Who is JW? The Documentary

Jeroen "JW" Wijering is an online video pioneer, Chief Digital Architect of LongTail Video and the creator of the Internet's most popular and ubiquitous media players, the JW Players, which have generated millions of downloads since their launch in 2005. The unassuming Dutch internet entrepreneur helped changed the face of the online video industry with his open source JW Player which can be found on tens of millions of websites. Even YouTube ran on the JW Player for the first 18 months of its existence.

While the huge number of website owners running his player may have never heard of him, Jeroen is considered a rock star within the online video industry and is the subject of a new full-length documentary titled, WHO IS JW? Through interviews with his parents, colleagues, university teachers and voices from the online video space, the documentary uncovers the secrets behind the success of one of Holland’s most viewed and yet least-known export products, to answer the question, “Who is Jeroen Wijering?”

WHOSIJW? from PictureThis.tv on Vimeo.

Jeroen graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven, with honors and began programming the JW Player in 2005 when he was a student. He could not have imagined then that five years later he would be co-owner of LongTailVideo.com in New York thanks to his product. In addition, Jeroen has developed several other projects including Sync.nl, an online magazine for entrepreneurs and professionals as well as a SaaS-based an online video platform Bits on the Run, which was acquired by Long Tail Video in 2010.

LongTail Video is headquartered in New York City with a developer team based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The company is headed by Dave Otten, Jeroen, Brian Rifkin, and Doug Cunningham who together have over 30 years of online experience from blue-chip companies such as 24/7 Real Media, About.com and Nielsen/NetRatings.

Here's a sampling of industry voices featured in the documentary:

• Eric Rasmussen – OnlineVideo.net, "The JW Player is one of those best kept secrets online..."
• Stef van der Ziel – StreamZilla.eu, "It's a good player, it works!..."
• Dan Rayburn – StreamingMedia.com, "Every industry uses it..."
• Merien ten Houten – Ilse.nl, "Jeroen combines technical skills with creativity. These people are very rare..."
• Larry Kless – OnlineVideoPublishing.com, "He is a rockstar in online video..."
• Merien ten Houten – Ilse.nl, "I think it's a success because it's simple..."
• Dave Otten – LongTail Video, "He knew the player was big, but he also realised the potential was much bigger..."
• John Luther – Google (WebM), "It's pretty phenomenal what he has done..."

For more information, visit the website: http://www.whoisjw.tv/
Follow this documentary on Twitter: @whoisjw
Follow jeroenw (jeroenw) on Twitter
Follow LongTail Video (longtail_video) on Twitter

See this related post: Larry Kless' Weblog: Jeroen "JW" Wijering: HTML5 Video Is Not Quite There Yet

Web Video Pick of the Week, "The Spark Series: Part 1, The New Dial Tone"

According to Trust Agents author Chris Brogan, “Social media… is the new dial tone,” a concept that is the subject and title of a new short documentary by Marc Ostrick, CEO and Co-founder of eGuiders and Michael Sean Wright, founder of nicefishfilms. The video, which documents their day at the Blog World Expo and the conversations with noted bloggers and reporters who describe the growing shift in media production and consumption through social media networks. This is the first in their Spark Series which explores the documentary style of filmmaking using consumer grade new media tools.

By shooting with Kodak Zi8 and Flip Ultra HD cameras they wanted to see how far they could push the limits of the technology by bringing a filmmaking sensibility to amateur event coverage video. They also used a few other accessories to increase the production value, like a Sennheiser ME 66 shotgun microphone and a Frezzi Micro-fill light, all of which all could fit into a bag. The soundtrack of the video was composed in Garageband.

The video discusses how the disrupters are becoming mainstream and as eGuider Brian Rothe says:

"The new dial tone is a dialog among media producers, technologists and bloggers who are looking to express their ideas in the stream of the real-time web."

Appearances in the new dial tone include:

Robert Scoble - Tech Blogger, @scobleizer
Don Lemon - CNN Anchor, @donlemoncnn
Hugh Hewitt - National Talk Radio Host, @hughhewit
Leo Laporte - Chief Twit, @leolaporte
Chris Brogan - Author, @chrisbrogan
Chris Morrow - CNN iReporter, @morrowchris
Ben Parr - Co-Editor, Mashable, @benparr

The next Spark Series will focus on Jeff Pulver's 140 Character Conference that will be taking place the next two days on October 27 and 28 in Los Angeles.

Follow the Filmmakers:

Marc Ostrick (OSTRICK) on Twitter

Michael Sean Wright (nicefishfilms) on Twitter

PBS to broadcast The Rape of Europa nationwide in US on Monday, Nov 24th

My friend Tami Stepanek sent me this announcement from Richard Berge of Actual Films. Tami and her husband Petr both had worked on the film which was released in 2006 and will air on PBS next Monday, November 24 at 9 pm. Check your local listings to confirm times in your area.

"The Rape of Europa tells the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich and World War II. In a journey through seven countries, the film takes the audience into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But heroic young art historians and curators from America and across Europe fought back with an extraordinary campaign to rescue and return the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures.

The Rape of Europa begins and ends with the story of artist Gustav Klimt’s famed Gold Portrait, stolen from Viennese Jews in 1938 and now the most expensive painting ever sold." - from Acyual Films: The Rape of Europa Web Site

From: ActualFilms
Trailer for the newly released feature documentary film about the fate of art in the Third Reich and World War II. The film, based on the landmark history by Lynn H. Nicholas, is now playing at film festivals. www.therapeofeuropa.com

Winner of
Audience Award Best Documentary Feature Boston Jewish Film Festival
Best of Fest Palm Springs International Film Festival
Audience Award Best Documentary Film Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
Executive Producer - Bonni Cohen
Producers - Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, and Nicole Newnham
Co-producer - Robert M. Edsel
Cinematographer - Jon Shenk
Editor - Josh Peterson
Narrator - Joan Allen
A Production of Actual Films in association with Agon Arts & Entertainment and Oregon Public Broadcasting
Based on The Rape of Europa by Lynn H Nicholas

Related:

• Actual Films - Films
• THERAPEOFEUROPA.COM
• YouTube - The Rape of Europa
• The Rape of Europa - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com