FilmLoop

Halloween Winner

We chose a winner for our Halloween Loop contest! We just loved these zombies, and the commentary in the captions.  We're treating all these Zombies to a fun party!

All new FilmLoop.com -- show us your Photo Story Loops

We're really excited here at FilmLoop about our all new site: http://www.filmloop.com. Over the past year, hundreds of thousands of users have shared their Loops with us. Now we can show them off properly. Take a tour around.

How to submit Loops to FilmLoop.com

Once you've made your Loop, simply turn ON the "Public" flag: 

FilmLoop 2.0 users for Windows: In the Studio View, choose "View/Set Options" from the Share menu. Shows the Loop Options and Members Dialog. Check on the "Public" box.

FilmLoop Macintosh users: Ctrl-click on your Loop and Choose "Loop Options and Members". Check on the "Public" box.

Watch a VERY quick "how to" video

Go to this page for more info: http://www.filmloop.com/submit

Thanks! We're looking forward to hearing from you (and seeing your photo stories). Enter our Loop rewards program -- we're serious about giving rewards for the best Loops.

Show us your Halloween Story Loop and Win a Party!

We're looking for photo stories that ooze Halloween. The best story will win $500 if gift certificates to throw a party. Why a party? So you can get everyone in the story!

What's a Photo Story?
Just like it sounds, a photo story is a group of photos with text and any other creative elements that tells a story. We call them Loops. Use captions or put the text right on the pics. We make this easy with the free FilmLoop Studio software. Do anything you want, just no nudity, offensive stuff, etc.

To get started
Visit http://www.filmloop.com/halloween

See Contest Rules

Searching Loops

Since we launched in November of 2005, there have been literally millions of Loops made.  Some of those Loops have been marked as "public", which means their owners said it was OK to list them on our public network.  We've also made a fair few Loops ourselves.

Now you can search through these Loops. Go to www.filmloop.com and click on "Search" in the top menu bar.  You'll find some seriously fun gems in there. Have fun!

Announcing FilmLoop 2.0 (beta)!!

FilmLoop 2.0 is a major upgrade to the incredibly popular and addictive FilmLoop 1.0.  We've watched over a million users have fun with FilmLoop -- building portfolio Loops, party Loops, vacation Loops, cartoon Loops.  The variety has been amazing.

With FilmLoop 2.0, we're adding features these users have been asking for to take their Loop creativity and Loop posting to the next level.

FilmLoop 2.0 is completely free and is available now.

See an overview demo of FilmLoop 2.0.

How do I upgrade?

If you already have FilmLoop, the easiest thing to do is to go to www.filmloop.com, download the latest product, and run it. You'll be prompted to overwrite your existing copy of FilmLoop. Your Loops will be safe.

These are the major new features:

• Enhance Loops with text and graphics; speech bubbles, text, clip art "tattoos", borders, photo collages, title frames, and transparency. See examples on this site.  See this Loop for a show and tell.
• New styles and options for posting on the web, blogs, MySpace; (Watch the demo for "how to post." ) Plus, there's one-click, full screen Loop viewing when anyone clicks on a Loop posted on a site. No download, no login required. Visit the "Post on Web" area in the product to see the options.
• Improved email sharing; enables one-click, full screen Loop viewing from any browser. No download, no login, no attachments. (Watch the demo for "how to share.")
• Sequence and reorganize photos in the new "Thumbnails" view; the single most requested feature. Now you can reorganize your photos by dragging and dropping in the thumbnails view. (Watch the demo about the new thumbnails view)
• Customized "click" actions on Loop frames;  when you make a Loop, each frame can go to a URL, open another Loop, or do a variety of other actions.  Now you can make the "click text" be anything you want. See the Beyonce Loop for a good example. In this Loop, there are a variety of suggestions for clicking to videos etc.
• Complete control over save and print permissions; particularly important for our users who are working with copyrighted material and images they don’t want to share beyond a screen show.
• Other power user features; FilmLoop lets you work with a “draft” version of a Loop locally so you can really get it the way you want it. Then, when you’re done, you can publish and the world will see your changes instantly if they’re subscribed to your Loop or watching your Loop on a blog or web site.
• Searching Loops: go to www.filmloop.com/view/ and search through the huge library of Loops.

Reorganize, edit, enhance in the new FilmLoop Studio.

Enhance images with tattoos, emo-tats, frames, shapes -- all sorts of fun stuff

The BIG New Way to View and Share Pics

You can share your pics in a Loop, and with one click anyone can see them. In full size. No login. No download. No URL. No fuss. Just one click to share a big show of your pics.

First, make a Loop:

1. Make a Loop using FilmLoop. (You'll need to download FilmLoop first to do this. Go to http://www.filmloop.com and click the Download button. Click here to see how to create a Loop.)  Put all the photos you want to share in the Loop. Add captions, etc. to tell the story.

