View Full Version : The power of video when done right


Warren Kawamoto
February 22nd, 2010, 03:48 AM
Take a look at this psa. Watch how the visuals match the music. It's beautiful, ethereal, powerful, and brilliant.
Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2010/02/20/nr.levs.embrace.life.cnn?hpt=C2)

Laurence Janus
February 22nd, 2010, 06:17 AM
That was great... here is a nice quality Youtube link

YouTube - Embrace Life - always wear your seat belt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-8PBx7isoM)

Brian Luce
February 22nd, 2010, 06:23 PM
Of course it shows too the value of good acting.

Dean Sensui
February 22nd, 2010, 08:38 PM
"When mimes drive". :-)

On a more serious note, some sobering statistics:

2752 people were killed on 9/11.

But every month more than 3300 die on US highways. The number killed each year exceed the number of soldiers killed throughout the entire Vietnam War.

The biggest threat to our lives is already all around us, sitting behind the wheel every single day.

Colin McDonald
February 23rd, 2010, 02:04 AM
Contrast the style of the above with this one by the Gwent Police which addresses the problem of texting and driving: BBC NEWS | UK | Wales | Film to stop texting and driving (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8203091.stm) (view with caution - it's a bit of a video nasty).

I wonder which style has the most effective message?
For me, it's the "Embrace Life."

Dean Sensui
February 23rd, 2010, 02:32 AM
I truly wonder if either would get the point across enough to make a real difference.

In 24 years of news photography I saw my share of mayhem. The screams are a lot more intense. And dead people don't look that good. The worst are the ones who got torn apart or burned to a crisp.

With all the PSAs, there are still myriads of idiots out there thinking they're invincible. Worse still, there are many more who just aren't thinking at all.

One night there was a car that wrecked itself speeding along the freeway. The impact was so great the vehicle was ripped in half when it flew off the overpass and careened into a parking lot below.

Someone on the scene said he would have tried to get the car to fly safely onto the roof of a nearby building.

And a repeat drunken driving/speeding offender took three of his friends with him when he drove at some insane speed right into the wall adjacent to the entrance of a tunnel. It's hard to determine what kind of car it was from the photos of the wreck.

That's the level of ignorance out there. Too many people think, "It's not going to happen to me."

The best we can do is be aware that there most of the cars on the road are driven by people who really don't know what they're doing. They're sleep deprived. Anxious. Irritated. Distracted. Drunk. Angry. Or just plain inept.

Keep yourselves safe. Stay alert. Assume that the other guy is going to do the dumbest thing possible. And may your journey always end peacefully at your doorstep.

Sorry for venting. Seeing stuff like this gets me fired up about how stupid some people truly are.

Paul Digges
February 23rd, 2010, 03:32 PM
Wow, that gave me chills. Very well done. As the son of a 12 year veteran Firefighter, I've heard my fair share of stories about people thinking "It can't happen to them" and I've always worn my seat belt and made my passengers wear one.

Warren Kawamoto
February 23rd, 2010, 04:45 PM
Too many people think, "It's not going to happen to me."

My brother-in-law didn't put on his seatbelt. I asked him why. He said because he's a careful driver, he knows he won't get into an accident.

I responded that while it's true he may be a careful driver, he never knows what the condition of the driver coming towards him is. All the other driver needs to do is turn his wheel two inches in the wrong direction and that will lead to a head-on collision.

Life could really end that quickly.