Do you remember what it was like before 2005? How things were just a few years ago without the wonders of YouTube?
These days, watching video clips online has become such a normal thing to do – like breathing – that we can’t imagine life without it. An ordinary person can become famous overnight just by making a movie that gets viewed by millions. And since YouTube’s debut, hundreds of other websites have appeared that allow people to post their videos – and I’m not talking about Hollywood production; I’m talking about amateur home movies that spread like wild fire on the internet. And even if your movies don’t become popular, nothing can stop you from coming up with creative stuff and posting it online. Today, anybody can become a Spielberg.
My friend Branden Stoltz who is an aspiring filmmaker and I, your movie buff, filmed a quick short clip using Panasonic 3 CCD. It’s called TWINS and you can check out the cheesy/hilarious result right HERE.
So as everyone tries to think of the next big hit, I can’t help but remember that since the beginning of 2008, a lot of movies have been about video cameras and home-made movies. Let’s take a look at some of them, shall we?
- CLOVERFIELD
Ah, yes! The monster flick that destroys both New York City and our eyesight. Our heads got dizzy from the shaky hand held camera technique. I get the idea: it’s to make you feel like you’re part of the movie, but they should have a special theater for watching movies like this in which every seat has a vomit bag. - STEP UP 2: THE STREETS
There’s a part in the movie where art school kids make a home-made dance video to mock their rival. To be frank, even when they’re trying to be funny, that whole scene is anything but. I gotta admit though, they do have some mad skills. If I could dance like that, I’d be breakdancing everyday. They’d call me Tornado. And then I’d wake up. - UNTRACEABLE
This one is a bit on the awkward side, mainly because the evil character in the movie has a knack for filming his victims and watching them die. Sick doesn’t even begin to describe his twisted fetish. This movie does give a dead-on example of how a clip can become viral in heartbeat. - DIARY OF THE DEAD
Filming your very own zombie movie but this time, you’re actually using real zombies – how trippy is that?! A group of students are in the middle of shooting what they hope to be the scariest horror movie of all time; they never thought in a million years that they’d be IN one Master George Romero noticed the trend and he followed it… his own creepy way. - VANTAGE POINT
I get angry at myself sometimes because when I travel, I tend to forget to bring a video camera. So when I see a majestic view, I don’t have any record of ever seeing it except for my memory, which usually doesn’t count! Forest Whitaker, on the other hand, is a smart tourist. His character captures every thrilling moment with his little camera. The movie should have an extra scene showing him uploading the video to his computer. - BE KIND REWIND
Jack Black and Mos Def know the first rule about making home movies: Whether it’s a remake or a spoof, they went the distance to make their production interesting or attractive with whatever simple resources they had in their backyard. Here’s what’s fun about this whole concept – your friends and neighbors can help you and you won’t have to worry about the budget. - SON OF RAMBOW
A story about the friendship of two kids from different worlds. Both of them get inspired by the movie Rambo: First Blood. One decides to film his own version of the movie and the other agrees to be the stuntman for his friend’s project. What you get is an outrageous adventure in the world of film-making.
YSN member and movie aficionado Rama Tampubolon runs the movie review and discussion blog, Rama’s Screen, and was featured in “United 300,” which won for “Best Spoof” at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards. He discusses the latest hot topics and movie reviews every Thursday on Waste Time Wisely.
