The Rules for YouTube

A critic's take on online video

Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday recently spent two weeks plunging down the virtual rabbit hole that is YouTube. As she explains in this story, she discovered more than just videos of cats in clothes dryers.

Hornaday not only found numerous mini-films worth watching, she also developed a set of rules that amateur YouTubers can follow if they'd like to elevate their work from merely silly to cinematic. She was online Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the YouTube phenomenon and the videos that you think rank among the best the Web has to offer.

Hornaday has been a film critic for the Post since 2002.

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Hollywood, Calif.: A number of us are quite familar with YouTube -- we watch, we made videos, we critique other videos, we make more videos, we follow all the news stories. However, that said, we have to say this: Most of the postings on YouTube are absolutely terrible. Not "cute" terrible. Not "that was a good attempt" terrible. Not "well, they gave it their best shot" terrible. And not "well, it was made on a small budget" terrible. But just plain ... terrible. As in, watchable. And it's too bad. A great resource for showcasing quality video is being wasted with a sea of unwatchable garbage. A good analogy is the glut of dumb "reality" shows on television -- again, a great potential for airing quality television is being wasted with a sea of garbage. People: Good television, good music, good films and good videos require good thought processes as well!

Ann Hornaday: It's true that YouTube is a big ocean of mostly bad-to-mediocre stuff...which makes the gems all the brighter when they do emerge. And it's why filters -- places like Revver and Metacafe, as well as astute bloggers and sites, play such an important curatorial role. YouTube is like the world at large -- real talent, genius and artistic ambition are rare. But I do think they're out there.

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Laurel, Md.: I wish YouTube had a better system to prevent excessive uploading of the same video.

There are at least 89 copies of Pat and Stanley (hippo and dog) performing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." (I stopped counting after 10 search pages.)

Ann Hornaday: True, it's not a very user-friendly forum. And it's hard to find videos by filmmakers' names, since the only identifiable authors are the "users" who upload them. Lots of little annoying quirks.

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Washington, D.C.: I want to buy some stock in YouTube -- is stock available for the public to buy?

Ann Hornaday: I have no idea! Good question, though!

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Washington, D.C.: Great piece on You Tube and thanks for the insight! How do the videos that appear on the home page make it there ... What dictates the way that they get such prime placement there?

Ann Hornaday: That's something I'm going to be writing about soon. Mitchell Rose experienced that very phenomenon and he thought maybe the people who run the site pick the Featured Videos. But stay tuned, I will be writing about that!

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Detroit: When I "surf" through items on YouTube, it seems like anything goes. Some of the stuff seems like it has to be copyrighted. Is there any oversight on what gets posted or allowed to remain on the site?

Ann Hornaday: As far as I can tell, it's up to the original owners to find out what's up there and yank it off if it's violating copyright (corrections welcome if I'm wrong here). Viacom just took a bunch of its material off YouTube for that very reason.

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Fairfax Station, Va.: I have browsed YouTube for more than a year and been forwarded e-mails with links to a clip at times. It seems a great experiment but one that will eventually drown from all the baggage in the form of legalities that come its way, which in order to survive would require a bureaucracy that would take the instantaneous nature of it and may it days or weeks before a clip could be aired. E.G. getting model releases of people who happen to be in a clip and later sue the producer and YouTube for unwanted publicity, etc. Then there are the existing, already occurring suits about copyright and other countries' laws and access. Not to be negative on this forum but perhaps its success will also be its undoing??

Ann Hornaday: It's definitely still in the Wild West stage, which most likely cannot last. ... Witness YouTube potentially paying people who post their videos on the site. That might spur creativity, it might commercialize something that's been wonderfully anarchic and idiosyncratic. Who knows?

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Alexandria, Va.: Do you see YouTube becoming a potential regular avenue for would-be Spielbergs (who then actually do cross over to the commercial realm) or will it remain essentially a huge sandbox for video hobbyists? Has anyone actually gotten money/deals out of this? (Lonelygirl, the faux bride meltdown, etc.)

Ann Hornaday: I do know that people in the entertainment industry are avidly surfing YouTube and other video sharing sites and aggregators for talent. Ze Frank, a very gifted Web artist, was just signed by a big Hollywood agency and was in L.A. 'taking meetings.' Another actress was just signed to a series on the strength of a YouTube project...So yes, I think we'll be seeing it as another Hollywood farm team.

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Laurel, Md.: BTW, my favorite use of YouTube is "Father Matthew" (I'm sure he'll be known as Father MatthYouTube before too long) who is a very young Episcopal priest who V-blogs about what it's like to run a church.

His current one about writing a sermon is precious. (BTW, I'm not a church-goer, but he sure seems like a good guy.)

Ann Hornaday: Oh my gosh I must check that out! (I say this as a vestry member and lay reader at my Episcopal church!) Thanks for that tip!!

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Washington, D.C.: D.C. is a hub of TV and filmmaking (truly),with National Geographic, Disovery, PBS and the Smithsonian Network. How worried should traditional media be about YouTube and how it might change the way the visual media is made and delivered?

