It’s the day when even non-jas get to pretend to be ninjas. Revver is proudly sponsoring the Ask a Ninja DVD release party on Ninja Day. You should so totally go. And the Ninja DVD will make a fine holiday gift for anyone you love or want to kill.

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National Lampoon seamlessly fuses old Seinfeld footage with new footage of Michael Richards to shed a little light on “Kramer’s” recent racist outburt at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. Seinfeld may be no longer, but with mash-up techniques this good who needs new episodes!

Greetings, Revver Members!

Remember that on your profile page that there’s a little section where you can opt-in to Broadcast and Mobile distribution opportunities? Well, file this one under: More stuff we’re cooking up in the distribution stew.

So what’s today’s announcement about our partnership with VCast mean to you?

This is Revver’s first partnership in the mobile space. Verizon totally gets this space and we’re thrilled that they’re working with us. Don’t believe me?

“Offering our subscribers access to cutting edge video content is a high priority for us, so making hot user-generated content available is the next logical step for V CAST,” said John Harrobin, vice president of marketing for Verizon Wireless. “We’ve chosen to work with Revver because of its well-known respect for copyright and for the selection of high-quality video content it attracts.”

Thanks, John! We work pretty hard on that, thank you for noticing!

Here’s how it works: If you’ve opted in to the Revver Mobile Distribution opportunites, your video might be selected to have your video distributed through the Verizon VCast Mobile platform. Fifty new videos will be chosen by VCast each week. You will be able to see the first group of videos that were chosen this week in the VCast collection. It’s not live yet, but it will be in a few days’ time; We’ll post it for you as soon as it’s ready. As new videos get selected and subtracted, we’ll add and subtract them from this collection so you can always see what’s live on VCast.

How do videos get chosen?
The folks at VCast are reviewing a wide range of videos in five categories: Cute Overdose!, Laughs, Animation, Editor’s Picks, and Viral Video Classics. We’re working closely with them to choose various types of videos depending on what’s the most popular among you, our members, and what we really love. If you want your work to be considered, here are some basic guidelines and things to watch out for:

Videos should be between 30 seconds and two minutes long.
No pornography
No copyrighted music (not even in the background)
No depictions of crime or drugs
No advertising or prominent brand logos
Only videos in English can be accepted.
Videos shot at a distance won’t be accepted — it needs to be decipherable on a small screen!
Watch out for text — that screen makes small text really really tiny.
Please avoid mentioning religious or political views.

How will the videos be shown on VCast?
Subscribers to the VCast service can view Revver videos in the Revver channel. You can view the videos through your Verizon phone’s Web browser if you have an internet-enabled device and are a subscriber to the VCast service.

How do you earn money?
Every time a subscriber views a video on VCast, that view is logged. Revver is paid monthly for the content that Vcast shows on their network. We split that revenue with you, 50/50 based on how many views your video gets - no surprises there. You still retain full ownership of your content. At the end of the month, we’ll add the cash to your balance.

Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity! Go to your profile and click “Opt in to mobile distribution opportunities.”

BTW, this makes us the first online distribution platform to share content (and revenue!) on television AND mobile! From the press release:

The agreement marks a key milestone in Revver’s ongoing expansion and leadership in the viral video arena. Revver users can now generate revenue from their creative endeavors via broadband, broadcast and mobile distribution — an industry first.

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Star Wreck is a sci-fi, special-effects space parody project started nearly 15 years ago by 5 Finnish students. To give you an idea of how far they’ve come since then you can compare the trailer above with their first-ever animation drawn frame-by-frame in Deluxe Paint Animator back in 1992. Their latest project, “Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning” is the result of seven(!) years work, and is unique in that it is being released under a Creative Commons license for free download:

When Star Wreck 5 appeared online for free download in 1997, it was a groundbreaking phenomenon. Never before had a film of such proportions (about 45 minutes in length) been released for free, and the word began to spread on message boards and mailing lists. Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning follows in the footsteps of its forerunner, and is one of the first feature-length quality special-effects films ever to be released online for free.

That’s right, if the trailer has you wanting more, you can download “Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning” it its entirety right here. Sensible!

