As the internet becomes more integrated into everyday life, the means by which to evaluate the inundation of information received must be refined further and further. This is especially true for internet videos which are one of the primary, and most versatile, ways to deliver information; this is either directly through a website, or through a video hosting service which is able to maintain user channels such as youtube. To evaluate these internet videos, three major criteria which have several varying aspects to them are useful. The first major criterion for evaluating internet videos is the general delivery of the video; one can judge the video in context of how well it is integrated into its platform and how well that platform delivers the video, both from hardware and interface aspects. The second major criterion concerns the content of the video and how well this content achieves its implicit goal in the viewer’s reaction . The third and final criterion, form, relates to the quality of the presentation and production of the content, as viewed from both technical and subjective perspectives. When several videos from varying backgrounds are viewed, the variance in the assessment criteria becomes especially evident. This variance is fully realized by analyzing videos created from the following diverse sectors: government, often producing videos with strong agendas; academia, often producing videos for the purposes of information (and often leveraging that into research funding); business, producing videos with the intent to cause viewers to buy their products; and non-profit or religious institutions, which often produce videos with very specific goals as stated by said organization.
Government edit
Ron Paul's message to his supporters on his youtube channel[1] is a fairly good example of the presentation and production of a political video. His youtube channel has a simple presentation, merely containing a link to his website at the top, and begins by loading the most recent video uploaded to his channel. The channel contains a variety of videos, ranging from messages of Ron Paul to media appearances which he has made. The video's content, a well thought speech that was clearly catered to the intended audience of libertarians, included the rhetoric which would be expected to rally support without taking up too much time and making him seem desperate. The major criticisms which I had were a few deficiencies in the form of the video. The colors were a bit washed out which detracted from the prestige one would expect from a presidential candidate and it seemed as though he was reading his speech from the prompter sentence by sentence.
President Obama's weekly address to the nation[2] via http://www.whitehouse.gov is an excellent example of a video delivered from an actively working politician. The video is prominently included in the front tabs on the website and following the link brings the user to page which includes a short a description of the video. The content of the video is engaging because the president is addressing concerns that most Americans face and it very much coincides with the intended effect of inspiring hope. His use of numbers to backup his arguments are especially effective. The amount of detail in the filming is evident; the president sits in front of an American flag and the camera zooms in some as he begins delivering the core of his message. Additionally, the lighting accentuated President Obama's features and his speech was very well delivered.
The video "We are coming for the democrats[3]" presents a contrast to the previous two political videos in the respect that it is user created content, and I specifically chose it because it is on the most popular list. The videos at gop.com are less prominently displayed and must be accessed through a drop-down menu which redirects to a video gallery, but the site still matches the others in its ability to stream properly. The content presents an extremist viewpoint with the message being delivered in a concise manner. The video uses several methods to emphasize its message of delivering intimidation to the opposing party. The music is very fast paced and is very intense. Text slides similar to a powerpoint presentation deliver the main body of the message and rapid picture changes help to emphasize the point; however, the change rate of the pictures is often too fast and the viewer is unable to distinguish some individual images.
Academic edit
The Stanford youtube channel[4] is comprised of many research based academic videos detailing research which is occurring at Stanford. The channel itself is flashy and pushes Stanford as a recognizable brand onto the viewer. Additionally, upon arriving at the channel the first video in the lineup immediately begins to play and the first and last five to ten seconds make the viewer quite aware that the video is a Stanford production. The content of the robotic Audi car engages the viewer and avoids inducing boredom through the use of quick delivery. The form of the video followed a style one might expect to find from an exciting show appearing on the Discovery channel. The video utilizes and often interchanges three common shots to keep the viewer interested: the standard "talking head" delivers most of the scientific content; sweeping shots showcase the individual parts of the car as its parts are described; and there are many fast paced action shots of the car speeding and taking sharp turns.
The main focal point of the Yale website is similar to that of the Stanford and Georgia Tech websites in that it links to articles showcasing research which is a major source of school funding. Clicking the topic picture brings up the article[5] which has a youtube video embedded in the middle showcasing the research. The Yale logo is displayed subtly in the first and final slides which imparts a "classy" feel to the video. The content of the dinosaur feather article is very detailed and focuses on the research itself rather than the implications of the research. This results in a video whose content is overly technical which makes watching the full video rather boring unless the viewer is interested in the specific topic. The form of the video also detracts from the overall entertainment value without adding much to the informative aspects. The video is divided into sections based on a progression of topics, and each section is mostly a scientist speaking at the camera with short cut-aways to stock lab footage.
