Hack-a-thons are a special event for the coder community, like St Patrick’s day for the Irish or May the 4th for Star Wars fans. Countless young coders and designers earn their stripes at these events where teams compete to build software in marathon sessions (sometimes 52 hours long).
On Friday January 24th, we decided to hold an internal hack-a-thon. But because we like to innovate at Clipchamp, we did things differently. In place of prizes, our #notacompetition hack-a-thon focused on the rewards of teamwork and instead of taking place over 52 hours, our event spanned a single work day.
The goal of this Hack Day was to create two new features for Clipchamp Create. In the lead up, our team brainstormed ideas for what features would a) be beneficial for Clipchamp Create users and b) be simple enough to build in a short timeframe. After discussion, debate and a group vote the team decided upon two features.
Timer and Rapid-fire Subtitles
It’s likely you’ve already seen New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s viral video “Two Years in Two Minutes”. This was the inspiration behind what turned into two features – Timer and Rapid-fire Subtitles. Timer allows users to add a countdown or count-up visual to videos – great for time-focused projects like Jacinda’s or occasions like New Year’s Eve. Rapid-fire subtitles give users a fun new alternative to ordinary subtitles that puts emphasis on important dialogue.
Audio Visualisation
The inspiration behind this feature was a desire to create more tools for audio creators like musicians and podcasters. How many times have you gone to listen to an album or a podcast on Youtube only to be met with a static image of an album cover or logo? The audio visualisation feature produces eye-catching graphics that bounce to the beat of your sound.
Export game
Despite only having one day to hack, our team found time to test out an idea for an export game. This puzzle game is for anyone who’s ever struggled to pass the time while their video exports. While we’d love to solve our own puzzle right now, this idea is still in the concept stage, so stay tuned for updates later down the track.
To sum up
It’s safe to say our internal hack-a-thon was a great success! It’s proof there’s really nothing like a challenge to get the creativity flowing. We can’t wait to roll out these features in the coming weeks and see what you create.
