Takeoff

Blog for takeoffvideo.com, a web app that makes it easier for people to collaborate during video production. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-17892575-2']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

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Hey Takeoff fans!

Sorry for neglecting our blog over the last few months. We've been hibernating and working on some really cool things. So what have we been up to?

Start-Up Stuff

We put a bunch of time in networking and getting engaged in the start up scene. We definitely made some waves and became finalists for some awesome incubators/accelerators in NYC including: Dreamit, NYC Seed, Hatchery, and Techstars

This video is a submission we made for an invite we got from Techstars guru David Tisch to participate in a contest with Bloomberg.tv. The channel is airing a series about the 2010 Techstars winter program this month. Every week 5 company videos will be showcased for voting. The company with the highest votes wins a spot in the 2012 Techstars program. So keep a look out for us and feel free to vote : )

The App 

We won't lie. The start up scene has sucked us into a vortex. Crunching numbers, perfecting pitches, writing executive summaries and decks had us spinning wheels. While it was good for us, it sadly took us away from engaging with our loyal users the way we want to. Good news though. We're back!!!

We've been gathering your feedback and have listened. We've got several things in the pipe in the very near future:

Releasing paid version (don't worry it will be affordable and beta users will get DEEP discounts)

Native iphone/ipad apps

White Label-custom branding 

A new site look

An awesome affiliate/reseller program

Stay tuned for more. Our goal is to ensure that Takeoff is the best it can be for all users. The only way to do that is to open a channel of feedback, listen, and engage. So feel free to contact us via our support forum, blog, twitter @takeoffvideo, facebook, or email us at [email protected] or [email protected]. Whatever tickles your fancy : )

Thanks everyone!

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Add your logo to Takeoff

Lots of folks have asked for a way to insert a custom logo in Takeoff.  We loved the idea and are happy to announce it's now possible.  It's easy to add your and/or your clent's logo to your productions.  It shows up right next to the production's title, like so ("M" is our production company's logo):

It's easy to add.  Just click "Settings" and hit the "Browse" button.  You can upload just about any image file.  If it fits within a 70x300px box and is either png, jpeg, or gif, we won't touch it.  Otherwise we just shrink it for you. 

Notice the "For:" option underneath the file box.  Instead of uploading a new logo for every production, you can make one that is standard for all productions (unless of course they have their own 'specific' one).  This makes the whole thing much easier to manage.

When you add a new production, you get the same file box there.

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New comment & login updates

Hey all, we just reached out 100th update to Takeoff!  One of the nice things about a web app like Takeoff is we can make changes in small increments.  Not so easy with a desktop program (are you sick of Adobe Acrobat updates all the time too?).

So we fixed some stuff, make some performance improvements, and changed two major things.

The first thing is we cleared up confusion surrounding the "Remember my password" during sign in.  Check it out:

We also made some big improvements to the way comments are organized.  We do a much better job now of showing where in the video a comment took place.  This is especially helpful when you have a ton of comments.  Check it out:

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Thanks everyone!

We were a little lazy with our blog and didn't mention that Takeoff is live, available to all, and kicking butt!  It's been about a month and hundreds of great people have signed up.  Thanks to you all. 

Lots of people have asked about new features and pricing.  So here's the deal:

Features: Right now we are working on tightening up the web app.  You'll see constant improvements in performance, UI, etc.  Soon after, we will be moving in two different directions - mobile apps and NLE integration. 

We will have a mobile version of Takeoff that should work with popular phones.  We have iphones and droids ourselves and we want Takeoff on the go too! 

We've had requests to get plugins for FCP, Premiere, Avid, etc.  So we're going to begin integrating into those popular programs.

Pricing: Takeoff is free and will be free for months.  In a few weeks we're going to put up a page that will explain our ideas for pricing Takeoff.  We will leave it up to you all to vote on how we charge for Takeoff.  But whatever happens, Takeoff will always be affordable for all.  A new blog post in a few weeks will explain better.

We want thousands of video pros around the world using Takeoff to improve their production workflow.  That can only happen through word of mouth (we are self-funded), so please tell all your video buddies to check out Takeoff!

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Upcoming Beta

Since April 2010, Takeoff has been free and unlimited for all.  We just haven't told anyone except close friends.  This is because we wanted to make sure Takeoff was ready for prime time.  In August, we will be rolling out a massive update (your data won't be affected) that adds some features and makes Takeoff better looking and easier to use.  Check it out:

At that point we're going to go public with Takeoff Beta.  It will continue to be free, and we'll be using this time to spread the word, get to know our users, tweak the product, then figure out how to avoid going broke!

Thanks to all who already use Takeoff.  We promise great things in the future.  And when the time comes, we hope to get some help from you in spreading the word to others about a nicer way to do your production collaboration.

- Steve Potter, Head Takeoff Nerd

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Email Notifications

Last night we added email alerts to Takeoff.  Before this, you only got an email when a video was ready.  Now you can get an email when someone adds a video, comment, replies to a comment, etc.  Personally we don't like having a million email alerts in our inbox (Facebook anyone?), so we took the time and added "activity summary" emails...known to some as "digest" emails.  We even gave a few choices as to how often you get these emails - hourly, daily, or 8am and 4pm (for our 9-5ers).

Watch Steve, the dude who wrote the code, explain it: