semanal.org » Talk about all your video insanity here.

Is Semanal meeting it's Goal?

(13 posts)

  1. davidleeking
    Member

    I've been having fun, posting a video a week... and learning lots about creating video in the process - so I'm getting something out of it.

    But I've noticed people dropping off, and we have the same 7-8 people posting each week, whereas in the first couple weeks, we had like 30 posts. And it's not terribly social - we post our videos, maybe leave a comment or two, and that's it. Nothing else (not sure what I'd want to see, but still).

    Where did everybody go? Are y'all busy? Did this get boring? Anyone else have some thoughts to add?

    Just curious... later!

    David

    Posted 1 year ago #

  2. milt
    Member

    I have found that for me - having semanal has been very good. I make sure that I have something posted every week, and so it has formed a discipline for me. Making sure that I always get some editing done. It keeps up my chops, and keeps me connected to what I do, rather than just dealing with money, equipment, and everything else that goes into have a production company. I liked the idea of doing interviews of each other, and doing something with that. You know the reality is that sometimes you don't have anything to say about other peoples work. Sometimes I really love what I see, but other times, not so much. I think that you really do this stuff for yourself, for what you as an artist gets out of it. I probably am not the right person to talk about this, because I'm quite a bit older than most of the folks here. And as such, I don't really want to spend a lot of time interacting.

    Now having said all that, I have connected with some of the folks here, and it's been pretty cool. I love that I've met folks from Africa, Australia, Canada, and Holland, and even people from the good old US of A.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  3. samrenseiw
    Member

    I am not sure what the target goal for semanal was, actually.

    It is nevertheless such a fine and enjoyable site, where one can watch video works one might not have discovered otherwise. (DVblog, with its superb and generous research in finding and presenting oblique web video works, is still unsurpassed)

    Regarding the "conversation" at semanal:
    Some of the most attractive videos - to me- are the ones that communicate purely visually. Where I do not see "talking head" in frames, explaining or conveying some sort of meaning, but simply moments of the quotidian, recorded. Sometimes edited, sometime just plain footage.

    In these short videos, potential narratives await their completion. A sort of multi-layered "projection", in many ways. Thus, some sort of silent language is taking place. One meets other fellow human being's gaze(s) on things, conditions and events, enabling an oblique view of the seen with tolerance and compassion since there is no "message"

    We all have such wonderful and different ways of seeing. Sharing those "views" is the actual conversation, beyond borders, topics, concepts or agendas. Sometimes a comment is fine, but mostly, just watching is great. And knowing that others are there too.
    Or, to quote McLuhan: The medium is the massage"

    This is why I certainly enjoy semanal very much. Sometimes it is crowded, sometimes the site is more deserted . Life happens, while one is busy making other plans (or videos), probably. The generosity is in the sharing.

    Many thanks to the semanal hosts and site maintainers, and also to David for starting this conversation.

    Best, Sam.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  4. huubkoch
    Member

    I guess the goal for Semanal 2008 is very simple and stands out in its headline: One Video Per Week For All of 2008.

    I've been webmastering this place for about a half year now, as Jay had many other things to do. Since then It occurred to me that many of the initial enthousiast had left Semanal shortly after the installation of semanal at this blog (Week 3).

    For instance, I've never seen Rupert here again, or Jay or Ryan very much... but is this a problem? Maybe the Ning platform had another atmosphere than the Wordpress blog, but I also ask myself if all of these videobloggers that became members at Ning to do the One Video Per Week For All of 2008 and never posted as much as jsut a few weeks and then left at semanal.org had something else to do or fell short of motivation too fast...? Who Knows? Does it matter? Could we cope with so many videos as we could the see the first 2 weeks?

    What I know is that those who kept coming and posted on and on and on and on at semanal.org now seem really familiar to me. This is what I like. Take Pepa or Sam, or Milt or David Lee King and many more, I really have this idea that I got to know Chile, The bead people and Scandinavia a littlebit better. The true life. The one that is stranger than fiction!

    Another question might be... are we going to get this videothing at least one step further...

    So I repeat the question Jay asked me some time ago and add some short answers:

    1. What's the point of doing a group video project with guidelines? why not just make videos for yourself?

    I am most of all making videos for myself, but it is a challenge to share what I do with others and very much challenging if it is One Video Per Week For All of 2008...

    2. what are the creative challenges to making videos for Semanal? what's your methods?

    As I said, One Video Per Week For All of 2008, is a challenge in itself. Next to this I work a lot with a mashup method for my movies of The Roltrap and The Weekly Vlog. My method has evolved because fans of The Roltrap started sending me footage for my movies.

    3. How do you interact with other Semanalists?

    Posting, Commenting, Emailing, Chatting and writing about other videobloggers at my blog.
    I would like to see if we could find a way to do some projects together by showing up in some way in each other videos...

    4. Any highlights so far from videos you've seen?

    I can't name a video that has not been inspiring for me at Semanal. I have to admit that the semanalists' who go on posting for all of 2008 have become more familiar to me than the one's who stopped somewhere along the way. Maybe we should make list of everyone who posted here, even if it was once...?

    5. We're 75% of the way through 2008, how would you like to see the project evolve over the year?

    As I said: I would like to see if we could find a way to do some projects together by showing up in some way in each other videos... that would seem fun to do to me and and interesting thing to find out how to make a sort of scenarios for that...
    for the rest of it: Maybe things could have evolved otherwise if the scope of the project: One Video Per Week For All of 2008, would have been put in another way in the beginning. I ask myself if another form or structure in getting people to collaborate would have been more fruitfull. In the end each way might have its fruits, so I am curious how you guys and all other semanalist think about it... Best! Huub!

