Grocery Chain Smears Itself on Defamation Pursuit Against Video Creators August 30, 2007
Posted by Nalts in : popular videos , 30comments
[Update September 2: A&P responds to my note- see “more” below]
Fox News reports that two brothers — fired from their jobs for filming a gangster rap parody at an A&P grocery store — now face a defamation lawsuit from their former employer. The video is at FakeLaugh or here on YouTube. Fox reports:
- A&P claims the video by Mark and Matthew D’Avella motivated at least one “disgusted and distressed” customer to boycott the supermarket because of the video’s “repulsive acts.”
- The Montvale-based chain seeks at least $1 million in compensation and demands that the D’Avellas remove “Produce Paradise” from the Internet, where it was on their Web site, www.fakelaugh.com, and YouTube.
This is a classic public-relations blunder by A&P. It would appear that the brothers went to great lengths to shield their employer from any reference in the video
- No exterior shot.
- The circular was cropped so A&P wasn’t listed.
- None of the boxes visibly say A&P.
- No shots depicted the logo on signage (that I noticed- and I was looking for it).
- And although a logo is partially visible on a hat, I wouldn’t have noticed that had I not read the Fox story first.
A&P certainly can take issue with the kids making a video without permission on the private facility- poor judgment that I myself have displayed. But this defamation lawsuit will only do three things:
- Propel the duo’s video career.
- Make A&P look like worst than they’d ever look if they left this alone by quietly reprimanding or firing the kids on the basis of poor judgment not defamation.
- Help someone in middle management at A&P because they’re embarrassed about a few customers complaining, and want to redirect accountability.
His YouTube Rank Soared Today from #52 to #5 Most-Subscribed August 28, 2007
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 22commentsYesterday I was the #52nd most subscribed director on YouTube, but today I’m the #5th most subscribed comedian. How’d I do it?
Read that carefully. I changed my “channel type” from the default “director” to “comedian.” This is something I’ve debated because I don’t consider myself a comedian. But I do classify most of my videos as “comedy.”
Anyway, I thought you, dear reader, would be more impressed with Nalts as the #5th most subscribed comedian on the #1 online-video site (he bows humbly).
Now I have to hope that other directors don’t follow suit. And that real comedians don’t find YouTube. Stay the hell out of online video, Will Ferrell.
Revision Aug. 30: Charles Trippy copied my stunt, so I’m now number 6. Grrrr.
Will WifeofNalts Let Me Go to Washington, D.C. “DCTube” Gathering? August 28, 2007
Posted by Nalts in : YouTube , 8comments[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=G3udbyC_ydQ]
Here’s Jolene Sugarbaker (the “original net celebrity”) pitching my wife on my attening the Washington, D.C. “DCTube” gathering that’s taking place September 8, 2007. For details of the event, visit the DCTube account on YouTube. Or check out this video by “The Trailer Park Queen,” where she talks about events taking place at Floyd’s Bar and Grill in Alexandria, Virginia.
There are some interesting things cooking up for this one. Since I’m attending the SouthTube event in Atlanta (Sept. 23-24) I’ve still got some convincing to do.
For other details about YouTube gatherings, see the website of Paul Houston (Podcasting101). YouTubeMeetup. It’s the ugliest website on the Internet.
Dr. Slasher’s Acting Reel August 28, 2007
Posted by Nalts in : Viral Video , 6comments
Don’t ask. Just watch Dr. Slasher’s acting reel. It’s really quite difficult to explain but strangely compelling.
You Only Came Here Because YouTube is Down (again) August 27, 2007
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 26commentsYou only came here because YouTube is down, again. Right?
Maybe they’re fixing the stupid comments functionality.
T-Shirt Puzzle (shirtofnalts) August 26, 2007
Posted by Nalts in : Viral Video, YouTube, viral videologist , 18comments
I bought a pack of letters yesterday and decided to make a t-shirt. But there weren’t enough of each letter to say much. So I invited YouTubers to help in a video that I planned to delete. I was only going to leave the video live for a few hours, but I fell asleep and woke up to 600 comments. Ultimately I went with “ShirtofNalts” and I’ve removed the original video here (unfortunately it doesn’t have all the comments).
