Weirdness. Panting. Art. Alan.
The title's exciting, but this post likely isn't! Sorry to dissapoint. I'm typing out an update because I'm procrastinating. I have a buttload of work to get through, and I am also hyper from the sugary goodness of coke and a bit of impulsive exercise (the reason for the shortness of breath). I have a bit of ground to cover with this post so I'll do it in a kind of meandering and tangential sort of way.
I saw a punky girl today wearing just one stripey white and black stocking in a short skirt. I am in favour of this concept.
The weirdness in this post's title comes from my recent adventures at (in?) Youtube. I recommend anyone who doesn't frequent Youtube to start doing so. I was aways a little turned off by the snippets of amateur videos and blogs I saw whenever my housemate was watching, and it took me this long to get over it and explore it for myself... and what I found is a form of entertainment that strikes me as being completely new. And weird. And depending on the maker, hilarious and compelling. I'm talking about the "talking head" style video blog.
I had this thought last night as I was watching some late night TV telephone gameshow thingy. The presenter, an attractive woman in her late twenties, was required to keep up an almost non-stop conversation, looking directly into the camera as she waited for calls from viewers. Then, when the viewers called, she'd talk to them, and she'd be required to do it as 'naturally' as possible. Interesting skill. To be able to talk like that coherently and charismatically for even just a few minutes is impressive, especially considering the pressure of being on live television. But! This skill is not respected in examples like the one given. People don't think about. It's not like most skills, because a carpenter or artist or musician or scientist or mechanic or cook all have something physical to show for their talents. Physical proof. Charisma is a quality that's so nebulous, by comparison. I mean, it's instinctive, the reaction we have to someone in our presence who has... well, presence. We don't really think about it, we just look at the person and think, "Me like!". I guess people who have grown up consiously nurturing this talent and training it into a skill are the ones who decide to go into television... but most people who have gained the skill to be the life of a party simply don't, for whatever reason.
There was a point, other than being an interesting thought. It comes back to Youtube. People who have not done so should perhaps check out thehill88 and Katers17. Also some english atheist guy filled with vitriol, who is hilarious. Apart from being very entertaining with what they say, it's how it is said that makes these people so interesting. I realise their videos are in all likelihood scripted and I know they are edited, but this doesn't change the fact that these people are a new kind of celebrity, who gain their many viewers and fans based on their own presence and charisma. I say 'new kind of celebrity' for what should be obvious reasons: the availability and accessibility of Youtube and the ease with which everyday people can make videos is very new. "Ordinary " people can gain fame and renown without going through the lengthy 'usual' process associated with the various disciplines and industries known for producing celebrities. The result, at least for me, is that you feel as if you have more of a connection to these Youtube bloggers. They seem like real people. There's a sense of the genuine. I'm not saying there isn't also a sense of affectation - they are afterall making movies expecting and wanting other people to watch them - but it is a world apart from the traditional celebrity-consumer relationship of our time.
Pat Condell is the name of the english atheist man, by the way. Check him out for religion-bashing hilarity. Or don't, if you'd be offended by that sort of thing.
And now for the art part of this post. (Hehe, 'art-part'). I'm working on several projects, and the deadlines are looming threateningly on the horizon. I find myself lacking the drive to do my best with school at the moment, and this is mostly because I've realised that what they are teaching, while educational, is not really the kind of thing I want to be doing. Clarification: Every non-first year student on campus is working on a design for an Openday 07 poster for - you guessed it - Openday 07. The winner of the comp gets $500, and their poster is used to promote the event. Every year they do this, and every year they are looking for the same kind of design aesthetic. Specifically a graphic and highly sophisticated (but also gimmicky) approach to the design. I suppress a yawn now. But! This is not a bad thing. I'm now very interested in gearing my briefs to the kind of media and style I want to work in... for instance, for this poster I'm doing a little comicky drawing of some artsy students, using ink and brush. Using this technique I have about as much chance of winning the prize as I do of sucking my own cock, but it's gonna be a lot better for me to improve my skills in areas I actually want to pursue.
After this course I'm thinking about sending off for a Joe Kubert correspondence course in the art of making comics. It costs many hundreds of dollars (American dollars! Eeep!) But I think it's gonna be worth it. Man, I have so many projects I want to be working on right now, and no time at all.
I saw a punky girl today wearing just one stripey white and black stocking in a short skirt. I am in favour of this concept.
The weirdness in this post's title comes from my recent adventures at (in?) Youtube. I recommend anyone who doesn't frequent Youtube to start doing so. I was aways a little turned off by the snippets of amateur videos and blogs I saw whenever my housemate was watching, and it took me this long to get over it and explore it for myself... and what I found is a form of entertainment that strikes me as being completely new. And weird. And depending on the maker, hilarious and compelling. I'm talking about the "talking head" style video blog.
I had this thought last night as I was watching some late night TV telephone gameshow thingy. The presenter, an attractive woman in her late twenties, was required to keep up an almost non-stop conversation, looking directly into the camera as she waited for calls from viewers. Then, when the viewers called, she'd talk to them, and she'd be required to do it as 'naturally' as possible. Interesting skill. To be able to talk like that coherently and charismatically for even just a few minutes is impressive, especially considering the pressure of being on live television. But! This skill is not respected in examples like the one given. People don't think about. It's not like most skills, because a carpenter or artist or musician or scientist or mechanic or cook all have something physical to show for their talents. Physical proof. Charisma is a quality that's so nebulous, by comparison. I mean, it's instinctive, the reaction we have to someone in our presence who has... well, presence. We don't really think about it, we just look at the person and think, "Me like!". I guess people who have grown up consiously nurturing this talent and training it into a skill are the ones who decide to go into television... but most people who have gained the skill to be the life of a party simply don't, for whatever reason.
There was a point, other than being an interesting thought. It comes back to Youtube. People who have not done so should perhaps check out thehill88 and Katers17. Also some english atheist guy filled with vitriol, who is hilarious. Apart from being very entertaining with what they say, it's how it is said that makes these people so interesting. I realise their videos are in all likelihood scripted and I know they are edited, but this doesn't change the fact that these people are a new kind of celebrity, who gain their many viewers and fans based on their own presence and charisma. I say 'new kind of celebrity' for what should be obvious reasons: the availability and accessibility of Youtube and the ease with which everyday people can make videos is very new. "Ordinary " people can gain fame and renown without going through the lengthy 'usual' process associated with the various disciplines and industries known for producing celebrities. The result, at least for me, is that you feel as if you have more of a connection to these Youtube bloggers. They seem like real people. There's a sense of the genuine. I'm not saying there isn't also a sense of affectation - they are afterall making movies expecting and wanting other people to watch them - but it is a world apart from the traditional celebrity-consumer relationship of our time.
Pat Condell is the name of the english atheist man, by the way. Check him out for religion-bashing hilarity. Or don't, if you'd be offended by that sort of thing.
And now for the art part of this post. (Hehe, 'art-part'). I'm working on several projects, and the deadlines are looming threateningly on the horizon. I find myself lacking the drive to do my best with school at the moment, and this is mostly because I've realised that what they are teaching, while educational, is not really the kind of thing I want to be doing. Clarification: Every non-first year student on campus is working on a design for an Openday 07 poster for - you guessed it - Openday 07. The winner of the comp gets $500, and their poster is used to promote the event. Every year they do this, and every year they are looking for the same kind of design aesthetic. Specifically a graphic and highly sophisticated (but also gimmicky) approach to the design. I suppress a yawn now. But! This is not a bad thing. I'm now very interested in gearing my briefs to the kind of media and style I want to work in... for instance, for this poster I'm doing a little comicky drawing of some artsy students, using ink and brush. Using this technique I have about as much chance of winning the prize as I do of sucking my own cock, but it's gonna be a lot better for me to improve my skills in areas I actually want to pursue.
After this course I'm thinking about sending off for a Joe Kubert correspondence course in the art of making comics. It costs many hundreds of dollars (American dollars! Eeep!) But I think it's gonna be worth it. Man, I have so many projects I want to be working on right now, and no time at all.