Media Meditation #2: Flipping Out

Flip Video cameras make people do strange things.

(Image found on Google)

Flip Video cameras.

They're pretty awesome.

Don't believe me? Ask...

Oprah.
She advocated them on her show, prompting a boom in sales for Cisco (Owner of Flip Video.)
(Image found on Google)

Plug the Flip into your computer, it opens video up in Windows Media Player ready for easy editing. Getting a Flip video onto Youtube is a 10 minute process, if even.

The simplistic design is what makes the Flip appealing to so many people. Few buttons make the Flip a tool that anyone can use, really. My friend borrowed one from his dad's car dealership and has taken some awesome footage. He also consistently puts his clothes on backwards without realizing. Here's one of many great moments captured on his Flip:


Play in HD to truly Flip out.
(Video located on Youtube)

I also fear the Flip. It is so damn easy to use that I'm afraid I'll be caught off guard by one. Who knows, in the near future people might be flipping out their Flip on the down low and causing ruckus like this ABC producer.

Look at the utter concentration as she record this candid footage.
(Image found on Google)

This article describes the charades behind this improper Flip usage.

The Flip is now my go-to for any recording needs. It's all around simplicity combined with HD video is hard to pass up. Even my man Rob Williams advocates them, using one to record class projects and put them up on Youtube.

Media Meditation #1: The Big Up

(Image found on Facebook)

From the 5th to the 7th of August 2010, the "Big Up" music festival rocked a 15,000 acre campground tucked away in the small town of Ghent, New York. Live music
played literally all day and all night, only relenting between 6 and 10 AM.

A variety of different artists performed, big names and growing names all playing with
unrelenting energy. Jam bands, like RAQ and Pnuma Trio and DJs, most notably for me Ott (he blew my mind) all played their hearts out to ensure the Big Up's first year was a memorable one. I went up with three of my best friends and lucky me, one had a Flip Video camera to record some of the sets.

Those silly screams in the beginning are courtesy of yours truly.
(Video located on Youtube)

The Big Up was a fantastic media experience for so many reasons. There was music to satisfy a wide array of fans, meaning that there was a very mixed bag of people there. It was interesting to see how different genres attracted different types of people. We met some awesome people too, I couldn't have asked for better neighbors to be camped with. Like all music festivals, though, there were some huge loons, completely absorbed in the music that they choose to follow.

This guy was in his boxers, dancing, handing out water bottles at every single set. I got a bottle from him too...hey, it's free water.
(Image found on Facebook)

The Big Up provided me with infinite amounts of limbic stimulation. Being able to see so many different bands that I enjoy was such a treat. The light set ups were only decent, however, as the multiple stages in use were pretty small. You can see what the indoor stage (it was in a barn, seriously) was like in my friend's video of Ott throwing it down.

(Video located on Youtube)

1. I'm from Glastonbury, CT.
2. This Summer I went to a handful of great concerts and music festivals. All my friends and I saw Phish right outside of my town in Hartford on my graduation night which was a real treat. The same buddies and I also went to Camp Bisco, a music festival in Mariaville NY, and The Big Up music festival which happened for the first time this year in Ghent, NY. Both were a blast and basically made my summer.
3. One thing I like about current media is their (I'm still confused about the whole media/medium usage) comprehensive nature. All you need in order to access today's biggest information database is a computer with an internet connection, an even better example is the smartphone. Movies, television, global news, updates, movie tickets, all only a few clicks away. However, I feel like today's media is far too focused on the masses and trends. To me, this is a viscous cycle that chips away at the overall integrity of media itself and degrades the quality, without allowing chance for recovery. People will be satisfied with the same old talk shows, reality T.V., and sitcoms that wish they were Seinfeld.
4. As far as my future, all I can hope for is that I can live comfortably and be content. Ideally, I'd like to write professionally, which is my current major. I would love to write movies or a T.V. series, specifically with a tight group of friends/like minded writers. I would also love to write novels, publish short stories or any kind of writing in newspapers and magazines. Also, I'd love to continue seeing live performances and incorporate them into my work, maybe even have the same tight group of friends travel around to festivals with me and bring stories home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_HVft6DGIk

http://www.0zzy.com/phish.htm (embedding photo won't work.)