The Video Essay Podcast

We are finally back! Today's episode is the first of our new roundtable series, which will center on topics related to all aspects of video essays. Will is joined today by Michael Leader of BBC’s Inside Cinema, Adam Woodward of Little White Lies, and Joost Broeren of Filmkrant. We discuss what it's like to edit publications that publish videographic work, tips for freelance video essayists, what video essays bring to a publication, and more! Listeners are also assigned the penultimate videographic exercise homework: the voiceover.

Music via: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Mela/Mela_two/MELA_-_Mela_Two_-_05_Brain_Power

Shannon Strucci joins the show to discuss life as a YouTube video essayist, developing one's own video essay aesthetic, the relationship between video essay making and podcasting, and more! We also discuss Shannon's epic video essay "Fake Friends Episode 2: parasocial hell" and Harry S. Plinkett’s (Mike Stoklasa) review of Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace, a seven part video produced by Red Letter Media. Listeners are assigned new homework: multi-screen videos.

Music via: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Mela/Mela_two/MELA_-_Mela_Two_-_05_Brain_Power

On today's show Will sits down with journalist, programmer, and video essayist Leigh Singer. We discuss his most recent essay, “The Movies Behind Your Favorite GIFS” and kogonada’s 2014 video essay, “Linklater // On Cinema & Time.” Listeners are also given their next homework assignment: videographic epigraphs.

Music via: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Mela/Mela_two/MELA_-_Mela_Two_-_05_Brain_Power

We are finally back! On today’s show, Will sits down with Scout Tafoya, aka Honors Zombie. Scout is a prolific video essayist and critic, who regularly contributes to RogerEbert.com among other publications. We dive deep into his essay film Beata Virgo Viscera and “Deep Focus: Mike Figgis’ STORMY MONDAY, as reviewed by Roger Ebert,” a video essay edited by Matt Zoller Seitz, narrated by Kim Morgan, and based on a review by Ebert.

Music via: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Mela/Mela_two/MELA_-_Mela_Two_-_05_Brain_Power

Liz Green is a scholar, sound professional, and video essayist. On today's show, she and Will discuss her essay, "Do it for Van Gogh: Detecting and Perverting the Audience Position in David Lynch's Blue Velvet." They also discuss Tracy Cox-Stanton's recently released video essay, "Gesture in A Woman Under the Influence."

Music via: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Mela/Mela_two/MELA_-_Mela_Two_-_05_Brain_Power

Will is joined by his fellow co-editors of the 2019 Sight & Sound magazine poll of the best video essays of the year, Grace Lee (What's So Great About That?) and Ariel Avissar. They discuss what it was like editing the poll, what changed about the poll this year, how they'd like to see the poll evolve in the future, and how they made their own selections. The second half of the show features commentary from nine contributors to this year's poll: Chloé Galibert-Laîné, Scout Tafoya, Jason Mittell, Philip Brubaker, Andrea Moran (on behalf of FILMADRID), Shannon Strucci, Ian Garwood, Oswald Iten, and Johannes Binotto.

Music via: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Mela/Mela_two/MELA_-_Mela_Two_-_05_Brain_Power

Filmmaker and critic Charlie Shackleton joins the show to discuss his background, philosophy when it comes to making videographic work, and his most recent essay, "Criticism in the Age of TikTok." In a first for the show, Charlie and Will also discuss a performance piece by Zia Anger, My First Film.

Music via: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Mela/Mela_two/MELA_-_Mela_Two_-_05_Brain_Power