4 ms·

Y Combinator by the Numbers

93 points by jwang815 15y ago

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
nodesocket 15y ago
Well done. Love the kinetic typography effect. Guessing that you guys do promo/about videos?
brackin 15y ago
Great, another interesting way to put the post into perspective. Also cool for anyone wanting to explain what YC is to non startup folk.
phzbOx 15y ago
Is there a service to produce video like that? Where you'd choose your music, say the texts, and automatically that'll create a couple sample of it?
- genieyclo 15y ago
  I don't know but am also interested. I do know of services like GrumoMedia that make top-notch vids that lots of startups use to market and intro their product.
- garethsprice 15y ago
  http://animoto.com/ http://animoto.com/ does a reasonable job of automating simple video production. Looks a bit generic, but it's a hard problem to solve - things like voiceovers and tightly animated text like in the posted video seem simple but require a fair amount of time, equipment and skill to get right. Any video graphics people disagree? Anyone want to pitch the idea of an automated videographic generator to the next YC? :)
  - nodesocket 15y ago
    The first time I saw this style of video (kinetic typography) was Gnarls Barkley. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAV0XrbEwNc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAV0XrbEwNc This is also another good example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAuQmJzt_q0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAuQmJzt_q0
    - genieyclo 15y ago
      The first time I saw kinetic typography was Mos Def's one of Bush Knocked Down the Towers in 2006 I believe on Google Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bdr_2IAJWU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bdr_2IAJWU oddly timely.
  - programzeta 15y ago
    I think it's a ripe field for experimentation at this point, as it's a very entertaining way to present information. There is/was a series in Australia called Hungry Beast, which produced "Beast File" segments that used kinetic typography in the same manner as this video: Stuxnet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g0pi4J8auQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g0pi4J8auQ Google: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfV6RzE30 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfV6RzE30 Apple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj9JVXzoOYQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj9JVXzoOYQ There are more of these segments, but a lot of them have to do with Australian politics / corporations. I've watched them all because I adore the style but it might not be for everyone :) In addition, there have been several labours of love which really showcase what's possible when you make a full production out of such a work, such as this amazing piece of kinetic typography / video done to Jonathan Coulton's Shop-Vac: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4sOfO8Ei1g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4sOfO8Ei1g Any potential company would have their work cut out for them to allow user-generated content to even get close to the above segments, but as the current crop of tools are general professional-level tools (Adobe After-Affects / Premiere or related) there's definitely a specialized gap here.
    - eneveu 15y ago
      RSA also adapts a lot of their talks into animated videos, such as the well-known: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc (Dan Pink - Drive : The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us) The difference is that they use "real drawings" instead of computer animations / kinetic typography.
  - inkaudio 15y ago
    Well it's design, so it would be the equivalent of trying to write software to replace the need for a programmer or any worthy craft. If you want unique quality work you'll have to pay it, otherwise you'll have to settle for a generic template and build on that.
- GBond 15y ago
  It looks like this may have been made using http://prezi.com http://prezi.com . Zoom and panning seem similar.
pagekalisedown 15y ago
Not to be negative, but what I get from this is that their hit rate is going down while their cost is going up. Am I wrong?
- rmorrison 15y ago
  Yes, it takes time to build a successful company. A company doesn't exit for $200 million the year it is incorporated. Come back in 3 or 4 years, and I think you'll see the hit rate has gone up!
antimora 15y ago
After reading that article on Orange and Teal colors being using in movies, I started noticing the color palette, especially in this one.
- vrikhter 15y ago
  Which article was this?
  - antimora 15y ago
    This was originally posted on HN: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2960235 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2960235 Here is the article link: http://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-hollywood-please-stop.html http://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-ho...
nithinag 15y ago
Nice video!

93 points by jwang815 15y ago

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

nodesocket 15y ago

Well done. Love the kinetic typography effect. Guessing that you guys do promo/about videos?

brackin 15y ago

Great, another interesting way to put the post into perspective. Also cool for anyone wanting to explain what YC is to non startup folk.

phzbOx 15y ago

Is there a service to produce video like that? Where you'd choose your music, say the texts, and automatically that'll create a couple sample of it?

genieyclo 15y ago
I don't know but am also interested. I do know of services like GrumoMedia that make top-notch vids that lots of startups use to market and intro their product.
garethsprice 15y ago
http://animoto.com/ http://animoto.com/ does a reasonable job of automating simple video production. Looks a bit generic, but it's a hard problem to solve - things like voiceovers and tightly animated text like in the posted video seem simple but require a fair amount of time, equipment and skill to get right. Any video graphics people disagree? Anyone want to pitch the idea of an automated videographic generator to the next YC? :)
- nodesocket 15y ago
  The first time I saw this style of video (kinetic typography) was Gnarls Barkley. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAV0XrbEwNc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAV0XrbEwNc This is also another good example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAuQmJzt_q0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAuQmJzt_q0
  - genieyclo 15y ago
    The first time I saw kinetic typography was Mos Def's one of Bush Knocked Down the Towers in 2006 I believe on Google Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bdr_2IAJWU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bdr_2IAJWU oddly timely.
- programzeta 15y ago
  I think it's a ripe field for experimentation at this point, as it's a very entertaining way to present information. There is/was a series in Australia called Hungry Beast, which produced "Beast File" segments that used kinetic typography in the same manner as this video: Stuxnet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g0pi4J8auQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g0pi4J8auQ Google: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfV6RzE30 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7yfV6RzE30 Apple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj9JVXzoOYQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj9JVXzoOYQ There are more of these segments, but a lot of them have to do with Australian politics / corporations. I've watched them all because I adore the style but it might not be for everyone :) In addition, there have been several labours of love which really showcase what's possible when you make a full production out of such a work, such as this amazing piece of kinetic typography / video done to Jonathan Coulton's Shop-Vac: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4sOfO8Ei1g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4sOfO8Ei1g Any potential company would have their work cut out for them to allow user-generated content to even get close to the above segments, but as the current crop of tools are general professional-level tools (Adobe After-Affects / Premiere or related) there's definitely a specialized gap here.
  - eneveu 15y ago
    RSA also adapts a lot of their talks into animated videos, such as the well-known: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc (Dan Pink - Drive : The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us) The difference is that they use "real drawings" instead of computer animations / kinetic typography.
- inkaudio 15y ago
  Well it's design, so it would be the equivalent of trying to write software to replace the need for a programmer or any worthy craft. If you want unique quality work you'll have to pay it, otherwise you'll have to settle for a generic template and build on that.
GBond 15y ago
It looks like this may have been made using http://prezi.com http://prezi.com . Zoom and panning seem similar.

pagekalisedown 15y ago

Not to be negative, but what I get from this is that their hit rate is going down while their cost is going up. Am I wrong?

rmorrison 15y ago
Yes, it takes time to build a successful company. A company doesn't exit for $200 million the year it is incorporated. Come back in 3 or 4 years, and I think you'll see the hit rate has gone up!

antimora 15y ago

After reading that article on Orange and Teal colors being using in movies, I started noticing the color palette, especially in this one.

vrikhter 15y ago
Which article was this?
- antimora 15y ago
  This was originally posted on HN: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2960235 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2960235 Here is the article link: http://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-hollywood-please-stop.html http://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-ho...

nithinag 15y ago

Nice video!