Harking back to my previous post, the story told through the medium of video …
It is understandable that a writer should want people to read what he has written; the whole business is pointless if the writing isn’t read. There is pleasure in the writing, at least there is for me, but it is so much nicer when people want to see the writing and much, much nicer when they obviously like it and want to talk about it. Dear old Dr. Johnson said something to the effect that only fools write without payment and that must be the case for people who write for a living but I don’t write for a living I write because I like to express my ideas in this way and, because I want to get better at it, I value the exercise of writing.
With this in mind you can see why I write this blog. It often feels as though it is somewhat onanistic as I have very little evidence so show that I have more than a few readers but I quite like my small and unimportant little miscellany of pieces. I wish I had more readers but … well, what can I do about it?
I was going to publish the text of the little story, ‘Last Letter to Lorna’, here. It might have worked as a piece of straight writing but I then had the idea of doing the video presentation of it. I broke the text up into small sections and then put each up on the screen of my computer in very large type in landscape format so that each section occupied a page on the screen. By scrolling with the mouse I could bring each page up one after another. I then took my V550 Kodak Easyshare camera and put it on a tripod. I positioned the camera so that the computer screen occupied the viewfinder and set it to Video. After I had set the video camera in motion I then slowly scrolled so that the pages could be seen one after another. The very ‘clunkiness’ of the technique, not quite handheld but certainly handscrolled, seemed to be appropriate to this mysterious little story.
It took me some time to learn how to post it on Youtube but I succeeded. The link was then posted here (see previous post) and on Facebook where my Facebook Friends could see it.
This also seemed to me to be an opportunity to do something I had thought about doing several times before – telling my other friends about it. So, I went through my Christmas Card list and I sent out 50 messages. I did not do them as a Distribution list, that is, all in one go, I did 50 separate messages. I simply told people about the video, explaining that I had started out with a short story, and asked them to take a look at it. I included a link. I did not ask for responses. My only measure of response would lie in the number of views shown on Facebook.
So far I have received about 20 messages back. Most of them said nice things about the piece. As for those who didn’t reply: well a friendly word or two would not have been amiss. If they had viewed the piece and hated it they could have done what I would have done under the circumstances and said something to the effect that that it was ‘very interesting’. I shall definitely be reviewing my Christmas Card list this year!
People are odd about writing and they often don’t seem to be too happy when a friend attempts it. I remember when my book of memoirs was published. At the time I was travelling every day to London by train and I kept company with a little group of people that I got to know. They were all thoroughly nice folk and we all got on very well. When the book came out it became a taboo subject. It became clear to me that they disapproved. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was because the book was about me ( memoirs do tend to involve their author, that’s just the way it is) but as they could not have read it how could they have known? There were other people, rather closer to me, who also seemed to regard the whole business as being infra dig. Inexplicable to a man who rushes out to buy anything that is published by a friend – because that’s what friends do.
A few days ago I met someone in the street who, with his wife, has been on my Christmas card list for a couple of decades at least. They are in the ‘visual arts camp’ (Sorry but I can't think of another way of putting it). Both are painters although the wife is more generally accepted as being a local ‘talent’ than is he. He had received my friendly little message and had viewed the video. He had not ‘got it’ he said. It was either above his head or below it, he said – but it made no sense to him. He also obviously regarded my message as being a sort of intrusion and went ranting on about viruses. Smarting somewhat over his comment and more than surprised that he hadn’t ‘got it’ I thought about the number of times my wife and I had travelled to exhibitions of theirs and how we had looked carefully at the paintings and how often we had not ‘got’ them and how careful we always were not to reveal this. It is no more than a matter of courtesy not to square up to an artist and say, ‘I don’t get this’ when it is, after all, the child of the artist and it wouldn’t be there hanging on the wall if the artist didn’t think it was OK and ‘gettable’. It calls for a ‘very interesting’ type of response if response is called for. But somehow this courtesy doesn’t extend to writers.
Another friend, who is also in the ‘visual arts camp’ replied very economically and enigmatically. ‘So?’ she said. I rather think she didn’t get it either. Or maybe she did and just thought it was junk.
I suppose I’ve learned my lesson. There are people who may be your friends but they are not necessarily bright enough to get a simple little story like ‘Last Letter to Lorna’ and they are not socially experienced enough to disguise that fact. It’s just such a shame when they reveal themselves as such. Then, of course, there are friends who do get it and just think it is rubbish and don't want to say so (this I understand). My thanks to those friends who wrote back and said:
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That is really beautiful and really effective. I know what you mean about You Tube being a perfect format for this – the narrative emerges at the perfect pace, like it’s being spoken/written live. I love it ...
Awww Keith - that is absolutely fantastic and very moving....thank you for sharing it. I loved it!
This is quite remarkable, haunting and moving. I looked at it two days ago and am still affected by the sense of a voice speaking directly to the viewer/reader from a mysterious place. It's a fascinating use of the specific medium of the internet and its sense of a sort of anonymous intimacy. Thanks for sending it to me - I'm flattered that you thought my opinion and interest worthwhile.
It's a really good idea. Actually quite spooky. I think I expected a big shock at the end - a loud scream, or a half-eaten face appearing or something. There have been a few viral things like that that have done the rounds before. But I like that it's actually not that, and is moving at the end.
Absolutely love it! Thanks so much for letting me in on it. My heart-rate went up as it scrolled past me. SUCH a clever idea. You must do more soon.
Thanks for sending it to me. It feels like it could be the beginning of a film...
like a time capsule where you read a message left by somebody who is no longer here.
It’s a neat way of presenting it, but I am afraid its not my sort of thing. Too much scientific training has conditioned me to want to get down quickly to the essentials of things.
very impressed with your short story
A novel approach - very moving and sensitively executed!
exceptionally imaginative and effective
I've read the text but I can't pretend I understand what you were trying to do
Very clever idea, and compulsive reading!
interesting intersection of text and video; deft use of the platform. I did like it.
Thought provoking
a fascinating story, told this way
absolutely fantastic and very moving
A bit spooky that. Could you do one that’s a bit more sinister?
It’s all quite pointless (perhaps the wrong word) - and yet, strangely it makes good sense
The first thing that came to my mind was the title of a short story 'I have no mouth and I must scream'.
I think it's really really good. And it works well on YouTube, though ends a little abruptly.
So?
The current number of Facebook views is 111 on the morning of 16 March. Hardly a record-breaker. (Revision on 14 April 2011: 123 views. Definitely not going viral)
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