Creating powerful stories for audiences of the digital age. VERTOV is a creative agency that specializes in digital storytelling & visual PR - standout films, websites and interactive multimedia that connect today’s audiences with brands and businesses. On this website, we showcase inspiring digital stories: join us for the ride! You can email us

The Secret Lives of Supercutters
Why people spend so many hours stitching footage into YouTube collages.

From Slate comes this terrific article on the makers of ‘supercuts’. Excerpt:

Since the beginning of time, humans have reshaped the creative works we encounter. Oral tradition invited storytellers to embellish existing narratives. Sheet music was powerless to prevent the parlor pianist’s reinterpretation. In the ’70s and ’80s, turntable jockeys led a sampling explosion. And today, of course, we have the “supercut.”

As YouTube crawlers well know, the supercut strings together rapid-fire, out-of-context movie or TV scenes to create a sort of video essay. What motivates the supercutter to slog through hours of footage to compile these minute observations? And what distinguishes the masters of the form?

Read the full article, with loads of inspiring anecdotes and examples.

coebergh:

The 4th edition of TEDxAmsterdam is taking place at the Stadsschouwburg on  November 30th, 2012. This years’ theme – human nature – refers to the distinguishing characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting, that humans tend to have naturally. Visit tedxamsterdam.com on 30 November 2012 and watch the live stream there or join one of many viewing parties.

The xx ‘Coexist’ The newest album from the British indie pop band The xx is spreading virally in the form of a website that streams the album 24/7. We like how it acknowledges its viral features by simply visualizing the album’s viral journeys, so to speak. On the website, you can see a map that shows how the album is spreading around the world, with each curve starting with a share (e.g. a tweet or an email) from the original poster and ending with the location of a new listener. We find this little campaign quite simple yet effective and well-suited for digital-minded listeners of The xx.

The xx ‘Coexist’

The newest album from the British indie pop band The xx is spreading virally in the form of a website that streams the album 24/7. We like how it acknowledges its viral features by simply visualizing the album’s viral journeys, so to speak. On the website, you can see a map that shows how the album is spreading around the world, with each curve starting with a share (e.g. a tweet or an email) from the original poster and ending with the location of a new listener. We find this little campaign quite simple yet effective and well-suited for digital-minded listeners of The xx.

Stop working. Start drinking.

This is one of the most popular Youtube videos at the moment. It has spread virally at the fantastic speed to reach almost 2 million views in two weeks. And you just have to admit that it’s a pleasure to see something interesting being created offline with the purpose of attracting the ever-expanding online audience. 

MINERAL GONE VIRAL

It’s viral, it’s contageous, and it’s probably the most bizarre mineral water ad to date.

The original version is in Lithuanian, but due to its popularity English version was released as well (almost 2 million views on Youtube).
The video is a fast-paced collage of (mostly) still images and sound. It has this tongue-in-a-cheek feel, which is emphasized by its amateur format, tempo, and all those hilarious things that the narrator tells. Its simplicity and in-your-face humor, which aren’t particularly common in mineral water ads, definitely make this video stand out from the crowd.