Help needed from a volunteer WEB/player DEVELOPER/programmer (Charity project)

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TalentedSingers

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I am working on a charitable project. I am going to build and run a music-web-video-player-website TO SUPPORT / PROMOTE UNKNOWN TALENTED SINGERS, MOSTLY BEGINNING TALENTED SINGERS. There're so many talented singers but nobody knows them. Usually young people, teenagers. They usually sing at home in their bedroom, toilet, bathroom and maybe in a school / church. Many of them, they stop singing just because they have to study and find a "proper" job where is a sure salary. (Usually their parents insist on them to do so.) What a pity, by this way, so many talented beautiful voices are lost for ever. I want to build and run such website where I will be playing their singing in one main web video player like in a TV but not live (with better way...the technical specification of project SEE below). I believe, such website will become well-known like MTV with big number of viewers to support / promote unknown talented singers to get fans for them so that they could make a living by singing, in the future, so that their talents and beautiful voices could not be lost for ever.


I already have carefully selected thousands of talented beginning singers (their videos) on my Youtube channels but because YouTube has very restricted features, especially, NO player where I could play hundred thousands (UNLIMITED number) of videos in ONE web video player like in a TV and the quality of YouTube features is going down and down, I created a great charity project of website for talented unknown singers where non-singing viewers as well as singers will love to watch the singing videos and will have a space for their creative work. I am going to move all my playlists (thousands of videos), where are carefully selected talented unknown singers, from my YouTube channels to my new future website, (at the beginning) and then I will be adding new and new videos, every day for every year for all the rest of my life. This is the most hard work because NOT everybody is able to select the right videos that viewers love to watch, and NOT everybody is able to regularly spend so much time with making selection. However, I am not any programmer. I need a help. I need someone who is a charitable computer geek or an internet charitable freak, someone who has programming skills / knowledge and with a passion for music and who will love to participate with a passion in this charity project.. As a return for your help, I can offer free space on the website. I am open for an arrangement. Offers, Questions, Details of the "Talented-Singers-Project", I will send on request: Please email me at amertasaATgmailDOTcom. Thank you. Please, note, this is a charity project. So, if you do not want to help as a volunteer but you want money, do NOT contact me. Thanks.
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I do NOT ask a volunteer for making that website in one week or so. I just mean a volunteer who has the passion making very interesting, unique, unrivalled websites, can take it as a hobby (for example ONE HOUR PER WEEK), any time the volunteer has the good mood and free time for it, and enjoy he/she is making something new that doesn't exist on Internet, and widen/extend his/her knowledge plus helping changing so many lifetimes of young people (MOSTLY UNKNOWN BEGINNING TALENTED SINGERS) already from the beginning since they are young, since the age there is the chance to start a career as a singer. ONE HOUR PER WEEK: Take it as a hobby. When the project will be finished (in one year or so), it doesn't matter. The most important for me is the great result. In some technical things I can make a compromise but in some ones I cannot. Because I want to make something successful, not something what is similar to thousands of other websites. It would not help the beginning singers, because their such website would have a minimum views. That's why still almost nobody would know about the talented beginning singers.


I do have a few EMPTY testing websites. If there are volunteers who are interested in my charity project, I will tell them the Login Details (username, password) for those empty websites, and If you find a free time sometimes (for example ONE HOUR PER WEEK), you can experiment according to my project, on the website. I will keep the testing website open only for you. .

I write here all the main specifications because I just would like to let volunteers know what skills / knowledge they should have so that they do not waste their and my time: I received some offers from people who love my project and would like to help as volunteers but they gave it up, later, because they do not have so large skills / knowledge:

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So that you can easily understand WHAT FEATURES that web video player and the website has to have, I write them below:
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1) Adding unlimited number of embedded videos:

I or/and singers who will have my permission (to keep high-quality of the singing), will be pasting unlimited number of URL links (or video ID's / iframe?) into a playlist (probably into database / a video rotator? An interface is necessary.). These videos will be automatically played in THREE players:

