Skype is always excited about appearing in films. And this week, we're in stardom, not once, but twice!
"Think Like A Man" opened in theatres on April 20, and made its way to #1 spot at the box office with $33m! The comedic film depicts several relationships in various stages, all using the same romantic advice book to find true love. Check out how Gabrielle Union convinces Taraji Henson to give Michael Ealy another chance at love via a Skype video call towards the end of the film. You can't miss it!
"The Five-Year Engagement" hits theatres on April 27, and we're excited to see Skype in the spotlight again. Don't miss the cute group video call between Emily Blunt and both sets of grandparents in England as they pressure her to put a rush on her wedding day. Grab a friend or a significant other and head over to watch this romantic comedy.
Last September, we told you about the small team at Skype dedicated to working with the news and film industry to help them utilize Skype video calling in their programs. From morning shows such as The TODAY Show and news casts on major affiliates such as FOX News, to television shows such as Law and Order SVU, Skype is now playing a major role in the broadcast industry. This month, we wanted to share some fun Skype video calls that we have seen on TV these past few months. Take a look at some of the clips below and tell us which one is your favorite.
Ellen DeGeneres has a surprise Skype video call with a double lung transplant patient in Canada.
BBC World News interviews musician Shakira via Skype.
Live! with Kelly's host Kelly Ripa has a Skype video call with a lucky couple who won a Hawaiian wedding.
Mario Armstrong tells The TODAY Show viewers how moms can stay in touch with Skype video call.
Here at Skype, we love music. We also love exploring everything group video calling can do.
So when we recently had the idea to merge music and group video, we couldn't help ourselves. Without pause we got a hold of our rockstar friends, Scarlett Grey, and asked if they'd like to put on gigs in three different cities. A routine request, they probably thought.
Then came the twist...
The gigs would all happen at precisely the same time via Skype group video calling. Yes, one band, one performance in three very different cities.
Could it be done?
Well, we see that as a definite 'yes'.
So how can you get the most out of Skype group video calling?
Here are a few things to try:
• Grab a bunch of friends who love to mix it up in the kitchen and enjoy a group cook along.
• Bring your gym buddies together for an impromptu home work out. Don't forget to shout out something upbeat to keep everyone motivated!
• Have a group of friends who love to read? Put up a pot of tea and meet from everyone's living room.
• Gather old college mates for a drink and chat about old times. Be prepared for some serious laughs.
The possibilities are pretty much endless. Who would you bring together with Skype and group video calling?
Many people around the world see January as a good time to save a few dollars after the excesses of the holidays. But that doesn't mean January is boring - in fact, in January 2012, there will be loads of fun events and activities happening around the world.
If you've got friends who live overseas, you could witness a range of global festivities using free Skype video calls. Just read on to find out what's happening across the world in January 2012.
Video call Hong Kong... to see Chinese New Year Festivities
In 2012, the Chinese New Year begins on January 23rd with celebratory events spanning over several days. Although festivities are held all over the world, one of the most exciting celebrations happens in Hong Kong. Major highlights include the New Year fireworks display at Victoria Harbor, the Chinese New Year night parade and the New Year flower market. Together, all these celebrations make for colorful visuals.If you've got friends in Hong Kong, they'll be able to show it all to you in a video call if they have, so you don't have to miss out on all the fun!
Video call Scotland... for some haggis and a wee dram
Just weeks after its famous Hogmanay celebrations at New Year, Scots celebrate Burns Night on January 25th 2012. Burns Night toasts the life and works of national poet Robert Burns and is traditionally marked by a Burns supper. This features haggis (a meaty dish made from offal, oatmeal, suet and spices), neeps (turnips), tatties (potatoes) and - naturally - a few drams of whisky. If you're a Scot living abroad missing Burns Night or you have Scotish ancestors, ask friends and family to video call you during their Burns supper so you can enjoy the tradition together.
Video call Sydney, Australia... for a virtual Australia Day party
Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the world's most iconic landmarks, but the landmark really shines on Australia Day The major events in Sydney on Australia Day, celebrated every January 26th, include ferry races and tall ship displays by the harbour. The bridge is also the site of aircraft flyovers and impressive fireworks shows. People come to Sydney from all over Australia and the rest of the world to enjoy the celebrations. If you know someone who'll be there with Skype for iPad, get them to call you on the big screen, so you won't miss a thing.