UPDATE: Star Wreck just left us a comment saying that the entire movie, which is actually the “Imperial Edition” featuring all-new special effects, is up on Revver and available here!

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Filmmaker Ben Wolfinsohn recently uploaded a bunch of clips of his first feature-length film, “High School Record,” and we’ve been reveling in the teen angst and awkward posturing of his self-styled characters as they’re caught on tape by fellow classmates shooting a documentary on High School life. The project is further explained by Ben’s production company StopFollowingMe.com:

A journy into narrative anarchy, “High School Record” is an engaging film partially improvised by its young cast. Written by Ben Wolfinsohn and based on his own high school experiences, “High School Record” is a painfully funny exploration of the teenage mind.

The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. You can see the rest of the clips here.

Align this post so all three video players are on your screen. Hit play first on the YouTube player, then Google, then Revver on the bottom. Watch Chris Pirillo battle himself over which player is the best. Of course, Revver gets the last word.

The latest Revver Film School project saw contributors waxing nostalgic about childhood, and a new batch of students has moved straight to the head of the class with videos that encapsulate the very essence of childhood. From jumping babies to zombie Barbies to newspaper thieves, these videos take The Professor back to the days when he was just a wee lad in a printed bonnet and a starched cloth diaper. Congratulations to our winners, who are featured in the Head of the Class collection, and much thanks to them for reminding us that life is more than dentures and Bengay.

And the winners are:

“Jumpy Jumpy” by downhomevideo - Most-watched goes to this cute, creepily-scored video of a jubliant jumping baby.
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“Barbie Zombies Attack trailer” by matthewknowles - From the imagination of a seven year old girl comes this tale of aliens and conspicuous consumption. Watch the full video here.
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“The Newspaper Thief” by Debra and Jonathan Sea - This cute, silent, vintage-inspired short transports viewers to a simpler time and place, using an old-timey original score as a narrative device.
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“Laughing Baby” by chits3 - The title says it all folks. Cute baby laughing.
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“Daniel the Terrible” by leodi@argentinala - Daniel terrorizes by eating the cheese meant for the pizza that’s being made. Terrible!
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Good work everyone!

What’s next? Well, the holiday season draws nigh - ’tis the season of the holiday greeting card! For the next assignment, The Professor asks that you summon a bit of festivity and create a video greeting card to send your friends and family over the holidays. This is a great way to share your creativity and good cheer over the holidays!

Tag your video “rfs holiday” (in quotes, space included) in order to enter your submission for class. The deadline for this assignment is Wednesday, Dec. 27.

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Stateside members, we can only hope your turkey (or tofurkey) is as intent on being delicious as this turkey on a mission! Regardless of where you are, here’s to eating, drinking, and being thankful.

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OK seriously. Do not watch this video unless you are ready for awesome. Tenacious D - you know, the greatest band in the world - is coming to the big screen this weekend. Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny chronicles the history of the groundbreaking group. It just might be the greatest movie in the world.

And Woody Wittman of Dateline Hollywood was lucky enough to attend the premiere. Check out his report from the Red Carpet, Tenacious D: the Pick of Woody: Clueless entertainment reporter Woody Wittman hits the red carpet again for the premiere of Tenacious D, where he interviews Jack Black and Kyle Gass, Andy Dick, Paul F. Tompkins, and has a fateful encounter with Jeremy Piven.

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That’s Why I’m Here is one of our favorite entries into the IFP/Revver short film contest which ended this week.

IFP (Independent Feature Project) was founded in 1979 on a belief that a truly vital American cinema must include the personal, idiosyncratic, and sometimes controversial voices of filmmakers working outside of the established studio system. As a not-for-profit organization, its mission is to foster a more sustainable infrastructure that supports independent filmmaking and ensures that the public has the opportunity to see films that more accurately reflect the full diversity of the American culture.

The IFP/Revver Short Film Contest encouraged filmmakers to create a video about what filmmaking means to them. The entries will be judged by industry professionals and the winner gets a ticket to the 2006 Gotham Awards. The winning clip will also be screened in front of a live industry audience and distributed on DVD to all Gotham attendees.

We wish good luck to all the entrants! Check out all the films submitted at ifp.org/video.