My neighbor, Mr. Casuccio from downstairs, said to me once that he opted out of buying a digital SLR because he'd start taking too many pictures. "I don't want to document my life the way many people do."
I do. So do an astounding and ever-growing number of people on the Interweb, from grandparents competing to have the best-documented infant on facebook to the Western European and American brigade that populates the realms of vimeo.com or blip.tv.
In an environment of instantaneous publication and feedback, artistic progress is collective. Community comments encourage, give technical advice, infuriate, drive towards change or development. With technology simplifying what used to be tied to hardware, editing and distribution are easy to navigate. And recording material - on your commute, on Sundays playing soccer in the park, before a concert - becomes a pass-time activity for people with access to intimate moments. Insights into their own lives.
Of course there are no rules in video publishing these days. A lot of people post videos in every stage (and here I'm talking about aspiring filmmakers from all backgrounds). Many videos are experiments, short-term projects, some thought out more or less. This gives insight into the artistic process. It's educational. Tricks are unveiled or the used equipment listed. Storytelling structures become apparent. You school your eye and emotional sensitivity.
Most importantly:
Life becomes one progressively more beautifully shot movie.
But are we missing something here?
