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Why YouTube Loves Video Essays

How longform, academic-leaning rants are finding success in a shortform digital landscape

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Episode Notes

Candice Lim is joined by Anisa Khalifa, a podcast producer and host of The Broadside from WUNC. They dissect the phenomenon surrounding video essays, which are not exactly new to YouTube, but finding a captivated audience in Gen-Z and millennial culture. From deep dives into The Hobbit to retellings of Greek mythology , the ability to analyze pop culture, cite sources and listen to spoken essays uninterrupted is creating the hunger for more longform content.

This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.

ICYMI is sponsored by BetterHelp.

• Internet Culture

About the Show

Candice Lim is the co-host of ICYMI, Slate’s podcast about internet culture. She comes to Slate from NPR, where she was an assistant producer at Pop Culture Happy Hour . Prior to that, she was an intern at NPR’s How I Built This , the Hollywood Reporter, WBUR, and the Orange County Register. She graduated from Boston University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and grew up in Orange County, California.

What is a Video Essay? The Art of the Video Analysis Essay

I n the era of the internet and Youtube, the video essay has become an increasingly popular means of expressing ideas and concepts. However, there is a bit of an enigma behind the construction of the video essay largely due to the vagueness of the term.

What defines a video analysis essay? What is a video essay supposed to be about? In this article, we’ll take a look at the foundation of these videos and the various ways writers and editors use them creatively. Let’s dive in.

Watch: Our Best Film Video Essays of the Year

Subscribe for more filmmaking videos like this.

What is a video essay?

First, let’s define video essay.

There is narrative film, documentary film, short films, and then there is the video essay. What is its role within the realm of visual media? Let’s begin with the video essay definition. 

VIDEO ESSAY DEFINITION

A video essay is a video that analyzes a specific topic, theme, person or thesis. Because video essays are a rather new form, they can be difficult to define, but recognizable nonetheless. To put it simply, they are essays in video form that aim to persuade, educate, or critique. 

These essays have become increasingly popular within the era of Youtube and with many creatives writing video essays on topics such as politics, music, film, and pop culture. 

What is a video essay used for?

• To persuade an audience of a thesis
• To educate on a specific subject
• To analyze and/or critique 

What is a video essay based on?

Establish a thesis.

Video analysis essays lack distinguished boundaries since there are countless topics a video essayist can tackle. Most essays, however, begin with a thesis. 

How Christopher Nolan Elevates the Movie Montage  •  Video Analysis Essays

Good essays often have a point to make. This point, or thesis, should be at the heart of every video analysis essay and is what binds the video together. 

Related Posts

• Stanley Kubrick Directing Style Explained →
• A Filmmaker’s Guide to Nolan’s Directing Style →
• How to Write a Voice Over Montage in a Script →

interviews in video essay

Utilize interviews.

A key determinant for the structure of an essay is the source of the ideas. A common source for this are interviews from experts in the field. These interviews can be cut and rearranged to support a thesis. 

Roger Deakins on "Learning to Light"  •  Video Analysis Essays

Utilizing first hand interviews is a great way to utilize ethos into the rhetoric of a video. However, it can be limiting since you are given a limited amount to work with. Voice over scripts, however, can give you the room to say anything. 

How to create the best video essays on Youtube

Write voice over scripts.

Voice over (VO) scripts allow video essayists to write out exactly what they want to say. This is one of the most common ways to structure a video analysis essay since it gives more freedom to the writer. It is also a great technique to use when taking on large topics.

In this video, it would have been difficult to explain every type of camera lens by cutting sound bites from interviews of filmmakers. A voice over script, on the other hand, allowed us to communicate information directly when and where we wanted to.

Ultimate Guide to Camera Lenses  •  Video essay examples

Some of the most famous video essayists like Every Frame a Painting and Nerdwriter1 utilize voice over to capitalize on their strength in writing video analysis essays. However, if you’re more of an editor than a writer, the next type of essay will be more up your alley. 

Video analysis essay without a script

Edit a supercut.

Rather than leaning on interview sound bites or voice over, the supercut video depends more on editing. You might be thinking “What is a video essay without writing?” The beauty of the video essay is that the writing can be done throughout the editing. Supercuts create arguments or themes visually through specific sequences. 