Corporate edit
The Pepsi youtube channel[6] is a good example of how a company should maintain a video channel. TThe logo appears in two places on the channel front page without being too ostentatious and the colors reflect the new simple design for the Pepsi logo. Initially, the channel begins playing a short Pepsi advertisement which showcases Pepsi's refresh project. Although the content is not initially delivered by the first thirty seconds of the video which is meant to be entertaining, the end gives a straightforward and concise message with a clear intent. Since this is a commercial which also appears on television, the video has a very high production value; there are many varied camera angles and types of shots with lots of post production applied. Additionally, the actors are convincing in their roles and a high profile pop band performs the music.
Similar to Pepsi, The main feature of the homepage for Blizzard Entertainment, a video game manufacturer, is a panel which forces the user to interact with products it is trying to sell, in this case allowing the user to tab through links to trailers for Blizzard's newest projects. The foremost of these projects, with the highest level of brand recognition, is World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and it is the first trailer[7] in the tab through menu. The trailer's content is very fast paced and entertaining so as to draw the viewer in. The site achieves the goal of enticing the viewer to buy the video game through explaining the new content which will be available to players who purchase the expansion. The heavy reliance on game footage, rather than utilizing pre-rendered cutscences and concept art to its full potential, diminishes the production value of the video. The use of anticipation building mystery at the end of the video further emphasizes the intent of the video to cause viewers to want to purchase the game.
Non-profit edit
General Non-Profit edit
The TEDTalks director's channel on youtube[8] is simply organized with a logo at the top of the page and chronologically ordered videos listed to the side. The video starts playing immediately and has a standardized TEDTalks introduction accompanied by a sponsor's logo. VS Ramachandran delivered the content in a manner which could be understood by laypeople; his goal was likely to inform as many people as possible about the subject of his talk. The production included video recording of decent resolution, accompanied by higher resolution slides, with high fidelity audio. VS Ramachandran spoke in an engaging manner, seeming well rehearsed without reading from a prompter, and he was shot from several angles. The video ended with a several minute commercial from the sponsor.
Differing from the TED foundation, he Born Free Foundation has a targeted agenda seeking to cause change and its youtube channel[9] is highly stylized to match the logo of the foundation which appeared at the top of the page. This channel was also unique in that the video that started playing when the page loaded was not the most recent, but the one that best described their mission statement. The video organized its content in a manner very similar to a documentary, but it presented the information to cause viewers to sympathize with their agenda of releasing caged animals into the wild. However, the quality of the video was very poor and the audio did not properly synchronize with the footage. This resulted in an overall poor viewing experience.
Religious Non-Profit edit
As a religious organization, www.catholic.org has the inherent cause of trying to influence the religion of others, making the content of its videos persuasive in a manner similar to the Born Free Foundation. The video section of www.catholic.org organized its material in a manner very similar to that of youtube.com in allowing users to sort by various criteria and select from thumbnail pictures of the clips; there are also advertisements present on the video selection page. The videos are all user submitted content and a clip with Catholic Online's log is played prior to each video clip. The video about the seven wonders of the world[10] presented its information in power point style and the actual content was highly anecdotal, which is more acceptable for user submitted content. Grainy video accompanied quality audio which was a praise song and helped to set the mood of the clip.
Conclusion edit
In evaluating the media as presented, there is an overwhelming number of ways to approach the criteria. The video judgments were just a small subset of topics which describe the many aspects of each video, but the picked choices are the most prominent features in the fields of delivery platform, content, and form. In critiquing these videos, I have developed suggestions for the Literature Communication and Culture department at Georgia Tech regarding effective use of media. The best delivery platforms included those which made the videos easily accessible and placed links to the most prominent videos within a picture which was in a prominent place. The most effective conveyance of content delivered the information in a concise manner and often aimed for "infotainment" if the content was academic in nature. While form is a subjective factor by which to assess material, there are some universal standards which must be addressed, such as ensuring high quality of audio and video. Additionally, I found the videos which were fast paced to have a very appealing form as it helped to avoid loss of interest.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/ronpaul2008dotcomblend=3&ob=4&rclk=cti#p/u/9/Rk_vVaZxTno [Accessed Feb. 9 2010]
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/02/05/weekly-address-opening-doors-small-business [Accessed Feb. 9 2010]
- ^ http://our.gop.com/post/DeNovo/videos/we_are_coming_for_the_democrats.html [Accessed Feb. 9 2010]
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/stanforduniversity?blend=1&ob=4&rclk=cti [Accessed Feb. 9 2010]
- ^ http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=7249 [Accessed Feb. 9 2010]
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/pepsi?blend=1&ob=4&rclk=cti [Accessed Feb. 10 2010]
- ^ http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/games/videos/index.html?v=cataclysm:features [Accessed Feb. 9 2010]
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/tedtalksdirector?blend=1&ob=4&rclk=cti#p/u/21/t0pwKzTRG5E [Accessed Feb. 10 2010]
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/user/bornfreefoundation&rclk=cti [Accessed Feb. 10 2010]
- ^ http://www.catholic.org/video/?v=67 [Accessed Feb. 10 2010]