While I continue to search for the origins of web video, I figured I'd put up a classic!
At posting time this video had over 7 million views. I believe there are other incarnations of this video as well, so I'm pretty sure it has been seen even more than that.
This video is actually Flash animation and has been spoofed several times in many ways. So far, my favorite spoof is from The Family Guy
Unlike Peter, this video always cheers me up!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
"Best Office Prank Ever"
One of my favorite shows is The Office on NBC. The writing is sharp, the acting is awesome - overall great show. One of my favorite relationships on that show is between Jim and Dwight. They sit essentially facing each other and Jim, the office prankster is always coming up with hilarious ways to torture Dwight (well, I guess the writers are, but you get the point). One time, Jim molded Dwight's stapler into a mold of Jello - hilarious! Another time he snagged some of Dwight's letterhead and sent him an ominous message from "future Dwight."
Here's a great series of clips of some of the best pranks in a video called "Jim v. Dwight":
So, seeing my penchant for office pranks I decided on this humid Tuesday I'd add one of my favorite web videos. I first found it on CNN's sister site ireport.com and is titled "Best Office Prank Ever." When I looked further I noticed that this video was created and produced through CheeksDown.com. I think what I love most about this site is the VP of Sales who stares so long at the wall as if it might move if she concentrates real hard! Also, what CEO wears gym clothes to the office. As of when I posted this entry, this video received 1,342,012 views since it was posted in August of 2007. Can't determine if those are unique views (most likely not), but figured I'd give some stats.
Watch and enjoy!
If you want to hear how they did it - click here to see the same clip, but this time with their commentary.
A little explanation about CheeksDown.com:
This doozy of a site consists of videos made for the Internet to be passed around for pure amusement. The people that create the content for this site are a comedy troupe with merchandise and well, I guess I should let them speak for themselves about who they are and what they do. Here's a video they made to explain "WTF is CheeksDown.com?"
It has come to my attention while writing this particular post that there is a whole mini-culture of cubicle pranksters that get their inspiration from The Office. On the show's website, there are even photos and stories about those people who reenact pranks from the show. I've created a list below of a few videos, blogs and articles about office pranks. While prank videos abound online, it seems that the office prank and its popularity is in no small way linked to the NBC hit.
Super Funny Prank: This is one of my favorites because a similar thing happened to me back in my cubicle days. A friend sent me a forward and a scary image came up like the one in the video below and I shrieked so loud that people from other departments on my floor came running to see what happened. Embarrassing - yes, Funny - absolutely!
At Entrepreneur.com they detail the "Top 10 Office Pranks Exposed" in an article devoted entirely to Office pranks.
Windward Reports: Cubicle Wars 2006: This video has been viewed over 1.8 million times and is clearly a staged/produced comedy spoof on the growing office prank web videos. It also uses the same stylistic elements from The Office by making it a "mock-umentary."
Golf Office Prank: What is interesting about this prank is that it is actually an ad for the state of Nebraska and their site visitNebraska.org.
Ultimate Cubicle Prank: This seems a bit more amateur-ish, but some of the aesthetics are the same and the self-reflexive nature is evident in their mentioning of other pranks posted online. The prank in and of itself is pretty funny and quite impressive!
I guess these videos all leave me asking the same questions: where do these people work? don't they have better things to do with their work day?!
Hope you enjoy!
Here's a great series of clips of some of the best pranks in a video called "Jim v. Dwight":
So, seeing my penchant for office pranks I decided on this humid Tuesday I'd add one of my favorite web videos. I first found it on CNN's sister site ireport.com and is titled "Best Office Prank Ever." When I looked further I noticed that this video was created and produced through CheeksDown.com. I think what I love most about this site is the VP of Sales who stares so long at the wall as if it might move if she concentrates real hard! Also, what CEO wears gym clothes to the office. As of when I posted this entry, this video received 1,342,012 views since it was posted in August of 2007. Can't determine if those are unique views (most likely not), but figured I'd give some stats.
Watch and enjoy!
If you want to hear how they did it - click here to see the same clip, but this time with their commentary.
A little explanation about CheeksDown.com:
This doozy of a site consists of videos made for the Internet to be passed around for pure amusement. The people that create the content for this site are a comedy troupe with merchandise and well, I guess I should let them speak for themselves about who they are and what they do. Here's a video they made to explain "WTF is CheeksDown.com?"