Ann Hornaday: I honestly think big media should embrace rather than hide from this new technology. As I was preparing to write Sunday's piece, I looked back on how similar innovations were received in the past, and I was shocked at how throughout history, the response has always been anxiety that the "old" art forms would disappear. Jump cut 20 years later, and they're still here. The classic case in point is how Hollywood was so freaked out when television became ubiquitious; now they're inextricably linked. I understand the anxiety, but I honestly think the people who are quickest to get with the new program will be the best off.

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Bethesda, Md.: So do you have a favorite of the many videos you watched? I realize it may be hard to pick one, but which one made you laugh the hardest?

Ann Hornaday: Well, I'm a huge "Yacht Rock" fan, which tells you how weird I am. ... And I was blown away by Ze Frank (zefrank.com), who comes up with amazingly funny, original stuff day after day. Oh, and I can't stop watching the video for U2's "Window in the Skies."

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Provo, Utah: Recently, while living in Budapest Hungary, my wife and I witnessed the riots of October 23, 2006. I had a small pocket camera with me (not a video camera, but a regular digital camera). I flipped it over to video mode and recorded the cans of tear gas streaming over our heads. I'm not a professional videographer but I did my best because I knew that it was newsworthy. Only a few hours later, while the riots were still going on, I threw together a quick edit and dumped it on YouTube. Several thousand people were able to witness it from my perspective: a regular Joe. It didn't cost me an extra penny. I think THAT is the real promise of YouTube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg4QecC-QtQ)

With this in mind, how do you see this generation of user- generated content changing the way professional journalists view such news events?

- Scott L.

Ann Hornaday: That's a fantastic question. And it gets to a previous question about how worried 'old media' types should be about this juggernaut. My initial response is that one should not cancel out but bolster the other -- those spontaneous, first-person videos like the one you took in Budapest are invaluable, unfiltered accounts of crucial events. Traditional journalists -- at their best -- will still provide crucial perspective and context. At their worst, they'll provide spin -- which is why videos like yours are so important. I'm an optimist, so I choose to believe old and new can co-exist and mutually thrive.

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Hibbing, Minn.: What do you think of the recent developments that some production companies are demanding that some clips of TV shows and movies be taken down? Don't these companies realize that those who post those clips are fans of those shows and movies and they risk alienating them? Also, don't the clips provide free advertising for them?

(An aside: why is there an ad showing a nearly naked woman's posterior? I thought this was a -family- site.)

Ann Hornaday: Can't speak to the ad/posterior question. As for clips, I think you're right that media companies need to harness this tiger rather than try to squash it. Just intuitively, it makes more sense to work with it than against it. Again, I'll use the analogy of Hollywood and TV -- what was once a threat is now a crucial marketing and revenue stream! This is a case where corporations really need to think creatively and completely outside their historial business model/paradigm to make it work for them.

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RE: Featured Videos: When will your article about this topic be published.....Can you give us a hint??? Please.

Ann Hornaday: If this is about the Featured Video story, it hasn't been schedule yet. But you're making me want to jump right on it!

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Los Angeles: Youtube and like applications have broken down the wall between executives who greenlight and talent. It's a much bigger change than many understand at this time. I am glad to see the WaPo take it seriously, but not surprised due to how quickly the paper was able to make an online personality that extended its journalistic excellence and overall brand.

Ann Hornaday: I must thank you on behalf of the Post. We're definitely trying, and it's gratifying to know when things work!

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Vienna, Va.: Just wanted to say that Youtube has become a vehicle for family entertainment here in our household. We mostly listen to music at home (as opposed to TV), and the kids have enjoyed seeing the accompanying videos, especially of mom and dad's "old" music. They love the claymation Peter Gabriel videos from his album "So," and my 4-year-old son asks for the "Treadmill Show" (aka Ok Go) at least once a day.

Ann Hornaday: We had the same experience w/OK Go with our 5-year-old, except with their "Million Ways" (?) video. She (we) HAD to watch it at least three times a day. Those P. Gabriel clay animations are a great idea too! Watch "Pancakes!," it's cute!

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Alexandria, Va.: How come someone as hot and babe-alicious as yourself is still a film critic and not an international supermodel?

Ann Hornaday: I have a face for newsprint. ;)

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Chicago, About Featured Video: It would be interesting to know the method that they use to put videos on their home page. One has to think that those get the maximum exposure. Your thoughts on this?

Ann Hornaday: That's actually the subject of an upcoming story. So stay tuned and keep reading!

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Catlett, Va.: Our teenagers (12 and 15) were about to create a YouTube account last week to post their own music, and I advised them against it for now until I investigated the parent controls. In your experience, could you explain the parental controls in place on YouTube, if any? Should a young artist publish original music on YouTube?

Ann Hornaday: I'm sorry, this is beyond the focus of my particular story. I know of no parental controls specific to YouTube. And as to the question of whether or not to publish music there, I have absolutely no idea. Sorry to be such a dead end!

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Ann Hornaday: Thanks everyone, for reading and for writing!

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