Don’t call me Eskimo
A friend saw this clip referenced on a CBC program last night and told me to check it out.
I feel like watching these kids make an honest rap video about their lives has taught me more about Nunavut than any visit to a cultural centre. I'm inspired to take a trip up there next summer. I'm fascinated.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS8RZcKQwBA]
Prime time snuff
How does everyone feel about (what amounts to) a snuff film from Vancouver airport being the most watched clip on YouTube this morning? 250,000 views and counting.
Does the nature of a video like this change when it hits the front page of YouTube? A few days ago it was just evidence in a police inquiry.
UPDATE: Mathew Ingram posted about citizen journalism and this video yesterday. Close to a hundred people left comments and almost all were appalled at how police dealt with the situation - doing little to calm Robert Dziekanski before tasering him, twice.
This outrage is exactly how I felt after watching the clip. No clip on YouTube would mean no public reaction and therefore likely no public pressure for the police to be held accountable. There is no question that having this video in the public domain is a good thing.
The point I'm making above is that it is a snuff film. Robert Dziekanski dies on camera at the end of the clip and 250,000 of us watched it. That gives me a very funny feeling.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHKk5qQRzL4]
Cool concepts beat big budgets
My lovely wife sent me a couple of videos from the new Feist record yesterday. I thought I'd share them here.
Both are really imaginative, fun little clips that add a lot to the songs. I'm sure they weren't cheap to produce, but compared to other videos being made these days I'll bet they were well below average.
This is an example of a great concept (for a music video in this case) easily standing up against much bigger budget affairs. For the last few years I've been predominantly working on projects with smaller budgets and, more often than not, I've loved the restriction. What do they say about necessity being the mother of invention?
On, two, three, four:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Z-DIAthbM]
My moon, my man:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWrNCCx2p5U]
Marketing democracy on YouTube
Having spent 7 years working in advertising agencies I can attest to the fact that the ad business has a pretty warped concept of what the 'truth' is. Agencies don't often lie, they just choose to focus on points that mislead people about the products they are selling. Of course good advertising (the kind that I produced ;)) never bullshits anyone, but unfortunately good advertising is not the majority of what gets produced.
I have always been a big fan of work from citizens or groups that aim to talk back to brands in public spaces and attempt to set the record straight. Adbusters call it subvertising, but usually it just involves someone climbing up on a billboard and changing the text or image on an ad to make a statement.
Unfortunately changing a billboard takes a lot of effort and the threat of going to jail or getting a hefty fine puts people off.
One way I'm increasingly seeing people talking back to brands is on YouTube. Lately I've noticed more people using advertising spoofs, which have been going on for a long time, to make statements and sometimes present some truth about what is being advertised in the original ad. Subvertising on YouTube is less work than a billboard, less dangerous and if you do a good job you have the opportunity to reach many more people.
Here is a simple example of an ad for an energy company in New Zealand being jammed with some 'truth'.
The original ad:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw8QJWdC650]
The 'fixed' ad:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i12qJ-Nejgk]
Lunchtime watching
If you're trawling YouTube at lunchtime today looking for a laugh, I think this is what you're looking for...
Apparently "mom used to work for a dating service in the 80s. She kept a bunch of tapes and I edited clips of all the best losers."
[youtube=<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AC5BIuhQBy0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AC5BIuhQBy0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>]
About Pema Hegan
A Kiwi living in Canada.
I love music, obsess over architecture, ride my bike most days and miss the ocean.
I'm a partner and managing director at Rethink Toronto.
Before that I founded and then sold GigPark, a social web startup. And before that I was the founding editor-in-chief of the Canadian media company, Dose.
Find me here
pema.hegan (at) gmail (dot) com
- @malbonster Don't laugh too loud. I remember Boys being some of the best Thai food in the city. http://twitter.com/pema
- @ryanfeeley No. But wow - that looks interesting! Next time ;). http://twitter.com/pema
- @ebonical Next time we just need to time our trips so we can enjoy some if it together!! http://twitter.com/pema
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