The Video Essay Podcast

Today's episode features an interview with Maia, the YouTuber known as Broey Deschanel. Today's topics include Maia's introduction to video essays, her creative process, why YouTube is currently in a "magic moment" of virality, censorship and the YouTube algorithm, how and why to cite the work of other video essayists, why humor is funny, and much more. We also discuss Maia's video "The Liberal Escapism of Bridgerton" and BREADSWORD's 2017 video, "Treasure Planet - Disney's Biggest Mistake." 1. Maia's "origin story" and early influences, why YouTube?, the accessibility of YouTube, why it's the best time to go viral on YouTube [1:39 - 8:01] 2. The YouTube algorithm, what it censors, and how to navigate copyright, the art of the thumbnail, best practices for titling a video [8:01 - 19:46] 3. How and why to cite other video essayists and the way Maia cites and builds upon her own past work [19:47 - 27:04] 4. "The Liberal Escapism of Bridgerton," when and why Maia appears on camera, balancing the correct number of sources, humor and not taking oneself too seriously [27:04 - 48:31] 5. "Treasure Planet - Disney's Biggest Mistake," the art of sourcing and sequencing clips, how Maia writes her scripts, using active language in voiceover, why the video essay? [48:31 - end] Support the podcast on Patreon. Follow the show on Twitter. Learn more at the pod's website. Get the free newsletter. Music access via Free Music Archive here and here. 

On Your Screen is the new monthly show about digital film culture. Today's episode features a conversation with Don McHoull, the creator of the popular Twitter account @SilentMovieGIFs. We discuss the history of the account, Don's curatorial approach, why the GIF is an ideal medium for the sharing of silent film, how content spreads on the internet, and how GIFs are helping to bring silent cinema to new audiences in the 21st century. Don also talks about his Reddit page and the viral compilation videos he has made about silent cinema on YouTube. Support the podcast on Patreon. Follow the show on Twitter. Learn more at the pod's website. Get the free newsletter.

Ian Garwood, senior lecturer in Film & Television Studies at the University of Glasgow, discusses his background and creative process in the academic audiovisual essay. They also explore the role of voiceover in AV criticism, Cary Grant, and the award-winning audiovisual monograph, Indy Vinyl: Records in American Independent Cinema. They touch on Jessica McGoff's video essay, 'My Mulholland,' and the challenges of being a completist in releasing a project in parts.

What is Film TikTok, or FilmTok? You've probably seen the videos, either on TikTok or other social media platforms, or perhaps you've seen Queline Meadow's great video essay on the subject. On today's episode of On Your Screen, Queline, also know as kikikrazed on YouTube, answers all the questions you may have about Film TikTok: How does it work? What kinds of videos can you find on the platform? What does Film TikTok mean for the future of film criticism and fandom? If you're looking for a beginners guide to the platform, this conversation is for you. Want to learn more about Film TikTok? Check out Episode 10 of The Video Essay Podcast, which features a conversation with Charlie Shackleton about his video essay, "Criticism in the Age of TikTok."  Support the podcast on Patreon. Follow the show on Twitter. Learn more at the pod's website. Get the free newsletter.

Leading videographic scholars Dr. Tracy Cox-Stanton and Dr. Allison de Fren discuss the creation of an issue dedicated to the scholarly video essay and its contribution to the field. They also explore the differences between scholarly and popular video essays. The episode includes a conversation with an audiovisual essayist about their introduction to this form of criticism. Additionally, the speakers reflect on the experience of a video essay workshop and discuss the process of adapting written work for a video essay. They also delve into the early stages of the video essay form and its appeal for self-expression and engagement with films.

The second episode of On Your Screen is dedicated to Monographs, a video essay series on Asian cinema commissioned by the Asian Film Archive. Will sits down with Thong Kay Wee and Viknesh Kobinathan, who are programmers at the Asian Film Archive and the coordinators of Monographs, to discuss the series. Monographs will screen alongside Kevin B. Lee’s video essay "Explosive Paradox" online via the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art until May 2, 2021. Stream the program here. To learn more about the program, and to get in touch with Viknesh and Kay Wee about screening Monographs at your festival or venue, visit the Asian Film Archive website. Support the podcast on Patreon. Follow the show on Twitter. Learn more at the pod's website. Get the free newsletter.

Terris Francis is an associate professor at the University of Indiana — Bloomington and director of the Black Film Center/Archive. On today's show, we discuss Terri's new book, Josephine Baker's Cinematic Prism. Terri and Will met in 2019 at the Scholarship in Sound & Image Workshop, where Terri worked with the films of Josephine Baker. We discuss how videographic criticism influenced the book and changed Terri's relationship with Baker and her research. Support the podcast on Patreon. Follow the show on Twitter. Learn more at the pod's website. Get the free newsletter. Music Via FreeMusicArchive: Brain Power by Mela is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike License. | Drop by Ketsa is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

For the first episode of On Your Screen, Will DiGravio chats with Michael Temple, the director of the Essay Film Festival and the Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image, about the 2021 Essay Film Festival. The festival will run online from 25 March to 3 April. Learn more here.

On today's show, Will sits down with John Gibbs, Head of the School of Arts & Communication Design and Professor of Film at the University of Reading, to discuss style-based criticism, his videographic work, and more. They discuss John's video essay, "‘Say, have you seen the Carioca?’," published as part of the AHRC/FAPESP-funded project, "Intermldia: Towards an Intermedial History of Brazilian Cinema." John and Will also talk about Liz Greene's "The Elephant Man's Sound, Tracked" and "The Strange Streets of a Strange City: The Ambersons Montage" by Patrick Keating. Douglas Pye also joins the show to discuss his new edited collection, V.F. Perkins on Movies: Collected Shorter Film Criticism, from Wayne State University Press. Doug and Will discuss the work of Perkins, how it relates to videographic criticism, and more. Music: Sonata No. 05 in C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1 - I. Allegro molto e con brio by Daniel Veesey is licensed under a Public Domain License | Brain Power by Mela is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike License. | Via FreeMusicArchive

Last year, listeners of The Video Essay Podcast were assigned the five videographic exercises developed for the Scholarship in Sound & Image Workshop as "homework." Listeners made more than 60 videos as a response to the homework assignments. Episode 23 features audio reflections from eight listeners who created videographic exercises: Jemma Saunders, Cormac Donnelly, Roberto Carlos Ortiz, Charlotte Crofts, Alan O'Leary, Ben Creech, Max Tohline, and Ariel Avissar. Will also talks with Dr. Estrella Sendra, an academic based at the University of London and the University of Southampton, and Bartolomeo Meletti, the Education and Research Executive of Learning on Screen. Estrella and Bart are the team behind the "Introductory Guide to Video Essays," a brilliant new resource published by Learning on Screen. Music: Leave The Bottle (Instrumental) by Forget the Whale is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. | Brain Power by Mela is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike License. | Via FreeMusicArchive