Next, share the Loop:

1. From the Share menu in FilmLoop,choose "Email" to share the Loop. A Loop ticket will be automatically entered into your email for you. All you have to do is address the email, add a message, and send it.

Your friends see the show:

Anyone who clicks on the link in your email instantly sees a Loop show in a full screen browser window. No login. No download. No attachments. They just see your photos.

You can also post your Loop on your web or blog, and when someone clicks on the post, they see your Loop show.

To post a Loop on a web site or blog:

1. Make a Loop with FilmLoop. You'll need to download FilmLoop first to do this. Go to http://www.filmloop.com and click the Download button. Click here to see how to create a Loop.)

2. Follow the instructions on this blog to post your Loop.

3. When anyone clicks on your posted Loop, they see your full screen show.  Try it out on any of the Loops posted on this blog post.

 

One click to see full size images from any Loop posted on a web site:

1. Simply click on any Loop that's posted on any MySpace site, blog, or web site.  You'll instantly see a full screen Loop slideshow in your Web browser.  It's that easy!

Try it out: click on the "see it big" link below this Loop:

(Have fun; click on the "+" symbol on the right of the see it big show, and set the speed to the fastest. It's kinda fun.)

One click to share your Loop photos with anyone via email:

1. Use FilmLoop to create a new Loop. Or, display an existing Loop in FilmLoop.

2. Right-click on the Loop and choose Share and choose an email share method.

3. When someone receives your email, they'll get a link to your Loop. When they click on the link, they'll see your Loop slideshow. It's really one-click photosharing!

If they want to collaborate on your Loop, they'll need to open it in FilmLoop by clicking on the "subscribe" button on the slideshow. Once they open in FilmLoop, they can comment, add photos, and display photos as a screensaver. Or make their own Loop slideshow!

One click to copy a link to your Loop slideshow

1. Use FilmLoop to create a new Loop. Or, display an existing Loop in FilmLoop.

2. Right-click on the Loop and choose Copy Shortcut/Loop URL.

3. Paste the URL into your browser to watch the show.  Or, share the URL with anyone via email or IM.

FAQs about the new Loop Slideshow

Can my friends and family still view my Loop using FilmLoop instead of the Loop slideshow?
Yes, viewers can still choose to view your Loop using the FilmLoop player.  By using FilmLoop to view your Loop, your Loop "subscribers" will receive desktop notifications whenever you add new photos to the Loop.  Subscribers can also make comments on your photos, use your Loop as a screensaver, and collaborate on your Loop by adding photos themselves.

How can I change the photos that appear in my Loop slideshow?
It's easy.  Just update the Loop using FilmLoop and your changes will be reflected automatically in your slideshow.

Can the people I share with change the photos in my Loop slideshow?
Only if you want them to.  First, they'll need to open the Loop slideshow in FilmLoop by clicking on the "subscribe" link in the upper right corner. If they don't have FilmLoop, they'll automatically be prompted to download. Once they do, they can add photos and comments (if you turn that option on) and run your Loop as their screen saver.  If you have chosen to not allow changes to your Loop, then they won't be able to make changes, however.  (To change the Loop permissions, right-click the Loop and choose Loop Options and Members.)

How many photos are in the Loop slideshow?
As many as are in your Loop.  You can have up to 200 photos in a Loop, and so you can have up to 200 photos in your Loop slideshow.

Can anyone see my Loop now?  Are my Loops still private?
Your Loops remain private unless you choose to share them with others.  If your Loop contains photos you don't want others to see, we recommend that you do not share the Loop or that you only share it with people you trust.

A fresh new look at FilmLoop.com

FilmLoop.com has a colorful new look!  Based on user feedback and suggestions, we've created a fun new way for you to enjoy FilmLoop.  Click on the screenshot below to check it out!

Easy Instructions
Because you can do so many different things using FilmLoop, we've created a few "how-to" pages to help you make the most of your FilmLoop experience.  These simple, step-by-step instructions guide you through some of the cool ways you can use FilmLoop.  For example, you can click on the graphic below to view our primer on using FilmLoop as a useful shopping tool for eBay:

Here's another example of step-by-step instruction sheet for using FilmLoop on MySpace:

 

More Cool Stuff in the Works...
We're working on lots of exciting new ways to create, view, and share photos using FilmLoop.  We can't wait to share the next fun thing in the near future, so stay tuned!

As always, we love your rants and raves, so keep it coming.  Feel free to drop us a line anytime on our forum.

New! Gallery Loops for eBay Listings

For some time now, we've offered FilmLoop for eBay buyers -- you can search for anything you want to watch on eBay and get a notification when an item that matches your interest comes up for auction. Go to http://ebay.filmloop.com to see all about this.

