US-based★The Ultimate Mashup: YouTube Rewind 2015

YouTube Rewind 2015, a compilation of popular creators and trending videos from the video-sharing site YouTube, has been released.

Japanese YouTubers like Hajime Shacho and Yuka Kinoshita also appear (Click the image above to watch the video on the official site).

According to Ad Age, production for "Rewind " —YouTube's annual year-in-review video that has become a tradition in recent years—begins with a spreadsheet measuring 10 columns by 400 rows. It is densely populated with videos representing that year's YouTube culture, their creators, the music used, internet memes, trends, and more.

The team at Portal A, the digital video production company that has produced Rewind since 2011, first spends over two weeks watching every single one of these videos. This includes memes whose original posts weren't on YouTube, like "The Dress" – the viral photo that sparked an internet debate over whether it was "blue and black" or "white and gold".

Next comes the puzzle-like task of weaving numerous creators and topics into a cohesive, entertaining video lasting just a few minutes. Here, spreadsheets come into play once more. After watching all the listed videos, the Portal A team categorizes them by scenario, costumes, sets, and other standout features. This helps determine which Rewind section will combine each video's elements.

Let's look at the 2015 "Rewind," a mashup of YouTube stars known as "YouTubers" and memes.

The opening pays homage to the video "Love Has No Labels," produced by the U.S. Ad Council for Valentine's Day. This campaign, promoting the message that "when skeletons fall in love, gender, age, race, and religion don't matter," featured outdoor X-ray screens. Behind them, same-sex couples and interracial couples kissed and hugged.

Rewind also uses this X-ray screen, featuring "skeleton images" of the performers throughout the video. Skeletons dancing to Jamaican singer-songwriter Omi's hit "Cheerleader" and YouTube-born pop icon Justin Bieber's "What Do You Mean?" burst from behind the screen, revealing themselves to be YouTube star Lily "Superwoman" Shin. After Lily jumps from a wall painted in LGBT Pride rainbow colors, she lands in a pool of colorful balls—a reference to Roman Atwood's prank video that flooded a house with them, ranking as YouTube's third most-viewed video last year (this video was created as a lead-in to Nissan's Super Bowl commercial).

Another segment symbolizes YouTube's growing popularity beyond English-speaking regions by featuring Latin American YouTubers. The scene of stars dancing atop a bus racing through the desert outside Mexico City references the music video for Major Lazer and DJ Snake's collaborative hit "Lean On."

There's also a segment titled "100 Years of Naenae," combining last year's viral YouTube format "100 Years of [Trend]" with the "Naenae" dance—the biggest hit in mainstream hip-hop since the "Harlem Shake." Here, ten dancers perform to rapper Silent's track "Watch Me," dressed in fashion trends from the 1920s, 50s, 60s, 80s, and present day.

Among the mainstream cultural references borrowed, there's a scene where rival YouTubers battle over whether the viral photo "The Dress" is "blue and black" or "white and gold" inside a giant birdcage-like set, reminiscent of Australian singer-songwriter Sia's hit music video "Elastic Heart."

This mashup of mainstream material and memes also aims to introduce YouTubers and memes known only to hardcore YouTube users to a mainstream audience.

Hasson of Portal A noted, "Some scenes center on powerful mainstream trends. References like 'Elastic Heart' or 'The Dress' are probably relatable to almost everyone." Kevin Allocca, head of YouTube's Trends and Culture division, stated, "If my parents watch it and understand what it's referencing, that's a win."

This year also marks YouTube's 10th anniversary, bringing together both veteran and new YouTubers. This segment featured a comedic collaboration between Jedson Leipley, creator of "The Evolution of Dance" (the most-viewed YouTube video of the past decade with over 100 million views), and the duo "Let and Link," who became YouTubers through their stand-up-style performances.

Source: Ad Age

http://adage.com/article/digital/youtube-portal-a-created-year-s-rewind-video/301665/