Minnesota Story videoblogs

When I did this assignment when it was actually due - oh about a month ago - I used the food on a stick video. I thought it was hilarious, showed it to my husband and kids (they enjoyed it and now cannot wait to go to the fair), and felt proud of Minnesota in a dorky way-it was just so Minnesota. Well, as I sat down to work on my actual blogging I was curious what new stories were on the Minnesota Stories page (now one of my favorite places to go to laugh and be entertained). The lead video was zombifying. I was beyond curious so I watched it. It was entertaining seeing Courtney getting ready in her zombie make-up. When she began waling down the street I was amazed, I had never heard of the Zombie Pub Crawl so I was trying to imagine how others would view her since she obviously would be out of place and considered a "deviant" on the streets of Minneapolis (a hard task but one should had accomplished). Then, when the video began displaying other zombies, honestly all that came to mind was, "What the hell?" and I had to watch the rest of it. I was entertained by the walking into the streets, the various costumes and make-up, and the funny struts, jerks, and walks the participants engaged in to further act their part. I thought perhaps a movie was being made - but then she would not be allowed to have her camera. When the words finally came on the screen labeling the Pub Crawl, I smiled, and thought, "Very cool." I also felt cheated - I do not get to hang out in the cities anymore and oh how I wish I would have known about this when I was able to just enjoy the cities. Not sure I would have participated in the activity myself, but I certainly would have gone to witness this event myself-it is certainly unique.

I believe the audience for this vlog would be college age or those who frequently participate in or enjoy the many attractions of the cities. There are a few editing techniques that are quite effective. It is edited, the music changes a bit, the scenes are not streaming but pieced together. The most effective techniques are when she is walking down the street. Everything is so very normal - but, um, she has a huge gash on her face as she strolls merrily along. The angle of her walking adds to this normalcy. You find yourself just waiting for the camera to zoom in on the first reaction to her make-up; instead you get more zombies - definitely not expected. Also, when the other zombies do become a part of the video, there are some sharp cuts to faces/bodies in costume that you are not expecting. Between the shock of the make-up and the flashing to new scenes (also unexpected) you get a more drastic reaction from the audience.



Not sure if I am to answer this question with t his blog entry, but here goes - if I were to create a vlog for this course I imagine it would be either autobiographical recollection or a literary text. I am drawn to both and find them more interesting to read so I suppose I would believe them more interesting to create as well.

In case the video doesn't work - here is the link:
http://www.mnstories.com/archives/2007/10/zombifying.html