Every once in a while a moment comes where you have a chance to vindicate all those best hopes that you had about yourself, about this country, where you have a chance to make good on those promises that you made… And this is the time to make true on that promise. We are not bound to win, but we are bound to be true. We are not bound to succeed, but we are bound to let whatever light we have shine.
I am stunned at the quality of this product. A few things that stand out for me:
1) The depth of field
I love that the background is present but not in focus. This makes you feel like you are in the White House with him – not in a staged studio. Backdrops should imply where you are without being loud and distracting. Your eye is led to focus on what is important, President Obama, while still presenting enough visual data to keep you interested. Backdrops are meant to entice you deeper into the video and this out-of-focus background accomplishes the task nicely.
2) The staging
The background is formal yet comfortable. You see an empty chair next to a small round table all of which is in front of a fireplace and obscured by a corner. The chair is facing towards the corner hinting that another chair is hidden by the flag. Two people (you and the President) could be sitting together working out the details of government. The room is big enough to hold many while still allowing for an intimate chat. And of course there are the ever-present symbols of patriotism – our flags.
3) The lighting
The lighting contributes to the focus on President Obama’s face. The lighting is darker with an almost fireplace orange glow on the chair. The wall behind the President is lighter but still quite soft. The Presidents face is brighter on the left yet there is no shadow on the right. All of this contrast helps to bring the focus forward on the words he is delivering. It is almost like a cartoon where the only thing moving are the lips. There are no distractions.
4) The sound
I really like how President Obama has been recorded. His voice is extremely present yet it has depth. I feel like his is speaking in a room that matches the size of the video (instead of in a flat post-processed studio). There is the hint of an echo. His highs are just below clipping and the lows do not sound muddy. While the audio is not completely natural, the processing does not seem overdone or jarring.
5) Captions
YEAH!!! I simply love this feature!!! It is great to see them use it.
6) HD option
Everything shot should be high definition. It is great that YouTube has enabled videos to use it (along with captions).
7) Downloadable MP4 podcast
YES!!! All media should have the ability to be used on any compatible device. In addition to downloading video, they should also allow (straight from YouTube) audio-only downloading. But hey, I am happy they are finally allowing straight video downloads instead of forcing folks to steal the Flash file and convert it. YouTube should enable this by default for all videos.
—-
Given who made this and the fact that government is traditionally clueless when it comes to marketing and branding issues, I find this to be just about the best podcast I have ever seen. I will work hard to emulate this result in the assets I produce. I find it amazing that the Obama Team has been able to produce something of this quality so quickly after taking office. These guys really do get the power of the internet.
The next 4 years are going to be full of surprises. My task is to help others take advantage of the good changes. This is an example of a good one.
I think it is great that folks review the history of our national struggle with racism. I think Stokeley, Malcolm, Fanny, Martin and the rest are great examples of how a group of people who are not in power can still create change.
When I was younger I believed, as Malcolm and his ilk, that the only way to bring about change was to speak the language of our oppressor – violence. I used to say that if you killed 1,000 white people you would get more done in a year than a thousand marches would accomplish in a decade.
Now that I believe that all human life should be honored, I no longer want to sow death and destruction. Unfortunately this means that many of my past solutions are not open for exploration any longer. I can not burn and maim and kill… nor will I encourage others to do so. I am open to things taking longer. I am OK with injustice for a time so others can learn from it and form a more peaceful alternative.
What I am not OK with is things staying as they are. Just because I do not need immediate change does not mean I care any less for change. It only means I am not willing to kill to get it. There are limits to what one should do to bring about change.
Now I can say this while I am tucked up warm and well fed. I recognize that plenty of folks can’t wait. I am not asking them to. I am simply saying that we as humans must take off the table of possibilities anything that involves killing. I use the same argument against torture. If we do not torture our captives then when we are captured, we are less like to be tortured. If we foreswear killing, then it is less likely that we will be killed.
Torture maims not only the prisoner but also the one performing the act. If we torture, we become sick and lose good judgement. When we kill, we lose our humanity. Sometimes it is better to die than to become inhuman.
Zeitgeist: Addendum – 1:23:00 – “In fact, between maglev technology, advanced battery storage, and geothermal energy, there would be no reason to ever burn fossil fuels again. And we can do this now, if we were not held back by the paralyzing profit structure.”
—-
This is one of the most important projects I have come across in the last few years. At first I kinda just thought; “Yeah, another conspiracy theory with some cool graphics and a bit of research to help sell it. Nice!” After watching the original movie twice and observing how links to it started popping up in diverse places, I thought about how great it would be if regular people watched it (instead of just fringe nutz like myself).
So today while I was wondering the outer reaches of the internet I came across “Zeitgeist: Addendum” and decided to take a break to change my life. Fortunately, this new work does not disappoint.
Yes… you will be taking up 4 hours of your life by watching these two films. I tried to make it easy by embedding them in this post (no need to go anywhere).
Please let me know by commenting below if you find these videos worth watching.
This is my favorite Obama video to date. Says it all…
Wassup 2008
Its been eight long years since the boys said wassup to each other. Even with the effects of a down economy and imminent change in the White House, the boys are still able to come together and say…
Jacqui Naylor has a new album coming out in November called You Don’t Know Jacq which includes Rise Up, a song she and Art Khu wrote for the presidential election.
She sent me an early release copy with a request for my good friend and amazing video artist Jules Kobelin to make a quick YouTube treatment using images of Barack Obama. Below is the finished product. I think it is excellent =)
