(2) Self-filming: from Video Diaries to Mobile Journalism
Second part of a serie of articles on Self-filming. Find the first and last pieces here: (1) Origins of Self-filming: Video diaries of Nelson Sullivan; (3) Self-filming and public space — Consequences.
Video Diary, Vlog and Mojo (Part 2/3)
In 1999, I concluded my study on Video Diaries in these terms: “The video diary is something that is difficult to pin down; it is a type of film in perpetual metamorphosis by its own nature, by its format, taking into consideration the way in which it can be constructed, and how itcan be built, and how it is introduced into the public domain”.*
Since Nelson Sullivan, various types of video using self-filming have appeared.
I am therefore proposing here a table that summarizes the types of video concerned with the period of appearance and proposals for clearer and more complete terminology for the subject.
Coming from a mainstream practice, self-filming with a smartphone preceded the uses and techniques of Mojo.
Indeed, the technique of self-filming with a smartphone is born with tools or rather purely telephonic communication applications to which video has been added. This conversational aspect started with the use of a webcam on a PC. The front camera of a smartphone is nothing else than a miniaturized webcam, and fully integrated into the device.
The webcam and portable cameras had a considerable effect on the appearance of vlogs. But it would come to nothing, if this dynamic had not been associated with the use of file hosting sites like YouTube to facilitate distribution.
There are only a few studies and little literature on the issue of vlogs but their birth and especially their development is associated with the launch of YouTube in 2005 and also, with a more moderate impact, that of Dailymotion.
Anecdotally, it is interesting to note that the first video put online was a reflexive film act. Entitled “Me at the zoo”, Jawed Karimi, co-founder of YouTube, appears in the picture with two elephants in the background. But this was not yet a vlog.
Casey Neistat
The most significant example in the world of vlogs is probably that of Casey Neistat, still in business, with more than 9 million subscribers on Youtube at the time of this writing.
Casey Neistat videos can be briefly categorized as follows:
- Hi-tech hardware tests (like drones, smartphones, audio headphones, GoPro cameras, etc…) — or Making Stuff categorie on YouTube
- Travel vlogs (German Travel Insanity, All time greatest Airplane,…) — or Adventure Movies categorie on YouTube.
- Considerations about vlogs or how to film them (How to vlog like Casey Neistat, I’m ending the vlog, Selfies with strangers,…).
- Personal, family blogs (videos with his wife, children, friends,…) comparable to diaries or family films.
This mix of genres emphasizes that Casey Neistat is at acrossroads between video diary (by the frequency and the use of intimate or family topics he can approach and show), the vlog (travels, considerations on different themes) and the mojo (technical reviews, use of mobile devices and social media).
Let us add an important or even critical element: the central role in most of his videos is the filmmaker himself, in this case the person (or personality) of Casey Neistat. The self-filming act is thus at the centre of the system here (even if Casey is sometimes filmed by another person), the central figure of his videos remains himself.
Indeed, Casey Neistat relies heavily on piece-to-camera which remains essential because he communicates to a large community (mainly thousands or even millions of people on YouTube).
But he also uses a wide range of systems and his videos are edited with many effects, such as ellipses and music. Casey Neistat does not recycle the grammar of the amateur film even if it is present (some moments may recall Sadie Benning’s work with If Every Girl Had a Diary or Me and Rubyfruit).
Casey Neistat tries, often with success, to imbue these videos with a specific storytelling, ellipsis, effects (slow motion, fast motion), and music. All of these elements create a style in order to become perfectly identifiable, the most obvious symbol is the deliberate wearing of RayBan sunglasses.
Yusuf Omar
Mobile Journalism marks the most recent transition in the slow but continuous movement from the adaptation of new technologies to new filming practices in modified communication reception contexts.
One of the main innovations and distinctions concerning Mojo is that the journalist now has the power to film himself, which could only rarely be the case before with professional equipment, for technical and physical reasons (too heavy, too bulky, etc….).
Yusuf Omar describes himself as a Selfie Journalist and more particularly as a Mobile Journalism enthusiast, thanks to the many conferences he gives around the world on behalf his company #HashtagOurStory.
As a result, he believes that he is doing journalism by filming with his smartphone. There is no intention here to contradict his position, even if it is debatable for some people.
Yusuf Omar mainly uses his smartphone(s) to film. He appears most of the time in his videos, using the technique of self-filming. It can be seen that his approach and method is quite similar to that of Nelson Sullivan.
He also opts for the addition of some very popular effects on social media (writing, emojis, masks, etc.) or video effects (slow motion, accelerated, …) and, importantly, he uses the vertical format.
He posts his videos on social media, such as Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. He also uses the functions of live mainly on Facebook during some of his conferences or in more intimate moments (eg., he tries to find his way to Amsterdam train station to go to The Hague, Yusuf is at the hairdresser in Chennai (India) to get a dye, etc …)
Put together, all these videos or interventions on social media can reconstruct part of Yusuf’s existence. This is made even easier by finding these videos on Facebook for example, which are perfectly dated and therefore chronological. We can even reconstruct Yusuf’s travels and journeys, which he does not hesitate to share with his community.
In the end, all of this can resemble the concept of video diaries, which retrace the moments that Yusuf Omar wants to offer to his community (his audience), in particular to defend the virtues and pros of Mojo and encourage others to do the same.
Like Casey Neistat’s videos, Yusuf Omar appears in all his videos, and sometimes also with sunglasses Spectacles (sold by Snapchat), these being connected and equipped with cameras (seen here during a broadcast on RTL Luxembourg).
In this case, from a reception point of view, thanks to the use of self-filming, a particular process takes place between the desire to seek new forms of journalism, a way of presenting personal moments of life and a constant embodied presence that can tend to turn into a form of self-promotion.
Find the other two articles here: (3) Self-filming: from Video Diaries to Mobile Journalism.
Article available in French here.
*Jarosz Térence, Le journal intime vidéo : concept, forme et reconnaissance, Université de Metz, Mémoire de DEA, 1999.
