Weekend Vid Picks: History Lessons In Video Form
This week, two videos went viral because of the way in which they put history into perspective — one through visuals, the other through ideas. Visual Effects: 100 Years of Inspiration has a slightly inaccurate title, as the montage begins with the 1900 film The Enchanted Drawing and ends with 2008′s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But by starting with some of the very first animation used in film before moving quickly into the effects revolution that’s occurred over the past 30 years, the scope of how film has evolved is put into sharp relief.
Meanwhile, the video, Social Media Revolution is all text and deliberately draws inspiration from the Did You Know series (right down to the music choice, Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now).
But by focusing on data relevant to social media — in order to market a new web marketing book, Socialnomics — its thesis, as a result, is a little more coherent than the most recent in the Did You Know series, Did You Know? 3.0 (below).
Which approach is the more effective in communicating the idea of evolution? Visual Effects. As snazzy as Socialnomics‘s text-based graphics are, there’s nothing like seeing the profound contrast in quality between the 1933 King Kong and the 2005 remake. You’ve come a long way, Hollywood.
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I really hope that NewTeeVee is paying attention here. Traditional TV will not remain forever. NewTeeVee has been focusing attention on changes in video entertainment. I hope it continues to do so. Distribution of it by p2p networks, production of it by small outfits, web-series replacing network-series, how advertisers are connecting into it (and thus supporting it), and so forth. There is a LOT of information being generated. NewTeeVee would serve us best by focusing our attention on what’s the most important developments that are taking place right now. Not to overload us with information. That’s a disservice.