The form of a video essay is really cool, blending together pieces of video, narrative, and spoken word. Learning more about them through watching them was a nice experience.
Les Cruel Shoes, John Bresland:
This video essay explores the lonesomeness of foreignness and the struggle to find ones place in a new, different land. Bresland’s use of running shots of video keeps the feeling of searching going on throughout the piece as he continues to describe his running and his learning. The background audio throughout his narration adds to the feeling of loneliness, as it is often no more than haunting noise or the sound of footsteps jogging.
Hook, John Bresland:
Hook seems to be about the exploration that children live in learning, particularly about their exploration of the cruel and criminal. The narration gives off a feeling of inherent cruelness in children and a rush to educate them so that this cruelness is justified. Although spoken with an air of negativity, the message is most likely a positive one about not sheltering children and allowing them to navigate through the dark and evil in order to be educated.
A Little Archive, Laura Mullen:
The framing of the beginning of the video essay helps put into perspective the body narrative of the importance of the work shown and the markings on the floor. The distinct difference between importance of keeping the chairs safe and the eventual admiration of the scuffed and dented floor emphasizes the importance of the development. Mullen’s use of repetition of certain phrases helps show the passage of time and the significance of the ideas repeated. The actual filming of each of these events gives a live view of the time passage and helps the points come across throughout the essay.
CRTW 300 