Film
vidTO: The Monotony of City Life
It will very soon officially be winter. Today(ish) is the winter solstice, which marks the time of the year that we'll see the shortest "day" (the period between sunrise and sunset). If my conversions are correct the precise time of the solstice will be at 1:08am (UTC of 6:08am Dec22 minus 5h) here in Toronto. I plan to celebrate it in Kensington tonight.
While the winter blahs do affect us sometimes, it's good to know that from tomorrow forward, the days will only get longer and the tedious persistence of the cold and dark winter will slowly begin to fade away.
This fabulous minimalistic video by YouTube user emingtonemsworthy depicting the monotony of city life takes viewers on a typical head-down walk in Toronto, in the cold and dark winter. The BoC track she chose is perfect.
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There are, of course, other ways of celebrating the solstice that surely shouldn't be monotonous. =)
Next, blogTO will feature paint drying.
Jenelle, I knew not everyone would like this. But many people in Toronto certainly enjoy Rothko, Steve Reich, Yoshio Taniguchi, and take their coffee black ;) Pardon me for finding this little clip perfect for the moment.
There's art, and then there's someone with a cell-phone camera pointed at their shoes using someone else's art as a soundtrack.
BlogTO has not been impressing lately...
Next, blogTO will feature paint drying.
Throw me a bone here. I'm not trying to hail this video clip as genius art worthy of global acclaim. I simply think it's a great minimalist, creative demonstration of someone's idea of city life in the winter. If you'd rather watch paint dry, go for it.
This is like those times my dad would accidentally leave the camera on while on vacation.
the monotony of city life...typical head-down walk in Toronto.....cold and dark winter....I dunno, I just walked up Queen Street today and saw the most vital and happy bunch of people I've seen anywhere in a long time. People stopping and talking to each other, taking their time and not rushing around in some sort of panic or angst (or monotony). Oh yeah, but I forget...I looked up!
I still think it's great :)
At least you could have warned us that nothing happens at all in the video. I was waiting for the payoff but it kept going and going like that for almost 6 minutes. BlogTO is a bucket of suck these days.
I see a lot more than nothing. I see a poignant depiction of the wintry monotony of city life, and it would seem that many of you that are complaining here have also seen it, perhaps without even being aware of it. Likening it to paint drying is a great analogy. Declaring your needs for instant gratification (where's the payoff?!), and complaining about the it going on an on (almost 6 minutesd?!) are also anticipated reactions. Sounds a lot like a description of the winter blahs to me. Which is why I maintain that this clip is lovely and effective.
Oh, and a completely disingenuous thank you for the kind "bucket of suck" comment on Christmas, Steve. Hope you're feeling better tommorow and in 2008.
Hello blog people. Thanks for linking to me, I guess.
First of all I'll reply to the negative comments and then discuss what I meant by this video.
Sameer Vasta: Well if that's what floats your boat. Some of us are asexual and celebrate in different manners. ^^
Jennelle: If it bores you, don't watch it.
anyon: Obviously you don't understand how videos are compressed. This was shot with a high quality camera. However youtube compresses my video so it looks shitty. The original file size of this video was 1.27GB (does not fit on youtube). So they compressed the living shite out of it.
肺癌: Like I said before, if you are not the patient or imaginative type, don't watch it.
Sam: So your father accidentally leaves the camera trained on his feet while walking approximately 4 or 5 blocks down the street?
colonel: This is what I see when I look up also. The faces of the people here are blank and cold. Perhaps I'm going to the wrong place but the only warmth I see is from the exhaust of cars that don't appreciate pedestrian traffic.
Steve: Don't criticise the blog for my video. It's my video.
Anyways onto what I meant by this video.
This song has a special meaning for me and also for the person the video was intended for. Without the song this video has no meaning. The point is that the city is monotonous and so is life. The video is a leaping off point. It is from this one interprets and imagines what the meaning is. If you have to have everything ready made for you, then this video isn't for you. If you like to have an open ended starting point, then this is for you.
To me this video is about moving on, to keep moving without stopping or halting. It is perhaps a little biographical
For the person I intended it for, he emphathises with my character and understands what I intended in terms of meaning also...
But then again if you want to call it a meaningless sack of shite go ahead, but try to do better then.
PS: If anyone wants to meet with me to discuss this further OR wants a copy of the high resolution video then just email me at the address provided.