Another one of the great video essay channels, Screen Junkies, put together a supercut of the last decade in cinema. The video could be called a portrait of the last decade in cinema.

2010 - 2019: A Decade In Film  •  Best videos on Youtube

This video is rather general as it visually establishes the theme of art during a general time period. Other essays can be much more specific. 

Critical essays

Video essays are a uniquely effective means of creating an argument. This is especially true in critical essays. This type of video critiques the facets of a specific topic. 

In this video, by one of the best video essay channels, Every Frame a Painting, the topic of the film score is analyzed and critiqued — specifically temp film score.

Every Frame a Painting Marvel Symphonic Universe  •  Essay examples

Of course, not all essays critique the work of artists. Persuasion of an opinion is only one way to use the video form. Another popular use is to educate. 

• The Different Types of Camera Lenses →
• Write and Create Professionally Formatted Screenplays →
• How to Create Unforgettable Film Moments with Music →

Video analysis essay

Visual analysis.

One of the biggest advantages that video analysis essays have over traditional, written essays is the use of visuals. The use of visuals has allowed video essayists to display the subject or work that they are analyzing. It has also allowed them to be more specific with what they are analyzing. Writing video essays entails structuring both words and visuals. 

Take this video on There Will Be Blood for example. In a traditional, written essay, the writer would have had to first explain what occurs in the film then make their analysis and repeat.

This can be extremely inefficient and redundant. By analyzing the scene through a video, the points and lessons are much more clear and efficient. 

There Will Be Blood  •   Subscribe on YouTube

Through these video analysis essays, the scene of a film becomes support for a claim rather than the topic of the essay. 

Dissect an artist

Essays that focus on analysis do not always focus on a work of art. Oftentimes, they focus on the artist themself. In this type of essay, a thesis is typically made about an artist’s style or approach. The work of that artist is then used to support this thesis.

Nerdwriter1, one of the best video essays on Youtube, creates this type to analyze filmmakers, actors, photographers or in this case, iconic painters. 

Caravaggio: Master Of Light  •  Best video essays on YouTube

In the world of film, the artist video analysis essay tends to cover auteur filmmakers. Auteur filmmakers tend to have distinct styles and repetitive techniques that many filmmakers learn from and use in their own work. 

Stanley Kubrick is perhaps the most notable example. In this video, we analyze Kubrick’s best films and the techniques he uses that make so many of us drawn to his films. 

Why We're Obsessed with Stanley Kubrick Movies  •  Video essay examples

Critical essays and analytical essays choose to focus on a piece of work or an artist. Essays that aim to educate, however, draw on various sources to teach technique and the purpose behind those techniques. 

What is a video essay written about?

Historical analysis.

Another popular type of essay is historical analysis. Video analysis essays are a great medium to analyze the history of a specific topic. They are an opportunity for essayists to share their research as well as their opinion on history. 

Our video on aspect ratio , for example, analyzes how aspect ratios began in cinema and how they continue to evolve. We also make and support the claim that the 2:1 aspect ratio is becoming increasingly popular among filmmakers. 

Why More Directors are Switching to 18:9  •  Video analysis essay

Analyzing the work of great artists inherently yields a lesson to be learned. Some essays teach more directly.

• Types of Camera Movements in Film Explained →
• What is Aspect Ratio? A Formula for Framing Success →
• Visualize your scenes with intuitive online shotlist software →

Writing video essays about technique

Teach technique.

Educational essays designed to teach are typically more direct. They tend to be more valuable for those looking to create art rather than solely analyze it.

In this video, we explain every type of camera movement and the storytelling value of each. Educational essays must be based on research, evidence, and facts rather than opinion.

Ultimate Guide to Camera Movement  •  Best video essays on YouTube

As you can see, there are many reasons why the video essay has become an increasingly popular means of communicating information. Its ability to use both sound and picture makes it efficient and effective. It also draws on the language of filmmaking to express ideas through editing. But it also gives writers the creative freedom they love. 

Writing video essays is a new art form that many channels have set high standards for. What is a video essay supposed to be about? That’s up to you. 