    Posted 1 year ago #

  5. milt
    Member

    I've been reflecting on Semanal quite a bit, and I thought that I would do short video about it, but I haven't and so I'm just going to write out some of my thoughts, rather than wait to find the time to get the camera out etc., etc.

    I have always thought of Semanal as a very personal device that I use to create tension. The tension that it creates is simply the commitment to do one post every single week. I seem to need something like that. Over my life I have made various commitments like that, and they have always worked. Practicing the violin everyday for 30 minutes for a year. Not watching TV for a year. Doing Jin Shin Jyutsu an hour a day for a year - each task accomplished and I feel I've always been better for it.

    Somehow it's just the right amount of goading - without being onerous. Of course the other part is watching stuff from all over. I love the different sensibilities that I see here. I also get many ideas on how things can be done, which I love. I can't say that I watch every piece - there are some that I really enjoy, and many that aren't really my taste.

    Probably the thing that I like the best is seeing people that I am beginning to know - the regulars here. I really enjoy keeping up on what they are doing. There are many aspects to doing blog stuff. One is getting your name out there. Another is playing with crazy ideas and forms. Still another is sharing what you've been doing with your friends, and if other folks want to see it, then that's cool too.

    Huub, I am not a very good collaborator. I do it in my work, but frankly most of what I want from this is really just posting my pieces (creating a tension system to keep me producing, and editing) and seeing what you guys are up to.

    Thanks everybody!
    Milt

    Posted 1 year ago #

  6. huubkoch
    Member

    I do recognize a lot in what Milt says about the power of discipline and ritual. One video each week for all of 2008 is one of them. I share other and likewise rituals, like doing tai chi chuan and chi kung exercises each morning, writing a blogpost at least once in 3 days, going to the park 3 days a week... even my work as a designer has rituals like this.

    I believe rituals are good. They structure our lives. Maybe when you grow older, I am 52 years old now, rituals become even more important than when you are younger. Though I think rituals are important for everybody. I even made a magazine about rituals once upon a time in 1992, some fragments can be seen here: http://www.huubkoch.nl/print_magazine03.html It was called Ritual Identity. So I guess a ritual contributes to identity, moreover to being.

    The differences between Semanalists interest me pretty much. They show that everybody has a contribution to make. Whoever you are and from wherever you come, whatever you do and share. Thats pretty enlightening I guess.

    Anyway, I never say never. So Milt, and all of you guys... who knows that a form of collaboration is possible. We already did one, and that is that Semanal would never existed if we did not post videos each week!

    Posted 1 year ago #

  7. milt
    Member

    I still want to do that interview with you, and have you do an interview with me. Frankly it might be fun to do a bunch of interviews with each other, and see what it might be. It really might be something cool. I know when once when I was talking to Jay and recording myself while doing it, and he was recording his end while we talked. It was pretty fun, and I would love to really think about doing that. I think that the topic would be what we do in our lives and how that actually relates to something - maybe to Semanal??

    Posted 1 year ago #

  8. huubkoch
    Member

    Still a very good idea, Milt! Lets do it!

    Posted 1 year ago #

  9. mike
    Member

    I just found this part of the forum...
    I guess part of the problem is, if someone did miss a couple weeks, they may have realized that the ball has been dropped and no sense continuing.
    Anyhow, late for work... I'll try and get to posting a thread in the vlogging yahoo group. I'm finding vloggers in my circle are posting less. Lets get the fire going again.
    NaVloPoMo is back on in November and there a few who said they'll give it a try.
    Mike

    Posted 1 year ago #

  10. FrankCarver
    Member

    Thanks for the reminder on the videoblogging list Mike! I was so keen on the Semanal project at the start, then exams and travel got in the way over the summer and I never came back. I had kind of forgotten about it.

    Time to do something about it!

    Posted 1 year ago #

  11. JohnDkar
    Member

    since Photovideoblogging is part of my daily work...honestly I havent had any problems in creating 54 videos for the Semanal Project...I have already finished the 54 videos with the tag semanal08...they are already posted in my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/johndkar
    I am not saying that I am a kinda pro...I am just a enthusiastic Photovideoblogger

    keep on dear friends

    you can do it

    seeya in the Nablopomo challenge

    regards

    JohnDkar
    PD: I have already left China for a break in SouthAmerica

    Posted 1 year ago #

  12. milt
    Member

    It's really fascinating to see what pressures are exerted by a website. I know that they are personal pressures, but nevertheless, it's fascinating to watch. People start to feel as if they have given their word - "I will do a video a week" and then they feel bad when they can't get it done, and then they back up and fill in the missing weeks. I know that's what happens to me. So why would I feel that way, when I don't really have any obligation to do any posts at all? And yet I do. It is strange. I wonder if anybody is doing any studies of this phenomena?
    Milt

    Posted 1 year ago #

  13. kath
    Member

    late post...

    I stopped posting around week24 and missed a few before that. I moved countries agains and had a few personal things come up. still made videos throughout the year - I just forgot to post them here too.

    congrats to all that made it all the way!! very cool. so are you going to do it again in 2009?

    kath

    Posted 1 year ago #

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