Showing posts with label competition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label competition. Show all posts

Doodle 4 Google 2011 is open! Your Future Australia doodle

Today I’m so excited to announce that we’re running our third Doodle 4 Google in Australia. We’re inviting school students in years 1-10 to sharpen their pencils, use their imagination and artistic talent to create a Google doodle depicting their vision for “My Future Australia”. The winning doodle will be shown on the Google homepage for a day for millions of Australians to enjoy.

Since 1998, when Google founders Larry and Sergey played with the corporate logo to indicate they were going to the Burning Man Festival in Nevada, USA, Google’s team of doodlers has been creating doodles to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous writers and scientists.

This year, we’re really thrilled to have judges who are incredibly passionate about children’s art and education. Judging the initiative will be National Portrait Gallery Curator Joanna Gilmour, renowned artist Del Kathryn Barton, and from Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience, CEO, Jack Manning Bancroft. These judges will select finalists across four age groups: Grades 1-3; Grade 4-6; Grades 7-8, and Grades 9-10, whose doodles will be shown online and hung in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. We’ll ask the public to vote on their favourite doodles from each age group and the winners will receive fantastic technology prizes for themselves and their schools, including laptops, interactive whiteboards and $10,000 worth of technology for the National winner’s school. Google’s original doodler, webmaster Dennis Hwang, will select the overall national winner to be shown on the homepage.

During July, we’re sending out information packs to every Australian school. To take part, please register your school by 26 August, and all doodles must be submitted by 23 September. Please visit the Doodle 4 Google website for a full listing of all the contest rules and information.

Posted by Lucinda Barlow, Head of Marketing, Google Australia and New Zealand

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YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011: Help your favourite Aussies make the final cut

This is a cross-post from the YouTube Australia blog.



We recently announced the shortlist for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011. Musicians from around the world are ready to play their part, and we need you to play yours! With 336 finalists selected from 46 countries, help our fellow Aussies get to the Sydney Opera House in March.



Here’s a few words from Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy, Principal Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra:






So have a look at our 12 Aussie finalists, get voting, and stay tuned to find out who makes the final cut!

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YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011: The Shortlist Is In, Let The Voting Begin

Musicians from Finland to New Zealand, from Austria to Vietnam, have done their bit - submitting their audition videos for the chance to be part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 at Sydney Opera House. Now, with 336 finalists from 46 countries selected, it’s your turn to play your part: voting is open for who you think should make up the orchestra.

Your votes at youtube.com/symphony over the next seven days will help decide which of these talented musicians will be packing up their trombones, violas, and timpani and heading to Sydney Opera House from March 14-20, 2011, to perform together for a global audience.



You can vote once per video, per day, until 23:59 EST on December 17 to help YouTube Symphony Orchestra Artistic Advisor Michael Tilson Thomas boil the 300 shortlisted hopefuls down to the final 96. Your votes are also needed to help choose four solo improvisers. “Mothership” composer, Mason Bates, will be using your input to choose from 36 soloists, including show-stopping performances on instruments like the guzheng, the musical saw and… the udderbot.

Congratulations to those in the running, and to all of those who submitted an audition -- thank you for your hard work. We've been blown away by your talent and determination.

Check out the channel now and vote for your favourites.

Posted by Jamie Dolling, Marketing Manager, recently watched “Magic Moments: The Udderbot

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Two Weeks Left for a Chance to Play at the Sydney Opera House

A few weeks ago we announced the formation of the second YouTube Symphony Orchestra, which will be performing in the Sydney Opera House in March 2011. Last time, musicians from 70 countries from around the world sent in submissions from concert halls, living rooms, and studios, all for the chance to perform a sell-out concert in New York’s Carnegie Hall under the direction of renowned conductor Michael Tilson Thomas.

There are two weeks left for you to submit your video, for a chance to play in the next YouTube Symphony Orchestra. This time, we’re very excited to be playing host city to this truly global orchestra, for a celebration of music, technology, and global collaboration in an iconic venue of world class ideas and performances -- the Sydney Opera House. While still classically based, next year’s YouTube Symphony Orchestra opens the door for any musician.


Richard Evans, Chief Executive of Sydney Opera House

We’re calling on musicians from around Australia to audition for the opportunity to take part in YouTube Symphony Orchestra and perform at the Sydney Opera House. If you play trumpet, banjo or didgeridoo, from Sydney to Tassie, Brisbane or Broome, we want to hear from you! This year there are two ways for any musician to get involved.

To participate in the orchestral audition, visit the YouTube Symphony Orchestra Channel, select your instrument, download one of the pieces listed, and submit your audition video. You also have the chance to hear from world renowned musicians, who have prepared online masterclasses for your audition piece.

