Here is a Youtube commercial I created for my political campaign in Nevada. For my first attempt, I don't think it was half-bad. To bad I could only get about 2000 people to watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bY5YCcyUUw
Using Anime Studio for Political Gain
Moderators: Víctor Paredes, Belgarath, slowtiger
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chriswilliamdavis
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:15 pm
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Canny Valley
- Posts: 28
- Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 8:32 am
Not bad. It's a very simple animation style, but I suppose it's good enough for a small local election.
Don't feel too bad about the modest number of views. Getting 2000 Americans to do anything political is no easy feat.
Wait... are we expected to believe a politician took time out of his busy schedule to personally craft an animation, even a simple one? This was actually created and submitted by some kinda campaign group, using the name chriswilliamdavis, not by the candidate himself.
Right?
Don't feel too bad about the modest number of views. Getting 2000 Americans to do anything political is no easy feat.
Wait... are we expected to believe a politician took time out of his busy schedule to personally craft an animation, even a simple one? This was actually created and submitted by some kinda campaign group, using the name chriswilliamdavis, not by the candidate himself.
Right?
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chriswilliamdavis
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:15 pm
All By Myself
Wrong. Not only did I, the candidate, do it by myself, except I had a friend at as the moderator. This was my first attempt at animation, music editing, web hosting, etc. Because I did not have enough money to put on a $100,000 campaign, I was trying to think outside the box.
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chriswilliamdavis
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:15 pm
sic
Please excuse the punctuation, I'm not awak yet.
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Canny Valley
- Posts: 28
- Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 8:32 am
Wow. Anyone on the internet can go around pretending to be an important person. It's very difficult to take this thread at face value. For the sake of argument, though, I'll treat this as though it's legitimate, because if it's true you're possibly the coolest politician ever. (For now, that is. Once one of you does something cool, the rest of you all jump on the bandwagon without a clue and within a month or so it's not cool anymore.)
Assuming you're being straight with us, I'm both impressed and a little concerned that a politician is also an amateur internet cartoon-maker. I don't think you've thought through the potential political fallout of this move. Ever been to Newgrounds.com? No, don't answer that. Better off if you just quietly visit the site now and then keep quiet about what you've seen.
Bottom line: assuming it's true and assuming the media gets wind of this before the election, you'll likely be painted with the same brush as the folks who make Flash cartoons at Newgrounds.com, or people who post sophmoric mashups on YouTube.
In other words, if you don't spin this just right, you'll suddenly be incredibly popular among rebellious teenagers who are obsessed with swearing, boobs and violence and are too young to vote, while horrifying their parents, who are old enough to vote but don't understand that the obsession with swearing, boobs and violence is just a phase their kids are going through and that making internet cartoons gives them a creative outlet that keeps them occupied and off the streets.
Basically, internet cartoons are a young culture thing. And like all young culture things it's inevitably a favorite scapegoat of politicians stumping for "family values" voters. You're probably old enough to remember when "the rock music" was "a tool of the devil." Before that, it was Dungeons & Dragons. At one point, it was comic books. Well nowadays it's video games, anime, and internet cartoons.
Now don't get me wrong, I think it's great that you're doing this. Especially if it *doesn't* backfire and it lends legitimacy to the fledgeling medium of internet cartoons. I'm just telling you what I'm guessing your political advisors would tell you, if you could afford any, based on the behavior I've observed of other politicians vis a vis internet culture.
Good luck in the election, man. Are you the elephant or the donkey?
Assuming you're being straight with us, I'm both impressed and a little concerned that a politician is also an amateur internet cartoon-maker. I don't think you've thought through the potential political fallout of this move. Ever been to Newgrounds.com? No, don't answer that. Better off if you just quietly visit the site now and then keep quiet about what you've seen.
Bottom line: assuming it's true and assuming the media gets wind of this before the election, you'll likely be painted with the same brush as the folks who make Flash cartoons at Newgrounds.com, or people who post sophmoric mashups on YouTube.
In other words, if you don't spin this just right, you'll suddenly be incredibly popular among rebellious teenagers who are obsessed with swearing, boobs and violence and are too young to vote, while horrifying their parents, who are old enough to vote but don't understand that the obsession with swearing, boobs and violence is just a phase their kids are going through and that making internet cartoons gives them a creative outlet that keeps them occupied and off the streets.
Basically, internet cartoons are a young culture thing. And like all young culture things it's inevitably a favorite scapegoat of politicians stumping for "family values" voters. You're probably old enough to remember when "the rock music" was "a tool of the devil." Before that, it was Dungeons & Dragons. At one point, it was comic books. Well nowadays it's video games, anime, and internet cartoons.
Now don't get me wrong, I think it's great that you're doing this. Especially if it *doesn't* backfire and it lends legitimacy to the fledgeling medium of internet cartoons. I'm just telling you what I'm guessing your political advisors would tell you, if you could afford any, based on the behavior I've observed of other politicians vis a vis internet culture.
Good luck in the election, man. Are you the elephant or the donkey?
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chriswilliamdavis
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 11:15 pm
You can believe it.
