Green Gets Glossy Sheen With Zaproot
The latest show backed by Next New Networks, ZapRoot, kicks off Wednesday after a soft launch preview on ViroPOP, which claims to be a channel for the “new green generation.” The show is slick and entertaining, and the site follows the familiar template of Next New channels such as IndyMogul and Veracifer.
Unlike Veracfier’s TPMtv from Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall, Zaproot’s not exactly a hard-hitting critique of environmental policy. Instead, it’s a lighthearted treatment of the stories about greening efforts hosted by Kiwi expat Jessica Williamson — and she’s got the bubbly Valley Girl diction down pat. The site’s tag line, “Ummm… we’re like totally Green and stuff…” contributes to the pervasive suburban mall rat sensibility.
Personally, I’m not particularly comfortable with the approach, since — thanks to greenwashing on the part of corporations — it’s becoming more and more difficult to parse the mixed messages. If I didn’t know that producer Sarah Szalavitz and partner Damien Somerset do, in fact, have good intentions, the teaser’s production professionalism would make me suspicious that it’s just an uncritical vehicle for regurgitating press releases from entrepreneurs trying to cash in on the green-tech hype and global warming fears.
Maybe it’s a good sign — while I doubt anyone currently chasing down illegal whaling vessels in a Zodiac or perched in a tree trying to stand in the way of a clearcut will be tuning in, there are millions of families who are more than happy to look for options to continue indulging in consumer capitalism while simultaneously expiating their guilt by buying what they believe is a greener product. And the nerdy circles Szalavitz travels in have been supportive, she assured me. “We’re so excited by how much feedback we got,” she said in a phone interview.
It’s not the job of commercial productions to change the world, though the celebrity spokesmonkeys of the world might want you to believe otherwise. The job is to attract an audience in order to sell advertising and raise a profit. On that level, Zaproot is well positioned, especially if it can siphon audience from the gearhead demo at VODCars on the one hand and the kids at JETSET on the other.
If you are a more radical idealogue of an environmentalist, then take note of the tone and style used by professionals to create media that has the visual and entertainment appeal mainstream audiences have come to expect. A catchy jingle from the likes of Jacques Brautbar and Julianna Raye, for example, never hurts a good cause.
GigaOmniMedia publishes a blog, Earth2Tech, which could be considered a ViroPOP competitor.
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I didn’t mind the production values, though I do see your point that some people will see ZapRoot as being too highly produced not to be the ‘front’ for some sort of entrepreneurial interest.
I’ll be interested to see how the viewers react to jump-cutting a small character over a moving greenscreen background.
I’ve done my own jump-cut videos against a static background or even a static background with changing depths. I’ve seen Damien Somerset’s work on “Ask A Ninja”, which is jump-cutting over one solid color and in a confined space. Of course, Ze Frank utilized jump-cuts… again, in a confined space with a certain size/space/distance relationship between the character and the camera.
What I haven’t seen… and maybe this is the next big thing… is jump-cutting over a moving background where the character’s so far away from the camera that they completely physically disappear from one location and arrive somewhere else on the screen several times within the same sentence.
Having said that, I think the writing’s fascinating and they have the niche subject matter to create a very popular show. They definitely have the elements of that formula that’s worked so well for other video blog shows. ZapRoot seems ambitious and edgy… Definitely one to keep an eye on in the coming months.
If you’d like to see the opposite of ZapRoot – meaning a 44 yr old who is losing his hair talk about practical things you can do to reduce your impact on the earth
check out Real World Green on iTunes or http://www.realworldgreen.com
I’ll be sure to pass it on to the “millions of families” I know who can relate to the sentiment “I’d never f* a hippy!” This kind of pitch is liable to soften my cynicism re the usually unspoken and tired “sex sells” videoblogging approach. I’d never advocate a return to the days of the TV news patriarch, but I think there is plenty of proof throughout history that intelligent, grounded people can be successful in visual media. Just in case anyone’s forgotten that.
Re liberal women in video – perhaps that “I’d never f* a hippy” line is the best way to communicate environmentalism’s new respectability. Now who will tell Amy Goodman?