Organize Post Production Workflow

The quality of an essay largely depends on the quality of the edit. If editing is not your strong suit, check out our next article. We dive into tips and techniques that will help you organize your Post-Production workflow to edit like a pro. 

Up Next: Post Production →

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The video essay boom

Hour-long YouTube videos are thriving in the TikTok era. Their popularity reflects our desire for more nuanced content online.

by Terry Nguyen

The video essay’s reintroduction into my adult life was, like many things, a side effect of the pandemic. On days when I couldn’t bring myself to read recreationally, I tried to unwind after work by watching hours and hours of YouTube.

My pseudo-intellectual superego, however, soon became dissatisfied with the brain-numbing monotony of “day in the life” vlogs, old Bon Appétit test kitchen videos, and makeup tutorials. I wanted content that was entertaining, but simultaneously informational, thoughtful, and analytical. In short, I wanted something that gave the impression that I, the passive viewer, was smart. Enter: the video essay.

Video essays have been around for about a decade, if not more, on YouTube. There is some debate over how the form preceded the platform; some film scholars believe the video essay was born out of and remains heavily influenced by essay films , a type of nonfiction filmmaking. Regardless, YouTube has become the undisputed home of the contemporary video essay. Since 2012, when the platform began to prioritize watch-time over views , the genre flourished. These videos became a significant part of the 2010s YouTube landscape, and were popularized by creators across film, politics, and academic subcultures. 

Today, there are video essays devoted to virtually any topic you can think of, ranging anywhere from about 10 minutes to upward of an hour. The video essay has been a means to entertain fan theories , explore the lore of a video game or a historical deep dive , explain or critique a social media trend , or like most written essays, expound upon an argument, hypothesis , or curiosity proposed by the creator.

Some of the best-known video essay creators — Lindsay Ellis, Natalie Wynn of ContraPoints, and Abigail Thorn of PhilosophyTube — are often associated with BreadTube , an umbrella term for a group of left-leaning, long-form YouTubers who provide intellectualized commentary on political and cultural topics. 

It’s not an exaggeration to claim that I — and many of my fellow Gen Zers — were raised on video essays, academically and intellectually. They were helpful resources for late-night cramming sessions (thanks Crash Course), and responsible for introducing a generation to first-person commentary on all sorts of cultural and political phenomena. Now, the kids who grew up on this content are producing their own. 

“Video essays are a form that has lent itself particularly well to pop culture because of its analytical nature,” Madeline Buxton, the culture and trends manager at YouTube, told me. “We are starting to see more creators using video essays to comment on growing trends across social media. They’re serving as sort of real-time internet historians by helping viewers understand not just what is a trend, but the larger cultural context of something.”

A lot has been said about the video essay and its ever-shifting parameters . What does seem newly relevant is how the video essay is becoming repackaged, as long-form video creators find a home on platforms besides YouTube. This has played out concurrently with the pandemic-era shift toward short-form video, with Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube respectively launching Reels, Spotlight, and Shorts to compete against TikTok.

TikTok’s sudden, unwavering rise has proven the viability of bite-size content, and the app’s addictive nature has spawned fears about young people’s dwindling attention spans. Yet, the prevailing popularity of video essays, from new and old creators alike, suggests otherwise. Audiences have not been deterred from watching lengthy videos, nor has the short-form pivot significantly affected creators and their output. Emerging video essayists aren’t shying away from length or nuance, even while using TikTok or Reels as a supplement to grow their online following.

One can even argue that we are witnessing the video essay’s golden era . Run times are longer than ever, while more and more creators are producing long-form videos. The growth of “creator economy” crowdfunding tools, especially during the pandemic, has allowed video essayists to take longer breaks between uploads while retaining their production quality.

“I do feel some pressure to make my videos longer because my audience continues to ask for it,” said Tiffany Ferguson, a YouTube creator specializing in media criticism and pop culture commentary. “I’ve seen comments, both on my own videos and those I watch, where fans are like, ‘Yes, you’re feeding us,’ when it comes to longer videos, especially the hour to two-hour ones. In a way, the mentality seems to be: The longer the better.”

