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Comment by unalone | Hacker News Reader

Ze Frank is one of those few and fascinating people online who's able to combine a plethora of interests and create work that's both memorable and touching. He's got the same melancholy whimsy that _why the lucky stiff did.

Dunno why Ze Frank became vogue today on Hacker News, but I do not at all disapprove.

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Really? I just find it cheesy and over-produced but in a low budget sort of way. The constant camera cuts for no reason are nearly seizure-inducing. The attempt to be sardonic fails lamely.

The camera cuts were a terrific idea production-wise. It let him produce his videos very quickly and maintain a degree of quality. The Show was quite an undertaking.

It's hit-and-miss, but it's hit-and-miss in a good way, where it's obvious even at his low points that he's working hard and constantly trying to innovate. When he hits, he hits hard. His episode on product placement's an all-time favorite Internet Thing.

I was lucky enough to see him speak a few years ago, and he said that each video took him about 8 hours. He would record a line, add it to the video (or rerecord as necessary), and then move on to the next line. So, if anything, it made the process take even longer.

Very impressive imo.

i think the camera cuts are key to the pace

and i think the pacing is ideal

As far as I can tell, the show rarely if ever attempted to be sardonic, but did in fact attempt to be nearly seizure-inducing.

Like or dislike, that trippy feeling you get while watching isn't by accident, it's by design.

sportsracers?

That's a term he uses right from the beginning, no explanation given. The mystery of what a sports racer was is one of the things he used to build together a community. The speed at which his site grew in that week is remarkable, and the code words he used was a big part of it. If anything, it's the opposite of sardonic. It's childish (but in a good way).

Other high points include when he asked people to decorate their vacuum cleaners, and when people started doing videos of Power Moves.

My time as part of The Show community is one of my fondest internet memories. It allowed me to do a kind of creative collaboration that I haven't been able to do since. And it was great to watch.

I guess I found it sardonic because the intended audience is most definitely not sportsracers. It's sort of like the high school star linebacker calling the 100lb nerd "big guy".

It's more whimsical than sardonic. It's too absurd to be taken seriously.

The camera cuts actually help in keeping me fully focused on the video. Just as my mind begins to wander, a cut brings my attention back to the video. I think it's clever of Ze Frank to have those cuts.

The constant camera cuts are to conceal any eye blinking that he might do. Don't quote me on this, though.

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