F06 :: Feminist Film Studies

What was interesting about this short vlog was the black shading around the screen that allows viewers to only focus on what it is that the creator wants them to and makes viewers feel like we are seeing it through her eyes and her POV (it reminds me of Being John Malkavich). Also I found it interesting that the creator of this vlog used video clips in the shape of photographs and kind of created a scrapbook of photos from here life. To me it is representative of our memory. Our memory is not continuous, similar to film, it is made up of shots, bits and pieces. So in order for her to give viewers a look into her life she first indicates that it is through her eyes, how she sees herself and how she sees others view her, and also that it is the bits and pieces she can seem to recall. I'm not sure how to attach a link so here is the direct link in case it doesn't work.

http://mirror4.video.blip.tv/Trine-stretchingBeforeAndAfter443.mov

Posted by Alicia Sims at 1:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So.. I recently had just a wonderful weekend... I'm being totally sarcastic. After the events, I really wasn't in the mood to watch something that couldn't make me laugh. While I did watch en entry from The Faux Press on Vidlicious Vlogs that was about her emotional healing from childhood trauma, my own psyche wasn't ready for any more of that. So... I started looking around and I found, quite possibly, one of the funniest things I have seen in a while. I found an entry called Biff's Question Song (Stand-Up Comedy) on YouTube. It was just what I needed to cheer myself up. It consists of just Biff (Tom Wilson) up on stage singing a song with a guitar. He is positioned directly in the middle, with a camera positioned almost straight ahead of him. The content is all about his experiences with people asking him about his time on Back to the Future. He makes a joke about being asked all the time about Michael J. Fox, and if he can do the things he did in the movie in pictures with fans, and if things were real or not. I guess this isn't the most sophisticated of vlogs, but it sure make my day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwY5o2fsG7Y

Posted by Maggie Sullivan at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Reposted:

Putting on lipstick...
Talking about birds...
Keyhole & secret exhibitionist

First, I think it is key to give you some background on Roxanne Carter, the author, and often subject, of the vlog Persephassa. Carter is not a filmmaker, but a grad student at Brown University pursuing a degree in the Literary Arts; namely, she is a fiction writer. That said, I find that her vlogs are particularly interesting because her usage of the medium is, in a manner, to comment on questions of filmic “truth (the active presence of fiction in even “documentary�-style narratives),� of the creation of the subject (and thus, a self), and of vulnerability that so often accompanies an attempt to be truthful through a visual form. Without the usage of the type of camerawork, or for that matter equipment, associated with filmmakers using vlogs as an expressive form, Carter is limited to a camera that takes 40-second silent clips, which she then splices together, adding music, dialogue, and voice-over during the editing process.
There are three vlogs in particular I wish to analyze (though two will be brief), beginning with the vlog, “Putting on lipstick...� In this brief video, Carter situates the camera in a static position (medium eye-level, so that we feel as if we are sitting across from her), and as the fade up opens to an empty chair against a brick wall, she enters the frame, always aware of being watched by the camera. Dressed in garb quite reminiscent of the 1930s, complete with bobbed hair, she seats herself in a purposely feminine position, carefully glancing at the camera as she rearranges herself, opening a compact to begin applying lipstick. There is rampant usage of mirrors in these vlogs, which segue into the process of the vlog as filmic “reflection,� which in the vlog, “Talking about birds...� delves into the question of memory. The soundtrack for this particular piece consists of snippets of conversations from parties, wherein we are unsure if her voice is amongst them. Appropriately, they are discussing Ginger Rogers films (cleverly including a comment on “montage� in musicals of the period), and thus, we associate what Carter is doing with the act of performing, despite the disrupt in the lively discussion about dancing and song, with Carter’s purposeful construction of “her face.� It is eerily fitting then that the light she is using is entirely natural, lending the frame a sort of eerie flat tone (which could be contrasted with the soft filter used on most Hollywood female stars).
Suddenly, the camera shifts (in visible cutting), and the soundtrack fades in to loud music and shouted conversation, usually involving repetition of fragments of conversation: “I want to put sparkles on!� “You’re from LA! Helloooo?� “Ohhhh!!! WOOOOO!!!� “You’ve got it girl, you look so amazing!� The subject of this talk, we assume to be the figure of Carter, which we have just seen in the process of “becoming� a Hollywood star. Ironically, throughout much of this scene, the camera is not on Carter at all, but on a squirrel in the backyard, of a cat watching the squirrel, and eventually a man gazing at the camera (not awkward, as Carter herself seemed to be) with the cat in his hands. Here, the soundtrack shifts yet again to a man’s voice (the same man we have just seen?) reciting, what I find to be a key aspect of this vlog: “We have to sit on different sides of the room – those who consider ourselves storytellers and those who consider ourselves fiction writers...and she’s (what I assume to be Carter) promised soon we’ll divide ourselves up until there’s one person on each side of the table.� Throughout this soundtrack, the camera returns to Carter entering the frame to apply lipstick, though this time, she spends a great deal more time situating herself, glancing back and forth at the camera, straightening her back, until eventually she is holding a pose of gazing away from the camera until the man’s statement ends the piece. It is here that we wonder, what is the difference between a storyteller and a fiction writer? Is this a piece of fiction? Is she in fact, telling us a story? Must it be considered different at all? Where does film fit into this question, and how in turn does the role of the camera directly relate to ideas of truth (meaning is the Roxanne Carter we are seeing the way Roxanne Carter is, or chooses to be seen)?
The question of film as “truth� is brought up directly in the rambling narrative, “Talking about birds,� a 7-minute monologue in voice-over involving Carter discussing buying a birdfeeder, and tangentially moving into a grave divulgence that she may in fact have killed two birds as a child as a result of believing in film as reality: the birds, one brought in wounded, the other a fledgling, both died when Carter attempted to release them into the air by throwing open her hands. The birds, stunned as opposed to being prepared for “freedom,� fell to the floor, where Carter assumes they died. Throughout this portion of the monologue, Carter uses the hand-held camera to search the trees and phone lines for birds, which coincides with a visual metaphor of linear strings carrying us back and forth through memories.
In the third vlog, “Keyhole & the secret exhibitionist,� Carter most literally interprets psychoanalysis’ questions of voyeurism in film. However, what is interesting to me about this montage (it is a series of single frames cut together), is that Carter occupies both the gaze and the object of the gaze, in what is potentially a narcissistic interpretation, or a “self-sexuality;� in the shot-reverse-shot Carter gazes at herself, and in turn, is seemingly aware that she is being gazed at (the positions of her semi-nude body are constructed as “nude� rather than “naked� – she is performing for the camera, or rather, for herself). This could be read as an embodiment of sexuality, as she is presenting her body, in the film at least, to and for herself, but yet, the vlog is public, and thus, she is performing her sexuality (hence, the exhibitionist) for us, as the audience.

Posted by Beth Chekola at 8:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzO1mCAVyMw

Due to the fact that I have been doing an excessive amount of homework today, I decided that for this post I would research some of the less serious and more humorous vlogs. My friends had made many comments to me regarding YouTube and the hilarious vlogs the site contained, so I easily chose to visit that site for this post. Upon searching for some intelligent humor, I came upon some of the stupidest videos I have ever seen (granted that some of them were kind of funny). I chose to link the vlog Male Restroom Etiquette because it was the most amusing video I had found. What I like about it is that the subject of a restroom is displayed as a serious and important international issue. I also laughed pretty hard to myself when I began to think about how much time this person put into creating this pointless, yet hilarious vlog.

Posted by Nicole Zroka at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just came back from Amyville...Interesting. It is a collection of short hand held videos on Amy's quirky personality and a little about her life. I liked that she was very comfortable with her viewers and didn't "push' any of her opinions. Don't get me wrong, I also like a "deep" conversation once in a while, but what I found mostly on the internet was a waste...I am sure it is all about self expression but I had no idea what a girl trying to moon walk in her cowboy boots to some song I never heard was trying to sayhttp://welcometoamyville.blogspot.com/...Anyway, visit Amyville, and see for yourself.

