Friday Vid Picks: In Ze’s Shadow
When it comes to the webcam, modesty is nothing but an obstacle. There is no fourth wall, and the de facto style is to directly address the viewer, “eye-to-eye.” While heavily edited, talking head video bloggers offer a modern-day take on the ancient art of oratory.
Ze Frank embraced this pedestrian style and used it punctuate his original video syntax. In The Show, Frank created a nuanced rhythm in his delivery and editing, controlling the flow of his soliloquies down to the fraction of a second. His style is infectious; I watch a few episodes and I find myself talking like him. And the more talking heads I watch online, the more I see other people that have been infected, too. Here are variety of video bloggers all with strong Ze-nian influences.
Jay Smooth’s Ill Doctrine
Getting a shout-out in last month’s dead-tree Wired, Jay Smooth brings us the Ill Doctrine, serving up a humble voice and view on hip-hop amid the bombastic cacophony of rap demagogues. Cutting through others’ self-interested bravado, Ill Doc offers a no-nonsense opinion from one man with a webcam with no pretensions. Alternating between op-ed rants, masterful mashups, guest artist performances, and original raps, Smooth always keeps things fresh. I just wish he would post more often.
DeFranco mixes Ze’s formula for structure and delivery with a kitschy dose of tabloid cynicism. It’s like watching Ze read posts from The Superficial, but the young DeFranco always manages to make me smile at some poor starlet’s misfortune. DeFranco’s savvy thumbnailing and titling has helped lift his celebrity-cleavage-filled videos up into the “most viewed” section of YouTube.
If Ze was a female amateur porn star he might look something like Brooke Marks. The promo video for her members-only softcore site (NSFW) cuts between her rolling around wearing only electrical tape (geek turn-on) to Marks trying to capture Dick Cheney’s inimitable sneer (everyone-but-Condi turnoff). Her teasing ways are perfect Break-bait, where her videos have racked up several million views.
John Paczkowski’s Digital Daily
Reporting from Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher’s AllThingsD, Paczkowski reads tech news headlines with the swagger of a tired Ze. While I was always comforted by the assumption that Ze’s bloodshot eyes, unkempt hair, and presumably horrendous coffee breath were due to his artistry-driven insomnia, Paczkowski’s often beleaguered appearance must surely be caused by too much time spent scouring the interwebs for the scoop on Silicon Valley scuttlebutt. Still, Paczkowski has been ribbing the industry since the first bubble and has earned his webcam close-up.
Fitting in perfectly with Vimeo’s theme of short-form self-indulgence, Look Shiny is a hit-or-miss exercise in mental masturbation resulting from the host’s “exuberance of arrogant youth.” And that’s a compliment. Always extremely short, the episodes sway unsteadily between caustic observational humor and pointless self-deprecation…which, as I understand it, is the definition of a personal blog.
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[...] miss The Show with Ze Frank, NewTeeVee has posted a few “up and comers” that vary from sites influenced by to outright mimicry [...]
Comanche Hill » In Ze’s Shadow on October 7th, 2007 at 9:53 am - Permalink
I like the content but what is with these grammar errors? If youze gonna use fancy words, like syntax, try also using grammatical particles like ‘to’ and ‘a’ not to mention using correct verb tense like “watch’ed’ a few episodes”
Or maybe try to not write so much baloney and stick to the facts. We’re netizens, not looser high school professors.
Thanks for listening.
Keep up the good content.
theotheroneis on October 7th, 2007 at 3:57 pm - Permalink
I figure every word has its place, even the multi-syllabic. And broadening one’s vocabulary is good practice for the GREs, no?
Glad you liked the content, which should be first and foremost. An absent indefinite article is a minor gaff, but I’m pretty sure our verb tense is ok and I assure you that my Strunk & White is never out of reach. And I’m pretty sure the well-spoken Ze would agree.
Craig Rubens on October 8th, 2007 at 1:07 pm - Permalink
I just discovered a fraternal pair of Ze’s disciples. Hank and John Green are brothers who are alternating sending each other video blogs via their YouTube channel, Brotherhood 2.0, five days a week, for an entire year. You might have seen Hank’s Accio Deathly Hallows that made it to YouTube’s front page. Check them out to see modern day familial correspondence.
Craig Rubens on October 8th, 2007 at 11:36 pm - Permalink
[...] Friday Vid Picks: In Ze’s Shadow « NewTeeVee ZeFrank has some competition out there in the tubes– says NewTeeVee (tags: zefrank humor funny) [...]
links for 2007-10-10 | Daily EM on October 9th, 2007 at 9:26 pm - Permalink
[...] No word if this is a one-off or the first of many new eps. Regardless, be sure to check out who Craig’s picks are for Ze Frank’s successor. [...]
The Return of Ze Frank « NewTeeVee on November 5th, 2007 at 5:58 pm - Permalink
[...] a couple of tips recently that Philip DeFranco might fit the bill, and NewTeeVee included DeFranco on their list of ZeFrank successors [...]
Unfortune on May 21st, 2008 at 12:10 pm - Permalink
[...] his quirky, participatory video show stopped beaming power moves and duckies into our lives daily (though many have tried). Which leaves us wondering, what has Ze Frank been up to? We discovered part of the answer from [...]
Ze Frank Goes to the Movies « NewTeeVee on July 17th, 2008 at 9:26 pm - Permalink
[...] Um, yeah, it has. Hip-hop blogger and radio personality Jay Smooth has been grouped with Frank more than once since starting his video blog Ill Doctrine, but it’s only in his most recent video [...]
Jay Smooth Embracing or Mocking Ze Frank? - NewTeeVee Station on September 2nd, 2008 at 10:01 am - Permalink
[...] — with closeups, jump cuts and a frenetic, direct address of the viewer — that has begotten a large number of disciples. But none carry Ze’s torch with more earnestness than the brothers [...]
Vlog Brothers Are Good But They Still Aren’t Ze « NewTeeVee on December 10th, 2008 at 3:36 pm - Permalink
“DeFranco’s savvy thumbnailing and titling has helped lift his celebrity-cleavage-filled videos up into the “most viewed” section of YouTube.”
Translation: DeFranco got popular by gaming the system with copyrighted photos of girls in swimsuits he pulled off a Google image search without the copyright owner’s permission.
Why are you mentioning that as if it’s something positive?
Thee Stranger on December 11th, 2008 at 4:35 pm - Permalink