Video Critique

The previous class did a very nice job with their videos. However, one constant remains clear, mash up videos that combine with unique material are clearly the most successful videos. Combining original footage with excerpts of Rich Rodriguez pressers, this developed the Rich Rodriguez Press Conference video into the most successful video of last semester, in my opinion. The use of time was very effective; not too long and not too short. As a result the video kept attention. Most of the other videos did not effectively use time in relation to their content, making them seem boring. This video was clearly the most unique and entertaining, helping it make the most concrete argument. Some videos relied too heavily on mash up material and lacked uniqueness, as a result. You must include an original component to make your video successful and unique. Uniqueness sells. Republican Leadership. Fail. and Stop Republican Whining are examples of videos that do not include original content. They essentially, just rearranged existing video footage. By adding unique material, they could have created a stronger argument to unify the different clips they used. However, because they did not do this, these videos did not interest me and lost my attention. As a result, it weakens the argument if the audience becomes bored. Anyone can go to YouTube and find ALL the footage used to compile these videos. For these reasons they are not successful, in my mind. They needed to use unique material to make a cohesive argument. Think Before You Speak is an extremely stupid video with a muddled argument, however, people who enjoy doing stupid things may find this video very interesting and thus successful. The same holds for the skateboarding video. These videos seem to appeal strongly to a niche audience. Overall, a large number of the videos lacked unique and engaging content, and this is what differentiates the Rich Rodriguez Press Conference video from the rest of the videos. As a result, it presented the clearest argument and put a humorous spin and parody to Rich Rodriguez press conferences. Who would imagine Rich Rodriguez addressing the economy? This video developed the most cohesive argument of all the videos because of its’ use of time and uniqueness. By combining existing material with a unique idea and original content, one can easily develop time with the use of content to make an engaging argument. The best videos use time wisely. Additionally, these videos present unique content with the use and aid of time to engage the viewer. An ideal video is 2:00 of strong and unique content, with content naturally determining the time of the video. A video that manages content and time is successful because it creates viewer engagement. An engaging video makes a successful video. To make a video engaging one must use content and time to engage the viewer.

Jeremy J. Petersen