Monday, December 11, 2017

#KSStotheNINES: Guide for our Newcomers!



Welcome to our ambitious, yet humble, international-karaoke-video-Christmas-gift-exchange extravanganza, affectionately known as...

Karaoke Secret Santa, aka #KSStotheNINES! It is our 9th year, hence the punny title!

Long story, short: instead of physical gifts you exchange, you make a creative YouTube video for your Karaoke Secret Santa draw! We've had people plan out full-on music videos, film local christmas celebrations while their track plays in the background, or simply sit a camera in front of them and sing to a karaoke backing track playing in the background. Truly, it's your thought, spirit, energy, and effort that counts! All scales large and small are appreciated!

A lot of our updates will come via the Elfster gift exchange, which we use to have all the participants sign up (step #1 COMPLETE!), create wishlists (your next step!), and have their names drawn for the event. There is also an Activity log where you can post as you do in other social media forums.

***Careful when you have a specific question for your draw....make sure any spoilers are avoided and questions asked anonymously.


Also, we post on Facebook with occasional status updates, tips, reminders, and videos. Twitter is also used to share in the fun.

Quick Basics:
1) Sign Up via the official gift exchange on Elfster. (by 11th Dec! Names will be drawn on 12 Dec, USA PST)

*There is a mechanism for Latecomers, but I will have to have a hard cut-off to allow you all time to put together the video!
2) Create and curate your #KSStotheNINES wishlists on Elfster
More in-depth about creating your wishlists here; though some interface nuances may have been updated, the general gist still applies.
3) After Draw, look at your draw's wishlist and choose an appropriate song to perform in your "karaoke" video.
Remember: creativity is encouraged! It can be a simple as you doing a selfie-video as you sing along to an online karaoke track or playing along with an instrument, or as complex as creating an entire choreography and music video for your secret santa. Other ideas could include - filming yourself at a local karaoke night, using Guitar Hero (do they still exist?), singing a cappella, reciting the lyrics in a dramatic reading, or whatever you feel inspired to do!
4) Upload to YouTube and share with your draw and Karaoke Secret for Christmas!
Remember: Your secret santa draw could be in another time zone - so, Google the time difference and deliver it in time for their Christmas... ideally. ;-)

Note: We like to keep things public (or unlisted public) so we can add to our Karaoke Secret YouTube playlist and share with entire group (and your friends!).
***If you're a newbie and want to know a little more detail, I suggest going to the "How to KSS" page, located here.

If you are considering joining us, please make sure you have the time and willingness to commit - we've had a few flakes in the past, and it's not a great feeling to miss out on a video when you've went out of your way with your efforts.

If you still have questions, we KSS Veterans can answer your questions! You've probably been roped into it, but it's a lot more fun and easier than you think!

Should be fun! Can't wait to see everyone's videos!

Thursday, December 1, 2016

#KSS8thWonder is now live!

James Hart with his Karaoke Secret Santa Video for 2015 (#KSSEpVII).
Welcome to our ambitious, yet humble, international-karaoke-video-Christmas-gift-exchange extravanganza, affectionately known as...

Karaoke Secret Santa!

This year is our 8th iteration, so I have dubbed it: KSS 2016: The 8th Wonder, or #KSS8thWonder. Such an in-joke for us Australian opera lovers, but it really gets hard to be referential when the numbers are higher...

Long story, short: instead of physical gifts you exchange, you make a creative YouTube video for your Karaoke Secret Santa draw! We've had people plan out full-on music videos, film local christmas celebrations while their track plays in the background, or simply sit a camera in front of them and sing to a karaoke backing track playing in the background. Truly, it's your thought, spirit, energy, and effort that counts! All scales large and small are appreciated!

A lot of our updates will come via the Elfster gift exchange, which we use to have all the participants sign up, create wishlists, and have their names drawn for the event. There is also an Activity log where you can post as you do in other social media forums. Careful when you have a specific question for your draw....make sure any spoilers are avoided and questions asked anonymously.

Also, we post on Facebook with occassional status updates, tips, reminders, and videos. Twitter is also used to share in the fun.

Quick Basics:
1) Sign Up via the official gift exchange on Elfster here. (by 10th Dec USA PST)
2) Create and curate your KSS 2016 Wishlist on Elfster.
3) After Draw, look at your draw's wishlist and choose an appropriate song to perform in your "karaoke" video.
4) Upload to YouTube and share with draw and Karaoke Secret for Christmas!


If you're a newbie and want to know a little more detail, I suggest going to the "How to KSS" page, located here.

If you are considering joining us, please make sure you have the time and willingness to commit - we've had a few flakes in the past, and it's not a great feeling to miss out on a video when you've went out of your way with your efforts.

If you still have questions, we KSS Veterans can answer your questions!

Should be fun! Can't wait to see everyone's videos! 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

In case you don't know...



Sign up here: http://www.elfster.com/exchange/view/9523024/5389a4/

#KSSFive - FAQ - How does the draw work? When does it happen?

Hi, everyone!

If you haven't already, please go to our Elfster gift exchange and RSVP to join our Karaoke Secret Santa this year: http://www.elfster.com/exchange/view/9523024/5389a4/

There's only a few hours left, actually, as we've been pimping it out on Facebook, Twitter, and Elfster. We're happy to see new faces and some KSS vets already committing to it!

There's been a question floating around -
"How does the draw work?"

The answer is simple: Elfster will automatically do the draw for us and match participants together secretly. You'll get an email saying "You've been paired up!" (that was last year's email) or some variation with a link to the page where you can see your match. Remember: it's a *secret* santa. ;-)

Another question could be:
"When *exactly* does the draw happen?"
This could be asked to know when you get the draw (since you're so excited to get started, of course!) or when is the absolutely last second you can sign up (stragglers, you lot!).

Well,  I've asked this question of Elfster before, as I didn't know which time zone Elfster would be following, and here is the answer (from the now-retired help system; that is, I have no link to the forum page so you can see it for yourself - :-P)
"Our servers are on the west coast, so the deadline is 11:59 pacific time. Then, the exchange is put into a queue with any other exchanges set to draw on that day, and drawn. So, there is not one exact minute when a certain group can count on the names being pulled. It should not take more than a few hours after that. Thanks" (Credit: Shannon Wilk)
So, there you have it! If you have any more questions, please ask via the gift exchange on Elfster, or message Karaoke Secret via Elfster or karaokesecret@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Joe R.
Karaoke Secret

 

Saturday, November 9, 2013

KSS2012 Awards ... Continued! - Best Ensemble Performance

Pam took advantage of multiple KSS participants (and KSS friend) being in the same city and performed an "A Thousand Years" duet with Bec on vocals, Oliver on piano, and Joe on guitar.

Hope you enjoyed the KSS "Awards" and KSS2012!







...Get ready...




#KSSFive

Saturday, November 2, 2013

KSS2012 Awards ... Continued! - Best Performance of a Song Covered by One Direction (...Among Others)

KSS Veteran Jen from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia does a wonderful rendition of the classic, "Forever Young", for fellow vet Ann from Bristol, UK.

Check Jen's vid out!

KSS2012 Awards ... Continued! - Best Showstopper Performance

KSS Veteran Mikael from Utah, USA, performs "Someone Else's Story" from Chess, which is Tom's (from London) favourite musical!

Check her out!