Seth Keen

In the wildcat vlog database experiment as a starting point the aim was simply to get some video into the customised structure. I chose to use some 8mm film footage from a previous project, mainly because I always saw this footage as being an early example of a film diary. Shot over a period of 30 years by two artists Charles and Sheena Hazzard – a weblog provides an excellent structure to collate and bring together short duration clips into varying categories. The objective of these notes is to look at working towards what I call a ‘vlogumentary’.

Categories: The database structure of the weblog provides for the first time a way to separate the varying types of events that the Hazzards recorded. The user/spectator can decide whether they are interested in viewing clips associated with the ‘sugar festivals’ for example. The next step would be to provide a method of viewing these collections of clips as a sequence.

Post titles: The post tilting was stripped back to simple pragmatic names. In a planned work which has a more focused theme, the post title can provide a significant insight into the clip contents before it is viewed. Also, including written body comments on a post can add significant information prior to downloading and viewing. I note on the chasing windmills vlog that they have opted for no text letting the video speak for itself as a self-contained unit alongside what is a serial ongoing narrative. pouringdown does the same.

Chronological posting: Another influencing factor is the chronological diary format of a blog. In this example the date and time of entry are not a considered part of the narrative. In a future work this feature would provide for the user, insights into how a project and narrative is structured. I note, that generally in most vlogs and even blogs for that matter the idea generally is as a user and visitor to a blog or even through RSS feeds to keep an eye out for latest posts. But, also blogs do operate as an archive that can be searched in a number of ways. The trick is to possibly work with both of these features.

Other notes: On reflection, these clips are an excellent example of covering daily events. The process of recording on 8mm film forces the shooter to edit in the camera as part of trying to capture a scene as it happens. The on/off of the edits in the camera produces a particular type of aesthetic in terms of capturing a scene quickly and as it happens. They are also good examples of working towards shorter duration scenes that fit the Internet and vlog format. A digital stills camera demands a different approach where due to size it seems to be more about keeping the camera still and looking for a continuous short duration shot.

So, what does this blog set-up provide in terms of a type of video database? Simply, it provides a latest post feature via the thumbnail clusters at the top similar to a latest post list in a conventional blog in the sidebar. A default category called ‘clips’ (usually ‘uncategorised’ on a conventional blog) where all the clips uploaded to the blog are registered. The ‘clips’ category’ page follows a similar approach used by videobloggers to direct users to the videos that have been posted on their blog. For example the 2007 video archive page on Michael Verdi’s blog, which used a yearly archiving approach. The thumbnails clusters can also be pushed out into smaller groupings as sub-categories as discussed earlier. An issue with these thumbnails is that often due to their small miniature scale they image is lost and provides little insight for the user on what the clip might be about. I note on Verdi’s blog he has been careful to choose very graphic imagery for his thumbnails. I could be argued that they force this type of approach if they are to be useful navigation indicators.