Diana Doherty, Principal Oboe of the Sydney Symphony, introduces Mozart’s Oboe Concerto, 1st movement, exposition:



Not an orchestral musician? This time around we’ve added a second video category -- a performance of your own devising as an improvisation to a portion of a piece composed for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra by Mason Bates. The music of Mason Bates fuses innovative orchestral writing, rhythms of electronica and techno, and imaginative narrative forms brought to life by cutting-edge sound design. This is a chance for you to display your musical creativity and originality. This video may be featured at the final event, and some of the best improvisers may be invited to perform with the Orchestra. To participate, grab the instrument of your choosing - any instrument - check out the piece composed by Mason Bates.

Have a look at the sample improvisations for inspiration. Australia’s own William Barton plays the didgeridoo to Mason Bates’ Mothership:



Auditions close November 28, so visit the YouTube Symphony Channel to get started, and practise, practise, practise!


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YouTube Play Winners Announced

YouTube Play searched for the world’s most creative art videos and after 23,000 submissions and 125 finalists, we’re excited to announce that the 25 winners have been announced overnight in New York at a special celebratory event at the Guggenheim Museum. Two Australian entries were among the winning 25: Keith Loutit's tilt-shift/time-lapse piece entitled 'Bathtub IV' and Nick Bertke's 'Gardyn'. Australian singer Megan Washington, who features as the singer in 'Bathtub IV', also performed live at the event in New York.




The winning entries will have their videos projected onto the Guggenheim Museum, and the final videos will also be on display from 22nd-24th October in the Museum. You can see the entries at the Play website.

Posted by Ernesto Soriano, YouTube Team

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YouTube Symphony Orchestra comes to Sydney Opera House!

We’ve just announced the return of YouTube Symphony Orchestra, an online audition for a collaborative orchestra on a global scale. What began with 3,000 YouTube submissions from concert calls, living rooms and dorms in 70 countries around the world culminated in YouTube bringing an orchestra of 96 musicians from over 30 countries to New York’s Carnegie Hall to perform a sell-out concert under the direction of San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas.

This time, we’re very excited to bring YouTube Symphony Orchestra down under to perform on March 20, 2011, in Australia’s very own Sydney Opera House. The performance will be live streamed on the world’s largest stage: YouTube. This ‘second act’ promises an even more innovative celebration than the first, bringing together music, technology, and global collaboration in an iconic venue of world class ideas and performances -- Sydney Opera House.



This morning we launched YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011, direct from the Utzon room at Sydney Opera House, with key partners Tourism Australia, Sydney Symphony, and other musical guests in attendance. The event featured performances from YouTube Australia sensation Aston, an inspired improvisational performance from William Barton, and a live hookup to last year’s host venue, Carnegie Hall in New York.













William Barton













Aston



We’re calling on musicians to audition for the opportunity to take part in YouTube Symphony Orchestra and perform at Sydney Opera House. If you play trumpet, banjo or didgeridoo, from Sydney to Tassie, Brisbane or Broome, we want to hear from you!

To be considered, upload audition videos of designated pieces to demonstrate your musical and technical abilities. This year, we’re also looking for solo improvisers to extend the audition process beyond classical instruments and performance. The online audition period opens October 13, 2010, and extends through to November 28, 2010.



Selected musicians will be flown to Sydney to participate in a week-long classical music summit with Michael Tilson Thomas and leading musical masters, culminating in a final performance on March 20, 2011, which will be live-streamed on YouTube.

YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011 offers a further focus on musical education, and will offer online master classes with orchestras around the world, and classes for Australian musicians during the summit.

Last year, Australian violist and YouTube Symphony Orchestra winner Lauren Brigden travelled to Carnegie Hall. Hear her experience:



Get ready to play your part. We look forward to welcoming you down under!

Posted by Ernesto Soriano, YouTube Australia, recently watched Aston Music, Laroux - Bulletproof, Classical Cover.




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Who Will Be Named YouTube Australia’s Secret Talent?

Editor's Note: This is a cross-post from the YouTube Australia Blog.



Hundreds entered, only 10 remain! We watched mind-bending magic acts, acrobatic dance, original tunes, classical music, and many, many others to find our top 10. One of our finalists will win a trip to Madrid, Spain, and the title of YouTube Australia’s Secret Talent. Runners up will receive prizes provided by Vodafone.

Who will win? Now it’s up to you to decide. We’ve narrowed the pool down, and are letting YouTube Australia select their favourite. To cast your vote, visit youtube.com/secrettalentsau and let us know who should. Didn’t make the cut? Stay tuned for when we announce our next competition!



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Four Australian finalists announced in YouTube Play





Back in June, YouTube and the Guggenheim Museum in New York organised a historic, international contest called YouTube Play searching for the world’s most creative art videos. We received more than 23,000 entries, and today, the YouTube Play channel will reopen featuring videos from the shortlisted artists, covering animation, motion graphics, documentary work and music videos.



We’re especially excited to showcase here the four Australian finalists, whose work is truly inspired, and ranges from Darcy Prendergast’s evocative stop motion glow sticks and Yanni Kronenberg & Lucinda Schreiber’s stunning chalkboard animation, to Keith Loutit’s time lapse film techniques and Nick Bertke’s feet-tapping electronica piece, ‘Gardyn’.