Posted by Nodira Ismoilova at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6683346088677291455&q=vlog&hl=en

The vLog I watched was about a girl named Stefanie Spiro and whats happening in her life at the moment. It was made in february of this year. This is the first time she has vLog but she said she blogs normally. This was not her vLog but her boyfriend's who let her guest vLog because it was their anniversary. She talked about how she saw the Lion King and she also sang a little of a song from it. She talked about concerts and hanging out with her friends. I've come to realize that unless you know the person these vLogs are meaningless. I have never really watched a vLog before this one and I found it kind of interesting. They are public video diaries. It used to be that someone would have a diary and it would be very private and it would contain their most inner secrets and thoughts but now in the information age people now broadcast their diaries to the public. What really caused this change? These vLogs are even more personal than a blog because when recording they are very close to the camera and it always takes place in their homes. they are inviting anyone to listen to them and to come into their homes. I think it's becoming a way to make yourself a star.

Posted by Thomas Reinert at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

vlog site

I chose Seven Maps: Third map. on this site-- I liked it alot. I thought that he was very sarcastic and I enjoyed the vlog. However, I tried to find a vlog on my own without having to use Rachels examples but there was soo much advertisements out there it was taking forever to finally find something.
I guess i really don't understand vlogs. I think thats it is kind iof weird that people spend all this time making something that they dont get paid for, but i did enjoy oit.
His vlog was about choices and traveling. how there is always two of everyhting, two beds, two roles of toilette paper. I thought it was funny. The hole time that vlog was very dark and there was always only one light source and he made it a point to shoe the light source and kind of make it depressing. but all in all i thought it was ironic and sarcastic and liked it alot!

Posted by Erica Koby at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "9 months of Gestation" »

Posted by Ashley Schmitz at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This assignment is the first time that I have ever looked at vlogs, so I was a bit unsure of what to expect. I went to a few of the recommended sights, and watched a couple different things and the vlog I chose was the only one that I was drawn to watch in its entirety. This vlog is shot in a bed room, with the camera in a fixed position using a long shot. Based on the short excerpt given on vidlicious about this vlog, I gathered that the woman making it was considering becoming a man and had begun testosterone therapy. This vlog was of her last injection, after deciding to stop the treatments and remain a woman. The video is somewhat dark around the edges, giving it sort of a mysterious look, which is intensified by the content and the fact that this is shot in a private bedroom. There is very little light, which makes it interesting to see this person, because in some ways she looks like a woman, but you might also think it was a man--which shows you what the testosterone injections have done to her. It almost feels like we are gazing into someone's personal life that we should not be seeing; yet this is posted on the internet for anyone to view. The story is conveyed through text on the screen, and the only noises are from this woman handling the needle. It is interesting to not hear this person speak because what she is doing is no small thing, and I would expect there to be more emotion conveyed. I was actually struck by the lack of emotion; I felt this through the fact that there was a dog laying on her bed throughout the whole clip, and this was the only witness to what was happening, and the dog just laid their, looking bored and disinterested. I find it odd in a way that this woman is sharing such a personal part of her life with complete strangers, yet it kind of drew me in.

http://mirror4.video.blip.tv/LukasBlakk-TheLastShot788.mov

Posted by Colleen Straiton at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://mirror4.video.blip.tv/LukasBlakk-MatchingTattoosPostMich2006497.mov

Out of frustration, I picked a random vlog and it happened to be on matching tattoos. A girl and a friend??(I'm guessing) went to get tattoos. It looked like a cat with a knife and a fork and it said something like "girl's diner" or something like that. I mean I didn't really learn anything informational so I don't know what to write about it.

Posted by Alexandria Grim at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://mirror4.video.blip.tv/Annieee-chicagoDay2514.mov
I chose to watch one of the vlogs by Annie on her site Annieisms, is it? When I watched a few of her videos I didn’t quite understand the point of the video blogs because they didn’t seem to have a lot of substance or purpose other than showing things off to a camera. The one I chose to comment on was her Chicago- Day 2 vlog where she is attending some sort of event/ fair where they are running a booth. I chose this one because there seemed to be more to it than just showing newborn puppies or jumping on a bed (both of which are fine but not as much to comment on). The vlog begins by Annie narrating the scene and explaining where she is while walking around and introducing the audience to people. The way she walks through the space makes it seem to the viewer that they are present at the event rather than simply watching a video of it. She explains that the booth they are in is very crowded and that on the other side there is a game show going on. The editing is very effective here because it shows a bit of the game show host to set the scene and then cuts to a few minutes later when he is asking a question specifically about Annie. Not only does this show her involvement in the booth but it also provides information about her and why she does vlogs. Rather than waiting for the answer from the actual audience text appears on the screen answering the question so the video doesn’t drag too much. She then continues to walk around the booth introducing more people and commenting on various things none of which can be heard because the video is sped up and put to music. This allows the atmosphere of the event to come across without, once again, making the video drag by showing the viewer every small detail. The editing style of this video reminded me a lot of different reality shows on MTV because of the narration and the way it was cut to show only important parts even though there was obviously a lot more shot that might get too long to keep a viewer’s attention.

Posted by Lisa Peplinski at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

vloging still seems a little hit or miss for me. i'm sure it is a skill that is acquired with time, but sifting through all the junkvlogs is quite a task... watching people fall off cliffs on their snowboards is perhaps interesting for a moment, but not quite engaging enough for academic conversation. however i did encounter a very interesting piece of media at immortal-technique.com. it seems mos and talib are not quite satisfied with the current regime in this country, and their vlog sure put it all out there. lyrical lines that pointed direct fingers were splashed against a montage of images which suggest that bush is holding hands with bin laden and slanging crack to the projects. the photos and the impact of the rhymes were powerful (if you can dig that sort of thing), but what makes this video blog of interest for discussion is its use of false images. in this day and age you can make anything happen with a digital image. someone can right hook the president. while this might add to the impression made by a subversive blog, it could also mislead those who do not second guess... especially because these images are not always as obvious as bush selling dope to babykids.
thus remember: a vlog is just the mindseye of the vlogger. trust that, and make your own understanding.

Posted by Fletcher Barnhill at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Anaylsis is My Sport
by Scratch
The narrator of this vlog is also the creator and the subject. We start by viewing a blurry close up a woman, and hear the first of about ten questions. The questions are from some sort of checklist you could find about depression. Do you feel tired? Have you observed weight gain? Have you experienced a loss or increase in appetite?...the questions go on in this manner. By the second question a pattern of cutting between two different shots is created. The first shot is an extreme close up of the narrator’s cheek and mouth. The next shot is of the same woman, this time playing the subject whom the questions are directed to. She is shot through a camera lens turned around, so that she is in the middle of a circular frame that bends at the edges (like a fisheye). In this shot the woman is eating a big slice of watermelon.
So what did I get from watching this vlog? I think the camera work is very clever, (however poorly I described it may be a distraction!) I liked the subject matter; depression. I like the way that subject is presented; almost non-shalant. No, it’s not sad because depression isn't really sad. It’s more like you just don't care or feel much. As I viewed this entry I was brought into a moment of this woman's life, and a little bit in the way she thinks about the world. Analysis truly is her sport; she's having fun with it!

I got this vlog off a site called scratch video. I watched a lot of the vlogs and found many to be well done and entertaining. In Scratch’s bio she stated that she makes documentary films by day and vlogs by night. I learned a lot about vlogs; to me they’re a glimpse into how other people view the world. The trick is finding people who are interesting; there’s a lot of junk out there!

