Google Points YouTube Lens At Directr, Then Buys It

Google is serious about YouTube content. As silly as that may sound, they've started a content creators' studio in Hollywood, and are even enlisting help from major studios. To perhaps serve the content creation master, Google has purchased Directr, an app geared toward more professional-looking videos for small businesses.

The purchase is, naturally, as much of an "acquihire" as anything else. Directr, which charges for its service, will soon be free — once it joins YouTube. The core team at Directr will also join Google, though it's not clear how (YouTube, sure, but nothing else was mentioned).

Directr found favor with content creators for being a digital — well, director. It provided storyboards, and explained best practices for framing and shooting a scene. Directr also acted like an editor, taking your clips and piecing them together, along with music, and bundle it up for you to share. While that led to some canned video offerings, it was still better than a lot of what we were seeing.

The cost of Directr was also a bit expensive for what the target audience could likely afford. A downloaded video would cost $0.99, and the enterprise version could run up to $500/year.

YouTube has toyed with standalone content creation before, with their YouTube Capture app. Directr may end up adding some needed backbone to that app, but it's unknown just what Google has in mind right now.

Source: The Wall Street Journal