Gang,
Here is an interesting post from VideoNuze.com about teens putting videos on YouTube. Is this good or bad or are you indifferent?
Teens are Prolific YouTube Contributors
Will Richmond
It's no surprise that teens are hooked on YouTube. But, as I am seeing first-hand, they're hooked not just as viewers, but as contributors. Though I don't have any data, it sure seems as if making videos and posting them to YouTube has become an adolescent obsession.
The latest example for me came last Friday from a former colleague describing how his 15 year-old son and friends had produced 3 videos that had made them quasi-rock stars in their freshman high school class.
That's on top of another buddy of mine telling me how his 13 year-old son has been begging to get a Mac and an upgraded video camera though he'd just received one last year. And then there was my recent trip to Florida, when three 14 year-old girls approached me poolside wielding a tripod-perched video camera and scripted questions for an impromptu interview.
What's going on here? Are we becoming a world of Spielberg-wannabees? Should film schools expect a tidal wave of application in a few years? My guess is no and no. Nevertheless, what I do think is clear is that many teens have discovered a bona fide new outlet for their creativity, passion and self-promotion.
Think about what a different world YouTube, and others have created for today's teens. I don't know about you, but when I was in high school if you were interested in video, you'd be among the handful of kids in the A/V club, (which wasn't exactly the coolest place to hang around), or if you were a performer, you'd be in a school-organized play. Today, kids are taking things into their own hands, seizing today's technology and tools to "roll their own" productions.
The teen projects I've seen show a generation utterly unafraid of being on camera or intimidated to be behind it. They're also unencumbered by any need (or desire it seems!) to make money from their efforts, setting them apart from the professionals. To be sure, many of the results are goofy and juvenile, and of course parents need to stay alert that their kids aren't doing anything that's inappropriate. Still, it's pretty exciting to see these kids jump in and just go for it. Combine video with social networking, teens' other obsession, and it's obvious that trend has a long way to run.
Jerry in Sri Lanka
Helping bathe an elephant
About Me
- Jerry Renaud
- I am a broadcast journalism professor in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
4 comments:
I think Youtube is a great entertainment site. I have wasted many hours that could have been used for more productive things. And not on purpose, just because the stuff was so entertaining.
The people who blame Youtube and the internet for the girl who was beaten up and for other cases like that are nuts.
A common poster on Youtube said it best in his vlog with the fact that the problem with the arguement that Youtube is to blame for such things is the same as attacking the book company because Jason Borne killed a person with one. You could use it for that but that's not what it was made for.
And if you read this and don't know who Jason Borne is, clearly you aren't hip. Listen to more rap music, wait don't. I hear people who do that do bad things too.
So yeah, Youtube is fun. I like it and if kids post stupid stuff that makes them look bad or exposes them, then really its their own fault. When I was little and if I climbed a tree and fell out of it. It was my own fault. Why? Cause I was being an idiot. Yeah, clearly this event did happen more than once.
I have to say I give quite a few teens and young adults points for creativity when it comes to YouTube.
I know of one YouTube series that some recent college grads with musical theater degrees do. Each "episode" has all original music, choreography, writing, etc.
I don't have the ambition to put together a 40-piece dance ensemble and teach them an entire musical theater number, let alone set up time to record the vocals, shoot in locations all over the NYC and then sit down and actually edit all the video.
Plus, since they all live in New York, they recruit Broadway actors to make cameos in each episode. I can't imagine that's an easy task to arrange either.
I realize not every YouTube video has this kind of work go into it, but some do and I have to give kudos to anyone with enough creativity and drive to actually pull something like this off.
Does this mean we're about to flood Hollywood with fresh talent? Eh, probably not. Just because a kid spends hours in piano lessons doesn't mean he or she is destined to be a concert pianist. I'm sure a good majority of these budding filmmakers will go on to other areas of expertise.
Although I'm glad young people are expressing themselves and displaying a certain level of creativity, I wonder if they realize the scope of the audience they are really reaching. I hope they are careful in the information they reveal on their videos. Sometimes when I see videos made by youth, I wonder if their parents have any idea that their kids are Internet video stars...
On another note...I've followed YouTube for a few years now, and I've noticed recently how professional many of the videos are getting. Amateur videos seem to be less common than they once were. People are investing in better equipment, such as tripods and lighting. There still seems to be some amateur videos for videos similar to those on America's Funniest Home videos, but as a whole...I think more time is being spent on producing these videos.
I definitely find it interesting how much YouTube has taken off over the past through years. There are people like me who missed a major sports highlight, heard about a funny clip, or other miscellaneous reason to visit this very popular website. But, as you pointed out, I find that it's becoming a lot more than watching a "clip" or web segment. It seam’s as though there's a competition for people to post information on YouTube.
Sure, there people who will voice their viewpoint on an issue, or a parent putting up a clip from their son's little league baseball game. But now there are people who are intentionally going out to make a video they can post on YouTube.
The question I ponder; is what is the motivation? I'm sure it's a variety of reasons. For some people its popularity. To say "hey I posted a video on you tube and I have X number of hits with over X number of comments." For some maybe its bragging rights: "Um, so yeah it's not a huge deal, but yeah I posted this sweet video I shot on YouTube." Or as you suggested, it could be that people are motivated to be the next Spielberg or Michael Moore.
I find it amazing how much this site has taken off, not from just a "viewer" perspective but from a "publisher" perspective. It really is quite the trend, and I think it'll be a while (if ever) for this trend to slow down.
Post a Comment