Posted by Emily Burt at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I stumbled upon this vlog after doing a search on Google. This vlog comes from a vlog series called Video Pancakes and was filmed and posted on September 27th, 2006 by a woman named Mary Matthews. This vlog was centered around Mary's last day of employment at the Tony Danza show, which ended on the last day the show aired on national television. What interested me about Mary's vlog was that her personal narrative of her last day at work at every moment revolved around the man Tony Danza. Every time Mary was on screen or was filming other co-workers the topic of focus was always Tony Danza. In Mary's vlog no one ever shares their emotions of how they feel about the show being canceled. Perhaps more personal interviews did not occur because Mary did not want anyone to get into trouble over anything that they said if they bad-mouthed anything about the show ending. One woman near the end of the vlog comments on how the show was "tender and uplifting". However I was unsure if the woman was talking about the show itself, how the show made her feel when she watched it, or how she felt working with the Tony Danza show. My favorite part of the vlog was when Mary interviewed a few of her colleagues, asking them to tell her their favorite "Tony-ims". The sound quality of the vlog left something to be desired because I was unable to hear any of the "Tony-ism" except one "Apple trees make apples", which I did find to be particularly funny.
I thought the vlog's overall composition and beginning imagery was intriguing. The vlog begins in a subway car with the main focus of the camera on the subways doors, which have bright light radiating from them. This was a good image to begin the vlog with because it reminded me of the idea of "seeing light at the end of a tunnel" for example when someone dies. In this case 'someone' wasn't dying, but 'something' was. The Tony Danza show was being canceled. I also liked the several scenes on the vlog showing that Mary Matthews had a high level of responsibility on the show. In these scenes Mary uses many different framing techniques. Mary is seen, in a close up shot with just her head and shoulders on the screen, talking with someone on the phone over a few particulars of how the show was going to be run that day. Another scene shows Mary in a dark room filled with computer equipment talking on a microphone to a woman named Rita, telling her how to act when she is on the phone live with Tony later on in the show. This is a mid shot because Mary's torso up to her head is seen and the viewer can see what Mary is doing with her hands, re-positioning the microphone she is talking into. In the last few minutes of the vlog Mary uses big close up shots to get the expressions and reactions of her co-workers when she interviews them about what they are going to do after their last day of work, with all of their answers being, “having drinks".
A few other things that I liked about this vlog was that it showed the behind the scenes work that takes place when filming and broadcasting a television show. A teleprompter is shown and there is also a scene where two men are controlling which camera shots are being broadcasted over the network, "Take 1...take 4". I assumed the numbers the men were saying referred to the different cameras that were set up around the stage with different shots, either long shots or close up shots. Another thing that I liked about the vlog was that throughout the vlog there was music, which played a song called "That's Life". Overall I thought Mary Matthews posted an entertaining and well edited vlog that showed her personal narrative of part of her day and showed a behind the scenes look at Mary's last day working for the Tony Danza show.

Continue reading "Goodbye Tony" »

Posted by Stephanie Scott at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://mirror4.video.blip.tv/Missintensity-beachEarlier789.mov
By Miss Intensity

The vlog's narrative consists of a conversation between two women lying in an Ontario park. Like any chat between friends, it flows naturally, from a discussion of future baby names (spurred by a passerby calling the name "Kennedy"), to what characteristics denote a musical. What makes this, a "typical" conversation that isn't particularly controversial or insightful, interesting, is that the viewer is hearing these women's private thoughts. Since they're friends, or at least comfortable enough with one another to say what they feel, we're catching a glimpse of humans connecting in a way that isn't normally seen on the silver screen, when a script controls dialogue meticulously crafted by a screenwriter.

Also adding interest is the camera work. The woman who tapes the conversation shoots from a low angle, so that the ground, towel she's lying on, and blades of grass are in the foreground, while her companion's head is often in the middle ground, and the background is filled with families enjoying a summer day in the park (they also provide background noise of laughter and conversations that aren't distinguishable from each other, but still almost drown out the vlog's main speakers).

Because the speakers' faces are often obscured by the objects in the foreground, it forces the viewer/listener to focus on the women's conversation. Like in The Piano, it also creates a feeling of voyeurism, because you're often peering through blades of grass to see a face or mouth moving. This also corroborates with the feeling of voyeurism you get from listening to a seemingly private conversation between companions.

Posted by Kristen Mueller at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

http://pouringdownpictures.com/blush.mov

I viewed "Blush" by Daniel Liss. I was very pleased with all of Daniel Liss's work. His modern abstractness portraying everyday life in Blush was really a peice of eye-candy for me. Art as film, with no definite plotline this abstract form emphasizes the beauty of the colors and time in the world. This vlog begins with an opening, handheld shot of highly contrasting, vibrant blue. It roughly transitions to a close-up overcranking scene of grasses in a feild, and then to vibrant flowers. Showing various nature scenes, Daniel layers the different shots of film to form an abstract form of ghostly silhouettes hidden among an array of brilliant hues and shadows. The music for this vlog is a rewinding sound that is progressing forward with a more defined upbeat.

Posted by Stephanie Hagen at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://nealey.blogspot.com/

My initial entry was just erased so pardon me if this becomes to cliff note like.

For our assignment this week I chose Mom's Brag Vlog to review. I was initially drawn to the vlog because the vlog creator, Erin, was sharing intimate animated moments with an online community of complete strangers and essentially redefining the word "brag." When I imagine bragging I pull of images of mom and dad carrying around photos of their children to share with colleagues or to use to break the ice with individual fully present to themselves. I can stretch that idea to my sister sending me and everyone else in her address book video's of my nephew's struggle with acceptance of his potty chair. Here though in Mom's Brag Vlog I actually got to see Erin's daughter, Jordan, swing the monkey bars (even more exciting I got to see it and it happened months ago). I didn't just hear about or see a picture of a child beaming over her success; I saw it. The audience of bragging becomes limitless in an online community. The vlog has taken a relatively simple act and extended to a world wide theatre, redefining the act of bragging.
The vlog raised some issues though: Can children agree or disagree to being videoed--- After all, the internet is a timeless safe keep for memories. When Jordan is a young professional, her associates could very well Google her name and watch her learn the monkey bars. What rights do the children in such vlogs have?
My other concern was if it was safe. There is an endless amount of information on this vlog and vlog's like it that could be used negatively. What makes a responsible vlogger?

Posted by Chelsea Burris at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

People I Know: Mortality, Part 6

Wow! This particular part of a series done forVideobloggers Week 2006 by Dave Media was extremely intense and almost hard to watch. It just seems rare, almost taboo, for people to be so raw and open about the deaths of loved ones and their feelings surrounding it, let alone put it on the internet for all the world to see. These people completely expose themselves, showing us that their naked pain is relative or universal to all. Dave filmed these people in black and white, which definitely adds to the gloom/pain of their stories. Yet, the last person to speak about death, holds a baby in her arms as she describes the anger she still posses for her friends suicide. I think the juxtaposition of the innocence and incapability of childhood versus the complexity and magnitude of being an adult is an interesting concept to end the vlog with. However, some of his zooming techniques and frames, I found distracting from the essence of the content. Although I understand that it's the videographer's job to make the post aesthetically pleasing, it is also their obligation to subtly make decisions that don't attract the attention of their audience. In the end, I highly respect these people's ability to speak their minds and share their hearts' deepest emotions, proving that death should not be taboo and that publicly grieving might help us all to deal with death.

Posted by Sacha Orozco at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca0rfTkmn4g&mode=related&search=

I watched a couple of vlogs on personal narratives and other educational vlogs but I came upon this vlog that was about poverty and it really touched me. This vlog was made by an individual as an assignment for one of her class. This vlog is consisted of a slide show of a collection of images and words which includes facts and statistics about poverty. I thought the images that were being display were extremely disturbing and thought provoking. The images did an excellent job at portraying poverty. I thought it was pretty affective when the pictures were being zoomed in because it gave us the chance to see the picture at a closer view, which gives us the chance to really connect with the pictures. In some of the pictures that were being shown, they were taken from a long shot, mid shot, medium close up and big close up angle. It was also very affective that the pictures were pause for a couple of second for you to really digest the meaning of it. When looking at these pictures you can see the struggles and the pain that poor people have to endure, I don’t think anyone can look at these pictures and not feel anything. There were a couple of pictures that just wanted to make me cry, you don’t realize how much poverty can hurt people until you see it visually. Films like this make you realize how fortunate you are just to have a roof over your head and food on the table. Poverty is an important and emotional issue which should be taken seriously.