Video call London... to catch a glimpse of the International Boat Show
Although London is a cold place to be in January, the London International Boat Show can warm you up whether you love boats or not! Between January 6th and 15th 2012, hundreds of boats will be displayed alongside the ExCel Centre at Victoria Dock. But it's not just about boats - in the water sports action pool, visitors can try their hand at various activities like windsurfing, kayaking and wakeboarding. The event even features professional talks and cooking demonstrations!.If you can't make it to London to be there in person and aren't able to have a video call in real time, why not ask your friends to take photographs? Once they snap pictures of this exciting spectacle, log onto Skype and share them with Skype instant messaging instant messaging Prince William and Catherine are keen rowers and sports fans, so who knows - you might even catch a glimpse of them in the background!
What global events will you be sharing via video call this January? Leave a comment below and let us know ...
With their 2011 release of the new 'Welcome 2 My Nightmare' album, we can all agree that Alice Cooper will always be known for his macabre style, but this year the band has turned into something a lot more jollily!
Say it with Skype and Alice Cooper have teamed-up to bring you a different kind of Holiday greeting.
This year you'll be able to delight your friends and family with a unique holiday video greeting card featuring Alice Cooper's interpretation of 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas.'
"I'll be spending Christmas day in Maui this year. I'll be using Skype that morning to confirm my flight's arrival with Shep, my manager," said Alice.
You excited? We are too!
Head over to the Say it with Skype and create your own holiday greeting!
Don't forget to visit the band's website alicecooper.com and listen out for their lyrical masterpieces in their latest album 'Welcome 2 My Nightmare,' which you can purchase here.
Upcoming tour dates:
December 12, 2011 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theater
December 13, 2011 Atlanta, GA Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
December 14, 2011 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
December 15, 2011 Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Arena
This past Saturday, Skype was a proud sponsor of Variety Magazine's Power of Comedy event, honoring comedian and actress Amy Poehler. With an impressive list of shows and films such as Saturday Night Live, Mean Girls and Parks and Recreation, this event celebrated Poehler's tremendous work with special performances and celebrity appearances. Hollywood stars such as Will Arnett, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Sarah Silverman, and Upright Citizens Brigade, as well as host Andy Richter, were all in attendance.
Using humor as its cornerstone, Power of Comedy's star-studded event benefitted the Noreen Fraser Foundation (NFF), an organization focused on funding women's cancer research and raising awareness of the importance of early detection of women's cancer. As a useful healing power, humor often helps to break the ice on important and sometimes uncomfortable, subjects. Demonstrating the healing power of laughter, a highlight of the event was the comical relief attendees felt through the Skype video calls with both Russell Brand and Zach Galifianikis. Skype is proud to be a sponsor of such an event, honoring the power of laughter. It was also a pleasure to see video calling play a role among the other special moments of the evening.
You know that game where you think-up which celebrities you'd love to have round your dinner table? Well, if you're having them over for dinner, why not use Skype too? Read on and find out more about stars we'd love to video call.
Just like millions of regular people, celebrities use Skype to stay in touch with their friends and families using video calls and cheap international calls.
And there are certainly a few famous faces we'd like to swap words with, including ...
Kate Middleton
We know Prince Charles uses Skype - as he gave video calling his royal seal of approval not too long ago. But we'd really love to chat with the newest member of the royal family - Kate Middleton (sorry - Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge). Not to mention Pippa, Prince Wills and Harry too.
Lady Gaga
She's not scared of being different, so we're sure Lady Gaga would definitely have something interesting to say. And we'd love to video call her just to see what outfit she'd wear.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé said she uses Skype to keep in touch with her husband Jay-Z and her family while she's away on tour. We'd love to video call her and hear her sing live, just for us.
Simon Cowell
He's the man with real star power. So we'd really love to know if Simon thinks Skype has the X-factor.
JK Rowling
She's a best-selling author, and her books are just magical. So it's no surprise that we'd like to chat with JK Rowling - even if it's just to find out more about 'Pottermore.' After all she might even be tempted to screen-share a copy of her latest manuscript.
Victoria Beckham
A successful songstress, mother and fashion designer - we think we'd have lots to learn from Victoria Beckham. And we'd love to have a peek at baby Harper Seven over a video call.
Mark Zuckerberg
The brains behind Facebook and the inspiration behind the film 'The Social Network,' we're sure lots of people would want to friend-request and video call Mark Zuckerberg
Barack Obama
Anyone would feel privileged to have a direct line to the Oval office, so we would definitely like to video call the president, and see him do more Skype calls with his constituents.
Which celebrity would you love to chat with on Skype?
You may be having fun over Skype calls, but are you getting the most smiles out of Skype? From fast-fingered Skype short-cuts to quirky interactive artwork, read on and find out how to have even more fun with Skype.
Staying in touch is sure to put a smile on your face, but lightning-quick shortcuts, funny emoticons and other cool Skype features can help make video calls even better.
Check our five fun features below and make sure you have even more fun with Skype.
