by kellie abrahamson kabrahamson1@aol.com
YouTube, the popular video sharing site, has spawned a lot of crazy, often stupid, material made by everyday folks trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. So it was only a matter of time before a clever filmmaker decided to take advantage of this web phenomenon.
On June 16th a teenage girl began a video blog. Under the user name “lonelygirl15,” Bree is a 16-year-old girl living in a small town who uses her video diary to express herself. Because she is home-schooled and isolated by her strictly religious parents, Bree only has one friend, Daniel, and the two spend much of their time in her room with the webcam. Bree’s videos, which typically last between 2 and 4 minutes, became extremely popular on YouTube, with each receiving hundreds of thousands of views. Many people would post kind words of encouragement to the girl, whose life became complicated when Daniel questioned her religion. It was around this same time that a scandal broke.
It turned out Bree/lonelygirl15 was actually a New Zealand actress named Jessica Rose and she was hired by a group of filmmakers to launch what is essentially a homemade soap opera available only online. The series, filmed in the bedroom of aspiring screenwriter/filmmaker Ramesh Flinders, continues to give fans new episodes every couple of days and has spawned an official alternate reality game called OpAphid. You can catch up on the lonelygirl15 series by going to the official website for the project (www.lonelygirl15.com) or by visiting the YouTube page that started it all (www.youtube.com/lonelygirl15).
by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
You Tube is an excellent source for all sorts of strange videos. Search commercials and you’ll even be able to see some stuff from the ‘80’s, like an ad for the Pee Wee Herman doll or a Mr. T commercial. You can also check out foreign ads (most have subtitles) like the French Condom Commercial featuring a horribly behaved child. As the patrons stop and stare, a five year old boy goes into total tantrum meltdown. Use condoms, says the subtitle, as the boy continues to scream. Don’t think that would fly in America, but it is pretty funny. You can also catch Superbowl commercials, old and new. Those annoying ‘Head On, Apply Directly to the Forehead’ ads have spawned tons of parodies, some good, some bad.
|