Additionally when displaying the slide shows of pictures the director used a song called “If Everyone Cared� to help her convey her messages about poverty. The song played a critical role because it made her film more emotional and more moving. This is one of my first time watching vlogs on line and I think it's great that people can use it as a sorce to send out positive messages, generally speaking this was a great vlog. Overall, I thought the photographs were mesmerizing, heartbreaking and more. As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words.

Posted by Pang Xiong at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://media.beachwalks.tv/video/0609/beachwalk_209_060919.mp4

I watched the two-hundred and ninth episode of a vlog called Beach Walks With Rox. It was entitled "What if Everybody Did What They Loved?" From a feminist standpoint, the video was constructive and positive. The entire vlog was an interview with this woman who had switched careers when she was 53. She quit her desk job and learned to make things out of wood. The vlog included her personal story, her recommendations for other women trying to either switch careers or learn to work with wood, shots of some of her finished products, and two tips for solving common problems that one might run into when working with wood. I find this vlog to be constructive from a feminist standpoint because it tells the story of a woman who learned a skill and then began to enjoy her life significantly more. I think learning skills is part of the solution to the problem of low self esteem that plagues so many women. The two women in the vlog did not represent an unrealistic standard of beauty. Unfortunately, this vlog is really only accessible to middle to upper class women. In order to watch this vlog you must be wealthy enough to access high speed internet and take the time out of your day to watch Beach Walks with Rox. A class boundary is also present in Beach Walks With Rox in the way that It tells the story of a woman who was able to achieve happiness through something as simple as switching careers. The vlog did not mention a way for women to fulfill their dreams if they are not financially capable of quitting their jobs, buying woodworking tools, learning to woodwork, and making products. But all of the classes need feminist friendly media, so I still think its good that this is out there. It's just nice when you can be a feminist and fight the class war at the same time.
Unfortunately, this vlog is not nearly as good at being a film as it is at being pro-feminist. It is made with handheld camera and microphone and some simple editing equipment. This alone does not make for a poor quality piece of film. However, the vlog was almost entirely the same two-shot, except for cuts to go to montages of the woodworkers' handiwork and tools. The creator of the vlog did not make use of continuity editing, and a few of the cuts were very jumpy and jarring. Combined with the lethargic pace of the interview, these elements created a slow film that is hard to focus on in its entirety. But then again, I don't work with wood or take beach walks, so maybe I'm just the wrong audience for this vlog.

Posted by Angeline Andersen at 3:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The story the man tells in this vlog is a very sad one. He talks about how his neighbor dies at home after fighting a disease for a long time. He doesn’t say what the disease was but gives the impression that he was not old. He accentuates the somber mood with slow sad music and some interesting camera angles. His video shows only shots of the rain falling on a railing. He shows a variety of different zooms and sometimes leaves it out of focus. The way he chooses his style really helps show how he feels about what happened with his neighbor. The vlog he posted is his way of sending them flowers because he says that flowers won’t do anything for him now. If it were me I would much rather have somebody do something like this for me than to send my family flowers. I think he did the right thing. I chose this vlog because I think it actually has a real message and inspiration unlike so many other vlogs I view before this one.

vlog: http://pouringdownpictures.com/neighbors.mov

Posted by Andrew Gilb at 1:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I watched a few vlogs and this is the one I really liked. It had an informative message. I felt like the other ones I saw had no purpose; in other words they were a waste of time. This particular vlog informs us of a non-profit organization designed to help homeless people and those who have been in jail get their lives back on track. The volunteers in the program help people spiritually and emotionally; which in return makes those who are being helped want to help other people. It is really great to see that someone cares enough to make a vlog about this organization and try to promote this humanitarian organization. It shows that the creator of this vlog really cares about the community; he is not just wasting people’s time with pointless videos, but he is actually promoting a good cause. The filming and editing of this vlog look rather professional for a vlog; versus the other ones that I have seen (which were home movies). The image was rather clear, the sound was not too bad (although there were some back ground noises at times, but that is kind of inevitable), the editing was rather good as well; the creator had the names and positions of the people talking on the bottom of the screen.
There is another vlog that I watched as well called My Stories of Life which was also under Minnesota stories. I did not like the vlog so much just because the title was misleading. It did not have a story; but was a video of kids playing on a slip and slide and the creator was naming the kids as they went on the slip and slide. The creator however had a really great quote on his page: “Life is a daily opportunity for new exploration and life-long learning. The meaning of life is based on the people you touch and the stories you leave behind.� It would have been really cool to see a video that maybe had something to do with that quote.

Posted by Saly Abdalla at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otLb8qApGrM&mode=related&search=

ok so maybe its just me but I don't get it. It seems as though anything can be put up on a vlog, and there usually is no point to it. This one for example has to be the worst thing I have ever seen. As a big Lord of the Rings fan I was kind of offended by it. Not really but it was so painful to watch cause it wasnt funny and it was ruining something I really enjoy. Other vlogs have great stories, peoples personal opinions, stories and are really fascinating. then there are the vlogs that are just tuly funny, and the ones, like this one which are just not funny at all and I wonder why it was even made. For the most part I'm just not understanding the vlog world. Is it meant to be a simple, easy to access oulet for art? In which case I guess it works but there are so many different vlogs some with artistic intentions, some just there to pass the time and who knows what else. I think that if i wanted to promote my art, a vlog wouldnt be the way I would pick, its too much work to have to sift through all the different vlogs to find something of serious artistic quality. not that most of the vlogs are crap, its just many are funny or just ways to pass the time. they arent meant to be a form of artistic expression. or perhaps they are and I just cant quite appreciate them. regardless, i'm still not understanding the vlog movement.

Posted by Allison Rogne at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The vlog I watched is called Jampa's Home Video #1 and it is by a girl who goes by the name of Village Girl. This video blog is about a young girls fascination with a balloon. This video is mostly filmed in long shot framing with Jampa, the little girl, and her balloon in the center of the frame. Through out the film you see Jampa standing on a bed playing with a balloon that is attached to a weight sitting on the floor. A couple of times the camera zooms in on the Jampa's face and you are able to see her excitement as she looks at the balloon, and her deep thought as she decides where to reposition the balloon to so she can reach it from the bed. There is no music in this film, only the conversation and laughing of Jampa and her mother and a t.v. in the background. Even though this film is very simple and doesn't have much of a purpose, I find it very fascinating. I love watching little kids, I think they're soooo cute. I also find it interesting how young children can become so fascinated with simple things, such as a balloon and how parents are so fascinated with everything their children do. It was a cute film. http://villagegirl.typepad.com/village_girl/files/jampas_home_video1.mov

Posted by Renee Wrobel at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This vlog is by Kate Troescher, a student at California, whose show discusses sports news and related issues. The vlog starts with images of previous episodes sliding into view while playing “Start Me Up� by the Rolling Stones. Then the title, “Kate on Sports� appears. The vlog uses a mid shot frame and a talk to camera narrative. The focus is on Kate who is sitting in front of a desk, her Mac visible with the title of the episode’s topic. Next to the computer is a Cal hat, facing directly toward the viewer. The backdrop is a bulletin board covered in pictures, letters, pins, and other miscellaneous items. The vlog starts with Kate flexing her bicep for the camera. The feel is very informal. The topic of this show is women and muscle. It discusses the stereotypes and the social acceptance issues in a Q &A format.