1. Get emotional
Don't just settle for black and white. Liven up those instant messages using emoticons. From silly faces to sloppy kisses and ninja-moves, there's an icon to get you talking (and laughing).
2. Use some Skype shortcuts
Use Skype spaghetti-western style with some fast-fingered shortcuts. If you're using Skype for Mac and need to switch conversations, just swipe your trackpad with three fingers. If you need to mark an instant message as unread just press CMD + SHIFT + U. And if you're looking to mute just press CMD + SHIFT + M.
3. Find your cool
Lots of people are using Skype to stay in touch. But a cool few are using Skype to play and get innovative. From online book-club meets to iPad art showcases - a lot of cool stuff's going-on on Skype. Check our Skype Play blog for more innovative inspiration.
4. Get more social
Share even more and spread a joke or giggle with your social circle by updating your Facebook account using Skype.
5. Dress to Impress
Dress up for your next Skype call. Put on a silly hat, paint your face or preen yourself to perfection. You'll be ready for your Skype close-up.
Television and film have changed over the years, especially the use of technology within production. As gadgets and core technology evolves, the media industry evolves with them. Throughout the day, you may tune in to your local news station to get the latest headlines and notice Skype video calling has enabled the experts to talk about the stock market, the latest exhibit downtown, chat with eyewitnesses to breaking news stories and more. Skype video calling allows news programs to incorporate live face-to-face video calls into their regular programming, for free! Not only do you see Skype on the news, but also on popular TV shows and movies such as Every Day with Rachael Ray, 30 Rock, Hot in Cleveland, The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, the Early Show, XFactor, ESPN, Going the Distance and more.
What viewers may not know is that there is a small team (not to mention smart, funny and attractive) at Skype dedicated to making all of these uses of Skype in television shows and films possible. The team helps producers around the globe use Skype for live on-air feeds from remote locations, connect with experts in the field and interview viewers from afar. Take for example, in August during Hurricane Irene, the Weather Channel utilized Skype to cover the hurricane live from the core of the storm.
In addition to the team's ongoing work with news networks, fun examples of what they have worked on in some of your favorite television shows include:
Jimmy Kimmel Live!'s Skype Scavenger Hunt - Two lucky viewers of Jimmy Kimmel Live! competed to find various funny items around their home and win cash through a Skype Group Video Call.
Every Day with Rachael Ray - In order to showcase cooking around the globe, Rachael Ray has used Skype to show the World's Greatest Cooking demo with several video calls with friends, guests and chefs.
Tosh.0 - The popular Comedy Central show uses Skype video call to interview comical guests.
Hot in Cleveland - The cast of Hot in Cleveland has used Skype on the iPad to showcase video calling on the go.
Hangover 2 - The hilarious film commented "I wish monkeys could Skype" creating post-movie buzz for Skype.
What show or movie have you seen Skype in? Leave a comment and let us know!
When we launched Skype 5.5 for Windows a couple weeks ago, we unveiled new emoticons plus some freshly animated versions of our old favorites. We were excited to see people trying out the new emoticons and discovering the hidden ones.
In today's busy, always-on world, we think emoticons have a way of keeping it human - a smile here, a wink there, a bear hug here, a dance there. My personal favorite lately is the occasional , not because I particularly like to head bang, but because it's the perfect expression to describe some of my more recent life moments. It's hard to imagine life without emoticons.
A little known fact is that some of the emoticons reflect iconic moments within Skype history, like the famous employee pool party a few years ago. They also represent a cast of past and present people at Skype, including: , , , and .
Emoticons have been a part of our employee culture and history. In fact, the latest emoticons were extra exciting for us because they were selected from submissions by employees, and voted on across the company. Our emoticon winners get to revel in the fact that their ideas have turned into little pieces of Skype history.
The short version here: We love emoticons and it's part of our culture here at Skype.
To celebrate this fact, and because we want to publicly recognize the employees of the recent emoticons, here they are:
1. Sergei Sergejev, QA, Tallinn | (facepalm)
2. Graeme Pearcey, Customer Service, Singapore | (wfh)
3. Kim Milosevich, PR, London | (fingerscrossed)
4. Alice Hume, Consumer, London | (tumbleweed)
5. Simon Wilson, Partner Management, London | (lalala)
6. Kim Milosevich, PR, London | (waiting)
7. Paul Vachier, Web Development, Tallinn | (highfive)
8. Vallo Valkiainen, Anti-Fraud, Tallinn | (wtf) HIDDEN - Now revealed
Don't worry Mac users - these new emoticons will be available to you soon.
