Monday 7 November 2011

Videos And Vlomo...

Any of you that follow my @ukcameraman Twitter feed will know by now that i am taking part in a strange internet phenomenon called Vlomo. This is the shortened net speak for Video Blogging Month, which takes place every November. Should you wish to take part, the challenge is to post a video blog at least once a day for the whole 30 days of November, On any subject. I had never done this before...

Video Blogging Month. 30 Videos in 30 days. It's harder than you think...


Now before you go asking what a middle aged, bearded bloke is doing posting videos to the interwebs, it's because i liked the challenge. I film the news most days using expensive video equipment. The content is heavily produced, shot and edited by professionals and broadcast to the masses on the TV. Videoblogs, on the other hand, can be what you want, on any subject, at any time or place, and uploaded to the web unedited direct from the person who made it... and the whole world can view it, should they wish to. This is what i like about it. The rawness and the immediacy of the video can be somewhat revealing to the person watching it, it can give an insight into a persons life and behaviour that you wouldn't otherwise get to see or hear. I have seen places that i will never get to visit, and have listened to people i will never get to meet, other than through the net.

Call them throw away videos if you like, many of them are. They may not be groundbreaking in any way, but the short glimpse into other peoples normality, quirks, and eccentricities, reveal a side to those who made the video that i, as a person who tells video stories on a professional level, would never be able to achieve by filming it for the news. And i like that.