I chose this vlog because it was a female talking about sports, which is already not the norm. Most sports broadcasters are male and while there are a few women in the field, they tend to be very attractive and have very little camera time comparatively. Kate talks about the social acceptance of female body builders while competing with the super thin body image. How Hollywood stars such as J Lo and Catherine Zeta Jones have made it more acceptable to have curves and a more “normal� body. But, others such as Lindsay Lohan and Hillary Duff are sporting the close to anorexic frame. These two extremely different body images create a conflict in what is “acceptable.� I found it very interesting in both a feminist aspect but also in a non typical social aspect. I thought that the topic was well prepared for and honestly, Kate is easily above par with the current female sports broadcasters. I did notice that she talked in more lay woman terms. She gave sports news in a way that those who didn’t quite understand sports would be able to get the jist which, tends to be more of a female audience. Overall, I really enjoyed her presentation.

http://blip.tv/file/81294

Posted by Stephanie Boekhoff at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An artist draws a cartoon woman and V.O's what makes him horny based on said drawings.

Continue reading "Tales of Mere Existence" »

Posted by John Komarek at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I recently watched this Vlog Video on youtube. It seemed like the creators tried having a lot of fun with it and made it comical, also editing it to make it appear to be like something you'd see on television. Obviously the quality of picture and sound isn't that great, the sound echoes and the picture is a little blurry. The bit didn't attempt to really get across any real essential information and didn't have much of a message. It simply attempted to use a comical approach to get across to viewers. I thought it was somewhat funny. I liked the part where the guy is swinging a club by the pool, slips, and then falls over. I'm assuming this was something that was staged, yet it was funny nonetheless.

Other Vlogs I came across were fairly personal and attempted to get something across to the viewer, but I picked this one because it shows the kind of quality video that people can create from fairly simple techniques and equipment. People enjoy watching bits like this even though there is nothing essential that comes from it other than entertainment. There were many other bits from the same makers. They had a little series on youtube called Anchor in Pj's. This was like the 17th episode or something like that so this is something fairly significant to the makers as they have made many of them. This bit just seems like something different from what other people are doing, although there are still probably many things like this out there. I think its important to look at the things people do with Vlogs, and try to identify the reasons behind them.

Posted by Jacob Deibele at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This Strange Relationship is a Vlog that features two women singing on stage about their relationship. The camera stays at the same angle the whole time and does not move. I found this to be a bit amateur and would have like to see a close up or two of the women faces. A profile would have also been nice and added to the Vlog. But I can understand that this Vlog was probably not about the camera work and more about the content of the song. I found this Vlog on Vidlicious: Female Vlog Collective. I really did not think it would be too terribly difficult to find a Vlog with some meat to it that I could analyze, that is until I started looking. Then, after following the Vidlicious: Female Vlog Collective link, I found quite a few Vlogs with some deep content in them. One was about a women who was abused as a child and there were many more. Then I can upon This Strange Relationship and it intrigued me.
This Strange Relationship on many levels showed the difference of the two women. On the surface level you could see that they were of two different races, dressed differently, and even preformed differently. The woman on the left, I believe her name is Bob, used poetry as her instrument, while the woman on the right, I believe her name is Toshi, used a guitar. Toshi has a beautiful, and in tune, voice that carries very well with the guitar. Bob on the other hand has a low voice that speaks more than sings. At first the duet is a bit awkward because of the difference in voice, but towards the middle and then in the end they some how meshed together and put out a unique and wonderful sound. I think if you look at the two voices this way, it is very symbolic of the song. The song's content is about how their relationship is so strange, but yet it works for them. They care about each other’s feelings and comment on their actions that are an outcome of their feelings. The line that jumped out at me the most is when Bob says "Isn't it a shame that this ant the movies? Then you could write my every line." This jumped out at me because I have been thinking a lot about women in the movies and what sort of women are depicted and how the are depicted. Then I was trying to imagine their story and was thinking that their story would probably never be written into a Hollywood script. Hollywood does not want real women, they want women that they can control and manipulate. Lets say that their song was made into a Hollywood film, it would probably start out will Halley Berry running on the beach in a swimsuit and then she would trips\ over a poor white woman played by Gwyneth Paltrow and then Berry would take Paltrow in and they would fall in love and then they cut to the scene with them having sex. I guess that is a little bias. To conclude, I enjoyed this Vlog because it was two women singing about their relationship in a very different way, laughing, smiling, and showing that they truly cared for one another.

To watch this Vlog (I hope!) This Strange Relationship

Posted by Alysse Johnson-Strandjord at 9:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Check out this story here: http://www.mnstories.com/archives/2006/09/keith_ellison_v.html

On the web site"Minnesota Stories", Vlogers from all over the country, but mostly Minnesota, post their video blogs. The one thing these varying vlogs have in common is that they all have some relation to Minnesota and the Twin Citiees area.
The Vlog I watched was titled "Keith Ellison Victoy". Fort those of you who do not know Keith Ellison, he is the State Representative who won the Minnesota Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives 5th District on September 12th. The most distinguishing characteristic about the man is that he is a Black Muslim. If he wins race, he would become the first Muslim ever to serve in the House of Representatives.
The vlog details his victory party with news articles from various news websites, a streamed broadcast of his victory speech and a view from someone in the crowd at his victory party.
I thought the still frames of the news articles telling of his victory were a nice, classy way of adding hype to the message to the audience.
The streamed Internet footage the author used was filmed with a hand cam. This gives the footage the effect of being older than it is. The sound is a bit distorted as well as the picture. When I saw this, it reminded me of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream speech". It seemed like that might have been the author's intent: to compare Ellison to King, both of whom are black (obviously).
The first person, Point-of-View footage used by the author gives the viewer a look at what it could have been like to be at the event.
The vlog ends with scenes from a bar in downtown Minneapolis. The scene is full of happy dancers and other celebrators
I thought the vlog was a good way to give viewing audiences a feel for the moment of the victory of Democrat Keith Ellison. The overall quality isn't the best, but you shouldn't expect too much from amateur A/V enthusiasts.

Posted by Stephen Kuzj at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I found this vlog off the Vidlicious Female vlog site. I decided to write about this particular vlog becuase it is different from the other vlogs I've watched. This vlog consists of a lady interviewing another lady about her job as a wood worker. The lady being interviewed is very enthusiastic about doing what one loves and about how women can do anything men can do. She seems to be a very happy and motivational lady.
The interview is done by a lady named Rox. It seems that she has her own show where she goes around Hawaii interviewing people. The show is probably a low budget production. The music is soft and relaxing. As the introduction, the camera scans around different wood work and then the screen blurs until the title appears. Throughout the whole segment the camera basically stays on the two women talking. I liked this vlog a lot becuase it is inspirational and simple.
Watch this vlog at: http://media.beachwalks.tv/video/0609/beachwalk_209_060919.mp4
( just copy and paste in URL)

Posted by Alison Havey at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

This vlog is posted by a female documentary filmmaker in New York City, who goes by the name scratch. Reading the written part of her posts make you think it is whiny and pretentious, and perhaps a few of them are. But most of the videos are very interesting and well done. "Tergiversation" is a post that at first didn't make any sense to me and reading her notes on it made it seem really stupid. However without using any audible dialogue she is able to make the turning of book pages very interesting. There is a strange piece of glass between the camera and the pages which magnify certain words. The lighting is very direct, and creates strange shadows with her fingernails.
Watching "Tergiversation" made me watch other posts on her vlog and there are a few that are traditional vlogs with her talking directly at the camera, but even these have either interesting locations (walking around New York) or presentations (out of focus, vignettes over the camera conceling certain areas) that make them different from the more reality show interview portion-style of most vlogs. The editting is also good. The films are either edited in camera, creating a very short film, or they are pieced together in more traditional sense. Even if it does get too abstract or whiny, their briefness and presentation makes most of them watchable.
<"http://www.scratchvideo.tv/scratch/">

Posted by Alexander Holler at 8:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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My roommate and I together searched web site after web site looking for a vlog to post. At first we agreed that they were pretty interesting but the more we watched, the more similar they all seemed. So instead of finding a creative one with meaning I decided to do one I have an opinion on. When looking on youtube.com, I began searching and came across this video. The camera work is very simple, there is some added sound affects, and the girl is the main focus. She frequently changes her distance shots between a mid shot and medium close up. This adds a little bit of interest so instead of just watching her talk and listening, the scene changes to keep the watchers attention. The real thing that got my attention was what is actually being said. The fact that this girl is sharing her life story on the internet for anyone to watch in my opinion is too open. She seems dependent on making the videos, as she has multiple posts, and continues creating new ones and being completely open (For those who don't know, this is an actress so her series isn't real, but still!). 'Vlog dependency' as you could call it, seems to me something that could really pick up as vlogs become more popular. This particular one is proof that you don't have to be great with a camera to have a vlog. As long as there is emotion expressed, peoples attention will be drawn.