In a Medium post last April, the blogger A. Khaled remarked that viewers were “willing to indulge user-generated content that is as long as a multi-million dollar cinematic production by a major Hollywood studio” — a notion that seemed improbable just a few years ago, even to the most popular video essayists. To creators, this hunger for well-edited, long-form video is unprecedented and uniquely suitable for pandemic times. 

The internet might’ve changed what we pay attention to, but it hasn’t entirely shortened our attention span, argued Jessica Maddox, an assistant professor of digital media technology at the University of Alabama. “It has made us more selective about the things we want to devote our attention to,” she told me. “People are willing to devote time to content they find interesting.” 

“People are willing to devote time to content they find interesting”

Every viewer is different, of course. I find that my attention starts to wane around the 20-minute mark if I’m actively watching and doing nothing else — although I will admit to once spending a non-consecutive four hours on an epic Twin Peaks explainer . Last month, the channel Folding Ideas published a two-hour video essay on “the problem with NFTs,” which has garnered more than 6 million views so far. 

Hour-plus-long videos can be hits, depending on the creator, the subject matter, the production quality, and the audience base that the content attracts. There will always be an early drop-off point with some viewers, according to Ferguson, who make it about two to five minutes into a video essay. Those numbers don’t often concern her; she trusts that her devoted subscribers will be interested enough to stick around.

“About half of my viewers watch up to the halfway point, and a smaller group finishes the entire video,” Ferguson said. “It’s just how YouTube is. If your video is longer than two minutes, I think you’re going to see that drop-off regardless if it’s for a video that’s 15 or 60 minutes long.”

Some video essayists have experimented with shorter content as a topic testing ground for longer videos or as a discovery tool to reach new audiences, whether it be on the same platform (like Shorts) or an entirely different one (like TikTok).

“Short-form video can expose people to topics or types of content they’re not super familiar with yet,” Maddox said. “Shorts are almost like a sampling of what you can get with long-form content.” The growth of Shorts, according to Buxton of YouTube, has given rise to this class of “hybrid creators,” who alternate between short- and long-form content. They can also be a starting point for new creators, who are not yet comfortable with scripting a 30-minute video. 

Queline Meadows, a student in Ithaca College’s screen cultures program, became interested in how young people were using TikTok to casually talk about film, using editing techniques that borrowed heavily from video essays. She created her own YouTube video essay titled “The Rise of Film TikTok” to analyze the phenomenon, and produces both TikTok micro-essays and lengthy videos.

“I think people have a desire to understand things more deeply,” Meadows told me. “Even with TikTok, I find it hard to unfold an argument or explore multiple angles of a subject. Once people get tired of the hot takes, they want to sit with something that’s more nuanced and in-depth.”

It’s common for TikTokers to tease a multi-part video to gain followers. Many have attempted to direct viewers to their YouTube channel and other platforms for longer content. On the contrary, it’s in TikTok’s best interests to retain creators — and therefore viewers — on the app. In late February, TikTok announced plans to extend its maximum video length from three minutes to 10 minutes , more than tripling a video’s run-time possibility. This decision arrived months after TikTok’s move last July to start offering three-minute videos .

As TikTok inches into YouTube-length territory, Spotify, too, has introduced video on its platform, while YouTube has similarly signaled an interest in podcasting . In October, Spotify began introducing “video podcasts,” which allows listeners (or rather, viewers) to watch episodes. Users have the option to toggle between actively watching a podcast or traditionally listening to one.

What’s interesting about the video podcast is how Spotify is positioning it as an interchangeable, if not more intimate, alternative to a pure audio podcast. The video essay, then, appears to occupy a middle ground between podcast and traditional video by making use of these key elements. For creators, the boundaries are no longer so easy to define.

“Some video essay subcultures are more visual than others, while others are less so,” said Ferguson, who was approached by Spotify to upload her YouTube video essays onto the platform last year. “I was already in the process of trying to upload just the audio of my old videos since that’s more convenient for people to listen to and save on their podcast app. My reasoning has always been to make my content more accessible.”

To Ferguson, podcasts are a natural byproduct of the video essay. Many viewers are already consuming lengthy videos as ambient entertainment, as content to passively listen to while doing other tasks. The video essay is not a static format, and its development is heavily shaped by platforms, which play a crucial role in algorithmically determining how such content is received and promoted. Some of these changes are reflective of cultural shifts, too. 

