We're all done, **** off.
April 25, 2013 6:01 AM Subscribe
YouTube user wheezywaiter makes what he calls "The Least Stressful Video Ever Made" (SLYT)
I wonder what future historians will make of the lack of natural pauses in youtube monologues.
posted by history_denier at 6:29 AM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by history_denier at 6:29 AM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
"We're all done, fuck off."
More things should end like this.
posted by Meatbomb at 6:41 AM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
More things should end like this.
posted by Meatbomb at 6:41 AM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
Dude. Paint your walls. A dark sage with white trim would be nice.
posted by The Whelk at 6:42 AM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 6:42 AM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Ze Frank grew a beard?
posted by gwint at 6:53 AM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by gwint at 6:53 AM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
He makes a living at this? Does he get paid by the video?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:54 AM on April 25, 2013
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:54 AM on April 25, 2013
Minor derail but I'm always a bit puzzled by the near certainty that any time anyone posts a video from the constellation of successful vloggers who were inspired in part by Ze Frank somebody here will make a snarky comment about copying his style. Yes Ze pioneered several techniques that work well in the YouTube format and have been adopted by other vloggers. Should we complain that Ze Frank is ripping off Jean-Luc Godard because he likes jump cuts? Sure there is a lot of derivative video content out there but the kneejerk "oh that's just a Ze Frank rip-off" is silly. I personally find wheezywaiter vaguely annoying most of the time but he has his own style, he has created his own content, and enough people like it that he has supported himself off it (mainly through merch and ad revenue I believe) since 2010.
It's not like Ze Frank himself is just a rapid dialog spouting/jump cutting/audience-submitted content using caricature. He's done other things that predate YouTube, he's been trying new things, has a new show, and I don’t think he would agree with the idea that “Ze Frank did something like that video in 2007 so no one should do anything in a similar style ever again.”
posted by Wretch729 at 7:39 AM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
It's not like Ze Frank himself is just a rapid dialog spouting/jump cutting/audience-submitted content using caricature. He's done other things that predate YouTube, he's been trying new things, has a new show, and I don’t think he would agree with the idea that “Ze Frank did something like that video in 2007 so no one should do anything in a similar style ever again.”
posted by Wretch729 at 7:39 AM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
I guess the jump cuts AND the way the shots were framed AND the apartment setting AND the quirky humor AND the self-reflexive, meta-analysis of the genre AND the science tidbits AND the earnestness AND the audience shout-outs to in-jokes, made me reflexively snark that, yeah, he's kinda doing Ze's shtick.
But then again, I don't watch too many things in this genre (is it a genre?) so I could see this as being comparable to say, coming into a discussion about a not-so-well-known artist in some deep musical field and shouting "Hey, this sounds just like [most famous artists performing in this musical field] but with a beard!"
posted by gwint at 8:31 AM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
But then again, I don't watch too many things in this genre (is it a genre?) so I could see this as being comparable to say, coming into a discussion about a not-so-well-known artist in some deep musical field and shouting "Hey, this sounds just like [most famous artists performing in this musical field] but with a beard!"
posted by gwint at 8:31 AM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
but I don't want to swallow his teatface
posted by Pronoiac at 9:10 AM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Pronoiac at 9:10 AM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
Does NOT do what it says on the tin
posted by fungible at 10:12 AM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by fungible at 10:12 AM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
"Zoh"-plankton. Zoo is a place with animals in cages.
/pendant
posted by humboldt32 at 10:59 AM on April 25, 2013
/pendant
posted by humboldt32 at 10:59 AM on April 25, 2013
gwint, I think you articulated that even better than I did. It would make more sense to describe that style of vlogging as a genre of which Ze Frank was one of the early creators, rather than as everyone ripping him off.
I'm conflicted about calling it a "genre" because it starts to sound incredibly pretentious if I start going on about the inherent artistic wonderfulness of people making 4 minute videos from their poorly lit apartments but on the other hand I do think this is an interesting emerging participatory artform. Sure there are a million jokes about bloggers but there's no denying it has changed the way many of us consume news and other types of information. I think online video is doing the same thing, for some people anyway. I wonder if anyone has come up with a name for the Ze Frank mix of random nerdery/social or political commentary/slice of life/artsiness genre.
posted by Wretch729 at 12:02 PM on April 25, 2013
I'm conflicted about calling it a "genre" because it starts to sound incredibly pretentious if I start going on about the inherent artistic wonderfulness of people making 4 minute videos from their poorly lit apartments but on the other hand I do think this is an interesting emerging participatory artform. Sure there are a million jokes about bloggers but there's no denying it has changed the way many of us consume news and other types of information. I think online video is doing the same thing, for some people anyway. I wonder if anyone has come up with a name for the Ze Frank mix of random nerdery/social or political commentary/slice of life/artsiness genre.
posted by Wretch729 at 12:02 PM on April 25, 2013
This was hilarious and I needed it, thanks.
posted by hypersloth at 2:21 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by hypersloth at 2:21 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Wretch729 - can you list links to other people that do similar type vids? also, HOW do you think this guy is different and not derivative? i'm asking for specifics as i am on the fence about watching anything more.
posted by cristinacristinacristina at 9:29 PM on April 25, 2013
posted by cristinacristinacristina at 9:29 PM on April 25, 2013
Haven't had time to craft a substantive reply to cristinacristinacristina but just noticed that I can totally justify my Ze Frank derail by linking to this recent wheezywaiter video which features a cameo from Ze Frank (~2:15). Frank criticizes WW's body odor and terrible breakdancing but also urges him to keep making videos saying, "a diverse breadth of content is necessary and useful."
posted by Wretch729 at 1:45 PM on April 26, 2013
posted by Wretch729 at 1:45 PM on April 26, 2013
Children, please put your please for old school credibility away; the links are good. That is all.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 11:31 PM on April 27, 2013
posted by Samuel Farrow at 11:31 PM on April 27, 2013
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posted by 256 at 6:16 AM on April 25, 2013 [3 favorites]