It has come to my attention while writing this particular post that there is a whole mini-culture of cubicle pranksters that get their inspiration from The Office. On the show's website, there are even photos and stories about those people who reenact pranks from the show. I've created a list below of a few videos, blogs and articles about office pranks. While prank videos abound online, it seems that the office prank and its popularity is in no small way linked to the NBC hit.
Super Funny Prank: This is one of my favorites because a similar thing happened to me back in my cubicle days. A friend sent me a forward and a scary image came up like the one in the video below and I shrieked so loud that people from other departments on my floor came running to see what happened. Embarrassing - yes, Funny - absolutely!
At Entrepreneur.com they detail the "Top 10 Office Pranks Exposed" in an article devoted entirely to Office pranks.
Windward Reports: Cubicle Wars 2006: This video has been viewed over 1.8 million times and is clearly a staged/produced comedy spoof on the growing office prank web videos. It also uses the same stylistic elements from The Office by making it a "mock-umentary."
Golf Office Prank: What is interesting about this prank is that it is actually an ad for the state of Nebraska and their site visitNebraska.org.
Ultimate Cubicle Prank: This seems a bit more amateur-ish, but some of the aesthetics are the same and the self-reflexive nature is evident in their mentioning of other pranks posted online. The prank in and of itself is pretty funny and quite impressive!
I guess these videos all leave me asking the same questions: where do these people work? don't they have better things to do with their work day?!
Hope you enjoy!
Monday, July 7, 2008
DVR vs. internet
With the exception of a few episodes of Desperate Housewives I rarely ever watched entire shows online until this summer. The idea of watching TV online seemed silly - why watch on my computer when I can record it on my DVR (Digital Video Recorder)? For me, videos online were user-generated home movies, cats playing the piano and the random hilarious newscast from Mobile, Alabama.
Yet, last Fall I interviewed several students for a research project, most of whom stated that they watched full episodes of their favorite shows online. I am not sure why I was so surprised by this, but I truly was. Mainly those that watched full programs online had missed a previously-aired episode. In fact, it was this that gave me the idea to watch the aforementioned random episodes of Desperate Housewives that did not fit on my DVR.
Which brings me to my first question. Do people with DVR's view as many previously aired full length episodes online as those without? I feel like the obvious answer is "no." But I guess I don't want to be too quick with that reaction.
The fact is, I have not completed any empirical research to answer this question with more hard numbers. However, I do have a DVR and I do have a computer. Since I've been turned onto the world of viewing full episodes online I have to say there isn't much of a comparison - my DVR is much better! That is until I discover that Hulu.com has vintage episodes of old favorites I've only been able to watch in my TV history classes. So the one thing that the DVR can't do that the web can is allow us to relive old moments that even TV Land cannot deliver. On Hulu.com you can watch the first three entire seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (the topic of a forthcoming post).
Overall, I would argue that the act of viewing is far more enjoyable when sitting on your couch and viewing a larger screen without the "streaming stutters" that occur so often with online episodes. It must be noted though that the stutters are far less than they were just 6 months ago and tend to be more frequent during regular hours here in my office - later on in the day when the network isn't as busy it is almost seamless. Even when it is seamless, it is still grainier and the screen is still smaller. Even with the hi-def option that is available for some shows on Hulu.com, the image is still not as clear as when I watch at home.
So, I guess I'll answer my question with a tentative "no" instead of a strong and hardy "no." It remains to be seen how much more we can develop the online viewing experience and from the looks of it, Hulu.com has a marked lead ahead of others. Yet, it seems as though it will never compare to the actual experience of viewing a TV show at home with a large HD television while sitting on your favorite chair. Then again, we said such things when films appeared on TV (and with commercials no less!) so I am prepared to say that in time my opinion may change.
Yet, last Fall I interviewed several students for a research project, most of whom stated that they watched full episodes of their favorite shows online. I am not sure why I was so surprised by this, but I truly was. Mainly those that watched full programs online had missed a previously-aired episode. In fact, it was this that gave me the idea to watch the aforementioned random episodes of Desperate Housewives that did not fit on my DVR.
Which brings me to my first question. Do people with DVR's view as many previously aired full length episodes online as those without? I feel like the obvious answer is "no." But I guess I don't want to be too quick with that reaction.