Posted by Kelsey Buckley at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I wanted to watch a vlog by an average person talking about themself and their life and I ended up watching one posted by a girl living in Minneapolis. It was interesting because she not only talked about her life in the style of a video diary, but she also added different film techniques like fades, cuts, music, and montages of her pets as well as projects she's working on. All of these things made viewing the vlog more enjoyable. I also thought it was interesting because she talked to her viewers as though they were close friends; it reminded me of the way I write emails to friends to let them know what I've been up to. Overall it was a good "entry" because the elements she added enhanced the vlog and kept the viewers interested in watching.

To watch it click here

Also, for a quick pick-me-up, watch this

Posted by Jessica Shoemaker at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I love the "Modern Feminist" from Vidlicious! I have watched a few of her vlogs and I love them. She films herself and others realistically. She doesn't try to make herself into something she's not. Mostly, she takes situations and events and thinks about them from a feminist perspective. I love the fact that she uses the feminist lens for everything she blogs or vlogs about. She points out things that aren't always common sense until you notice it.

In this blog that I chose, she talks about a book she read called Women Don't Ask. She also gives an example of a time when she did ask and got what she wanted with a parking ticket. Her lessen with this vlog was a message to women: ask and you shall recieve. Her videos are hand held shots the whole time and they focus on her face. I think what I like about her most is her honesty. She talks about everyday issues and very simple things that women can do to close the wage gap etc. I absolutely love her!

You can find more from her at: http://modernfeminist.com
The blog I chose is at: http://mirror4.video.blip.tv/BShoot-WomenShouldAsk341.mov

Posted by Jessica Englund at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I love the "Modern Feminist" from Vidlicious! I have watched a few of her vlogs and I love them. She films herself and others realistically. She doesn't try to make herself into something she's not. Mostly, she takes situations and events and thinks about them from a feminist perspective. I love the fact that she uses the feminist lens for everything she blogs or vlogs about. She points out things that aren't always common sense until you notice it.

In this blog that I chose, she talks about a book she read called Women Don't Ask. She also gives an example of a time when she did ask and got what she wanted with a parking ticket. Her lessen with this vlog was a message to women: ask and you shall recieve. Her videos are hand held shots the whole time and they focus on her face. I absolutely love her!

You can find more from her at: http://modernfeminist.com
The blog I chose is at: http://mirror4.video.blip.tv/BShoot-WomenShouldAsk341.mov

Posted by Jessica Englund at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My vlog watching experience came from the vloggers: Daryl Hannah's Love Life found through the link for Vidlicious on the Course Blog. This particular vlog site caught my interest because of the title! Once at their site, there were many episodes to choose from. Immediately, "Vegan Junkfood" piqued my interest. (I'm vegetarian, so anything vegan/vegetarian always catches my eye). I also liked how every episode on Daryl Hannah's Love Life showed some enviornmentally friendly act.

WATCH THIS VLOG NOW!

The vlog itself is very entertaining. There's always music incorporated into the shots that fit really well and makes the video entertaining and exciting to watch. The opening shots are all single shots set to music of different objects surrounding this vegan restaurant/house. Without having seen the video before, the shots seem kindof confusing, but in a good way, because it makes the viewer curious as to what the images are all leading up to. Finally, the owner's speak about the mission of M.A.R.S. (the house they live in) and what they are all about.

***Something interesting to note, is that the guy shown in this vlog used to be Mark, the youngest son, on "Home Improvement."***

After the intro, you are invited into the house to see all the delicious vegan cuisine being made. The feeling during this particular part of the vlog is very personal and intimate. If makes you feel as if you're among friends, hanging out, having a good time at someone's house. There's always a fun, inviting atmosphere and the video really captures the essence of that, either through music, conversation, or people. It makes the viewer wish that they were there. Even though the vlog is fun, modern and upbeat, it still tells a story about M.A.R.S. and their important vegan mission. Ultimately, the vlogger made the vlog appealing in hopes to inform and possibly sway viewers to consider a vegan lifestyle.

Posted by Mikaela Knox at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I can't seem to get the weblink but I'll try it again.

Posted by Jillian Schwantz at 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I checked out the vlog that was called "Vidlicious." It was centered around females in the community, however, most of the vlogs were quite boring and insignificant. I watched two or three, but nothing really jumped out at me as being necessary. I think this site thinks they are helping women by impowering all they do in the community, especially unique events like tatoos and burlesque dancing. However, it would have been more empowering to see more women in the community who are extremely influencial, and not so much risk takers. Tatoos and dancing are cool, but I'm not sure that they reach out to the community as being imporatant or empowering. I suppose they are trying to create vlogs that say, "some women are bad, and that's acceptable," but I think they should have gone out and done some more work and research in order to attract a bigger audience. Not to meantion, most of the film was home-made, and not much art and skill was put into creating an intense opposition.

Posted by Jillian Schwantz at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I don’t really like video blogs just because most of the ones I see are awful. The most popular ones are usually from the point of view of some mildly attractive girl who talks about absolutely nothing. These girls get tons of views and people who subscribe to their blogs so they know the second they post a new one, I just find it interesting that so many people can connect with nothing. But at the same time perverts need to see girls and the only site I’m at when I see blogs is YouTube.com. So they might not have the most prime selection. I’m being rude people should be able to do and post whatever they want. So the blog I chose to look at was a girl talking about nothing but she had a lot of views and fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UysCDoKINoA&NR

Posted by Alexander Brown at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Putting on Lipstick...
Talking about birds...
Keyhole & Secret Exhibitionist

Continue reading "Persephassa Vlog" »

Posted by Beth Chekola at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

I chose a vlog post from http://kelleyinthecity.blogspot.com/. Some of the other posts on the site were hand-held camera footage of the area she lived in or other parts of her life, so this one stood out to me and seemed a little softer than a few of her other vlog posts.

I chose this particular vlog because it was a collage of photos she took while in Central Park. I thought that she had a lot of crisp, clear, beautiful extreme long shots of the city line as well as some gorgeous nature shots. I've never been to New York, but have always wanted to go and I think this vlog post did a great job to lure the viewer.

I love photography and this vlog was just a bunch of dissolve transitions of her own work. She chose two songs about New York that complimented the photographs well and not even in the switch between them were there any errors of continuity. The whole vlog post was very visually appealing and very mellow and calm in mood, which is sort of the opposite of the faced paced, hectic schedule feel that many people say about New York.

Posted by Nicky Cebertowicz at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't know how to attach links...yes, computers confuse me, so what?! Until I figure it out, this is where you can find the vlog I'm commenting on: http://blip.tv/file/80895.

I thought this vlog applied a variety of terms I’ve learned in your class. The shot is definitely being executed by a hand-held camera. I love the way his head moves in and out of the frame. The camera doesn’t zoom, rather he moves his arm towards the mirror or away from the mirror. This creates a zooming affect. The feeling of the shot changes depending on if his entire face is in the frame, or if it’s just his head from his eyes down. The location of his head, in the frame, changes. Panning is a tool the vlogger utilizes.

