Archive for March, 2007

March 28, 2007 | Filed under: videoblogging Week

March 21, 2007 | Filed under: get meta with me!

Wanna Shower in Flash? Click here or the picture to lather up.

or click here to videobathe in mpeg4/mp4/Quicktime

Steven Bochco, acclaimed producer of Hill Street Blues, LA Law and NYPD Blue has decided to make a foray into online video. I find his ideas regarding video on the internet (and internet use in general) a little off-putting.

Bochco says he views the Web as a medium best suited for snippets of entertainment that can be consumed between tasks, something he calls a “mental shower.”

“I think people go to the Internet, particularly younger people, assuming they’re not going for information, for a distraction between tasks,” Bochco said.

A distraction? Steve, I’m hurt. I agree that the internet can be distracting, sure, but to characterize the intercommunicative juggernaut that is The Internet as just something that can keep you from getting bored between scooping out the cat box and waiting for your dinner to pop out of the microwave is a little sad. You have saddened me, Steve. So what’s he offering the new web 2.0 world? Confessions. Terrific.

“A good anecdote is like a good joke in terms of length, structure and punch line,” Bochco said. “Here I am in the most embarrassing moment of my life — that’s the punch line. A lot of people don’t know when to stop. Find the punch line and go out with that.”

Hmmm…okay. I’m listening.What else?

“The charm of this medium lies in its enormous spontaneity,” Bochco said, “because these are completely unscripted and sometimes, for a geezer like me, shockingly candid.”

Well, that’s certainly true.

I suppose I should be happy that a TV bigwig is joining the internet video world with a concept that doesn’t (quite) attempt to copy television–there’s enough of that already. But still, it doesn’t sit right with me. I want more, I want different, I want better.

I think Steven Bochco can do better.

March 13, 2007 | Filed under: art, loves

Click the Pic (or here) for Flash
Clicky here for mp4 (mpeg4/Quicktime)

*Not Safe For Work…unless your work involves answering Penthouse Letters**The long-awaited sequel to Porn/Art 1. Hey, fine art takes time, you know! There are four reasonably explicit pornographic images in this video, so Elaine and Megan, don’t prop your kids in front of this one. Again, naughty bits have been blacked out, but still, the gist is still there in full porny force.

Some notes about Brian’s drawings: firstly, they were difficult for me to photograph correctly. They are pencil on white paper so getting in all the delicate shading*** while avoiding shadows was tough. Also, I didn’t realize until after we shot all the footage and stills of the work that I had focused so much on the forms themselves that I missed their relation to the remainder of the space. These images gently float off-center on large amounts of negative background space. I don’t think I got that across properly. Sorry about that, Baby.

I really like the three-dimensional quality he’s added, and I like the well-placed stars. Most of all I enjoy how de-porned the images became, which was, of course, the entire point. Of these four I have chosen my favorite (the one with two chicks), as well as my least favorite. Can you guess which one that is and why? (hint: remember I just said how I liked how “un-porned” they got?)

***EDIT 3/14/07***Brian would like to correct me here: it was not “shading” that was the issue, it was the “line quality”. As you can see, I never took drawing.

For my next post, bread baking!

What, you were expecting more porn? Haven’t you had enough?
Music:
Put On Your Tight Pants
The Soda Pop Kids
Full Breach Kick Records
Courtesy of Podsafe Music Network