My husband dragged me to see Starship Troopers when it came out in 1997 and there was a scene of what media coverage would be like in the future. You would watch a news clip and click on the screen after the question "Would you like to know more?"(and yes, that really is Neil Patrick Harris, in one of his few roles between Doogie Howser MD and Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle)
In 1997, the internet was new, and there was this feeling that interactive TV was around the corner (WebTV anyone?). But it wasn't really. Yes, videos were soon embedded in web pages, with additional links to related videos. But nothing popped up in the middle of the screen during a broadcast that could be clicked for more information. (Both TiVo and Hulu kind of do this, but these generally link to ads)
Today, I was visiting Nate Dern's channel on YouTube and he had posted a Choose Your Own Adventure video series. Apparently, on June 4, YouTube announced on its blog that it had released an annotation feature to it's users, such that they could add pop up messages and links in a time and place of your choosing throughout your video.
For instance, here's a link to an interactive card trick. And here's a link to how to create annotated videos, from the card trick's producer (I'd embed these videos here, but if you do, the linking doesn't work).
For more info, visit this page about Video Annotations.
Showing posts with label nate dern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nate dern. Show all posts
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Let's Give It Up for Nate Dern
Take the sketch comedy of Kids in the Hall, the do-it-yourselfedness of Andy Samberg, Mike Myers' ability to spin characters out of thin air, the absolute randomness of Andy Milonakis, the standup talents of Eddie Izzard, and Steve Martin's determination to not let comedy totally define his persona and you've got Nate Dern.
Okay, now I've built him up way to much, especially for a guy most people haven't heard of, and who frankly is still not sure he wants to do comedy for a living. Nate, a '07 graduate of Harvard in Social Anthropology, appeared in Season 3 of Beauty and the Geek, a reality show that paired girls who think they can get by on looks alone with guys who think they can get by with encyclopedic knowledge and no social skills. When it first came out, I had no interest--it looked like producer Ashton Kutcher was going to punk a bunch of bimbos and nerds. However, an article from Salon got me to start watching.
In each episode, each partner is challenged to stretch out of their comfort zone. In one challenge, the beauties had to read Freakonomics , then stage an interview it's co-author Stephen Dubner. The geeks, on the other hand, had to perform a set at a comedy club, and Nate's standup routine on allergies, well, stood out. It takes a special genius to do comedy and I think he's got it. Nate's not a geek in the traditional sense --it seems he was recruited to star on the show by casting agents at Harvard merely because he was sporting glasses, a beard, and plaid pants. He likes Star Wars, but rather than buying action figures, he wrote songs about Stormtroopers for his tribute band So Long Princess.
He and his partner were strong contenders for the $250,000 prize until the twist ending--rather than competing in a quiz show to win the finale, the winning team would be selected by the eliminated contestants. Had the team been judged solely by Nate, he almost certainly would have won, as he was well-liked by his castmates. Unfortunately, his partner Cecille Gahr, a Hawaiian Tropics model, was catty to the girls and manipulative of the guys throughout the season. In case anyone was even tempted to vote for him in spite of Cecille, Nate petitioned his fellow contestants not to vote for his team, but in losing the prize money, won the hearts of millions of viewers.
After the standup episode aired last year, I Googled him. He had started posting bits of standup he was doing in dorms, as well as odd little shorts of himself. For some reason I Googled him again last week. It seems last summer he interned at the Daily Show (look for the bearded dude playing Jenga) and last fall he decided to go to Cambridge to get a Masters in Screen Media and Cultures and is still trying to decide between teaching and comedy. His video log, which is not necessarily comedic, is terrific--not only is he funny, he's got a photographer's eye and a gift for storytelling. He's so prolific in his posting, I almost feel like I could write a dissertation on him, or at least another post.
But let's get back to the comedy. If he does decide to teach, lucky kids, but unlucky us, because I think he's hilarious. Comedy is hard work, but he's got the raw talent and if he keeps at it, I think he could make it. Although he seems to like improv and standup, he excels at creating characters and doing sketch, with other actors, in monologue, and with himself playing all the roles. Here's a sampling below:
Nat the Poet reads his Kitchen Poem
Sven Major has Super Powers
Drug Awareness (mature language and content)
Super Scrabble (starring Nate, Nate, and Nate)
Okay, now I've built him up way to much, especially for a guy most people haven't heard of, and who frankly is still not sure he wants to do comedy for a living. Nate, a '07 graduate of Harvard in Social Anthropology, appeared in Season 3 of Beauty and the Geek, a reality show that paired girls who think they can get by on looks alone with guys who think they can get by with encyclopedic knowledge and no social skills. When it first came out, I had no interest--it looked like producer Ashton Kutcher was going to punk a bunch of bimbos and nerds. However, an article from Salon got me to start watching.
In each episode, each partner is challenged to stretch out of their comfort zone. In one challenge, the beauties had to read Freakonomics , then stage an interview it's co-author Stephen Dubner. The geeks, on the other hand, had to perform a set at a comedy club, and Nate's standup routine on allergies, well, stood out. It takes a special genius to do comedy and I think he's got it. Nate's not a geek in the traditional sense --it seems he was recruited to star on the show by casting agents at Harvard merely because he was sporting glasses, a beard, and plaid pants. He likes Star Wars, but rather than buying action figures, he wrote songs about Stormtroopers for his tribute band So Long Princess.
He and his partner were strong contenders for the $250,000 prize until the twist ending--rather than competing in a quiz show to win the finale, the winning team would be selected by the eliminated contestants. Had the team been judged solely by Nate, he almost certainly would have won, as he was well-liked by his castmates. Unfortunately, his partner Cecille Gahr, a Hawaiian Tropics model, was catty to the girls and manipulative of the guys throughout the season. In case anyone was even tempted to vote for him in spite of Cecille, Nate petitioned his fellow contestants not to vote for his team, but in losing the prize money, won the hearts of millions of viewers.
After the standup episode aired last year, I Googled him. He had started posting bits of standup he was doing in dorms, as well as odd little shorts of himself. For some reason I Googled him again last week. It seems last summer he interned at the Daily Show (look for the bearded dude playing Jenga) and last fall he decided to go to Cambridge to get a Masters in Screen Media and Cultures and is still trying to decide between teaching and comedy. His video log, which is not necessarily comedic, is terrific--not only is he funny, he's got a photographer's eye and a gift for storytelling. He's so prolific in his posting, I almost feel like I could write a dissertation on him, or at least another post.
But let's get back to the comedy. If he does decide to teach, lucky kids, but unlucky us, because I think he's hilarious. Comedy is hard work, but he's got the raw talent and if he keeps at it, I think he could make it. Although he seems to like improv and standup, he excels at creating characters and doing sketch, with other actors, in monologue, and with himself playing all the roles. Here's a sampling below:
Nat the Poet reads his Kitchen Poem
Sven Major has Super Powers
Drug Awareness (mature language and content)
Super Scrabble (starring Nate, Nate, and Nate)
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