- In the MAIN player like in a TV on the MAIN public page (the front end). Here will be played ALL the videos from ALL the singers.
- In a Little Player in a Little Page. Every singer will have own Little Page on the main page where will be the main player, as well. Here, in the individual Little Pages, will be played ONLY those videos that are ONLY from an individual singer.
- In the player on own Large singer's Page. Every singer will have OWN Large Page where will play ONLY own videos. This player will have a public playlist.
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2) The Little Pages will be in a galery on the MAIN public page. The Little Pages will be moving: In the top left corner will always be the singer's Little Page whose video has been played in the main player just in that moment. The videos from those singers' Little Pages that already were played, will be moving to the right and down (the direction like when you read a text). There will be another mode of the galery: Newest added video. The direction of the moving of the Little Pages will be the same.
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3) Only those singers who will have my permission, will be allowed to fully customize own Little Page:
Size of the Little Page, upload photos/pictures (as the background or separately, any position), add anywhere a text, choose font and their colors, colors of backgrounds/lines, active links (to singers' YouTube channel / web pages), etc.
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4) Every singer who will have my permission, will be allowed to fully customize own Large Page:
Upload photos/pictures (as the background or separately, any position), position of the player, add anywhere a text, choose font and their colors, colors of backgrounds/lines, active links (to singers' YouTube channel / web pages), etc.
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5) Under the MAIN player always will be a singer's name / nickname whose video has been played PLUS singers' names / nicknames whose videos were played, so that viewers can easily find up their Little Pages to open their Large Pages where they can see their playlists of ALL their own videos.
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6) Because this main page will be very heavy, there will be light version where will be ONLY the main player. Nothing more. The light version will be good especially for mobile telephones and tablets.
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7) No video will be repeated (except exceptions):

Playing videos RANDOMLY = (where absolutely nothing will be repeated before ALL the videos are played, even after repeatedly restarting a computer by any individual user. (Probably using Cookies and a custom embedded video rotator?).): The web video player will know which songs already were played by each individual viewer so that NO song could be repeated FOR each individual viewer! (except exceptions: SEE below)
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8) Repeating concrete videos:

If I want, I will make settings for some concrete videos how many times some concrete video will be played (repeated) = percentage rate to all the number of videos in the playlist, to be able to promote concrete songs / videos. (Probably using a custom embedded video rotator?)
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9) "Annotations" WITH (and without) THE DIRECT LINK to any web page on Internet:

(I mean the same feature like it is on YouTube where you can write any text you want on the screen of the player and after you click on the text, you are automatically redirected to any other page on internet (in a new window), for example: "CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE SINGER ON YOUTUBE." After one click on this sentence it will open a singer's original channel on YouTube or any other web page (in a new window). BUT I think, this one is not possible because the videos willl be embedded. But if you have any idea? Maybe below the player?
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10) The web video player has to be played in ANY media.
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11) Standard features:

Full Screen, Skip the video ("forward" ) = SEE below, Volume, Mute, Stop / Play, time of the running video / duration of the running video, change quality, Autostart the web video player, Autonext every video.
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12) "Forward" ("skip) the song (video):

If an individual viewer clicks the button: "forward" ("skip") the song (video), the player will play the next video and NOT play this song (video), any more, until all the playlist has been watched by that viewer. (Because the player will think, that viewer does not like this song (video).) By this way it will work (=it will remember it) ALSO even after restarting individual computers.
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13) The problems with buffering .
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14) The website will appear in search engines in the frontmost placings on the first Google Page.
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15) Continuously backup .
 

ronaldroe

Super Moderator
Staff member
The people you've worked with so far haven't left because they didn't have the skills. They left because what you're asking them to do for free would normally cost several tens of thousands of dollars and be accomplished by large, multi-disciplined teams.

I do at least one, but usually two charity projects per year, and I'll tell you they not only take time that someone would normally pay for, but they also make it difficult to work with other paying clients, which costs even more money. What you're asking would not only take a large, multi-disciplined team, but several months to complete. Several months of not working with other clients.
 

TalentedSingers

New Member
I wish the volunteer(s) will be looking forward to that one hour, every week

The people you've worked with so far haven't left because they didn't have the skills. They left because what you're asking them to do for free would normally cost several tens of thousands of dollars and be accomplished by large, multi-disciplined teams.QUOTE]

They had known since the very first beginning it is a vunteer vork, only. But after we were discussing the details of the project they realized it is tooo much on their knowledge/skills because my project is VERY unique. (The project doesn't sound unique, at the first look, but if we talk in details, you willl understand the project is VERY unique.)

What you're asking would not only take a large, multi-disciplined team, but several months to complete. Several months of not working with other clients.

