has debuted , which allows uploaders to add text right on top of their videos. The feature opens up some interesting possibilities for fan filmmakers, including the ability to create interactive flicks.
Currently in beta, the new feature lets you add comment boxes, speech bubbles and even links to other movies. Viewers can turn the annotations on or off while watching your movie; however, during the beta test, the annotations will only appear in videos played directly on YouTube, and won’t appear in embedded videos on other sites.
There’s plenty of ways to exploit this new technology; for instance, you could create a “pop-up video”-style movie commentary, since you can set times for annotations to appear and disappear on the screen.
The real innovation, however, is that this feature opens the door for interactive fan films. Since the annotations can include links to other movies, you can essentially build a movie out of segments that end in decisions that the viewer must make, just like the old “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. YouTube has an example of this with an ; play a round or two, and picture adapting that concept to a fan film—the result could be pretty cool.
What do you think? Is this a potential boon for fan filmmakers? Is it just another gimmick? Is it worth making an interactive fan film if it can only be seen on YouTube? Throw in your two cents in the comments section.
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