Now we have something for eBay sellers: Gallery Loops. Gallery Loops show all the latest additions to an eBay seller's listings, posting in a cool moving Loop on ANY web site or blog. These can be posted on eBay, blogs, web sites -- whereever you want to show more merchandise.  To learn how, go to our eBayLive area of FilmLoop.com. http://ebaylive.filmloop.com.

Comments or questions: please visit our forum. http://www.filmloopbeta.com.

Here's a Gallery Loop courtesy of "Texas State of Mind":

To make a Gallery Loop of your store items:

1. Go to http://ebay.filmloop.com.

2. Enter your seller name. Click on "Search". A Loop of your items is automatically generated.

   

3. Click on "Open" to open your Loop in FilmLoop. (Here you'll be asked to download the FilmLoop Player if you don't already have it.)

4. Choose "Post Web and Blogs" from the Actions menu for the Loop. (You can see this menu by right-clicking with the mouse on the Loop, or by choosing the Actions pull down when you rollover the Loop.)

   

5. Select "eBay.com" from the Site/Host Destination and "Flash Gallery Looplet" from the Loop Link Style menu.

6. Click "Customize Gallery" to get to the customizing choices. Edit the captions, size, colors, etc. and click on Preview to see how it'll look.

7. When you're done, click on the code at the bottom of the dialog box and copy to the Clipboard. You can do this by right-clicking with the mouse and choosing Copy (Windows), or using the keyboard equivalent for Copy on the Macintosh.

You now have all the code you need to add an auto-updating Gallery Loop on your eBay.com pages, your blog or your web site. You just need to know how to get into "HTML editing mode" wherever you want to post your Gallery Looplet.

See this post for suggestions on how to post to eBay.

Release of Windows client v1.1

Great news! We're out of beta on Windows!

How to Upgrade
You'll get the Player upgrade notice automatically. To ensure the upgrade happens, quit FilmLoop by choosing Exit from the Options menu.  Also, right-click on the FilmLoop icon in the system tray in the bottom right corner of your Windows desktop, and choose Exit. Launch FilmLoop again. Click “Yes” when asked if you want to auto-update.

If for any reason you have difficulty, simply go to http://www.filmloop.com and click on download. You'll be prompted to overwrite the existing version.  That will work just as well as an auto-update, and you won't lose your Loops.

What's New

Overall, smaller, faster, better We think you'll see many customer friendly improvements. Better screen display, much faster loading of Loops, quicker downloading of images in the background -- plus of course lots of bug fixing! That's why we have removed the "beta" from this release. (We'll never say bug free. No software is. But this release is soooo much better!)
Improved Notifications This feature has been upgraded in response to user requests.  You can now filter notifications to show messages on the type of events that interest you (comments, new photos, new members etc.) You can also choose how often notifications pop up.  The notifications themselves now appear in a discrete "pop up toaster" style notifications window. Improved screen saver Users fell into two camps -- those who loved the black and white screen saver, and those who wanted color too! So now you can choose -- black and white or color. Plus you can select a single, favorite Loop that plays in the screen saver. New rollover help on frames Our user testing showed that some users didn't know you could "zoom" by clicking on an image. We hope that our rollover design will encourage you to take a look at the higher res pictures.  Particularly in our professional Loops, these images are just too good to miss! Forward/back with mouse wheel When you're displaying a FilmLoop Loop, use the mouse wheel to navigate through the Loop. You can also still use arrow keys, or the control panel in the FilmLoop Player. Lighter registration dialog It's still there, but there's just less of it. We never, ever make this info public. (See our privacy policy for details.)	Improved Notifications
	Improved Screensaver Options
	Improved Rollover Hints

New Feature: Flickr RSS Feeds in FilmLoop

Now you can make a Loop out of your Flickr(tm) photo album.  You've heard of RSS right? (duh!). Now you can read a Flickr RSS feed into a FilmLoop Loop. Your Loop will stay automatically updated with new photos from Flickr.  This is a wonderful way to stay up to date on the latest Flickr photos from your fave group. We love Flickr. We love watching Flickr in a FilmLoop even more!

How does it work?

1. So, on practically every Flickr album page you can see a link to "RSS2.0" in the footer. Click on that link.
2. Copy the URL to your Clipboard.
3. Go to the FilmLoop Network -- http://network.filmloop.com -- click on the RSS tab.
4. Choose New Flickr Feed from the RSS menu at the top of the Network page.
5. Paste the URL of your Flickr feed into the text field.
6. Click Preview. You'll see a preview of your Loop.
7. Click Open. Now the Loop will open in FilmLoop. Keep it running, and it'll update automatically with new photos.

Tip: click on the first title frame of the RSS Loop to return to the source of the Flickr feed.

Note: you'll need v1.0.7 or later of the Windows FilmLoop Player to use this feature. (0.85 or later for Macintosh)  The player will prompt you whenever a new version is available.

For more information, visit the FilmLoop.com site.