Yes, you are right. This is why I said: "....I do NOT ask a volunteer for making that website in one week or so. I just mean a volunteer who has the passion making very interesting, unique, unrivalled websites, can take it as a hobby (for example ONE HOUR PER WEEK), any time the volunteer has the good mood and free time for it, and enjoy he/she is making something new that doesn't exist on Internet, and widen/extend his/her knowledge plus helping changing so many lifetimes of young people (MOSTLY UNKNOWN BEGINNING TALENTED SINGERS) already from the beginning since they are young, since the age there is the chance to start a career as a singer.

ONE HOUR PER WEEK: Take it as a hobby. When the project will be finished (in one year or so), it doesn't matter. The most important is the great result. In some technical things I can make a compromise but in some ones I cannot. Because I want to make something successful, not something what is similar to thousands of other websites. It would not help the beginning singers, because their such website would have a minimum views. That's why still almost nobody would know about the talented beginning singers..."

I expect the volunteer(s) will have to ask his/her friend(s) (programmer(s)) about the technical questions. Also maybe will be built a team of volunteers programmers. I want the volunteers take this project as a hobby, not as any job, even not as any volunteer charity job. I would like they want to work on it just because to build something VERY new unique that doesn't exist on Internet. I am looking for programmers who have such passion.

Yes, because I expect he/she will spend (for example) only ONE HOUR PER WEEK, WEEKLY, on this project, the great result will be in about one or two years. But the volunteer(s) will be looking forward to that one hour, every week. That's what I would like, I wish the volunteer will enjoy doing it. If you are interested in making difference, please email me at amertasaATgmailDOTcom.
 
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chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Then launch the project on SourceForge, GiT or Google Code, where volunteers KNOW they are part of something bigger and the development process can be co-ordinated and synchronised properly around a widely distributed team.

Unless of course you already have a server that is running a versioning or distributed development system. Or are you hoping that YOU can keep volunteer coders from working on the same parts of the project but taking different approaches to the same operation, then hoping those bits of code will somehow magically work together?

because my project is VERY unique. (The project doesn't sound unique, at the first look, but if we talk in details, you willl understand the project is VERY unique.
Nope,
A: it cannot be very 'unique'. Unique is unique, it has no scale, and B: Your idea is far from unique, it is YouTube or MySpace for musicians only, AND to be honest does NOT need a "Green Field" approach. The whole thing could be accomplished relatively simply with a WordPress 3.0+ installation running in "multi-site" mode on a dedicated VM.
All the 'features' you suggest and far more, could be achieved by writing some additional functions for the "theme" and a few 'plugins'.

C: Such sites do exist SYM for example. which IS well known and is already used by the music industry to find new talent, and BandZoogle.

What is going to be your USP (Unique Selling Point) to get artists away from them and use your project?
 

chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
By the way;

I am not simply pouring scorn on your project, because it is a laudable idea and one that I would support. (Anything that helps find the next Ronnie James Dio is Ok by me :) ) I am simply playing "devils advocate" to bring a little "real world cynicsm" to your obvious enthusiasm, so you do not get to far in front of yourself and have the project finished before it even gets of the ground.
 

TalentedSingers

New Member
chrishirst:

Thank you for your views. No matter negative or positive. Both give me inspiration, make me to review my views, etc.

However, you do not know very important details and many more ones. It is pity you are not going to participate on this project. (Or yes?) Maybe you would change your view after you see more information about this project. (By the way, it is tooo far from YouTube or MySpace. I am surprised you did not understand from the one I wrote here. (YouTube and MySpace ONLY are a boring storage. Nothing more.)

P.S. I needn't get away artists form anywhere. I already do have thousands of contacts to the artists. (And will get more.)

Yes, I am open to the idea to use some web building software, but an expert should work with the ones because I suppose it will be VERY hard to implement my ideas using the software. (I was trying to do so, by myself, but I realized, the ones just are shits and my project is quite different from the one the software should be able to make. I wish I could be happily surprised if someone would prove we can use it to make the work easier.)

Yes, volunteers will know they are part of something bigger: the unique project.

Yes, also in my case, the development process will be co-ordinated and synchronised properly. Generally by me. But mostly by an expert (volunteer web developer), one of the volunteers if more volunteers are interested in to work on the project.
 

chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
(By the way, it is tooo far from YouTube or MySpace. I am surprised you did not understand from the one I wrote here. (YouTube and MySpace ONLY are a boring storage. Nothing more.)

