Today is the 65th anniversary of the first nuclear test in the U.S., and with it came the dawning of the very serious implications of this invention -- ones that still haunt us today. Filmmaker Lucy Walker recently premiered a documentary about the man who led that test, J. Robert Oppenheimer, at Sundance and screened it at Cannes. An exclusive featurette from the film, "Countdown to Zero," is on our homepage today (and below). 




What were you hoping to accomplish with this film?
Einstein described his support of the development of nuclear weapons as his one mistake, because their invention had changed everything except for our way of seeing, and thus we are drifting towards unparalleled catastrophe. I made this film to change the complacent thinking and avert a nuclear catastrophe.

How did you become interested in this topic?
As a child my most frightening nightmares were about nuclear bombs going off.

What did you learn during the making of this film that you didn't know before?
I learned how hard it is to make a film about nuclear weapons!

How did YouTube help in your research, if at all?
I search YouTube every day for work and find it to be the most helpful site. This is a golden age of documentary filmmaking and the technical revolution of portable -- affordable tools like HD cameras and YouTube are in large part to thank for that. Even 10 years ago, archival research was prohibitively slow, expensive and complicated. People used to advise filmmakers to go to DC and move into the National Archive for a few months! For this film I vividly remember the moment I found the clips of Robert Oppenheimer on YouTube and instantly knew that they would be tremendously powerful moments in the movie. As a filmmaker, a giant, brilliant check-mark goes off in my head when I shoot a great moment or find a great clip, and you know for sure it's going straight into the movie. Those are the awesome moments I suffer through everything else for.

What can regular people to do eradicate nuclear missiles? How can YouTubers help?
Support the movie!

Following on from their guest post on "Tips for Time Manipulation," the experts at Videomaker magazine are back with advice for budding documentary makers.

One of the greatest things about watching a documentary is seeing the world through the eyes of another. The greatest thing about making a documentary is being able to bring that enriching experience to people everywhere.

Over the last decade the documentary genre has significantly increased in popularity, with topics covering everything from a person who eats too much McDonalds (Super Size Me), to a person who feels strongly about national health care (Sicko). There are documentaries about people in wheel chairs who play contact sports (Murderball), people battling it out for the highest score in Donkey Kong (The King of Kong), soldiers battling to survive in war zones (Gunner Palace), and even one about a man and his wild birds (The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill). When taking a look at popular documentaries it becomes quite obvious that, as far as topics are concerned, anything goes. What makes the documentary memorable are the characters within the story.

When choosing your topic, consider not only the subject you'd like to explore, but the people affected by it. Every story needs a main character, someone the audience can follow throughout the movie, someone they can relate to, love or hate, but most importantly, someone they can learn from. Failure to expose the thoughts and emotions of the affected persons within your documentary will leave your movie feeling flat and your message lacking impact.

The most important factor to consider when choosing a topic for your documentary is making sure it's something you're interested in. The path to a great documentary is a bumpy one with unexpected turns and roadblocks. Often the only thing that keeps you trucking down that path is your passion for the topic and your desire to share the experience with the entire world.

Check out Documentary Truth for more ideas on choosing a topic for your documentary.

Several exciting new initiatives have been announced since our last roundup of contests and programs. For all of these things, you can parlay your video-making skills and natural talents into one-of-a-kind opportunities:

Next Food Network Star: The Food Network is taking to YouTube to find culinary talents to compete for the chance to host their own TV show. DUE: July 16, 2010



YouTube Play: Submit your dazzlingly creative art video for the chance to be part of a special exhibit at the Guggenheim this fall. DUE: July 31, 2010



Dance Studio: Step-Up 3D director Jon M. Chu is looking for the next generation of hip-hop, jazz-funk and b-boy/girl dancers on YouTube. You could win a trip to L.A. to hang with Chu, participate in a special jam session, and the chance to be in an upcoming Ultra Records music video. DUE: August 2, 2010

Did you hear the news? We just launched a basic online YouTube Video Editor. Read all about it in our main blog and check out this tutorial from the team that built it:



There's also a great step-by-step guide in this SF Gate article.

Show us what you create with it by leaving your video's URL below.

Our friends over at Videomaker magazine are generously sharing their expertise and articles here in the Creator's Corner. It's a good thing, too: Videomaker.com teaches every aspect of video production, no matter your skill level. You will find hundreds of articles and videos about audio, video and lighting, tools and techniques, video editing and special effects, how to find financing and distribution, and much more. Their first guest post is all about "tips on time manipulation" -- in other words, techniques on keeping your video moving at a good pace.

The problem with movies, and perhaps, also, the greatest thing about them, is you just can't show everything that happens to your character. It would take too long, and be extremely boring. So how does one go about editing out the unnecessary content? By manipulating time to your liking.

One way to portray a passage of time without taking a lot of time to show it is with the use of cross-dissolves. A commonly used application of this technique is the long walk on a deserted road. This is usually a wide shot of the character, way off in the distance, walking towards the camera. As an editor, you could allow this scene to play in its entirety, with the character taking the 10 minutes to actually walk to the camera. However, since this would be agonizingly boring to watch, it's a perfect time to add some cross dissolves.

Start by establishing the scene and allow the character to walk for about five seconds. Using a cross-dissolve transition, cut to a part of the footage where the character is closer to the camera, maybe half the distance or so. Again, allow the character to walk for about five seconds. Use another cross-dissolve and cut to a point where the character has reached the camera, but continues walking. This will give the viewer the impression that your character just walked the whole stretch of road, without actually having to view the whole journey.

There are many ways to you can use this technique, as well as other time manipulation techniques, such as a montage, time-lapse, speeding up or slowing down your footage. So, be creative in your editing, and remember, as an editor, time is always on your side.

For more ideas on how to manipulate time in your video, check out Timeline: Time Control at Videomaker.com.

Earlier today, we announced a major initiative with the Guggenheim called YouTube Play: A Biennial of Creative Video. Basically, we're looking for animation, motion graphics, narrative, non-narrative, documentary work, music video or even entirely new art forms. The point is to garner some of the finest video-based creative work from across the globe and then to showcase it in a first-of-a-kind exhibit at Guggenheim museums in New York, Bilbao, Venice and Berlin later this year. There's lots more detail on this competition in the main YouTube blog.

And if you've seen the cool call-out video...



...there's also a neat behind-the-scenes video about how they achieved the special effects. It's worth checking out!