The best suggestions are in this recap video, which features my new shirt and also asks for suggestions for a t-shirt that Spencer and I can wear to the mall to get strange reactions. And the runners-up for shirt captions are listed below in “more.”
Behind the Scenes: “Pranking the Garbage Man- Part 2″ August 24, 2007
Posted by Nalts in : Killer Video, Making Videos, Viral Video, YouTube, video cameras , 26comments[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=O7eAg4F_nFY]
Some people have expressed interest in the “making of” my videos. So this post will describe the “behind the scenes” of how I made this short video titled “Pranking the Garbage Man- Part 2.” You should watch the video first, since this reveals key plot elements. Its prequel to this was titled “Prank the Garbageman.”
- While driving to work yesterday, I was captivated by the new hydraulic lifts on the BFI trucks. Imagine the time and costs they’ve saved.
- I followed our local garbageman to get some footage of the lifts in action. Unfortunately they spotted me, and got out the truck to find out what I was doing. When I explained it was for a YouTube video, the tattoo-laden guy demanded to see my paperwork. The nice guy, an African-American who never fails to smile and wave, wasn’t as concerned. But he did recall seeing me hiding in a garbage more than a year ago, and reminded me it wasn’t safe.
- In respect to the smiler, I left them alone. But as I drove to work, I was bothered by the reaction of tattoo man. I don’t believe there’s a law against videotaping in public, and I became more determined to complete the video.
- Luckily, I found a separate crew later. They’d have “plausible deniability” since I wouldn’t tell them what I was doing.
- Finally when I got home last evening, I asked my wife to shoot her portion with me crawling into a garbage can. No trucks were on route at this point.
- The editing was tricky. I had to overlay clips and sound to give a rough sense of continuity.
- The confused reactions of my wife (wifeofnalts) were authentic because she had no idea of what she was doing. Finally I explained, then fed her some lines so I could insert those audio-clip reactions (”it’s the hydraulic kind!”) while the lift is presumably dumping me into the truck.
- There are parts of it I still don’t think are quite right. Continuity errors since the trucks and locations were different. Ultimately I decided to give my “garbage can” camera a different look (black and white) because it was visually confusing.
- Total time to shoot: About 12 minutes. Six minutes of footage. Edit time was about 1.5 hours.
- Viral prediction: Maybe 100K view on YouTube.
“Farting in Public” Kid Has Playlist: “Best of Spencer” August 24, 2007
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 4commentsYou know him as the kid from “Farting in Public.” And many confuse him with the boy from “The Man Show.”
I’ve put together the “Best of Spencer” playlist since many of my viewers are more interested in this 14-year-old than any of my own videos. Be sure to see the latest — Old Man on Rollerblades.
I still get many, many questions about my relationship with Spencer. My nephew, Matty (who appears as the second “old man” in the roller blade video) is friends with Spencer.
The Female “Barats & Bereta” August 24, 2007
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 2comments
I’ve just absorbed the better part of my morning watching Justine and Desiree, a duo that may be the female version of Barats & Bereta. The Pittsburgh comediennes can be seen at mommypackmylunch.com, where they’ve posted 69 videos. My favorite so far is Parkour.
Gals- when you’re near Philadelphia, I really need to get you together with Spencer. His most recent video (click here) has him dressed as an 85-year-old man in roller blades.
An IMDB for User-Generated Content August 23, 2007
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 17commentsI received this note this morning. Thought it was interesting…
Hi Kevin. I wanted to introduce you to ugcDb.com and let you know we have a profile for you on the site.
UgcDb.com is building the “who’s who of user-generated content” - similar to an imdb.com, but for Internet videos and other content. The site helps publicize the people creating online content and helps users learn more about the people creating the content.
We added a bio for you here:
If you would like to make any updates to your profile you can sign-up on the site and submit edits. Feel free to email the changes to me as well.