The principle is the same, it is just the implementation that differs.

Do you have the experience and 'clout' to manage a distributed programming team?
Co-ordinating a team of good programmers is a bit like trying to be the conductor of a jazz band. They may all start together and hopefully, they will all end together but what they do inbetween is anybody's guess.
 

TalentedSingers

New Member
An unique project, an expert team

chrishirst:

Yes, the principle of ALL websites is the same, it is just the implementation that differs. The principle of ALL buildings around the world is the same, it is just the implementation that differs. Please, you have to read the specifications, again. :) You will understand my project is about this house:

https://www.google.com/search?q=pic...iders.marriott.com%2Fthread%2F13714;1200;1600


Not this YouTube House:

http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&n...&w=466&h=390&ei=JfDvUcraLOmqyQHwy4CgDg&zoom=1


Yes, co-ordinating a team of good programmers is a bit like trying to be the conductor of a jazz band. I will be saying what songs the jazz band has to play and one main expert will be a technical conductor. Simple. :)
 

Edge

Member
Can I just cut to the quick and say you aren't going to get a volunteer web developer for this project. It's not going to happen. Period. So start thinking about a new approach to funding it.
 

Edge

Member
It's a reality check for you and hopefully you'll start thinking about building a business plan, applying for grants etc. instead of trying to acquire a personal slave to your vision.

and you just said never twice.
 

chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
P.S. I am not a child to believe in any grants or other tall tales. :rolleyes:

Then don't behave like a petulant child who has just been rebuked when you post.

Our opinions and responses reflect the way you are putting your ideas over and are indicative of the way that 99% of developers and programmers will also receive your idea. The people who have responded / are responding in this thread ARE exactly the sort of people you would be needing to attract for your project, eg: Experienced and capable developers, designers and programmers. If, at this stage you cannot handle our criticism and queries about your ability to 'sell' this project to us, how can you say that you ARE capable enough to actually run the project if and when it gets underway?

YOU are in the "Dragons Den" trying to 'sell' your project to US. We ARE asking the questions that anyone interested in the project would ask, and you are not doing yourself or your project any favours, so it currently appears that anyone taking on the project would have to manage YOU as well as the project. So, as the Dragon's would say... For those reasons ...


I'm out!



[unless you put together a better sales pitch and project plan that is.]
 

TalentedSingers

New Member
Here's the SIMPLIFIED project:

OK, only TWO simple things:

1) WEB VIDEO PLAYER:

-Unlimited number of videos in ONE player.
- I will be adding YouTube embedded (iframed) videos (the links) directly into the code = NO needed interface = simple work for programmers.
- NO video will be repeated (INDIVIDUALLY) until the list is finished by individuals viewers. After that, all the videos will be played again but in a different order. This one will be repeated endlessly.
- The standard features: autoplay, autonext, the option to choose lower quality, etc.
- Another details, at programmer(s)' request(s)

2) AUTOMATIC GALLERY OF PICTURES:

- Singers will be sending me their pictures by email to my private email. = NOT needed email box on the website! I will be adding them manually directly into the code = NO needed interface = simple work for programmers.

- The pictures will be moving: In the top left corner will always be the singer's picture whose video has been played in the main player just in that moment. The videos from those singers' pictures that already were played, will be moving to the right and down (the direction like when you read a text).

- On each picture will be active link(s) to the individual singer's channel, webpage, etc.

- Another details, at programmer(s)' request(s)

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In the top right corners will be two small players or pictures with texts: One for the programmer(s), as the reward for their work so that they can put there advertisements or/and a redirection to their websites to get customers, viewers, etc. And another such little place will be for me to generate funds for the next progress of the website.

Somewhere quite down in left corner, could be a place for a small video player for embedded videos from non-YouTube storage to play there off topic videos to make the website more interesting. And below, texts with pictures to teach beginning singers how to rehearse intonation, how to work wit microphone, how to read and write music notes, etc.
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NO singer will have own web page on my website
NO uploaded videos on my website
NO interface for the public to add videos
 
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chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Unlimited number of videos in ONE player.
It's called a playlist.

JW Player or Stream Video plugin for Wordpress

2) AUTOMATIC GALLERY OF PICTURES:

- Singers will be sending me their pictures by email to my private email. = NOT needed email box on the website! I will be adding them manually directly into the code = NO needed interface = simple work for programmers.
Wordpress + NexGen does this 'out of the box'

Coppermine also has a "public uploader" that a child could use.