I love the way I can see a “live� image of him reflected in the mirror and also a recorded image of him through the monitor on the camera. There is a much more powerful gaze coming from him. There are two smiles looking back at me instead of just one. The gaze created from a voyeur perspective leads me to believe I’m seeing something personal and private. It’s like he’s making a video for a significant other in his bathroom or something. I love the way if feels so casual and personal.

The music in the background is perfect. Can you watch this vlog and not smile? I couldn’t.

Posted by Matthew Shapiro at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For the vlog watching assignment I viewed Chasing Windmills (Overature), which introduces the second season of this online series. It includes a group of characters, all interacting in their own plots. This vlog takes place right here in Minneapolis which makes the location and scenery easy to relate with. The first part of the vlog that caught my attention was the music that was playing in the background. It was the same scheme during the entire video; it was a slower, more solemn song. This type of song relates to what is going on during the video, two break-ups occur, a man is looking for a new place to live, and someone steals another person's files off a computer. None of these things are happy occurences. The camera focuses in on small objects throughout the video such as the answering machine when a woman is talking on it, the purchases a girl makes in Ragstock, the fire alarm, and the USB port on the computer. Each of these objects seem to play an important role in the plot of the story. They also use sound to imply that certain actions are occuring; for example, show a girl by a pool, and then cut to another shot and play a splashing noise, or show a man by the fire alarm and cut to the next shot while the alarm sounds. The cuts in the video are made from shot to shot of scenes from different plots or parts of the story. It appears that the video is filmed using a handheld camera. I recommend watching this episode and some of the others because it is a very interesting and creative site.

http://chasingmills.blogspot.com/

Posted by Amanda Mrotek at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Vlog that I watched was from the pourdowing.tv website that Rachel had suggested. I watched the first few that were linked to the site, since I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. However, I decided to look at the archives. I'm glad that I did. I found "decision machine." Immediately, I was interested by the title and the pictures of the A (choice X) and B (choice Y) that was shown. For me, making decisions is normally easy, but once in a while you encounter a few that you might need to just "flip a coin" and go with it.

In Daniel Liss' "decision machine" he relies heavily on jump cuts between images and words and of course sound. There are frames of just phrases, the background is in black and the text is in white. In my opinion, this helps to convey his message even more. It helps to strengthen the idea that all decisions should be clear cut, black and white, and that there is no grey space. The jump cuts between images of different objects also dramatize his point. Liss shows images of a marker and pen, and then quickly cuts to a tall glass and a shot glass. By continually showing these "choices" Liss engages the audience by using common household items. We have all wondered if we should wear a sandal or a tennis shoe, use aspoon or fork, marker or pen.

Although the images are important, personally I think the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are key elements to the message. For his step one, Liss cuts to a frame with the text, "Take a moment to clearly state choices (pause this if you need a moment)," however along with the image, there is a sound of a ticking stop watch. Although there is no image of the watch, the viewer responds with a sense of urgency. There is an idea that this decision must be made; that there is a deadline to meet and time is running out. The use of the church bells as each step is shown, also conveys the message that time is passing. With each step, more time has gone by, the hours are slipping away. Then in the last minute or so of the Vlog, Liss uses diegetic sound of the coin spinning. He could have used another non-diegetic sound; however, by employing the sound from the image, the viewer feels as if they are there, watching the coin spin - waiting as the adrenaline is rushing, until the coin stops, and the final choice is made......or is it. In the end, Liss reveals through more text and images of the coin spinning that your decision is not final. Not all decisions are black and white, you cannot always assign choice A with x and choice B with y and spin a coin. Somethings in life are little more complicated than heads and tails.

http://pouringdownpictures.com/decision-machine.mov

Posted by Adria Crowe at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What I chose was from the vlog site Annieisms, Is It?, about a young woman and her everyday adventures as a 20 year old college student. I was really nervous about writing about a vlog entry, because I had no idea what I could possibly say about someone who is talking about personal experiences and nothing else. However, there was something really entertaining about this vlog, and the simplicity and everyday aspect of it (without being too artsy or intuitive). This vlog reminded me of a reality cooking show with her friend. She shows each ingredient of the meal, with the name at the bottom of the screen for each, just like in cooking shows. Also, by using a fade-out and fade-in, it is as if she is highlighting the important aspects of cooking and how one would make the meal. There was a real personal aspect to it, since she switches from the camera as her point of view, so the viewer beomes an extension of the author, as well as another guest for dinner by watching both of them converse. Also, since the majority of the vlog entry is a close up view, there is a sense that we are all squished into her small kitchen. Through this vlog entry, Annie is inviting her viewers over for dinner and we get to see the final product at the end, as if we just sat down at the table.

Here is the vlog entry:
http://mirror4.video.blip.tv/Annieee-cookingWithRuzbeh979.mov

Posted by Claire Eastwold at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

< Hey everyone....I must say that this was my first ever Vlog watching experience, and it went pretty well! I browsed through one of the sites that Rachel gave us, and I found a very interesting vlog titled, "Chasing Windmills". I chose it initially because the name caught my attention. It is a short film of about 5 minutes, and it is done completely in black and white. There were a lot of different sub-plots going on, which gave me the impression that it may be a preview of a longer vlog that willl be posted later. The most exciting thing for me was that it takes place in Minneapolis. Famiiliar sites like First Avenue Venue, the Metrodome, and others kept popping into the vlog. There are many close up shots of the characters faces, answering machines, price tags, words (on signs, billboards, and shirts), and each frame is taken with a specific and thoughtfull camera angle. There are "break-ups" that punctuate the story, and it was interesting to me that in each encounter, it was the woman who was breaking up with the man. The phrase "man ban" and celebate were used in one scene... I didn't notice a specific male 'gaze', but take a look for yourselves! It is fun, interesting, and familiar...plus there is music playing throughout the vlog which I found lovely - Enjoy! >
mailto:http://mirror4.video.blip.tv/Jadelr-CHASINGWINDMILLSEp000Overture310.mov

Posted by Lara Healy at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

This vlog by Daniel Liss is from Rachel’s favorite list. There were several vblogs to choose from, but I found the entry, “Seven Maps: Sixth Map,� to be the most interesting. Basically, the vlog has a man (off-screen) narrating (non-diagetic) a very dark story in French about how his grandfather’s “masterpiece� affected his whole family in both positive and negative ways. This so-called “masterpiece� sadly involved his grandfather, Guillaume, commit suicide by jumping off a high column. Like the images that follow the narration, his grandfather’s last words, “I love this column. I hate this column� are as strange and abstract. However, the editing helps the viewers to relate to such a contradicting thought—hating and loving something at the same time. Toward the beginning of the vlog, a repeated shot of the column is shown at an empowering low-angle. It even appears to be blinding because the sun is in view at that type of angle. Later on, however, editing allows it to get connected with a beautiful garden scene. Apparently, this garden is where both he and his father were conceived. Although the column represents his grandfather’s death, it also symbolizes the beginning of more generations. The “incident� was ironically about the same day that his grandmother found out that she was pregnant—so a “new life� (the narrator’s father) was growing inside of her. There are also numerous shots where it would pause and focus on certain objects in the mise-en-scene. In a way, this helps to emphasize that fact that it’s from the narrator’s point of view. His shaky hand-held camera and focusing vision leads the viewer to gaze in on a very personal perspective. For example, when the narrator explained how his father was conceived on a certain bench in the garden, the camera would quickly center and pause to linger on that bench in order to point out its significance to the plot. Overall, I enjoyed this very artistic vlog. It actually made me think, unlike the several hundred “junk� vlogs that I visited before hand.

