There is always a topic that resonates with a large audience for a given period of time. Where we are – in North America – the hot topic is healthcare. More so in the US than in Canada (though Canadians, as usual, take a huge interest in American politics too), everyone’s talking about healthcare reform. One of the easiest ways to achieve viral status with a motion graphic short – or any other type of media for that matter – is to cover such a hot, current topic in some interesting way that will capture people’s attention. But it’s not just about going viral. Looking around at some of the main media sources reporting on the topic, we see a barrage of overwhelming, conflicting and confusing information. It’s when the facts are presented in a clear and understandable way, that things begin to make sense, and people begin to make informed opinions.
John Green, an award-winning author and popular vlogger on Youtube, posted a video last week entitled, “Health Care Overhaul Summarized Via Massive Pig.” In under two weeks his post made it to over 700,000 views, which goes to show that people surfing YouTube or hitting Google with searches were looking for some information on the healthcare debate. It also helps that John and co-vlogger Hank have over 100,000 subscribers to their channel, ‘vlogbrothers’, ranking it as #46 most subscribed directors channel of all time. (For those of you that don’t know, YouTube channels follow a few different formats including Director, Reporter, and Musician. You choose yours based on the nature of your channel and video posts).
So we came across John’s health care post, and were intrigued by his clear, concise, yet entertaining narration. We also loved his comparison of America’s current state of healthcare to ‘Walkin’ Tall’, the ‘world’s largest boar who can’t walk.’ We also felt it would be a great experiment to take an existing video and supplement it with motion graphics to see the kind of response it would generate among its audience. Being a prominent vlogger, we hoped that some of John’s viewers would watch our video after his and see if it confused or clarified their understanding of his original discussion.
What was also exciting about this task was that it exemplified how we could supplement any existing, informative discussion on a relevant matter like the healthcare debate with a layer of supporting visuals. So far, it appears to be helping people understand and retain the information presented. We were lucky to come across John and Hank’s channel, and look forward to offering other online voices, authors, and educators an added dimension of communication.
A week and a half after his post, we present you with our adaption of John Green’s Health Care Overhaul Summarized Via Massive Pig.
Other links:
John’s original post: Health Care Overhaul Summarized Via Massive Pig
John Green’s website and blog
vlogbrothers YouTube channel
comments rss10 thoughts "John Green's Thought Bubble"
Posted by Wendy Boulding on September 3, 2009 at 9:34 pm
I’m so glad that you found his video. In his original video when he states, “I don’t want to act like the people watching us have the intellectual sophistication of a brain damaged goldfish.” Well, this brain damaged goldfish would like to thank him and apparantly there are many more of us out there, especially a few hundred of them sitting in the House of Representatives as we live and breath, or should I say as we choke and die waiting for them to get clear on what’s happening. Perhaps you should send this video to the websites of every U.S. Senator and Congressperson. Great video all around.
Posted by Mandi on September 4, 2009 at 11:27 am
I’m assuming you have the transcript of this as well, since you had to transcribe it to make the video… Any chance you could attach the transcript to this post so I can use it as an article for my public policy class?
Posted by nalts on September 15, 2009 at 9:57 am
I have to hand it to you. Putting Green’s video to graphics was the best marketing move you could ever do… it reminds me of how Disney persuaded Robin Williams to do Alladin… by showing him mockups of his old stand-up routines personified by the Genie. Of course, um, your cause is more worthy… then, um… Oh never mind. Eisner may be reading this.
Posted by tutness on September 25, 2009 at 11:13 am
Awesome remake
I love consuming my information visually, and I am down with the vlogbrothers =) (by the way, have they seen this?).
I think thought bubble is great, but I don’t think you’re getting the right amount of buzz =\
Maybe you should try to give us snipplets of information on what’s upcoming next? or recruit writers more massively? (or maybe the problem isn’t ideas or writers and actually graphic artists … now that’s a different story).
Anyway, I think you’re all doing a terrific thing and I hope to see more of your videos in the near future.
Posted by Mike on February 5, 2010 at 12:47 pm
These thoughtbubble animations are truly brilliant. This is the sort of video that needs to be played on TV so that all of America can understand what they are currently, so ignorantly arguing about.
I would appreciate an explanation of the technical process you (thoughtbubble) goes through to make these animations. I saw that you wrote that this video went up only a week and a half after the original. What is the turn-around time on these videos? What program do you use to make them?
I think what makes this video stand out more than the others is the exciting narration (even though the audio quality is poor) (wish it weren’t). The Credit Crisis video would be 100 times better if the narration were exciting and upbeat like in this one.
Overall, amazing group you have going on here. Keep doing what you’re doing. PLEASE MAKE MORE VIDEOS!!!!
Dear Thoughtbubble,
Thank you for enlightening me.
Love,
Mike
Posted by suz on February 17, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Thanks for the kind words Mike! We’re on exactly the same page as you. We wish this sort of material had a larger reach in our media, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve!
The turn-around for these videos varies. John Green’s video was an exception in the sense that it took us under two weeks to complete, but under a very rigorous work schedule. Typically a video that’s up to three minutes in length can take 3-4 weeks. This also depends on the depth and complexity of the piece, the resulting art style, and so on. We use a combination of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create the art, and AfterEffects to animate.
Narration is so important, but with John Green our priority was to visualize his message without tampering with it too much, and also to see the difference it would make with his viewers. Normally we do work with a very talented sound designer, and record narration with professional sound equipment. If you’re interested you can check out the sound version of this piece on our Vimeo channel: http://www.vimeo.com/8285378. We didn’t have the time to add sound effects and original music composition to the video when we first created it, but had our talented Allan Levy add his touch afterwards.
Suz
Posted by gry planszowe sklep on April 10, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Would you tell me where did you download your blog template ?
Posted by suz on April 12, 2010 at 1:26 pm
We downloaded it in the WordPress theme library but altered it quite a bit from the original. It’s Karappo Style: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/karappo-style
Posted by Dan on May 3, 2010 at 7:32 am
I love your videos, and this one I like until the very end– Healthcare is not a right. Education is not a right, roads are not a right, welfare is not a right, social security is not a right. Again Healthcare is not a right. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were not rights granted to you! They are inalienable rights you already had that cannot be taken away. Very big difference. The government cannot grant you rights!
Posted by Dan on May 3, 2010 at 7:36 am
..a little off topic but to my point that the government cannot grant you rights, even if you disagree you were not granted the right to carry a gun. Instead, the government agreed not to prevent you because you already had that right: “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
To say that “you have the right to healthcare” means that you will not be prevented from getting it. It doesn’t mean it will be affordable, easy, or that the government will be the one to provide it to you.
your thought bubble: