Project summary
We’ve all experienced waiting for a timer to go off - this idle time can be boring, and you run the risk of being left with your own thoughts. YouTime is a timer that plays a YouTube video exactly as long as your wait time. Videos are randomly scraped using the YouTube API and stored in a JSON file by duration, creating a game of content Russian roulette. This project is a playful commentary on our constant desire for distraction — and might accidentally be useful too.
Design + implementation
I used the YouTube API and a Python script to generate a JSON file that stores IDs for thousands of YouTube videos of every possible length (up to an hour). I then build the interface in p5.js using YouTube iframe documentation and DOM elements. I leveraged AI tools (ChatGPT and Claude) for troubleshooting. Disclaimers: Videos are truly randomly selected, so use at your own risk. Best viewed with an ad-blocker for the most accurate timekeeping.