Assignment 5.1 - Home Movie

I was a little overwhelmed by the possibility of replicating literally *any* YouTube video. I got to thinking about whether people ever uploaded their home movies to YouTube - and lo! I found this video of a woman celebrating her birthday with her children. 

I grew up being the subject of and director of many home movies in my childhood – many of which are on VHS tapes in my apartment. With the smart phone comes the ability to capture literally anything, instantly, on video, and I thought about how the instantaneous and omnipresence of a tiny video recorder impacts the length of filming something something like a birthday party, with no editing. There is a casualness to filming with a smartphone: it is discreet, it is mechanically uncomplicated, it can be quickly tucked in a pocket in between shots. And it begs the question of whether the casual nature of always being able to film something makes it less appealing to capture the full length of an occasion like a birthday party, as it was in the era before smart phones. 

With these thoughts in my head, and a well-timed trip to Wilmington, Delaware for my sister-in-law's birthday, I decided to film the entirety of the ritual of singing happy birthday and opening presents. Here is a roughly 3 minute version of it: 

Full 16 minute version here. 

I also filmed conversations and clips from our group dinner out at a sushi restaurant. My older brother, Dave, was really annoyed because of the father of two young kids, he knew we were on a meltdown clock, and my younger brother and other sister in law, Lynn, showed up about 20 minutes late to dinner. This video is a genuine reaction Dave had to Lynn arriving late and ordering a super complicated meal that would take a long time to prepare. I edited it in the spirit of making fun of my brother, but it provides an a bit of cinema verité, just for fun.