The fact is, I have not completed any empirical research to answer this question with more hard numbers. However, I do have a DVR and I do have a computer. Since I've been turned onto the world of viewing full episodes online I have to say there isn't much of a comparison - my DVR is much better! That is until I discover that Hulu.com has vintage episodes of old favorites I've only been able to watch in my TV history classes. So the one thing that the DVR can't do that the web can is allow us to relive old moments that even TV Land cannot deliver. On Hulu.com you can watch the first three entire seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show (the topic of a forthcoming post).
Overall, I would argue that the act of viewing is far more enjoyable when sitting on your couch and viewing a larger screen without the "streaming stutters" that occur so often with online episodes. It must be noted though that the stutters are far less than they were just 6 months ago and tend to be more frequent during regular hours here in my office - later on in the day when the network isn't as busy it is almost seamless. Even when it is seamless, it is still grainier and the screen is still smaller. Even with the hi-def option that is available for some shows on Hulu.com, the image is still not as clear as when I watch at home.
So, I guess I'll answer my question with a tentative "no" instead of a strong and hardy "no." It remains to be seen how much more we can develop the online viewing experience and from the looks of it, Hulu.com has a marked lead ahead of others. Yet, it seems as though it will never compare to the actual experience of viewing a TV show at home with a large HD television while sitting on your favorite chair. Then again, we said such things when films appeared on TV (and with commercials no less!) so I am prepared to say that in time my opinion may change.
America's Got Talent clips
One of the many ways I find videos online is when I feel like I missed something on TV and wanted to catch it. Admittedly, it is usually PerezHilton.com that alerts me to what I missed or a forward from a friend. In this case, PerezHilton.com said I had to check out this act from Britain's Got Talent. This show is a variety show contest and has been translated in the US as America's Got Talent with the same format - even the graphics and cheesy intro music is the same. People seem to think that the variety show is stale and outdated, but now, with these clips circulating, it seems it can be reintroduced as cross the digital divide and provide even more entertainment. Instead of watching an amateur video of a guy in his backyard with some hula hoops, we have a professionally directed variety show in primetime that is then placed in clip form on the internet.
The other element of this clip that I love is that we cannot watch these shows live - or at all for that matter since they air on British TV and not here in the States. This introduces the element of a global awareness of television content in a way not available as easily and readily before.
As a huge American Idol fan, it was interesting to see Simon Cowell on his home turf and judging people other than for singing. Is it just me or did he actually seem nicer?
The other element of this clip that I love is that we cannot watch these shows live - or at all for that matter since they air on British TV and not here in the States. This introduces the element of a global awareness of television content in a way not available as easily and readily before.
As a huge American Idol fan, it was interesting to see Simon Cowell on his home turf and judging people other than for singing. Is it just me or did he actually seem nicer?
Friday, July 4, 2008
Coldplay - Violet Hill video
Coldplay is by far one of my favorite bands. I was anxious for their latest album and it did not disappoint. When I started my research I was all over Coldplay’s website and had to include this video of their song "Violet Hill." The website isn’t set up this way anymore, but before their album came out they had all of these “areas” of the site that you could unlock (kind of like my Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii - yup exposure of my dork-dom) and this video was one of them. I had to embed a Coldplay widget on my Facebook page, but it was worth it. I think this is a great concept video combined with a bit of performance. Either way, I think it is a great song and a cool video.
They also have on their YouTube.com page a version of this video called "Dancing Politicians." Definitely worth a look as well. It gives you some insight into the meaning of this song. What is interesting is they don't have the "official" Violet Hill video (the one that is on their homepage) instead it is re-crafted conceptual video.
They also have on their YouTube.com page a version of this video called "Dancing Politicians." Definitely worth a look as well. It gives you some insight into the meaning of this song. What is interesting is they don't have the "official" Violet Hill video (the one that is on their homepage) instead it is re-crafted conceptual video.
That's the idea anyway...
I’ve been fortunate enough this summer to land a great research job with my adviser - exploring the video content on the web. For much of the summer I’ve been checking out videos and television shows streaming on the web and keeping an excel spreadsheet of some of my thoughts to create a sort of database.
Well, after a great suggestion from Greg and Graham during our usual Thursday night pub outing I have decided to post those insights on the web. That way I can maybe get comments back from others to see what they think about some of these videos. Due to the nature of this research, there will be several postings a day so if you’re interested, keep checking back.
Today I’ll try to put up as many as I can. Being the 4th of July, Greg and I have plans, but hopefully I can get a few up to get this blog going. Enjoy!
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