View this vlog here:

Continue reading "Seven Maps: Sixth Map" »

Posted by Elizabeth Bodnia at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

view vlog here

I found this blog through Rachel's favorite vlog examples below; it is by Daniel Liss. This vlog -- called Seven Maps: Seventh Map -- is a video-journal of Liss's week-long trip from Buffalo, New York to Niagaria Falls, Ontario. The vlog is created in a way that the viewer sees exactly what the filmmaker is seeing; it is Liss's point of view. He filmed all of the stops he made along the way, as well as various people he met everywhere he went. Throughout the vlog there is a voice-over, spoken by Liss, that is more-or-less explaining the reason behind his post. He explains some of the images, such as who the people on the screen are and how he met them, as well as his intention to the viewer. He states that sometimes he is too cryptic in his work, but I believe his intention was to shsow the viewers his point of view. One shot showed lipstick written on a mirror that simply said "you"; i think this reiterates that it is what you would see had you been there, it is his point of view.
Liss uses various filming techniques thoughout the blog. All of the shots appear to be hand-held, which makes sense since he seemss to be by himself, and it is the vlog of his journey. At certain times in the vlog, the film speeds up and is shown in faster time, which creates a sense of urgency to the viewer. It seems to happen when Liss is explaining a particularly eventful time in the journey. One of the most amazing parts of this post is Liss's choice of shot and on what he chooses to focus. For example, in his attempt to show the viewer our own point of view, he films very close shots of typical items, such as a woman holding lipstick, or the image of the food he is eating. All of this combined creates exactly what Liss was trying to convey: his journey from the viewer's visual point of view.
(and I definately know why Rachel likes this filmmaker so much; his work is amazing!!)

Posted by Whitney Schulte at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Hold my Beer and Watch This!" is a Vlog that chronicles a beer tasting adventure shared by Stephanie and her father. The Vlog begins with Stephanie in a close-up shot explaining what this Vlog will be about. Then on her personal hand held camcorder sha pans the pub they are at so viewers can get a sense of location. After doing this we get a shot of her dad who is sitting across the table from her. The rest of the Vlog captures them in a mid-shot. You can see that they are taking glasses of beer for sampling and trying them as well. It was a very personal look into the lives of these two people. I know some may say how is this intimate? I would say it is because this (beer) is clearly something this father and daughter have in common. They are sharing their common ground with the world which I think is very personal. It makes me reflect on all of the dads I know who im sure would love to be able to have beer as a common ground with their own daughters. This Vlog made me happy, it made me reflect on personal experiences with my own dad. It was a very simple homemade Vlog, but in being so simple it gave back quite a bit to me the viewer.
The link to view this Vlog is http://mortaine.blogspot.com/
I will get the actual Vlog up as soon as I can figure out how, SORRY!

Posted by Jen Rodgers at 5:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Watch the blog here:
view vlog

Continue reading "Rachel L's vlog pick" »

Posted by Rachel Lawson at 5:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

"What Everyone Else Was Talking About"

This is a diary post, as the narrator in this vlog entry describes. The video follows the creator during his day as he contemplates and thinks aloud. The entire video is shot from the creator's point of view. In addition, most, if not all of the video uses hand-held shots. The way this video was filmed, along with the narration, gives it a very personal feel. Viewers feel like they are right there with the creator, not only experiencing and seeing the same things but also experiencing them in the same way because he is telling you what he is thinking and noticing. I think that the narration is essential to this piece. The creator's voice brings you inside what he is thinking about, wondering, and feeling and you are able to see the world as he sees it. The use of jump cuts brings us from one thought to another, mimicking the way the brain works sometimes as it jumps from thought to thought. The creator also uses music to add to the intimacy of the video. There is a repeating loop of music, almost just ambient noise, which drowns out most of the other sounds and leaves you to listen and think about what he is saying.

The director of this video uses all of these techniques to create a very intimate and personal journey. As I viewed this entry I was completely drawn in to his life and thoughts as he contemplates throughout the day. The video moves fast, especially with the use of certain filming techniques such as a hand-held camera and jump cuts. However, I think it really succeeds at slowing life down. The creator makes little life moments and thoughts, which would normally be ignored, the focus of this entry. It’s nice to slow down from life’s busy pace and take a minute to enjoy the little things. Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses, or in this case, the mint.

Posted by Tegan Conway at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

http://dek.blip.tv/file/64727

Little Terrorist found on Ticklebooth

Continue reading "" »

Posted by John Komarek at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

WARNING: If your computer is too slow to view the videos linked in this post, please visit the FMC (468 Ford) or one of these other computer labs on campus, to complete this assignment.

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Confused? Unsure where to begin? Read about what a videoblog (or vlog) is here:

NY Times article: Watch Me Do This and That Online
Wikipedia definition: Vlog
Vlogging Resources: Freevlog.org
Yahoo Videoblogger's Group

This Week's Assignment:
You are the spectator’s gaze, peering into other’s lives, through their videoblogs (vlogs). Visit some of the vlogs linked on our course blog (or other vlogs you may encounter in your own search) and report back on this course blog. You may consider posting on: an analysis of the gaze(s), use of personal narratives, visual style, editing, feminist activism, themes that refelct course material or whatever seems most relevant to you.

Please know the vloggers will have access to read what you’ve posted & will probably know that you linked to them. You may be critical, but do not write any personal attacks, racist or sexist comments or inappropriate commentary on our blog.

The point of this assignment is to:
1) see what video work people create & distribute online
2) employ some of the concepts and analytic tools we’re learning in this course
3) get intrigued, inspired or whatever you feel in response to the work you viewed

Assignment Requirements:

* Write a short paragraph or two, posting a response to a particular vlog entry, or you may choose to analyze a body of work on a vlog (which requires a bit more analysis).

* Your entry must include in-depth analysis that reflects understanding of course materials, discussion, concepts and terminology.

* You must LINK your post to the vlog or particular entry you viewed.

* You must post by NOON on Monday, 10/2!

NOTE: You should focus on ONE vlog post or vlog site, and include in-depth analysis. My example (below) includes a number of entries to give you samples of what I'm watching/enjoying and why, with little analysis.

!!! AVOID VIDEO SPAM !!!
(think of SPAM emails) - you know the garbage you want to delete immediately. Avoid junk video (you'll have a tough time analyzing this material using key terms as instructed below).

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RACHEL'S ASSIGNMENT EXAMPLES:

My favorite vlog:

pouringdown.tv

This vlog is by Daniel Liss, a photographer and independent filmmaker. This site is his personal space (not work for hire) and his way to express himself. This site has some great posts - watch them!

My favorite entries on this vlog site:

1 - theory/practice - an entry about the theory and practice of this videoblogger's craft.

His visual style is moving. He opens with the fog resting on the outside of a building. He uses music to get us from cut to cut. He tells the narrative (taking his sleeping baby to the botanical gardens), but says "I don't point the camera and explain...". Instead, he shows us visually (he calls it "tangentially".

He varies the framing - revealing both the landscape and the details of his world. He makes a simple shot - of a pencil scratching notes on paper - so beautiful. He explains his vlog stylistically: I add music, I play with the image. Does this stop being a vlog? This is my world - this is how I see it, how I think it - I vlog it for you...

Many videobloggers have written vlogging manifestos (with rules about what counts and what doesn't in terms of being a vlog), this may be Daniel's thoughts on the subject.

2 - neighbors - an eloquent piece reflecting on a neighbor who recently passed

In this short clip, Daniel structures the piece with a personal voiceover. The content is very emotional (death, AIDS, and the way people interact with each other) and he chooses stylistic, visual elements to tell this story. He uses extreme close-ups of water droplets hitting the windowsill in a sad dance, the sound of the rain, sad music, and color seemingly painted on the frame (using soft focus). He holds each shot for a time, seemingly slow, but the pacing perfectly matched to the eloquence of the piece. He thought about leaving flowers but didn't, instead, he leaves this post.

Other Vlog Posts I enjoy:

1 – from Vidlicious women vlogger collective (which has LOTS of great links):

Stretching Before and After on identity, womanhood, personal narratives

2 - from scratchvideo.tv

measure 2wice. cut once. - vlog post on getting fitted for a wedding and how long it takes to make breasts

Posted by Rae at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)