So the band Ok Go is nothing new to anyone who hasn't been living under a rock within the last year, but I really have to give credit where credit is due. What am I talking about? The dawning of a new era, man. I guess in essence, I am blaming them for killing the video star, but also, for helping to create (or rather, falling into, but I'll explain that in a second) a new movement where people post home movies (that never would have otherwise made it to the public sphere) all over the internet. That's right-- I'm talking about YouTube.
For many months I have thought that the guys in this band were freaking genius. It was only after reading a magazine article this past weekend that I found out they "didn't actually post" the first video, and that it was actually "a rehearsal tape that got leaked". Whatever the real story is, I still think that they were ultimately in the right place at the right time, for somehow, their video coincided with the "birth" of YouTube (or at least to the news outlets who are often a little behind). This, in turn, catapulted the little baby indie band whom most people had
never even heard of into instant success, and soon they were on talkshows and readio stations around the country and world. (Case in point? I'm posting their YouTube videos as I write this!)
Now everyone and his brother is creating video content for YouTube. Music videos, time lapses, animation-- you name it, it's there. People create their own TV stations and subscribe to each other's! Never before has an individual been able to essentially have their own cable channel FOR FREE and express themselves so freely as well. It is so much more than "just another online community": it is history making itself right before our eyes. It is what the public domain was supposed to be before the buyout by corporations. It is those same TV networks, large and small, rushing to add extra video content for their audience before the viewers get bored and want to do it themselves. And ultimately, it is global artistic interaction, the likes of which we have NEVER seen before.
Ok Go claims that they're not marketing geniuses. I beg to differ. For how many prodigies has the world seen over the years who say they're nothing special? I rest my case. :-)
Oh, and in case you really have been living under a rock, here are the videos. Crank your volume and enjoy.
"It's not egotism... It's self publicity."
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Life Right on Cue
Lately I've begun fearing the loss of animosity that comes with being famous more and more. I know I may seem a step ahead of myself, but really, am I? In L.A., though for one it can often take years to even scratch your name in the surface, for some it's just "poof!" and it happens. I think that I fear the latter more, for there's no build-up, no time to prepare. Your whole world is flipped on its end for all the world to see (literally, often in the form of NSFW photos on the internet) and life as you know it will never be the same.
Hypothetically you may ask as you read this, 'Why now? What made you finally actually think this through?' Last night I was out with some friends playing pool. I must admit, I'm pretty awful at playing pool and with a few drinks in me even worse, but never the less, decided that I had to do it against one of my friends who was a pretty decent shot at that. I spent the next twenty minutes aiming, missing, and pouting, but never giving up. Soon, one of the regulars was helping me line up my shots, trying to make my loss less obvious (if only not at all), and when a ball finally went into a pocket, the bystanders behind me (that I had been politely asking to move one way or the other all evening lest they be accidentally prodded with a cue) cheered wildly and high fived me. The crowd grew, and even though I ended up losing miserably, with three or four balls still on the table, I won in their eyes, and they "Way to go!"ed me and high fived me none the less. I felt like "America's Sweetheart" or something, and it was at that very second that I realized- I never want to be famous. For if I was famous, I could have never done any of that and been as important for all the same reasons.
People's opinions of a person change based on what they hear. The more public you are, the more fictional statements about you may be yes, but never the less people still to some degree believe them. Even worse, they love the fact that you're "normal"- even more accident and mistake prone than they are. And maybe that's why all those people cheered for me at pool- because I was really bad. But you know what? I don't care, because in that instance, I felt really good and was somebody- I was their Rocky, an underdog story- and for the first time in my life I felt acknowledged for just that- who I kind of am- and now who I was or am trying to be. I will continue to work hard, to "Kick Ass and Take Names" in this in industry, but the question will still linger- can one be successful in this industry without the notoriety that comes with it? Stay tuned to find out...
Hypothetically you may ask as you read this, 'Why now? What made you finally actually think this through?' Last night I was out with some friends playing pool. I must admit, I'm pretty awful at playing pool and with a few drinks in me even worse, but never the less, decided that I had to do it against one of my friends who was a pretty decent shot at that. I spent the next twenty minutes aiming, missing, and pouting, but never giving up. Soon, one of the regulars was helping me line up my shots, trying to make my loss less obvious (if only not at all), and when a ball finally went into a pocket, the bystanders behind me (that I had been politely asking to move one way or the other all evening lest they be accidentally prodded with a cue) cheered wildly and high fived me. The crowd grew, and even though I ended up losing miserably, with three or four balls still on the table, I won in their eyes, and they "Way to go!"ed me and high fived me none the less. I felt like "America's Sweetheart" or something, and it was at that very second that I realized- I never want to be famous. For if I was famous, I could have never done any of that and been as important for all the same reasons.
