Those of us raised in the ‘computer age’ forget to marvel at the incredible innovations we’ve seen and how they’ve transformed our lives. Applications and devices add complex, amazing features every day and we barely blink an eye.
Let’s take a moment to marvel at one small innovation: The response video. But first, consider one of its earlier incarnations–the answer song. The answer song (as I discovered on CBC’s Vinyl Tap) is a song made in response to another song. So, Mary Wells records My Guy and a year later, in response, The Temptations record My Girl (turns out Smokey Robinson wrote both songs).
Hip Hop’s (Warning: Major NSFW!) version of the answer song takes a slightly different turn. So, Hip Hop star Khia records (Waring: Major NSFW!) My Neck My Back in praise of female sexuality and frankly cunnilingus, and Too Short cooks up a misogynistic response entitled (Waring: Major NSFW!) My Dick My Sack. Well, we’ve traveled some distance from the My Guy/My Girl era. Moving on.
What’s involved in coming up with an ‘answer’ song?
A person has to hear a song, then go into a recording studio, then cut a track and get it out there. There’s a lot of time lost between inspiration and response. And time is of the essence for those of us who get itchy waiting for the bank machine to spit out our money–never mind the teller from days of yore.
Now consider what’s involved in making a YouTube video response.
With the technology of new smaller video cameras like the Flip or our current favorite Kodak Xi8, making video is a no-brainer. And uploading video has never been simpler. Although, truth be told, uploading video can be more time consuming than you’d think.
When responding to an existing video on YouTube, you can either make and upload a new video, or you can choose a video you’ve already uploaded. Here’s some information on both approaches.
The benefits of creating a response video are:
- If the original video is well viewed, chances are yours will be too. A pretty decent response to the wildly popular Double Rainbow video (over 14 million views) called Double Rainbow Song received over 34 thousand views. Far more than it probably would have received on its own.
- It’s a much more creative way to ‘comment’ on a video.Beyonce’s Single Ladies has 34 video responses, from kids to plus sized single ladies to this woman (video below) with a little piece of advice for her single friends.
- It acknowledges that one video inspired another even though there may not be a direct link between the two.
Point is, you can respond quickly and creatively without very much effort at all.
P.S Watch for a special Hypenotic response video hitting the airwaves tomorrow. So much fun!
