Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question? Hopefully we have already answered it here. If not, you can always e-mail contact@artbabble.org.

Accounts (5)

An ArtBabble account lets you store your favorite videos, leave comments, and let's you show your ArtBabble colors. It also will allow us to send you updates and really snazzy e-mails (provided you want them, that is). AND - during this beta phase, you'll also get invites you can send to friends.

You can edit you account information by clicking on your name in the header of the page, then clicking on the "Edit" tab. You can also edit your profile (blog, interests, nickname, etc.) by clicking on the "Profile" tab once editing your account. For convenience here are the direct links:

You can add/edit your user photo by clicking on your name in the header of the page, then clicking on the "Edit" tab. Once the "edit" page loads, you will see a form element called "Picture". Maximum dimensions are 128x128 and the maximum size is 250 kB. You will have good karma if your picture is square.

We would love to hear from you, so please send us an e-mail at contact@artbabble.org

Babble On.

General (8)

ArtBabble was conceived, initiated, designed, built, sculpted, programmed, shot, edited, painted and launched by a cross-departmental collection of individuals at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). It is intended to showcase video art content in high quality format from a variety of sources and perspectives.
ArtBabble was created so others will join in spreading the world of art through video.
Babble on.

Art-Bab-ble [ahrt-bab-uhl]
noun; verb (used without object) -bled, -bling

1. free flowing conversation, about art, for anyone.
2. a place where everyone is invited to join an open, ongoing discussion - no art degree required.

A note is a quick resource for you, the viewer, available directly to the right of the video player on ArtBabble. ArtBabble Notes give you more information about the content of the video you are currently watching. You will find links to other ArtBabble videos, YouTube videos, relevant websites, wikipedia entries, related books on Amazon, or works of art in the Indianapolis Museum of Art's collection. You never know what interesting information you might learn about on ArtBabble!

Series are similar to your favorite gallery. They are preselected groups of videos which has been curated by museum staff. These are not categorized by keywords, but instead are grouped according to themes or ideas. Let us know if you enjoy what we have put together for you!

We are currently not accepting video ideas, but please feel free to comment to your heart's content. That is the true meaning of Babble On!

If you represent an art museum or institution and would like to talk to us about ArtBabble, please contact us by e-mail, at contact@artbabble.org. Babble On.

ArtBabble is not currently setup for user videos. You can setup your profile with a user picture and information about your favorite videos and quotes from ArtBabble.

They are so good!

We are lucky enough to have quite a few partners creating high quality art video content. ArtBabble videos are handcrafted just for you by institutions around the world. Video credit is given where it is due, so each video is labeled with its respective contributor- a badge to the right of each playing video that proudly displays its parent organization.

Technical (7)

This happens when the "Break on All Errors" option is set in Firebug. An exception is thrown by the component that we use to track events within Flash using Google Analytics, and this is seen by Firebug as an Error. The exception is handled, so clicking "continue" in Firebug resumes normal operation.

To prevent operation from being interrupted, either unset "Break on All Errors" or disable Firebug for the web page that causes the problem. Hopefully we will be able to update with a version of the component that does not cause this issue.

Please check out our full user agreement here.

Playing high-definition h.264 video is no easy task. In order to play the 360p video we recommend at least a 2.33GHz Pentium 4 on Windows or a Macintosh with a G5 processor. For detailed system requirements, please visit Adobe's Systems Requirements for HD video playback.

Most videos will have a "Share" and "Embed" link right below them. Clicking either of these will expand options that all you to share the video on many popular social websites, or embed the video directly into your own page.

We provide video at a number of resolutions so that you can decide which one works best for you.

240p is the lowest resolution. If the default resolution of 360p skips and buffers frequently, give 240p a try.

360p is the default resolution. When in normal mode, this provides a 1:1 relation between video pixels and screen pixels.

480p is an HD resolution that will make the video look better in full screen mode.

720p is our highest HD resolution, (not available on video that wasn't shot in HD), and it looks sweet in fullscreen mode if you have the bandwidth.

Keep in mind that if you pick a new resolution, it will be remembered as your default during your viewing session. You may have to choose it again if you return at a later time. Also, if a video isn't available in 720p, 480p will be selected for you automagically.

There are a few things you can check to diagnose this problem:

1. Is the player volume low or muted? Hover the mouse pointer over the boom box icon to change the volume level, and click it to toggle muting.

2. Is the system volume low or muted? In Windows, check this by clicking on the speaker icon in your system tray.

3. Are your speakers or headphones plugged in? Check any volume settings on those.

If none of these suggestions help, let us know.

Please feel free to contact us at contact@artbabble.org.