People's opinions of a person change based on what they hear. The more public you are, the more fictional statements about you may be yes, but never the less people still to some degree believe them. Even worse, they love the fact that you're "normal"- even more accident and mistake prone than they are. And maybe that's why all those people cheered for me at pool- because I was really bad. But you know what? I don't care, because in that instance, I felt really good and was somebody- I was their Rocky, an underdog story- and for the first time in my life I felt acknowledged for just that- who I kind of am- and now who I was or am trying to be. I will continue to work hard, to "Kick Ass and Take Names" in this in industry, but the question will still linger- can one be successful in this industry without the notoriety that comes with it? Stay tuned to find out...
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Cavegirl Discovers Technology...
I am slowly but surely figuring out this posting with html thing again... back in middle and early high school I was really into it, but over the last few years I've gotten a little rusty. Anywho, check out my new links to video on the right of your screen. (Note: You'll need Windows Media Player for these.)
Oh and if for some reason you just have lots of free time, even more can be found at:
Enjoy!
Oh and if for some reason you just have lots of free time, even more can be found at:
Enjoy!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A Reel Post
A lot of people like to call me an idealist. I don't think they mean it in the nicest sense- in fact, I'm pretty sure they mean it in the most you-are-hallucinating-your-face-off-girl sense you can think of. No seriously, get this- I am told day in, day out, that jobs like I want don't exist. Moreover, jobs like I want CAN'T exist. But I don't believe that's true. Allow me to introduce myself. By professional terms, I am a television host- an "on camera personality", if you will. By my terms, I am a writer, producer, even editor as well. By industry terms, this combination doesn't happen. You can be the brains behind the operation. You can be the face in front of it. But you can't be both. Especially if you're a woman heading up the work. But who says so, I ask? Barbara Walters seems to be doing a fine and dandy job- on the other end of the spectrum, Heidi Klum has executive producer credits for multiple shows and has only been in TV as long as I have! So here I am now, chugging along, waiting for someone to realize they've really got a package deal here and maybe they want to pay me more than $8 an hour for it too.
This semester there are 3 projects that I am really focused on. The first is a continuation from last semester called "What's Happening L.A.?", a weekly promotional spot that I do for Trojan Vision Television (USC's TV8) in conjunction with local channel LA36 highlighting what's going on in and around Los Angeles. Hopefully some of those will be posted to the internet soon so you can check them out, and the shooting schedule will be worked out so that I'm not writing, shooting, and editing all in one day (although there is a real sense of accomplishment knowing you can put together a package like that almost by yourself in less than 8 hours).
The second project is for Trojan Vision as well, as fashion correspondent for a Hollywood News show called "Take 5". We'll be wandering the red carpets in search of the good, the bad, and the ugly, and hopefully visiting some of the local LA designers that I have become friends with over the last few years.
And finally, I am editing a documentary style video for a bike race I covered this summer with one of my friends called "Race Across America", which should air on TV8, LA36, OSTN, and the Research Channel by the end of the semester. The race itself was over 2,000 miles, from Oceanside, CA to Atlantic City, NJ, and was quite a trip at 20 mph behind bikes. The link to the album is here:
I also have other documentary projects in the works, and as usual, am still heading up the promotions department for all of the shows on TV8 and for the station itself. Looks like it'll be a busy semester, but I love it, and will try to keep you posted!
-V
This semester there are 3 projects that I am really focused on. The first is a continuation from last semester called "What's Happening L.A.?", a weekly promotional spot that I do for Trojan Vision Television (USC's TV8) in conjunction with local channel LA36 highlighting what's going on in and around Los Angeles. Hopefully some of those will be posted to the internet soon so you can check them out, and the shooting schedule will be worked out so that I'm not writing, shooting, and editing all in one day (although there is a real sense of accomplishment knowing you can put together a package like that almost by yourself in less than 8 hours).
The second project is for Trojan Vision as well, as fashion correspondent for a Hollywood News show called "Take 5". We'll be wandering the red carpets in search of the good, the bad, and the ugly, and hopefully visiting some of the local LA designers that I have become friends with over the last few years.
And finally, I am editing a documentary style video for a bike race I covered this summer with one of my friends called "Race Across America", which should air on TV8, LA36, OSTN, and the Research Channel by the end of the semester. The race itself was over 2,000 miles, from Oceanside, CA to Atlantic City, NJ, and was quite a trip at 20 mph behind bikes. The link to the album is here:
I also have other documentary projects in the works, and as usual, am still heading up the promotions department for all of the shows on TV8 and for the station itself. Looks like it'll be a busy semester, but I love it, and will try to keep you posted!
-V
And so it begins...
What? Did you miss it? Did you blink? Well shame on you for doing such a foolish thing. It's over and it can't be done again. (But you can stay for the duration of the program if you'd like.)
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