Crowdsourcing

I have seen crowd sourcing done in many videos in the past, and I just think that it is the coolest thing. While I absolutely love crowd sourced videos and other media, I usually just take it in and then move on without much after-thought. After doing the reading and watching the ted talks it really opened my mind and made me stop to consider why crowd sourced projects can be so powerful.

Collaboration is so important to many art forms, and when you can see the individual efforts of every person involved it really makes you appreciate all of the work that went into making the final product. Crowd sourcing is a kind of mass-collaboration, where many many people can get involved and leave their mark on a project. It’s really cool to look at a video such as The Johnny Cash Project and know that every frame was created by an artist that dedicated whatever amount of time just to that one frame. What makes it so powerful is the way that it is a clear visual of how many people care about the subject. The dark and somber tones of “Aint No Grave” are portrayed in so many unique ways, showing how each person takes their own interpretation of the song and portrays it in a different way. I think that is wonderful and interesting, how in our individuality we can be connected to create one whole and functional piece of art.

Crowd sourced videos remind me a little bit of the experience of writing something like a play and passing it on to be produced. As the creator of the project, you are able to build a skeleton of what you would like to see. Then, through collaboration and different perceptions and interpretations, one whole project is formed. As a writer, you have to let go of your control and in the end it is one of the most rewarding experiences to see how everything comes together. This can relate to crowd sourced videos as they would be nothing without the input of many people and their own individuality. This individuality makes the project feel emotional and powerful in its personalization that is tailored to each person involved, including the viewer in order to feel more connected and effected by the art.