Well since this was my first attempt, I don't think I rate even amature status. The best I can hope for is novice. The election, however, is over and I lost. I should not feel to bad as I got more votes against Judge Mosley than any other prior candidate, over 40% of the votes. Actually, with the exception of Judge Mosley's friends, I got a very positive reaction on the video from everybody. The Las Vegas Review Journal, the local newspaper, mentioned my video in an article which you can find at:
http://www.lvrj.com/special_sections/vo ... 12714.html
You can still see my original home page I used for the election at:
http://chrisdavis4judge.com/JibJab.aspx
The main problem was getting the message out. Out of 600,000 people who voted in my election, I had only about 5000 uniquie vistors to my website and as I said before I only had about 2000 people that actually viewed the video. Another problem was that I decided to get into the race at the last minute when no credible candidate would run against the judge who in my opinion is the most corrupt judge on the Nevada bench. If I had to do it all over again, I would have started at least a year earlier and attempt to create a huge network on myspace, facebook, linkedin, etc. I think the key to getting something to become viral, which is what I was hoping for, was to have a couple of million people that I could contact, hoping that enough of those people would create a buzz. I now think that it is possible, but there is alot more prep work needed. This is more info than you probably wanted, but if you cannot guess I am still bitter about the election.
http://www.lvrj.com/special_sections/vo ... 12714.html
You can still see my original home page I used for the election at:
http://chrisdavis4judge.com/JibJab.aspx
The main problem was getting the message out. Out of 600,000 people who voted in my election, I had only about 5000 uniquie vistors to my website and as I said before I only had about 2000 people that actually viewed the video. Another problem was that I decided to get into the race at the last minute when no credible candidate would run against the judge who in my opinion is the most corrupt judge on the Nevada bench. If I had to do it all over again, I would have started at least a year earlier and attempt to create a huge network on myspace, facebook, linkedin, etc. I think the key to getting something to become viral, which is what I was hoping for, was to have a couple of million people that I could contact, hoping that enough of those people would create a buzz. I now think that it is possible, but there is alot more prep work needed. This is more info than you probably wanted, but if you cannot guess I am still bitter about the election.
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Canny Valley
- Posts: 28
- Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 8:32 am
No prob.
Should you be using words like "bitter?" I was under the impression politicians didn't say certain things. Or did losing the election end your career in politics? You're talking like a regular person. The only time I've seen politicians do that on TV is after they've been removed forcibly form office due to some kinda scandal. Which is a shame, really, because I think politics dehumanizes a lot of our candidates to an unfortunate degree.
I think it'd be nice to see a regular guy win in politics. Someone who talks normal and knows how to make stuff. Be a nice change of pace, you know?
The tone of your message made it sound like a straw-man argument, but if he did even half the things you mentioned in your ad, he probably is as corrupt as you say. Shame no one credible would run against him. Better luck next time.
Maybe you could start work on a grassroots network now, then pass it off to whomever emerges next election cycle for the position? An "Anybody but Mosley" campaign? It can be frustrating when it's a small position like Judge. With president, you at least know the voters have *heard* some of the argument on both sides. With governor, there's a 50/50 chance. But judge? Only the most anal-retentive voters or people who've met the guy personally would have any reason to do more than vote along party lines.
Still, good on you for opposing him. I think Obama has demonstrated that getting people involved can be key to any campaign. Viral is good, but you only BECOME viral if you have a message that makes people feel empowered. All your ad really did was smear the shoe-in candidate. You need more than that, because you're not just fighting corruption. You're fighting the apathy that allows corruption to persist.
Next time, don't focus on what's wrong. Focus on reminding people that they have the power to fix it. Get 'em working together on solving the problem. Make it literally about the voters, not about you or Mosley. You might find it gets a better response. If you can carry the moment, that is.
Anyway, good job on the video. Better luck next time. If you're out of politics for good, maybe take a look at your community and see where else you could help implement change for the better. If you can get a group of people organized rebuilding their community, public office is almost an afterthought.
Should you be using words like "bitter?" I was under the impression politicians didn't say certain things. Or did losing the election end your career in politics? You're talking like a regular person. The only time I've seen politicians do that on TV is after they've been removed forcibly form office due to some kinda scandal. Which is a shame, really, because I think politics dehumanizes a lot of our candidates to an unfortunate degree.
I think it'd be nice to see a regular guy win in politics. Someone who talks normal and knows how to make stuff. Be a nice change of pace, you know?
The tone of your message made it sound like a straw-man argument, but if he did even half the things you mentioned in your ad, he probably is as corrupt as you say. Shame no one credible would run against him. Better luck next time.
Maybe you could start work on a grassroots network now, then pass it off to whomever emerges next election cycle for the position? An "Anybody but Mosley" campaign? It can be frustrating when it's a small position like Judge. With president, you at least know the voters have *heard* some of the argument on both sides. With governor, there's a 50/50 chance. But judge? Only the most anal-retentive voters or people who've met the guy personally would have any reason to do more than vote along party lines.
Still, good on you for opposing him. I think Obama has demonstrated that getting people involved can be key to any campaign. Viral is good, but you only BECOME viral if you have a message that makes people feel empowered. All your ad really did was smear the shoe-in candidate. You need more than that, because you're not just fighting corruption. You're fighting the apathy that allows corruption to persist.
Next time, don't focus on what's wrong. Focus on reminding people that they have the power to fix it. Get 'em working together on solving the problem. Make it literally about the voters, not about you or Mosley. You might find it gets a better response. If you can carry the moment, that is.
Anyway, good job on the video. Better luck next time. If you're out of politics for good, maybe take a look at your community and see where else you could help implement change for the better. If you can get a group of people organized rebuilding their community, public office is almost an afterthought.