We know some of you are just brimming with your own ideas and want to jump on the emoticon 'bandwagon' - we'll be asking for your ideas too. So stay tuned, and get in touch with your inner emoticons.
It was another big week of actors and singers talking about or using Skype on daytime and late night television. We loved when "Mad Men" actor Jon Hamm and host Conan O'Brien joked about using Skype with President Obama this week on Conan O'Brien Show! While Grammy winning R&B singer Faith Evans used video call to talk to MTV hosts from her recording study in California, singer Ricky Martin made an appearance on Univision, the Spanish-language TV station, via Skype video call.
Outside of the celebrity realm, we saw everyday viewers call into popular daytime talk shows via video call. One lucky "Every Day with Rachael Ray" fan, Sherry, was able to ask questions of experts from the comfort of her own kitchen. With Skype video calling, Sherry asked well-known chef Sara Moulton for cooking tips. We especially love that fans of TV shows get the opportunity to talk to their favorite hosts and other celebrities face-to-face with Skype video calling.
Have you seen Skype used on TV recently? Leave a comment and let us know!
Newspapers, magazines, and television stations have been abuzz this past month about the impending nuptials between Prince William and Kate Middleton. With the wedding just a day away, we've noticed how many news stations are as excited as our team at Skype and are bringing royal commentators into their news segments via Skype to discuss everything from the royal wedding guest list, to the invitations and the pre-wedding celebrations. For example, on CBC News Now in Canada, Royal Commentator Ciara Hunt recently discussed the latest details on Kate's wedding dress and the wedding attendee list.
This Friday, we anticipate that news broadcasters will use Skype to take viewers along with them to the Westminster Abbey, when covering the wedding. If you plan to have a Royal Wedding watching party with friends via Skype, we invite you to capture and share photos or video of your viewing party with us. Upload your photos and video on TwitVid or using Qik, and post it to your Facebook and Twitter. Use hashtag #skyperoyalwedding. We might choose your photo or video to share on a Skype blog.
Are you ready? Two theatre venues in separate countries, with actors and audiences, tethered by Skype to present one simultaneous and highly interactive, trans-media, trans-atlantic play, all live streamed to the web, and responding to the input of tweets from audience members across the web. Theatre has a 'get out of jail free' card. Thanks, Skype.
Beth Burns' idea to execute a stage play across the internet via video-conferencing sprung from her desire to collaborate with London's vibrant theatre scene minus protracted travel. She approached me about feasibility, and we agreed that this project must be an application of theatre which is essentially technologically driven, and an application of technology which is inseparably theatrical. We selected Skype specifically for its features and familiarity, and crucially, for its easy accessibility to the people of the world.
To create this mutual dependence between theatre and technology, Burns wove a narrative that is an investigation of what is real in a relationship when physical proximity is unavailable, and when video-conferencing fills the absence. The play occurs simultaneously in London and in Austin.
In the story (entitled "You Wouldn't Know Her She Lives in London" in Austin and "You Wouldn't Know Him He Lives In Texas" in London) two long-distance lovers (Ryan and Lizzy), who conduct their relationship over Skype, determine to introduce each other to friends and family. When you attend, you are graciously pressed into service as the friends who watch as Ryan and Lizzy create a shared community. Until it goes wrong.
To maximize interaction, we used Skype and deployed an environmental, ambient microphone set up in each space as well as move-able DV cameras to provide dynamic video. In each venue, incoming audio is amplified and video is displayed by projector or plasma.
We then extend our reach a big step further by live-streaming to the web both sides of the Skype call, resulting in live video of the play showing Austin and London looking at, and speaking to, each other. Additionally (and excitingly), we encourage interactivity from the web audience via a twitter hash tag (#TexasLondon), displayed in both physical locations and the live-stream web page, enabling actors and audiences to respond improvisationally in real-time to queries and feedback.
The results is one contiguous visual and aural theatre space wherein one play is serving 3 discrete audiences: Austin, London and the web, while enabling real-time interactivity with all three audiences, and, by extension, from anywhere on the planet. Everyone gets connected around the digital and physical campfire of a story. We live in the future.
Beth and the Hidden Room Theatre have the good fortune to collaborate with Mimi Poskitt of London's Look Left Look Right, who produced and directed the London performance, and Conor Roche and the Roundhouse team who provided both London space and technology service, including live-streaming.
This is only a beginning. We're working out dates for a tour of international theatre festivals. At our SXSW panel we announced a public LinkedIn group dedicated to creating conversation around this type of project. We hope you'll join us as we forge a new form of theatre, Digital Interactive Theatre. We're excited.
, not because I particularly like to head bang, but because it's the perfect expression to describe some of my more recent life moments. It's hard to imagine life without emoticons.
, 
.
