Power to the People

My Morning Jacket, has a great video on their website. I’m not a huge Jacket fan but I’ve been hearing more about them lately and decided I wanted to see and hear more. I’m glad I did. The video did more than just give me a feeling for the band in concert; it again revealed to me the power of our new technology in the hands of the ‘average guy.’ If Karl Marx could only see today how the Internet is changing the world he’d have to completely rethink Das Kapital.

The video on the MMJ website was shot entirely by people in the audience at the Lollapaloza Festival in Chicago in 2007. Attendees were asked at the start of the set to take out their video cams and phones and shoot the performance and, I assume they were given a web address where they could send their clips. The whole thing is a mishmash of shots, of varying quality, of My Morning Jacket backed by an orchestra and was cut together by Current Fix. Names of those who shot the clips like Betsy from Glen Ellyn, IL, are supered on the screen with their home towns.

I watched this while working on a spot I am creating  for a company called True Healthy Products. My friend, Jan Hrkach, president of THP, asked for my help, as this would be his first foray into TV after creating an amazing start up primarily through the power of the Internet. The problem is that there is no budget for production so we are doing it down and dirty. When I say down and dirty, I mean we are bringing a new meaning to the term ‘guerrilla production.’ The problem I’ve been having is that I’ve been trying to put my ‘old school’ thinking into this and it’s not been working. This morning, after my third cup of Joe, I turned on the MMJ video and I realized that I hadn’t been reading my own words on my blog – I had to start thinking in a totally new way if I am to make this spot succeed.

So, now I’m pumped and it’s not the coffee (I only drink decaf). I got the message loud and clear and today I’m going to break down the spot and completely redo the edit till it makes sense and I know that it will want to make people check this product out.

By the way, here’s a plug for the product here and now: I’ve been using Stemulite for about 3 weeks and it definitely helps me get a better night’s sleep. I can’t stand by any of the other product claims but the sleep benefit is real. Stemulite, which is primarily taken by athletes to enhance their workouts, is all natural and, so far, hasn’t conflicted with my blood pressure meds or other supplements I take. So, if that’s not a ringing endorsement, I definitely would encourage anyone with sleep issues to check it out at www.truehealthyproducts.com.

But back to the point, which is simply that, once again, new technology and creative minds are changing the way in which we see the world. The MMJ video wasn’t brilliant art or even a great recording but it was fascinating to watch and it was stimulating to think that “the revolution” is upon us now.