Video Open Mic is a space for video makers and lovers to get together and share and chat about projects.
I stared into the void, and the void played me a 15 second advertisement about a product a little too on the nose.
This event is being made to create an alternative space for sharing and watching community made videos over online posting and interaction.
The current framework of video sharing and media platforms champions profit over people, clicks and interaction over genuine conversation. As a film maker and an enjoyer of short form comedy, I find this grave and disheartening. I’m frightened to share my work on social media or on youtube for fear of data mining and AI training. I’m worried that every platform is just another step closer to complete sanitization, scrubbing all flaws or creating them with purpose for monetization and soulless momentary interactions. I stare into the void of streaming, thumbnails and statistics endlessly cascading on my screen. I know something that speaks to me lives within it, but I will never know it beyond the minutes counting down to when the next advertisement begins.
Rather than fall into this void and accept this as the sole framework, why not share our videos locally? With our friends, on our own TVs, and with our community. I thought Make.Shift, as a community art space, would be a great place to host a video sharing night for video geeks of all kinds. In the open mic format we get to share our work as it exists in this moment, celebrate, talk about it, and meet other video making weirdos. It can be an excuse to make something new, or a place to share something you’ve made and want to see the light of day. Mostly, I just want to meet people that make stuff! I want to nerd out about the cool, fun, and weird videos people in town are making. So come down and bring your music videos, short films, animation, documentaries, skits, weirdo art projects, and whatever else you make (keeping it all ages).
Who: Video geeks, makers, and lovers who want to participate in the video community (see what everyone’s making!)
What: An open sharing of videos! Video open mic!
When/Where: Make.Shift basement February 21st at 6:00pm
Why: Make buddies that make and enjoy video projects, get together off streaming because streaming feels like a soundless void dedicated to stripping us of our creativity and turning us into advertisement machines. (creativity without the point of monetization, without the sanitization of advertisement)
How: submissions to our google form and email that will be compiled in a media player and played in the basement on the projector.