6.  You have to bring your own passion, sensitivity and ability to solve problems yourself.

Web Worker Daily provides a wealth of insights into topics relevant to the Internet-powered, entrepreneurial contractor / small-business person, like the independent video producer who’s one of our core constituents. Read it every day and improve your posture at your desk, and migrate from old-world installed application software to economical and often superior web-based alternatives (like video.Market7!). All of this coverage is wrapped in a name and design that cleverly evokes newspapers of late 19th / early 20th century worker movements. So it would be cool to get our Web Worker Daily moment on Labor Day, but it we’re grateful for Memorial Day. And the post is great. From her 20 minutes with us at South-by-Southwest and maybe another 20 minutes worth of exchanges since, Aliza Sherman has practically perfectly captured our essence. Check out the coverage here: http://tinyurl.com/M7WWDaily. Thanks Aliza, Om & Web Worker Daily!