VideoBro / Ideas
What people put on a tape.
One tape per thing: a trip, a wedding, a season, a night. Pick yours below and see how it works.
Where are you starting from?
Pick the sentence closest to your situation and skip straight to the part that answers it.
How-toI already have a ton of clipsA plain decision guide for the pile already on your phone, whether or not a tape is the answer.
StartWe're about to start somethingJump to the occasions below and start a tape before it happens.
How-toI need everyone else's footageHow to actually get a group's clips into one place, on a tape or off it.
How-toI don't want to editWhat Develop does for you, and the small toolset it leaves out on purpose.
IdeaI want ideas for what to filmThe unglamorous footage that actually holds up later.
How-toI'm trying to make a home movieWhat to film, why letting other people film matters, and where most home movies stall.
Use VideoBro for
Every idea here is the same tape underneath. Tap ARM and film with the iPhone Camera app, then when it's done, anyone with an account taps Develop and it comes back as one film in the Tape Cabinet. Pick yours below.
OccasionTripsEveryone films instead of texting clips around after; the tape lines it all up in the order the week happened.
OccasionWeddingsGuests film with their own phones; the couple develops the film once everyone's headed home.
OccasionFamilyOrdinary days pile up on the same tape all season, whichever parent gets there first.
OccasionSports seasonsWhichever parent's at Saturday's game films it. Two hours of footage per tape, so start a second one if a season fills it.
OccasionParties & birthdaysHand out the filming to a few people at the party; the tape sorts the angles by when they happened.
OccasionGrandparentsFilm a visit or a story from your phone; anyone in the family can watch the finished film from a link.
OccasionBachelor & bacheloretteWhoever runs the weekend sets up the tape; the person it's for gets handed the film at the end.
Guides
How-tos for filming, collecting everyone's clips and sharing what you end up with. If you just want a short answer to a specific question, start with the questions page.
GuideCollect everyone's videos after a tripHow to get a whole group's clips into one place, and how to make one video out of them.
GuideCombine videos from multiple phonesThe real options compared, including the one that does it by default.
GuideMake a video without editing for hoursTurning the clips already on your phone into something you can hand to someone.
GuideShare videos privatelyGetting a video to the people who were there without posting it anywhere.
GuideMake a home movieWhat to film, why letting other people film matters, and where most home movies stall.
GuideWhat to filmThe unglamorous footage that actually holds up later, and how much of it is enough.
GuideGet friends to actually contributeEveryone says they'll send their clips and nobody does. When to ask, who to ask, and what to say.
GuideUsing a shared album for videoWhen a shared album is genuinely the better tool, and the point where it stops.
ChoosingCollaborative video apps, comparedFive different products get called that. What each is for, and when it's the wrong one.
GuideMake videos look like VHSWhat made tape look like tape, the three honest ways to get the look on an iPhone, and which one leaves your footage clean.
FeatureVHS modeOne switch plays any tape or finished film through a 4:3 analog picture, on the phone and in the browser, without touching the file.
IdeaFilm a year of your kidTwo or three repeatable anchors instead of a documentation project.
IdeaThings worth a tapeWhat's worth filming when there's no occasion to point at.
The reading shelf
The case for the tape itself, and a bit of history behind it, in longer form than a guide.
StoryWhy VideoBro existsWe film more than ever and watch almost none of it. This is the argument for the tape.
StoryThe family camcorderA history of the shoulder-mounted years, and what got lost when the phone took over.
StoryThe imperfect home movieThe case for keeping the footage that doesn't look intentional.
StoryThe screeningThe last step after the tape: getting the family to actually sit down.
The rules are the same for every one of these
Nothing above is a different product. It's the same tape, the same buttons, applied to whatever you're filming.
- 8 people per tape, including you, on every plan.
- 2 hours of footage per tape, on every plan.
- Several tapes, running at once.
- 2 GB free to start.
- Turning a tape into a film is included, not an upgrade.
- Anyone with the link can watch the finished film in a browser, no app, no account.
One more thing that's true everywhere: clips land in the order they were recorded, not the order they finish uploading.
One tape, three phonesrecorded time →
6:106:126:146:166:186:20
Phone A
6:12
Phone B
6:18
Phone C
6:14
on the tape
6:12 A6:14 C6:18 B
Dashed = uploaded last, from a phone that was offlineIt still lands between 6:12 and 6:18