FilmLoop

Introducing the BIG new way to view and share Loops

We've just made it easier than ever to view and share your Loops!  As of today, anyone can see your full-screen Loop images without downloading the FilmLoop Player.

 

One click to a Loop slideshow 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!

For example, click on this Loop:

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.

Flash Loops - Post to your Blog and Myspace

You can make an ultra-customizable Flash format Loop and post it to your Blog and to your Myspace pages. Loops make a fun, scrolling photo “ticker” for your blog.

Here are a couple examples. Click on the moving Loops on these blogs to see the slideshow.

·       Skeezix the Cat – Hilarious cat wearing costumes

·       Naturally Connected – Beautiful Costa Rican butterflies

Check out the list in the left column of this blog too.

To post your Loop in Flash format:

1. Make a Loop in FilmLoop (click here to see how)
2. Right-click your Loop
3. Choose Post Loop on Web or Blogs...
4. Select the site where you want to post your Loop -- that's the host destination
5. Choose a Loop link style -- Flash format is the new format 
6. Choose a Loop height, width, and speed
7. Copy the code beneath the loop. (Right-click Copy on Windows, or keyboard equivalent for Copy on the Macintosh.)

Now you have all the code you need on the Clipboard to post a cool loop onto your blog or web site.

Here's the web blog link dialog box:

   

Your Blog and Myspace Loops update automatically
Whenever you add photos to your Loop, your blog and Myspace Loop updates automatically. Also, anyone who has opened your Loop on their desktop in FilmLoop will get your new photos automatically too.

Flash Loops are available for Macintosh and Windows. You can set the size of your Loop (from 10 to 550 pixels high). You can set the width (up to 2000 pixels wide). We think 144 pixels high looks good ... images will look perfect ... but you're in charge.  You can also set the speed. A speed of 1 or 2 is good. (You can go up to 100, but that will make you dizzy.)

Special eBay "Gallery Loops"
You can now also post "Gallery Loops" of your eBay listings right on your web site or blogs. Read more about this.

Here's a Flash Loop. Click on it to see the Loop slideshow, then click "subscribe to this Loop" in the upper right corner to open the Loop in FilmLoop.  You'll always have a link to the latest cool videos on YouTube.

Where can I post these Flash Loops?
Anywhere that accepts Flash.  You can also use Javascript, or just a plain link if you prefer.

Questions or comments? Please go to our forum. Thanks!

From the Archives: NASCAR Day Fan Photo Contest

While we're on the topic of the NASCAR, we thought it would be cool to spotlight an "oldie-but-goodie".  As part of NASCAR Day 2006, the team at NASCAR.COM used FilmLoop to run a Fan Photo Contest. 

Here's a Loop with some of the fantastic photo entries:

It was a hugely successful and very fun way for fans to show their support for the NASCAR Foundation’s charitable efforts.  Fans expressed their enthusiasm by submitting photos of themselves via FilmLoop’s platform for online photo contests, in exchange for the opportunity to win an autographed driver helmet.  Hundreds of entries poured in every hour and in the end, a few lucky winners were chosen by the NASCAR Foundation.

For those interested in the technical "nuts-and-bolts" behind the promotion, NASCAR.COM used FilmLoop's innovative photo contest platform.  The FilmLoop photo contest platform included all the online tools needed to run a user-generated photo contest -- including photo uploading, photo screening, Loop creation, and Loop scheduling modules.

Feel free to poke around the contest Web site to see how it worked.

NASCAR.COM Photocasts Galore

NASCAR.COM and FilmLoop have created some amazing Loops for racing fans.  The NASCAR.COM Daily Photocast sets the pace with 15 stunning new photos every day.  NASCAR fans can also enjoy Loops of some of their favorite drivers, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and more.

Click on the NASCAR.COM Daily Photocast Loop to view all the Loops available from NASCAR.COM:

Click on the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Loop below to see the driver's Web page on NASCAR.COM:

Here are a few other NASCAR.COM Driver Photocasts, all of which update daily: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth.  We're also working on a bunch of cool new NASCAR Loops to coincide with the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, so  stay tuned!

FilmLoop at BlogHer

We're loving BlogHer (www.blogher.org) a conference for women bloggers.  We're showing FilmLoop, and giving away copies of a wonderful book by Robin P Williams "Sweet Swan of Avon: did a woman write Shakespeare?". 

Click on the Loop below to get the photocast of the event's photos:

Blogs we love

Every day we see new blogs that we love.  We particularly love them because they are using FilmLoop.  Where we can, we list good ones in the Loop list down the left side of this Blog.  But here are a few that we really love that we want to call out. 

• Mary Sidney Society -- by Robin P Williams
• Skeezix the Cat – Hilarious cat wearing costumes
• Naturally Connected – Beautiful Costa Rican butterflies
• 42nd St. Moon Blog – A fun blog by BlogHer’s very own Elisa Camahort
• Beginning with I - beautiful pics of Italy
• A look at art and design - you don't only have to have photos in a Loop
• Artsymedia
• Czech mission FilmLoop!
• Photofloue Le Blog
• Bailey and Fischer's First Camping Trip - great story telling!
• A Stitch in Time - using FilmLoop to show a tutorial, fun stuff
• Readable Feast - more fun with ground meat. Really!

Click here to see how to post your Loops on your blog.

New! Elephant Wire Service

Elephant Wire is a brand new photocasting service for creative professionals. A "tickertape" wire of images designed to assist professional photographers seeking assignment work. Elephant Wire is offering feeds of new images. 

Here's how it works:

1. First, download FilmLoop from http://www.filmloop.com. This small download takes just a couple of minutes and is easy to do. 

• On the FilmLoop web site, choose either the Windows or Macintosh download button.
• If you save the file to your disk, double click on the file and follow the steps to install.

2. Answer a few questions on the registration dialog

3. FilmLoop will start. You'll first see a "Welcome Loop" for FilmLoop.  If you want, you hide this Loop for now. Point your mouse over one of the images, pull down the "Actions" menu, and choose Hide Loop:

 

4. Now go to http://www.elephantwire.net/wires/. Click on any of the moving Loops that appear on that page. You're now subscribed to that feed of images.

FilmLoop will open the Elephant Wire Loop on your desktop:

Sit back and enjoy. Images will come directly to you. So long as you've subscribed to an Elephant Wire Loop, you will be automatically updated with images from that photographer.

To see images in more detail, click the image to go into the "Zoom View." To learn more about a particular image, click on the link "Click here to learn more..." in the zoom view.

 

In Zoom View you can use your right and left arrow keys to step through the images in detail.

Run your Elephant Wire as your screensaver!

See these beautiful images as your screensaver. Choose Screen Saver... from the Options menu:

Then select the Elephant Wire Loop from the screen saver pull down menu.

New! Gallery Looplets 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 Looplets.  Gallery Looplets show all the latest additions to an eBay seller's listings, posting in a cool moving Looplet 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 Looplet courtesy of "Texas State of Mind":

To make a Gallery Looplet 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 Looplet" 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.