Ubuntu for Everyone video

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With the success of the CommunitiTheme collaboration and ongoing discussions of new sound theme, I thought it was time to dust off the idea of a short promotional video. Please read the whole post before replying :wink:

I had this idea for a short promotional video for Ubuntu some years ago. The goal was to convey in 30 seconds that “Ubuntu (is) for Everyone”. I saw it having a series of very short snippets of people doing things with their computer - running Ubuntu - of course. These would be tastefully edited together by someone proficient with a video editor.

So for example you might see a woman on a train typing an article, a guy in an office creating a presentation, a kid on the sofa playing a game with a controller on their TV, someone watching a film, someone developing code, kids playing with robots, a farmer planning animal feeding. You get the idea.

Essentially a diverse set of people doing a range of plausible real-world tasks that we all do on Ubuntu. The screen isn’t directly shown, but it’s clear enough that it’s Ubuntu if a glancing shot of the screen is shown.

We could hire a professional agency to make a video, but where’s the fun (and community) in that?! I think if we work together we could make something amazing.

So I’d really like to do this as a shared community project, with video clips submitted by Ubuntu users from around the world, perhaps even taking in a landmark or two here and there. I’d expect the video to represent the diversity of users, and variety of activities people are able to do with Ubuntu.

There are of course a lot of questions likely swirling in your heads. So let’s do this Q&A style!

Q1. Who is this video for?

A1. Anyone who wants to have a quick video to promote Ubuntu. A community team running an event might have it playing on a laptop screen, or you could share it with your friends on a social network.

Q2. Where is the storyboard?

A2. Not done yet. I didn’t want to commit too much time to this if everyone says “That’s a terrible idea popey, it will never work”.

Q3. Who is going to actually make the video?

A3. I envisaged people from around the world submitting short clips which we curate and collate into a video. If we get tons of clips and can make a longer version, great, but that’s not the initial goal. We have had offers from kind skilled video editors to pull the clips together.

Q4. What license will it be released under?

A4. I’d expect some kind of creative commons license which allows modifications would be appropriate.

Q5. I want to send you video clips, where do I send them?

A5. Please don’t, not yet. This is just a discussion for now, to see if we think it’s possible / feasible to do. In addition, we’ll likely only use very small snippets of each submitted video.

Q6. Will the video only be in one language?

A6. I think the video would not having any discernible verbal dialog, but a music bed and perhaps some captions added later. I would like the master source for the video (minus captions) to be available for people to add text in their own language.

Q7. How will the video be distributed?

A7. We can likely put a copy of the finished video on the Ubuntu YouTube channel, and the raw materials can be hosted somewhere yet to be decided. Perhaps even a torrent containing the source, so we can collectively share the load.

Q8. How will we maintain video quality?

A8. We will have to set a some minimum requirements on the video, and set expectations that not every clip will be used. If we ended up getting shaky, blurry videos recorded at 320x200 then they’re going to be rejected.

Q9. What video editor / software will be used to make the video?

A9. I don’t know yet. These are details we can work out later.

Q10. What are the next steps

A10. As I see it, next we need to make sure this is something we think can be done. If so, we should storyboard it to figure out the story we want to tell, and the scenes we need recording. We will need to define the submission process and expectations. Later we’d do a call for people to join and submit videos. Perhaps we could create a separate sub-category on the hub for more focused discussion.

Note: None of this is set in stone, it’s just what’s been floating in my head. I asked some other Ubuntu users to review this before I posted, so some of this might be from them too :slight_smile:

So, what do we think? Honest and respectful feedback welcome below :slight_smile:

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Great idea, I’d be happy to add something.

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I would also contribute.

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That’s a great idea. But please note that when Ubuntu is shown in the videos, you should definetely see a communithemed desktop and not an ambiance desktop, because bad design is an instant turn-off for potential users

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Great idea! Looking forward to add my part :slight_smile:

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I think this is a wonderful idea and I would be happy to contribute something: ideas, clips, input, hosting, etc.!

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How would Ubuntu flavours fit?

Does it make sense to include Ubuntu Touch even if it’s not a flavour?

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@diogoconstantino great question. I initially thought this would be “just” Ubuntu. Unless carefully done, would having different desktops on screen be confusing and incoherent for viewers? For a 30 second spot, I think it’s key to have exactly one message. So “Ubuntu for Everyone” means “Ubuntu” and “lots of different people in diverse situations”. However another message (and thus a different video?) might be “Ubuntu and Friends”, where our wider family of flavours are represented.

What do you think?

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Great idea. There are a lot of flavour users who would appreciate this.

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I love the concept. Despite not knowing how I will be able to record any video at all, I’d gladly contribute to this :+1: Great idea!

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I’m totally fine with it, and I do agree with the reasoning. Mostly I just wanted to understand the scope.

I really like the idea of making another video for the Ubuntuverse if people are up to that, and even if they don’t, as long as the correct CC license is used, the flavours can just make their own video inspired on this, or maybe just with general idea of making a video, whatever they think is better, or can do.

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Hi,

I run a medium sized film studio. Promotional videos such as you describe are something we do a bunch. Here’s our website:

meetstheeyestudios.com

A bunch of my servers run Ubuntu. I have editors on staff who could put the thing together. We could shoot some clips for it, too. Get in touch with me if you’d like our help. Thanks.

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I think this is fair, it is the future of the desktop after all and anyone running Ubuntu 18.10 or later will have that by default. I remember pretty much as soon as Unity was discontinued the screenshots Ubuntu social media used were of GNOME Shell with the Arc theme, a promotional video can have future stuff in it.

If we’re taking this approach then, for consistency, install instructions for Communitheme and the requirement to use it need to be very clearly and prominently stated in the call for videos post.

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There are few things that I just cant imagine happening, such a woman on a train typing an article using an Ubuntu laptop, 2 in 1 or a tablet, and a farmer planning animal feeding using an Ubuntu computer.

The actions should be some stuff we really do, rather than what’s shown in Apple, Android or Windows world.

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Why are these examples not possible, though? Are you saying that, for example, we don’t have enough female Ubuntu users so we shouldn’t advertise as if we have them?! Is it really true that there are no females typing articles on an Ubuntu laptop?

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These were just examples, lets not focus too much on them.

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I wasn’t talking about females per se, just quoting the OP. But, I just cant imagine a person writing an article on an “Ubuntu” laptop/tablet on a train. I see only smart phones on trains, buses, on roadside or park benches etc, and some tablets (Androids, iPads, Surfaces etc), and some Chromebooks and Macbooks. I haven’t seen an Ubuntu pad, or Ubuntubook anywhere. Maybe someone had, but I haven’t.

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It varies by region.
I caught the train to work today. In the carriage I sat in, every table had people with laptops out. Sure, lots of phones around, but there are people who use laptops to do work while on trains.

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True, lot of people have laptops on the trains, but are they using Ubuntu, even as a dual boot is the question.

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I think you’re completely missing the point of advertising and marketing. It’s not about showing off what people are doing now, it’s a showcase of what the future can be.

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