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What's Not in the Frame

2021-03-02 · letter vlog · John · 3:54 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube (also: Nerdfighteria, Personal life) · mode: Personal essay · tags: heavy topic

John reveals that the last two weeks were his most stressful in a while because a family member had COVID, explains why weekly videos make it hard to say how he is really doing, and reflects that the social internet shows only what is inside the frame, asking viewers how to navigate it better.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — A stressful two weeks; why making a Vlogbrothers video every Tuesday helps him

  • ★★★ John says that, though viewers might not know it from his last couple of videos, the past two weeks were the most stressful he has had in a while. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ Making a video every Tuesday gives John's week structure; without Vlogbrothers he is not sure he would know it is Tuesday. — 00:00:10 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★ To be creative John needs the accountability and discipline weekly videos give, and he gets encouragement and connection from this community, feeling lucky to have it now. — 00:00:18 · Nerdfighteria
  • ★★ Making one thing a week makes it easier to make other things: many ideas in John's books, and many Anthropocene Reviewed essays, began in Vlogbrothers videos. — 00:00:35 · Vlogbrothers, The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)
  • ★★ The big downside of making something every week is that you can't necessarily talk about how you are actually doing in the moment. — 00:00:50

00:00:58 — A family member had COVID, and why John did not talk about it

  • ★★★ A family member of John's recently had COVID, which was very scary, but he did not want to talk about it in his videos. — 00:00:58 · COVID-19 pandemic
  • ★★ John explains his silence: once you share something you can't unshare it, and he is not comfortable sharing news about other people. — 00:01:05

00:01:27 — The frame of the social internet: cut stumbles, commodified experience, jump cuts, privacy

  • ★★★ John calls it the central trick of the social internet: creators choose what is inside the frame, but viewers can't help believing it, because it is all they can see. — 00:01:27 · social media
  • ★★ John's speech particularities mean a four-minute video takes about 45 minutes to record; he cuts the stumbles so he doesn't seem to stutter, but that is the frame, not what is real. — 00:01:35
  • ★★★ John confesses he finds taking part in the simultaneous romanticization and commodification of experience a little nauseating, but does not know how else to handle it. — 00:01:58
  • ★★ Taking a week off would also raise questions, and John doesn't want to, since he benefits from making Vlogbrothers videos. — 00:02:10 · Vlogbrothers
  • ★★★ Perhaps the best strategy, John says, is to call attention to the frame at least some of the time and acknowledge that most of what happens is outside it. (hedged) — 00:02:21
  • ★★ John still uses jump cuts as a visual reminder of the time between what he says, acknowledging the frame; videos without them feel natural but, he knows, ultimately inauthentic. — 00:02:33
  • ★★ Now that everyone seems okay and the crisis has hopefully passed, it is easier for John to talk about. (hedged) — 00:02:50
  • ★★ Not going into detail feels like teasing a mystery; John doesn't know how to tell viewers a time is difficult without violating anyone's privacy. (unsure) — 00:02:57

00:03:20 — The video as a question to viewers; book edits due; sign-off

  • ★★ Unsure whether it's possible to remember the frame, John calls the video a question: how to navigate the labyrinth of the social internet better, asking viewers with answers to tell him. — 00:03:20 · social media
  • ★★ The last edits for The Anthropocene Reviewed book are due in three days, which is also a little stressful for John. — 00:03:35 · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description says The Anthropocene Reviewed book comes out on May 18th and signed copies can be ordered while supporting local bookstores. — video description · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)
  • ★★ John says he will live-edit The Anthropocene Reviewed book with viewers' help on a livestream this afternoon. — video description · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)
  • ★★ In channel comments John says there is always an artifice once the camera is on, he admires creators who keep the privacy of their appearance, and he and Hank might choose similarly if starting now. — creator comment
  • ★ In a channel comment John says our brains are not sophisticated enough to understand that unreliable images are unreliable; we may develop this ability over time, but it is a huge problem. (hedged) — creator comment · social media

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: social media

Also: authenticity · commodification · COVID-19 pandemic · jump cut · privacy · sense of community · The Anthropocene Reviewed (book)

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