Maddox, who researches digital culture and media, has a theory that social media discourse is becoming less reactionary. She described it as a “simmering down” of the hot take, which is often associated with cancel culture . These days, more creators are approaching controversy from a removed, secondhand standpoint; they seem less interested in engendering drama for clicks. “People are still providing their opinions, but in conjunction with deep analysis,” Maddox said. “I think it says a lot about the state of the world and what holds people’s attention.”

That’s the power of the video essay. Its basic premise — whether the video is a mini-explainer or explores a 40-minute hypothesis — requires the creator to, at the very least, do their research. This often leads to personal disclaimers and summaries of alternative opinions or perspectives, which is very different from the more self-centered “reaction videos” and “story time” clickbait side of YouTube.

“The things I’m talking about are bigger than me. I recognize the limitations of my own experience,” Ferguson said. “Once I started talking about intersections of race, gender, sexuality — so many experiences that were different from my own — I couldn’t just share my own narrow, straight, white woman perspective. I have to provide context.”

This doesn’t change the solipsistic nature of the internet, but it is a positive gear shift, at least in the realm of social media discourse, that makes being chronically online a little less soul-crushing. The video essay, in a way, encourages us to engage in good faith with ideas that we might not typically entertain or think of ourselves. Video essays can’t solve the many problems of the internet (or the world, for that matter), but they can certainly make learning about them a little more bearable.

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Visual Rhetoric

Video essay resource guide.

PAR 102 (M-Th, 9 AM- 5 PM) Fine Arts Library Media Lab (same hours as FAL) PCL Media Lab (same hours as PCL)

About video essays

What are they.

“The video essay is often described as a form of new media, but the basic principles are as old as rhetoric: the author makes an assertion, then presents evidence to back up his claim. Of course it was always possible for film critics to do this in print, and they’ve been doing it for over 100 years, following more or less the same template that one would use while writing about any art form: state your thesis or opinion, then back it with examples. In college, I was assured that in its heart, all written criticism was essentially the same – that in terms of rhetorical construction, book reviews, music reviews, dance reviews and film reviews were cut from the same cloth, but tailored to suit the specific properties of the medium being described, with greater emphasis given to form or content depending on the author’s goals and the reader’s presumed interest.”

Matt Zoller Seitz on the video essay .

what makes a good video essay? 

Tony Zhou on how to structure a video essay

Kevin B. Lee on what makes a video essay “ great “

why should we use them? what are their limits?

Kevin B. Lee’s  experimental/artistic pitch for video essays

Kevin B. Lee’s mainstream pitch for video essay

“Of all the many developments in the short history of film criticism and scholarship, the video essay has the greatest potential to challenge the now historically located text-based dominance of the appraisal and interpretation of film and its contextual cultures…”

Andrew McWhirter argues that t he video essay has significant academic potential in the Fall 2015 issue of  Screen

“Importantly, the [new] media stylo does not replace traditional scholarship. This is a new practice beyond traditional scholarship. So how does critical media differ from traditional scholarship and what advantages does it offer? First, as you will see with the works in this issue, critical media demonstrates a shift in rhetorical mode. The traditional essay is argumentative-thesis, evidence, conclusion. Traditional scholarship aspires to exhaustion, to be the definitive, end-all-be-all, last word on a particular subject. The media stylo, by contrast, suggests possibilities-it is not the end of scholarly inquiry; it is the beginning. It explores and experiments and is designed just as much to inspire as to convince…”

Eric Fadden’s “ A Manifesto for Critical Media “

Adam Westbrook’s “ The Web-Video Problem: Why It’s Time to Rethinking Visual Storytelling from the Bottom Up “

Video essayists and venues

Matt Zoller Seitz (various venues) A writer and director by trade, Zoller Seitz is nonetheless probably best known as a prominent American cultural critic.  He’s made over 1000 hours of video essays and is generally recognized as a founder of the video essay movement in high-brow periodicals.  A recognized expert on Wes Anderson, Zoller Seitz is also notable because he often mixes other cinematic media (especially television) into his analysis, as in the above example, which doubles as an experiment in the absence of voiceover.

Various contributors, