ubuntu advertisement (not an idea, an actual ad that needs feedback)

[luckyd]

Ok, I have been toying with some footage i took for a couple of days, and now i feel I have a finished product. It is an advertisement like thing for ubuntu that mostly shows compiz-fusion effects, but also some core applications.

here is the link for the full version http://www.mediafire.com/?5gzi1ntlrdt 79mb
and the worse quality small one http://www.mediafire.com/?401blgylxpl 15mb

p.s thank you to vadi for pointing me to http://freeplaymusic.com/

[tgm4883]

Well if I ever get to see the add I'll let you know. Right now it's just sitting and waiting at the facebook site.

[FuturePilot]

Yeah, it's just sitting there.

[Salpiche]

Still waiting
and waiting
and waiting
and waiting ...

:) :popcorn:

[FuturePilot]

Now it's working.:)
Downloading now....

[punong_bisyonaryo]

I've watched it. And I envy your 3D-enabled Ubuntu. But I have used Beryl in the office computer.

As a positive criticism, for version 2 perhaps, I felt that it focused too much on Compiz. While showcasing Compiz's abilities as well, I think it would be better if we can treat Compiz as another feature of Ubuntu instead of being shown Compiz features all throughout.

During the part where it was switching Windows, it went through the apps like "we have this app, and this app." I didn't feel anything special about the apps. I think the Zoom feature of Compiz can be used effectively to show features of some of the apps, instead of showcasing Zoom itself. Perhaps like feature each app quickly (as in fast-paced) like 2-seconds, Compiz would also have it's timeslot, maybe 4 seconds. The reason I make it short, for the same reason that most commercials run 30-seconds, with "special" versions running longer.

I'll stop here, since I can't make a video myself coz I don't know how (though I want to. Was planning of using Blender to do some effects as well), and people might get pissed at me for saying all of this, yet I myself can't do something like you have. Having said that, if you are making this available for advertisement use, I will most likely use this video you made and show it to my non-Linux friends.:)

Great work!

[luckyd]

ok, since you dont know how to make videos and have some ideas, if you could throw together a little script for me I would make a short version of the vid.

[punong_bisyonaryo]

Ok, I'll work on it. Perhaps some others might also want to give feedback. And then later on, maybe we can put all versions in a site somewhere, so we'll have a collection of Ubuntu ads, including of course this one.

By the way, did you need additional hardware to record your screens or can it be done through software?

[luckyd]

i just use gtk-recordmydesktop, and set it to 50 frames per second. When you record it looks horribly choppy, but the actual exported video comes out quite nicely. I have experimented with yukon, which is like a standalone version of the beryl-vidcap plugin, but I can't get it to work with compiz-fusion

edit: right now im uploading the video to youtube for those of you who have trouble downloading it,

[dasunst3r]

Some parts (particularly showing all the apps) is much too long. Otherwise, it's a decent commercial.

[Paul820]

I thought it was quite good, although too much concentrating on compiz. Maybe throw in something about no virus or spyware, built in firewall, most things can be configured the way you like. And maybe mention the package manager and the ease of installing software.

Not everyone can get compiz to work and not everyone wants it. Good though, well done. :)

[popch]

I have just downloaded the smaller one (ubuntu.mov.7z). I am using Ubuntu, and can not open the file. Unsupported archive type.

Of course, your ad is not directed at me since I already use Ubuntu. Still, I would have thought it fun to have a look at it.

[TBOL3]

Well, over all good, at the beginning you expected us to read one window of text too fast though.

And the zoom into youtube seemed pointless.

And the Compiz, made it look nice, but I agree you focused too much on it.

But other then that, it looked really good.

[luckyd]

heres the youtube for popch although for some reason the sound got cut out. :( Ill try to fix that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvFkr_I0Bjg

Yes, TBOL3 for version 2.0 ill keep some of the same footage but also add more of just the basic apps and less compiz. I do want to keep the "do things you never imagined possible at the end though, even if I get rid of all the other fancy window effects I like that part.

No need for the dog, but anything cute attracts customers(users)

[luckyd]

fixed :) heres the url with sound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTHCYjFWqHA

[bobbybobington]

I would shorten up how long you show the text when cycling through program types 0:19 - 0:45, as It only takes about 2 seconds max to read it, and you show the text for about 5 sec for each one. And that extra time can't be used to actually look at the program window as you really cant see the detail. So when I saw that part I felt that I was looking at nothing new for about 2-3 seconds on each one of the 6 different programs you showed. This may seem like a small detail, but I think the rhythm of the ad is important.

Perhaps you could also show the advantages of the easy access of hundreds of programs to install from Add/Remove. Youtube's video quality is a problem when showing certain features like search or even accessing programs from from the 3 top menus. I think using the zoom plugin to show the detail during that part and other parts of the add would give the viewer important details like "wow look at how stuff is organized in the menus!" , the viewer could actually see what you're searching for and what the search program looks like or could actually show the scope and detail of programs in Add/Remove. And the zoom doesn't need to be zoomed in too far, just enough that they can see some useful detail.

Other than that, Then video seemed a lot more professional than the hundreds of other ubuntu videos of youtube. And the creative uses of the effects always surprised me and actually made me pay more attention because it left me wondering how you will surprise me with the effects next. Overall it was very good, but with a few small tweaks I think it could be even better.

p.s. what program did you use for editing?

[FuturePilot]

I have just downloaded the smaller one (ubuntu.mov.7z). I am using Ubuntu, and can not open the file. Unsupported archive type.

Of course, your ad is not directed at me since I already use Ubuntu. Still, I would have thought it fun to have a look at it.


sudo apt-get install p7zip p7zip-full
Right click it>Extract Here.:)

Good video overall, but I agree, it does focus a little too much on Compiz Fusion. It should focus more on the features of Ubuntu. Not to say that you can't throw a little Compiz Fusion in there, just don't make it the main focus.;)
I really liked the part at the beginning where you peeled the window back to show the one behind it that said something.:lol:

[luckyd]

p.s. what program did you use for editing?


I used kdenlive from svn

[tgm4883]

Good Commerical

Agree with above comments.

Shorter time when going through programs.

Perhaps less Compiz-Fusion/More Types of programs

[luckyd]

anyone new script, new script anyone. so that i can have a second version that everyone likes, i want to know which apps I should show and which features i should showcase. I'll put the most requested into "Ubuntu ad 2.0" :)

[tgm4883]

anyone new script, new script anyone. so that i can have a second version that everyone likes, i want to know which apps I should show and which features i should showcase. I'll put the most requested into "Ubuntu ad 2.0" :)

Tip: Don't make a Ubuntu ad about Compiz Fusion. If I wanted to see a compiz fusion ad, I would search for a Compiz Fusion ad.

Now that doesn't mean that you can't still use Compiz Fusion to show off other things, but don't focus on it so much (ie, it seems like we must slowly turn that cube every time you do it, drives me crazy. You showed it once, now move quicker)

When scrolling through the apps, perhaps show

Openoffice word
" Presentation
Spreadsheet
Maybe show AWN (IDK, it's not in official repos and I would probably stick to offiicial repos)
totem (or other movie player of choice)
firefox
evolution (or other email program)
Pick a game thats easily recognizable (solitare or sudoku)
pick a game thats not easily recognizable (tux racer)
show gaim (or pidgin if your showing gutsy)
show gimp
show a music player

Now when selecting the above programs, either stay with whats installed by default or go all out and show interesting little known ones. (I would recommend staying with defaults and only straying from that if you need to (3d games (ie tuxracer)) or if the non default is way better than the default.

[Paul820]

tgm4883 got the important apps down, they are what most of us want in an OS. Think about what you would want and about what others would want. We all want email, browsing, chatting, basic photo editing etc. Open up synaptic and show a few sections in there. New users to this site are always amazed by the amount of free software available in synaptic, i know i was.

I also liked the way you pulled back the window to show the rest of the text underneath. Just mention compiz at the end stating the effects were done with it.

[smartboyathome]

I had an exellent script for this type of thing (I think it had a good balance between Fusion and Programs), but it was a more HP-ish type of commercial. I am pretty sure it can be adapted though! Let me see if I can pull it up.
One thing to remember when making commercials is how long it is. The current commercial is a little too long (it should be 1 min max), and would cost a fortune to run.

EDIT: Found it!

I had an idea for a script if anyone would be able to do this. Here is the script:

Have a guy dressed in dark casual clothes, standing on a black background. Do not show his head, but instead his body whith his knees and head cut off. The commercial starts with the guy standing in the middle of the screen.

(show Compiz Fusion switching desktops using the desktop cube, hands possibly rotating it, from an e-mail client to OpenOffice)
"I use Linux for doing my basic desktop stuff like reading documents made by my publicising team using OpenOffice."
(Hands come up and "switch" from OpenOffice to Audacious using the Switch plugin in Compiz Fusion)
"I can listen to music using Audacious while working..."
(Hands rotate in a ring shape as Audicious switches to Mozzila Firefox using the Ring Switcher plugin)
"... and browse the web using Mozilla Firefox," (Show the guy downloading with download statusbar) "pumped up with my favorite plugins."
(Have the guy close Firefox with the "burn" animation in Compiz Fusion and OpenOffice open again, this time from a shrunken state)
"Oh yeah, and did I mention I can do all this without paying a dime?"
(Annoucer comes in as Ubuntu, Mandrivia, OpenSUSE, and Fedora logos and names show up at the bottom of the screen)
"Compute with Linux, Compute for free."
(end)

Anyone may make any corrections to the script that they like.

[amazingtaters]

Have stuff going on in the programmes. Everything looks really bland in it. Like have emails in the inbox in evolution, etc. It will spice things up.

[lyceum]

I love the ad! 2 things: 1. (as stated) speed up the list of things you can do. That drug a bit. 2. Make sure that you show Ubuntu by default, or add a second video showing how to set up a box do do what you are doing.

:popcorn:

[Darkhack]

That is a very professional commercial and looks really nice. As everyone else said, speed up the part where you are going through applications. I would also try playing a recognizable 3D game through WINE on one of the virtual desktops. Maybe Counter-Strike or something like that? You might also show that there are a lot of different themes for GNOME. Maybe also try downloading a .blend file of a good looking model and show Blender.

[smartboyathome]

That is a very professional commercial and looks really nice. As everyone else said, speed up the part where you are going through applications. I would also try playing a recognizable 3D game through WINE on one of the virtual desktops. Maybe Counter-Strike or something like that? You might also show that there are a lot of different themes for GNOME. Maybe also try downloading a .blend file of a good looking model and show Blender.

That might be pushing it a bit on the time scale ;)

[phrostbyte]

I like the ending, the music synced really well and the idea of showing the Ubuntu cap was really good.

Here is a place where you can get some inspiration: http://www.firefoxflicks.com/

Ubuntu really needs a site like that too.

[punong_bisyonaryo]

As promised, here is my suggested script for an alternate version.

Note: In all of the programs, it would be better if it looked like it was actually being used in a real world situation as opposed to just showing the program.
Note2: The part after the number is the text displayed on screen. The one inside parentheses are what's going on onscreen. And the one in quotation marks is the narration. I hope we can get a good voice to do this.


1. Ubuntu gives you all you need...OUT OF THE BOX
(Animation starting with Ubuntu, then probably App Icons fountaining out from a box, or something. May transparent programs/app logos scolling in the background. Let your imagine run wild so as to cause viewers imaginations to run wild as well)
"Ubuntu gives you all you need...OUT OF THE BOX"
2. Email, Chat with friends and surf the net without worries
(Show Evolution zoomed in on the app window or a particular highlight. Chat with Gaim/Pidgin, also zoomed. Do Firefox, also zoomed)
"Email, Chat, and surf without worries..."
3. Linux doesn't have viruses.
(Create dummy "Anti-virus and Anti-spyware programs, maybe using Glade. So we can "burn it up" using one of the Compiz close window effects).
"...because Linux doesn't have viruses. No need for anti-virus and anti-spyware."
4. Listen to music or watch a movie
(Pick a player playing music, then a player playing videos)
"Listen to your favorite music, or sit back and play a movie"
5. Get some work done
(Type a formal letter in Write, show some Presentation animation effects, do graphs/functions in Spreadsheet)
"Get some work done with Open Office, again, Out of the Box"
6. Get Organized with workspaces
(Non-compiz workspaces. Zoom in on Workspace Switcher, clicking clicking, and then zoom out to show the workspace actually changing. Workspaces should actually be filled with running apps).
"Get organized with workspaces and group tasks for better efficiency."
7. Still not enough? Tens of thousands of programs, at your fingertips.
(Zoom in on the "23025 packages listed" part in Synaptics, install a program, zoomed in just enough for viewers to get an idea)
"Out of the box programs still not enough? With Ubuntu, you can get access to tens of thousands of programs, and install any of them with a click of a button."
8. Tools to do more
(Show annotate, Scale Window Switcher, Super+tab, alt+tab, live windows, preferably with a video playing somewhere)
"Compiz Fusion gives you tools to do more..."
9. Do it in style.
(Continued from 8. Drag programs between workspaces therefore showing 3D cube. I also like your workspace switch clip, the one with the Kiwi, we could use that. By the way, is that included normally in Compiz?)
"...And you get to do them in style."
10. All the applications you need,
(Use something like your first clip, the one where you pull the corner of the window to reveal a window in the background...)
"Ubuntu has all the applications you need..."
11. At much, much lesser cost.
(...but instead of revealing a text box, zoom in to show a simple, clear comparison chart between minimum reqt's of Ubuntu with Compiz compared to Brand W and it's Window Manager).
"...without costing you an arm and a leg."
12. Ubuntu. It's free, and it just works.
(Use your last clip: Spin the desktop cube with the Earth in space background.)
"Ubuntu."
"It's free. and it just works.

Timeline.
1. 2 seconds
2. 3 seconds
3. 2 seconds
4. 2 seconds music, 2 seconds video: 4 seconds
5. 4 seconds
6. 2 seconds
7. 3 seconds
8. 2 seconds
9. 2 seconds
10. 1 second
11. 2 seconds
12. 3 seconds

Last time I used Beryl, they didn't have the Vista-style window switcher. Please don't use that. Use the "organic"/"natural" Compiz stuff, like the Ring Window Switcher. I like that better. For the 3D rotate cube, maybe you can have just the default for the background and only use the Earth in space background at the end.

If you can manage it, try to squeeze in games, probably along with the music and video part. You'd probably need to edit this in; when just Window switching, it may be hard to simulate "playing a game" immediately after switiching, which may cause a bit of lull in the rhythm. Please don't show Wine, as entry-level users may find this difficult. Instead, there are plenty of great Linux FPS games you can use.

Lastly, this is for "my" vision for the AD. Anyone is free to feedback, or enhance, or suggest on it, just don't say it's wrong for me to have chosen what I've chosen.

[dasunst3r]

If you can't open the archive, issue this command in the terminal and you'll be able to get 7-Zip support: sudo apt-get install lzma p7zip-full, then try opening the archive again once the setup's done.

[TBOL3]

I actually thought that the vista switcher was nice, not for actual use, but for the effect of having the applications standing in 'line' waiting to be shown to you.

[luckyd]

i dont have a mic so if someone would be so kind as to take care of the narration I would be very happy.

[smartboyathome]

i dont have a mic so if someone would be so kind as to take care of the narration I would be very happy.

Funny thing is that I have been trying to get my mic to work for a while and it won't seem to record (the recording app keeps going back to "Capture", even when I check that everything is on). Just in case I do get it to work, would you post your unnarrated video?

[luckyd]

i will when it exists :)

[punong_bisyonaryo]

Oh, I think this might also be a good opportunity to promote use of open source codecs like Ogg Vorbis/Theora, etc. We're making an AD for Ubuntu, might as well not use proprietary formats like 7zip and mov, which will not play "out of the box". Just an idea.

[punong_bisyonaryo]

My laptop Mic works, but I'm sure it won't be the best quality audio we could get. And though I can speak with an American accent mostly, high chance my natural accent might come through.

[luckyd]

Oh, I think this might also be a good opportunity to promote use of open source codecs like Ogg Vorbis/Theora, etc. We're making an AD for Ubuntu, might as well not use proprietary formats like 7zip and mov, which will not play "out of the box". Just an idea.

well, then no more youtube because it doesnt currently support .ogg
s

[lyceum]

i dont have a mic so if someone would be so kind as to take care of the narration I would be very happy.

I really like it better without narration. Making people read gets them to focus on what is going on. I really like the way you have it.

[punong_bisyonaryo]

well, then no more youtube because it doesnt currently support .ogg
s

Darn it...

[Darkhack]

well, then no more youtube because it doesnt currently support .ogg

Just make a .mov for the purpose of uploading to YouTube and then distribute the .ogg file for the downloaded version.

Computer mics SUCK for audio quality. We would need someone with a real microphone and a good voice. Why not just use background music and show white text on a black background. Have the camera zoom in slowly on the text while being shown. Then you can show the desktop doing whatever the text just said.

Another idea is to do what Apple does. Just make a series of commercials instead of trying to put every possible feature into one ad. I just gave myself another idea by stating that...

Ubuntu: Hi I'm Ubuntu
Windows: And I'm Windows Vista.
Ubuntu: You ready to get started. We got a whole day planned ahead us... graphics editing, instant messaging, document processing and creating a slideshow for our presentation tomorrow.
Windows: Woah woah, slow down their buddy. We just got installed. We have to install our drivers, anti-virus.. it's going to be a while.
Ubuntu: Actually, all my drivers are built in and I don't need an anti-virus program.
Windows: *sarcastic tone* Okay fine! You go ahead and get started. I bet I can easily catch up since it's going to take you a while to install all those other applications.
Ubuntu: Actually I have all my necessary applications already installed including an Office suite.
Windows: Wait? You have an Office suite already installed? Okay fine Mr. Millionaire, how much did all that cost you? Sounds pretty pricey compared to me.
Ubuntu: Actually... it's all free.
Windows: *looks down at floor* Oh.... never mind.

[punong_bisyonaryo]

DarkHack, I like that one. We're gonna need live action though.:)

[smartboyathome]

I know the art will keep changing on Gutsy (it will be finished on September 20!), but I am going to try to make my movie on it anyway, see how it turns out (after all, there are some pretty impressive features on Gutsy).

[tgm4883]

Just make a .mov for the purpose of uploading to YouTube and then distribute the .ogg file for the downloaded version.

Computer mics SUCK for audio quality. We would need someone with a real microphone and a good voice. Why not just use background music and show white text on a black background. Have the camera zoom in slowly on the text while being shown. Then you can show the desktop doing whatever the text just said.

Another idea is to do what Apple does. Just make a series of commercials instead of trying to put every possible feature into one ad. I just gave myself another idea by stating that...

Ubuntu: Hi I'm Ubuntu
Windows: And I'm Windows Vista.
Ubuntu: You ready to get started. We got a whole day planned ahead us... graphics editing, instant messaging, document processing and creating a slideshow for our presentation tomorrow.
Windows: Woah woah, slow down their buddy. We just got installed. We have to install our drivers, anti-virus.. it's going to be a while.
Ubuntu: Actually, all my drivers are built in and I don't need an anti-virus program.
Windows: *sarcastic tone* Okay fine! You go ahead and get started. I bet I can easily catch up since it's going to take you a while to install all those other applications.
Ubuntu: Actually I have all my necessary applications already installed including an Office suite.
Windows: Wait? You have an Office suite already installed? Okay fine Mr. Millionaire, how much did all that cost you? Sounds pretty pricey compared to me.
Ubuntu: Actually... it's all free.
Windows: *looks down at floor* Oh.... never mind.

I'm starting to think we could put together a pretty good viral campaign based off the mac commercials.

Another thing to put in each commercial would be to have the windows guy dressed the same every time, but have the ubuntu guy (im not sure where mac guy falls in here as I don't know how much you can customize the interface) have different clothings (or maybe one commercial where he is wearing one thing at the beginning and a different outfit at the end) This shows how customizable ubuntu is vs how every single copy of windows looks the same (windows guy is dressed in a blue suit, I suppose he could have an old grey suit too)

[Vadi]

YouTube commercials are the way to go. Right now, it's the cheapest and best way to spread the word about Ubuntu.

I'll be keeping a watch for the 2.0 version, luckyd :)

[punong_bisyonaryo]

How's the video coming along?:)

I've tried playing with gtk-recordmydesktop with 50 fps, and it slows down my PC. I think it's because I have too many apps running (vmplayer, beryl, openoffice). Can I ask what video editor you used? Heard Lives was good, but haven't tried it yet.

[TRStealthX]

Ok, I have been toying with some footage i took for a couple of days, and now i feel I have a finished product. It is an advertisement like thing for ubuntu that mostly shows compiz-fusion effects, but also some core applications.

here is the link for the full version http://www.mediafire.com/?5gzi1ntlrdt 79mb
and the worse quality small one http://www.mediafire.com/?401blgylxpl 15mb

p.s thank you to vadi for pointing me to http://freeplaymusic.com/

That was an awesome video! We should start raising money to put that 2 minute ad on superbowl sunday :)

[Vadi]

We definitely need ads on tv.

I saw some really nice Novell Linux ads, but only on YouTube... has anyone ever seen them on TV?

[samb0057]

If I were to start a campaign to advertise Ubuntu that would accept donations, as well as advertising media, does that sound like something people would go for?

We could take donations ($1+), and use the money to put ads on google and other computing websites. Users would also be able to submit advertising media such as this video, which we would then edit and use.

[Vadi]

A "Love Ubuntu? Help promote it!" campaign would be nice.

It'll need to have special focus on Linux though too, so a) other distro's don't get update, and b) most of the world hasn't heard of ubuntu, but at least heard the word linux somewhere sometime.

[luckyd]

ok guys, as for 2.0 i just started. school and others got in the way, editor kdenlive, but i have been learning some cinelerra for the second ad. Also, I would love to try to get one of these ads on tv, how much could cost to make a few brief showings on cnn? ;)

[punong_bisyonaryo]

I saw one of the Firefox Flicks ad (specifically the surfer ad) in one office building's food court floor, which was a surprise to me considering I'm in Philippines, Asia. I wonder who paid for that Ad to be shown.

Anyway, fund raising sounds nice, and I'd be willing to donate as well. Hopefully, in the future I can help by providing something more substantial, like clips or some work. I haven't heard of kdenlive. I'll read up on it.