These finalists will have their videos on show at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York on October 21, 2010 with simultaneous presentations at the Guggenheim museums in Berlin, Bilbao, and Venice.







“Autumn Story” by Yanni Kronenberg and Lucinda Schreiber.

Yanni Kronenberg is a freelance photographer and director and Lucinda Schreiber is an award-winning Sydney-based illustrator, animator and director.







“Bathtub IV”, Keith Loutit.

Known as the pioneer of the tilt-shift / time-lapse technique, Loutit is a Sydney-based photographer and short filmmaker who first recognised how time and focus combine to support the powerful illusion of miniaturisation in film.







“Gardyn”, Pogo (Nick Bertke)

Pogo is an electronic music artist living in Perth. He is known for his work recording small sounds from a film or a specific scene, and sequencing the sounds together to form a new piece of music. In “Gardyn”, Pogo uses syllables of his mother's voice and the sounds of her backyard to create a beautiful video and soundtrack.







“Lucky”, Darcy Prendergast

Darcy Prendergast is a director that founded Dee Pee Studios, an award-winning Melbourne-based clay animation house. Darcy utilises a glow stick or coloured torch to draw an image in the sky that is captured into a video frame. This film took over 6 months to shoot.



The next stage for these finalists is to have their work judged by YouTube Play’s jury — including iconic performance artist Laurie Anderson, Japanese fine artist Takashi Murakami, music group Animal Collective, and The Wrestler director Darren Aronofsky — who will pick the top 20 videos for the Guggenheim exhibit.




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10 Days Until Top Talents Revealed

Editor's Note: This is a cross-post from the YouTube Australia Blog.

Think you’ve got what it takes to be named YouTube Australia’s Secret Talent? There are only a few days left to submit your video until our top finalists are featured on YouTube’s stage. Maybe you’ve got a knack for dance like last year’s MyMutation contest winner Emma Watkins, or an ear for classical music like Alan Chan. Or perhaps you can drop a beat to outshine DJ Cotts and the Fully Sick Rapper.

We’re still accepting submissions of under 90 seconds in length, containing only original content. Entries close on September 22, so get those videos edited and submit them to youtube.com/secrettalentsau.

Our finalists will be announced on September 25, and then it’s up to you to decide who wins a money-can’t-buy musical experience in Madrid, Spain, and the title of YouTube Australia’s Secret Talent!

Posted by Ernesto Soriano, YouTube Team


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Introducing DataLiberation.org: Liberate your data!

This is cross posted from the Google Public Policy Blog

Imagine you want to move out of your apartment. When you ask your landlord about the terms of your previous lease, he says that you are free to leave at any time; however, you cannot take all of your things with you - not your photos, your keepsakes, or your clothing. If you're like most people, a restriction like this may cause you to rethink moving altogether. Not only is this a bad situation for you as the tenant, but it's also detrimental to the housing industry as a whole, which no longer has incentive to build better apartments at all.


Although this may seem like a strange analogy, this pretty accurately describes the situation my team, Google's Data Liberation Front, is working hard to combat from an engineering perspective. We're a small team of Google Chicago engineers (named after a Monty Python skit about the Judean People's Front) that aims to make it easy for our users to transfer their personal data in and out of Google's services by building simple import and export functions. Our goal is to "liberate" data so that consumers and businesses using Google products always have a choice when it comes to the technology they use.

What does product liberation look like? Said simply, a liberated product is one which has built-in features that make it easy (and free) to remove your data from the product in the event that you'd like to take it elsewhere.

At the heart of this lies our strong commitment to an open web run on open standards. We think open is better than closed -- not because closed is inherently bad, but because when it's easy for users to leave your product, there's a sense of urgency to improve and innovate in order to keep your users. When your users are locked in, there's a strong temptation to be complacent and focus less on making your product better.

Many web services make it difficult to leave their services - you have to pay them for exporting your data, or jump through all sorts of technical hoops -- for example, exporting your photos one by one, versus all at once. We believe that users - not products - own their data, and should be able to quickly and easily take that data out of any product without a hassle. We'd rather have loyal users who use Google products because they're innovative - not because they lock users in. You can think of this as a long-term strategy to retain loyal users, rather than the short-term strategy of making it hard for people to leave.

We've already liberated over half of all Google products, from our popular blogging platform Blogger, to our email service Gmail, and Google developer tools including App Engine. In the upcoming months, we also plan to liberate Google Sites and Google Docs (batch-export).

Feel free to take a deeper look into product liberation at dataliberation.org, a website we're launching today which is dedicated to explaining the Data Liberation Front and the products we've liberated.

If you'd like to contribute suggestions for services that you think need to be liberated, please do so on our Data Liberation Moderator page. We're also on Twitter @dataliberation.


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