“Moodstream is a concepting tool. The modern version of the fireplace. An interactive art piece. TV for the future. It’s a website we created for and with Getty Images to showcase all of their offerings – still, video and sound – and inspire interactive creatives. And it’s really, really fun to use.”
via Iconic Turn.
Weezer’s music video for their new single Pork and Beans fetures lots of YouTube Stars like Chris Chrocker, the CokeMentos guys or Miss Teen South Carolina.
“YouTomb is a research project by MIT Free Culture that tracks videos taken down from YouTube for alleged copyright violation.
More specifically, YouTomb continually monitors the most popular videos on YouTube for copyright-related takedowns. Any information available in the metadata is retained, including who issued the complaint and how long the video was up before takedown. The goal of the project is to identify how YouTube recognizes potential copyright violations as well as to aggregate mistakes made by the algorithm.”
Time is moving fast on the net. The medium changes so fast, that it already has lived through several transitions. For example, can you still remember how the Internet was before YouTube? When was that? Back in the 90ies? Of course not, YouTube went online on february 15th, 2005, so that’s 3 years only!!! Moreover, look at YouTube itself, haven’t there even been several generations of the platform in this short time?
But what role do time and temporality play in a medium like YouTube, when every second 10 hours of video footage is uploaded? You always see a very moment of the history of YouTube, symbolized through the “videos beeing watched right now” feature on the front page.
As the platform is changing it’s content so fast, it’s very hard to witness changes, e.g. the development of certain genres or the influences of videos onto each other. A software mashup called TimeTube tries to make the history of YouTube visible.
When you type in a keyword, the software shows you temporal relations between videos tagged with this word. Although, TimeTube is still missing lots of relations, you can use it to make some interesting observations. I typed in “dove evolution”, a very successful viral, which entailed numerous mashups, remakes and video answers. Through TimeTube I learned that it took 5 month until the first prominent remake (slob evolution) was released. I made another interesting observation on the “lifetime” of YouTube videos. “Dove Evolution” was release on October 6th, 2006. Most of the mashups and remakes were born between month 6-12 after the first release, but there are still reaction to the video after 1,5 years right now.
Ok, so go to TimeTube and become a YouTube historian yourself!
“In which form does the network data world manifest itself in our everyday life? What comes back from cyberspace into physical space? How do digital innovations influence our everyday actions?”
Aram Bartholl from Berlin asks some very interesting questions and answers them with intelligent and slightly ironic projects. See 1H as an example and all his other projects on his website.
“1H” from aram bartholl on Vimeo.
And thanks for this observation Aram: Marc Jenkins in Berlin?
Republica 08 is a conference on web culture and politics, taking place in Berlin from 02.-04. of April 2008. On Friday the 4th they are having a sub-conference on web video. Subjects range from the political aspects of web video communication, Creative Commons, Webisodes, to Open Video Foundations and Web Video Funding possibilities.
I’lll be there, so if you’re around catch me for a chat.
Skid Row is a mini series of 5 parts on the homeless people living in the L.A. area with the same name. The series was developed by Sam Slovick and is produced by Good magazine.
YouTube DirectLink.
I think Skid Row is an example where webvideo can go. The series has a good production value because of it’s emotional soundtrack and the clever usage of animations. It has a very subjective appeal by introducing us to the issue through Slovick’s voice over thoughts. All in all, it’s very entertaining and informative at the same time.
Also check out Good magazine., they understand where the future of online/offline media mixture is heading:
“While so much of today’s media is taking up our space, dumbing us down, and impeding our productivity, GOOD exists to add value. Through a print magazine, feature and documentary films, original multimedia content and local events, GOOD is providing a platform for the ideas, people, and businesses that are driving change in the world.”
I’m agreeing with Alain that Standard Time was the best project at the Transmediale 08. While the installation itself was very impressing you really get a feeling about the project when you browse the website. D’ont miss the Visions and get some Impressions.
“70 workers are building a wooden 4 x 12 m “digital” time display in real time: a work that involves 1611 changes within 24 hour period.
The spectator looking at Standard Time does not only see the time, but also people constructing it. People who, with a stoic sense of duty, are wasting time on an apparently useless activity that fulfills only one function: to display time.”
A project by Mark Formanek and the awesome guys from Datenstrudel!
Mashups havent been on my radius so much in the past, by I’m getting into it lately.
The point about mashups is the old story of found footage. If you want to reach a certain level of complexity you need to get to know the material in detail. There seems to be a serious potential in political mashups because there are quite some foundations layed. First, there is a good amount of material available. Second, the material offers a certain density. That results in complex structure of rearanging and quoting.
…check Political Remix Video.
…and if your interested in Sampling Culture check Lev Manovich.
“There are now approximately 30 million surveillance cameras in the United States generating more than 4 billion hours of footage every week. And the numbers are growing. The average American is now captured over 200 times a day, in department stores, gas stations, changing rooms, even public bathrooms. No one is spared from the relentless, unblinking eye of the cameras that are hidden in every nook and cranny of day-to-day life. By shooting his feature entirely from closed-circuit viewpoints (but actually shot with Hi-end cameras - the “dirty” look was created in post-production!), director Adam Rifkin wants to bring forward the question: “who are we when we don’t think anyone’s watching?”
via Diagonal Thoughts.