San Fransisco: Before, After, and After the Earthquake

You history buffs out there, or eclectics like me, might enjoy a comparison of these three videos.

Each video was taken from a trolley traveling down Market Street, toward the San Fransisco Ferry 

riding a SF trolley with friends in 2009

Building. You can see the spire of the ferry building at the end of the road in each of the videos. 

I'm interested in the difference not only in the buildings and attire, but the attitude, expressions, and gestures of the people caught on film. 

The first video, from 1905, pre-earthquake, is wild with activity. Rumor has it the cameraman hired his friends to drive around like maniacs in front of the trolley to keep the video lively. 

The second video, taken just after the 1906 earthquake, is not surprisingly more sober. But I was intrigued to see families--men, women, and children--walking the streets as if it were any old Sunday morning. 

The third video is modern San Fransisco, 2005, with characteristically busy pedestrians and drivers. Still, some were aware enough to smile and wave at the camera. I laughed out loud when 4:40 into the video one guy pushing his bike across the street waved his hat. It reminded me of a gesture someone from the 1905 video would have made. Word to the wise: listen to the third video on mute. The music is cringe-worthy. Sorry.

First, San Fransisco in 1905, the year before the earthquake and fires that virtually destroyed the city. This video is a chapter of a much longer video. This segment is 4:54 long. (Found via kottke.org) If the embedded video doesn't work, try this link:  http://fora.tv/2008/12/19/Rick_Prelinger_Lost_Landscapes_of_San_Francisco#chapter_12

Second, newly uncovered 1906 footage of the city right after the earthquake and subsequent fires. From 2:30 to 6:00 is the trolley ride down Market Street. The rest contains footage of some of the demolition and clean-up efforts. (Footage from devour via kottke.org)

San Francisco Earthquake and Fire from Red Channels on Vimeo.

And here's the third video: a trip down Market Street today... well, 5 years ago. Remember to mute this one. And don't miss the guy at 4:40!

I hope you've enjoyed time traveling with me and seeing how people have lived in and with the great city of San Fransisco. What else did you see in the videos that you thought was interesting?

Poetry in Web Video

The other day I wrote about the innovative power of web video, especially the potential for writers and other creative voices.

"There's something electric about hearing the author's voice in the words they wrote. There's something intimate about publicly sharing words that were written in private."

You can't listen to a well-wrought story without being engaged.


I proposed that more emerging writers should record themselves reading their work and share the videos on the web, reconnecting the written word to the stream of our oral story-telling past.


My good friend Georgia has already done just that. This is just one way to share words, but I love the way the rhythm and pacing and tone of Georgia Pearle's poem, "Lil' Allen," falls in step with original music by Marcella O'Connor. Visit Project Words and Music for more videos like this. But first, sit back, listen, and enjoy.

Web Video Revolution

Web video is nothing new. People have known how to post their home videos to YouTube, Vimeo, VideoEgg, etc. for years now. But what if we look at how web video can fuel innovation? I love TEDTalks videos. You could say I'm a junkie. The curator of the TED Conference himself, Chris Anderson, shares what he believes is the force for positive change behind video sharing. (FYI: It's nineteen minutes long, but worth every second.)



Some highlights:

• Cisco estimates that in four years, 90% of the world's web data will be video. 
• Video is more powerful than text or pictures because of our innate connection with face-to-face communication.
• Potential innovators in developing countries can feed their ideas from the web and share their ideas through the web. 
• "The dark side of the web is allergic to the light."

As a writer I asked myself how I can use video. Traditionally speaking, a writer's medium is print. There's beauty to that--the one-on-one exchange when the reader sits down with your book. But there's also the public side of a writer's life, when they travel and read selections from their work to an audience.

I've been to several readings, and I've even read once. There's something electric about hearing the author's voice in the words they wrote. There's something intimate about publicly sharing words that were written in private. Now, there are such things as poorly done readings, but in general, I can't leave a reading not engaged with the author's story, even if I wouldn't have engaged had I read it.

What if more emerging writers recorded themselves reading their work? And shared it with the world? There's less risk of someone on the web copying and pasting the work as their own (unless they went through the effort of transcribing every word). And there's more chance that the stories and poems would reach the souls they were meant to touch. Plus you've added that spark of face-to-face communication, the relic of our oral story-telling past.

You might see me try it--though I need practice with video making and editing before I'd post anything. Why don't you try taping yourself sharing something you are passionate about, something you want to put out in the light? Just make sure it's coming from a true place inside yourself, and you'll do it excellently, and the world just might be changed.

(Related Post: see Taste Life: Poetry in Web Video)