Video: We’re All in this Together
One phrase, one song from one of the projects featured stays with me as I consider all the videos that were shown at the Grove Stage on Thursday night. “We’re all in this together”. This phrase, this song, I felt best represented and signified the entire video festival. The art of video to convey strong images, strong stories, that stay with you long after the piece is complete is a significant challenge in new media environments. Screens are small, accessibility options complex, and distractions from a piece varied. Steve Rosenbaum met these challenges with his series of images and choice of music presented on the outside screen along with the national drink of Cuba, mojitos. The images were so diverse and methodically paced, it absolutely held my attention. The theme music chosen for the piece truly brings all of the other pieces together.
Christine Gambito’s Happy Slip introduced us not only to her work as a performer and actress, but also to the community and lifestyle where she lives. I was definitely drawn to the series of situations she played out in her piece as well as the different ways they were portrayed. Whether she was in the rain even indoors or outside with friends and family, she was consistently engaging. We could have seen just one situation she had conceived, but instead saw a series of portraits similar to what you would expect from a one woman show. When she spoke at the end about some of her goals, it was clear the video represented just the beginning of a process that she would take with her as she moved forward.
JD Lasica took us to yet another space with his work by showing us how much could be done with existing media. Instead of always accepting what traditional media presents as the sole representation of an event or idea, JD’s piece exemplified how media mashups are already reflecting community ideas on the most serious topics. As more and more people use the Daily Show as their source of news, and embrace more comedic interpretations of world issues, the new media community needs to understand the use of the mashups and the influence they have in this participatory media as it evolves.
Finally, there were the students. Whenever we seek to know what the future may hold, we must always look at what inspires a student to create. This group from Miami University was clearly inspired by viewing a story from different backgrounds and embracing the humor that can make the even the most uneasy stories palatable. In the “Minority Hotel” two people were presented with implied stereotypes. The essence of the story begins to reveal the reality. The way they shot, organized, and structured made the piece compelling and kept me wanting to know how it would end. They only had a moment to convey their idea and make me want to follow up for more. The piece was strong enough that I will be looking for their next webisode. Curious what other identity realities and/or misconceptions they may explore.
In the end, the festival definitely reflected the most contemporary ideas being developed for new media environments today. Storytelling today through digital media on various platforms is in a similar space today as film was before Birth of a Nation. It takes one piece to tell the story and create the structure that will lead the rest of the community to longevity. I ended the video festival with more questions, ideas, and a greater understanding of the options. In the end I was humming the same tune presented by one of the pieces “We’re All in this Together” and contemplating what the next image would be.
