WESOTERIC » Video logging?

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Thus revealed, the creature buried its nose in the tire-tilled soil...

November 5, 2008

Despite what I say in the lengthier discussion, I'm not really sure what compelled me to try my hand, voice, and visage at a video log -- but here we go. So yeah, if you've never seen me in person and would like to point and laugh at my awkward mannerisms and rambling speech, now you can! The 24-second test video is below, followed by a much lengthier three-part discussion behind the cut. As note at one point, I really hadn't intended for it to be so long -- I neglected to time myself and ended up rambling on for 23 minutes. Eat your heart out, Vice President-elect Joe Biden!

Part 1 (6:40)

Part 2 (8:35)

Part 3 (8:06)

And get this: there's even more stuff that I wanted to discuss, like that this mindset mine is arguably unhealthy because it makes me significantly less motivated to go out and "succeed" in social and/or material contexts, since I largely have everything that I want -- or at least what I feel it is important to have -- aboard the floating citadel in my psyche. (Even a room filled with mannequins!) Perhaps I'll save that for a future vlog or a text follow-up (or even the comments section below, if it comes up there).

Anyway, let me know what you think. I may post this on YouTube, but I obviously have no aspirations to be some widely-watched YT celebrity -- I don't ever plan to care enough to add special effects (beyond the fades) or cut stuff out or even work from a script (though outlines or checklists may be helpful in the future) so keep that in mind when offering criticisms, comments, et cetera. There's also no need to suggest that I not ramble so much or make shorter videos, since I am both well aware of those issues and inclined to agree! And while I certainly have no plans to transform Wesoteric into a vlog -- this would be a biweekly feature at the absolute maximum, and probably more like a monthly thing -- do let me know if you'd balk at video entries even that infrequently. I certainly have no problem with text entries, and as noted I'm infinitely more comfortable with them. 🙂

-posted by Wes | 11:20 pm | Comments (8)

8 Comments »

stefmax says:

November 6, 2008 at 1:46 am

I enjoyed every second of it Wes! It was great. Watch some people on youtube and see how much theirs sucks.

I want to see more!

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Review the World says:

November 6, 2008 at 7:31 pm

looking forward to watching this, wes.. - i'll try to later this week hopefully if some time frees up.. - i think how easy it is now to do "vlogging" is great and gives people another outlet to share views, etc. - it's much more personal, too.. something i've always tried to encourage you to do on S-C albeit your past musings about not liking it when other webmasters have included themselves into their site's content, etc.

hopefully i won't be as harsh a critic as you were back when the first-ever RTW TV went up (long before i started doing stuff on YouTube) and i even gave you a thanks in the closing credits, only for you to tell me you thought it was "patently insulting" which i always felt was a harsh and unnesscary stab..

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Wes says:

November 6, 2008 at 8:50 pm

Stefmax: We'll see! I'll probably do one more within the next week or so, and then none for like another six months. I really do dislike the format!

Brian: Did I say that? Ack! If it's any consolation, these weekly updates are at least 28 times better than those original episodes. Amanda is total win, too.

I still very much doubt I'll have any video content along these lines on SC, but I don't mind inserting myself into Wesoteric as much because it is explicitly a blog and has "Wes" right there in the title. But if you feel like harsh criticisms are warranted, feel free! That said, I think the primary concerns are ones that I've already acknowledged -- that the video runs way too long and that my speech is kinda rambling and odd. The former is definitely something I intend to rectify in future editions, but the latter is something that I want to preserve to some extent. Note cards or maybe a checklist of points will be helpful, but I definitely do not want to script the videos. I still think text is the preferable format for a blog, and the only benefit that videos have over it is that it allows one to observe the author's quirks and mannerisms. With a scripted and/or rehearsed performance, that aspect would go out the window -- which in my view would make the video format completely unnecessary.

Of course, there can be other benefits when the author is rather attractive or has a particularly nice voice, but I obviously lack those qualities. 😛

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Jersey Girl says:

November 7, 2008 at 1:14 am

So, you are never to tell me how strange and awkward you are in person again. Period. It's simply not true.

I enjoyed the vlogs. I enjoyed watching you, but I especially enjoyed listening to you. You have a really warm, deep, resonant voice which is quite pleasant to hear.

There are probably endless reasons as to why the dude in the chicken place kept repeating the same stuff over and over. Maybe he didn't get the response he was looking for. Maybe he hoped someone would ask how old his wife was, how long they'd been married, what else he got her...maybe he was just really proud of himself for doing something thoughtful for his wife.

When you study acting, part of the "academic" work you do as you approach a scene or monologue includes really concentrating on the character's inner monologue - what's going on inside the person's head. That's the only way to really know who that character is and why they're saying what they're saying in the manner in which it's all said. Stanislavski wrote a whole bunch of stuff about it. It's all pretty interesting stuff, actually. I often worry that if people really know what went on inside my head, I'd be in trouble. I think it's more common than you might imagine.

Anyway, I thought it was great to finally get to see you and hear you. I don't think I've ever even seen a picture of you, actually. You had me expecting something entirely different, so it was quite the pleasant surprise to find out that you were wrong!

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Brian says:

November 8, 2008 at 4:08 am

is that boxes of Creepy Freaks stacked up behind you?

i enjoyed it.. - during the last stretch i had the window minimized and listened while working on my WishList, but ultimately checked it out in its entirety.. - i think you already penned down some of the issues, in terms of direction, etc. but i kind of like that spontaneity.. - would like to see it return as a regular segment..

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Becky says:

November 9, 2008 at 12:30 pm

That's a lot of shit in your room, my friend. I will have to come back to it. My first comment would be that they need to be in three minute chunks at most -- that's all people have the time or attention for. It's also hard for me to listen to posts at work (which I usually blog, except for today).

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Ragey says:

November 9, 2008 at 5:24 pm

I quite enjoyed the videos! The topic was something I'd probably never think to share, both because I wouldn't imagine anyone would care, and I'm very familiar with the fact that most folk are crazy, but I have to agree with Brian, I quite liked the spontaneous nature of the discussion. I will admit that by the third video the change of topic to being curious about what's inside people's heads did make me go "buh?" But, hey, spontaneous and interesting!
About it being a video log, I just had them play and listened to them while doing some writing, and thought it worked quite well that way. Most vlogs never really take much advantage of it being a visual medium anyway, so it's no big deal, but the chance to see the nerdish delight you'd amassed in the background was a nice bonus. :]

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the Jax says:

November 15, 2008 at 2:36 am

Congratulations on trying something new, and on voting btw! The Korean candy conspiracy was hilarious. Like you, I can go off on a crazy train of thought and make myself giggle out loud at my cleverness. Does that make us happy people? At times. Does that make us intellectual narcissists? Perhaps. The things people do and say frequently make me wonder what the hell is going in in their brains.
Also, add me to the list of fans who didn't find that as awkward or creepy as you suggest you are in person. Although, some of your rambling inflections put me in mind of a movie villain...who was it? Oh, who? Aha! Could it be Heath Ledger's Joker? And at that moment you licked your lips.

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