- The pictures will be moving: In the top left corner will always be the singer's picture whose video has been played in the main player just in that moment. The videos from those singers' pictures that already were played, will be moving to the right and down (the direction like when you read a text).
Also known as a "slideshow".

- On each picture will be active link(s) to the individual singer's channel, webpage, etc.
Every CMS has this built in.

So tell me again, why are you wanting to "reinvent the wheel"??

Every thing you want there already exists in one form or another, as I said earlier, do YOU have the experience to run this project???

Because you still are not selling yourself as a capable project leader!
 

TalentedSingers

New Member
OK, let's start to work, we will see.

I am not any programmer. I was trying to use any FREE web building software (open source content management) to make the website according to that specification. (For example, NO FREE web building software exist to make that web video player where I could be adding UNLIMITED number of embedded (iframed) videos. = there is a LIMIT for the number of videos if Wordpress's service is for freee, many useful plugins are only for money, etc. Further more, no AUTOMATIC gallery of the pictures, is possible, either, ACCORDING TO THE MY DETAILS (dimension of the pictures, placement on the web page = NO empty stripes on the left and the right side of the screen, NO borders among the pictures, the option to add OWN pictures, etc.)

Yes, you as an expert, maybe will be able to make such changes in the Wordpress + NexGen, "slideshow", but I am not able to do it. Probably the problems are in the VERY IMPORTANT DETAILS of the specification. OK, let's start to work, we will see. I only will be happy if I am wrong.:)

P.S. I do have the experience to run the project from my succesful YouTube channels. People love it! I will move thousands of videos from my YouTube playlists to this new website, and then willl be choosing = making reviews and adding every day new and new and new videos, for the rest of my life.
 
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chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
NO FREE web building software exist to make that web video player where I could be adding UNLIMITED number of embedded (iframed) videos
Yes there is, it's simply a matter of coding the method of delivery. Every templating system that I have ever used can handle that. I could code a function that would open any given object in a iframe, an overlayed HTML element or an independent window simply by passing a parameter to the function, that sort of thing is 'library code' to decent developers.
You do NOT need to create the entire base code just to accomplish something that is relatively simple.

Because you are not a programmer or a developer you are not aware of what CAN be done by a good developer. You are trying to have a "worms eye view" of the completed system. THAT is not your concern, YOU are the one who should has the view from 'ten thousand feet", the overview of the project NOT the minuscule view of each and every component of the whole, or be looking at the minutiae of 'making it work'.

You are giving the impression of being every developers idea of a "nightmare" client, that is one who wants to 'micro-manage' every stage of a project rather than trusting the various members of the team to do what THEY are best at, if you have correctly briefed a designer with your overview, then let them get on with the designing.
 

TalentedSingers

New Member
Yes there is, it's simply a matter of coding the method of delivery. Every templating system that I have ever used can handle that. I could code a function that would open any given object in a iframe, an overlayed HTML element or an independent window simply by passing a parameter to the function, that sort of thing is 'library code' to decent developers.
You do NOT need to create the entire base code just to accomplish something that is relatively simple.

OK, cool! Excellent! Let's start to work. I see it is simple for you. :) That's good news!

Because you are not a programmer or a developer you are not aware of what CAN be done by a good developer.

Yes, you are right. I just am guessing. Take my technical views as topics for the discussion. Nothing more.

OK, what do you suggest, so that we can move ahead?
 

chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
As I said earlier, YOU need to be less concerned with the implementation of the features and functions. If something that exists already can be used to get the project off the ground WITHOUT needing to be coded, debugged, recoded, etc. etc. Just use it. Then, if and when the site begins to outstrip the original base as it develops it is at then you can start to look at bespoke solutions.

There are two methods to analysing and breaking down a project such as this:

"Bottom Up", is where you start at the 'foundations', works well for building houses, but in software development is prone to "feature creep", because programmers and developers ALWAYS find something "kewl" to add in to the job because "they can".

"Top Down", where you start with what the final concept is, then break the poject into smaller tasks and subsections where each 'task' is a 'module' that then integrates into the whole, is much better for software projects, because each required module has defined parameters for what it is required to do.

The first job IS to do that breakdown.
 
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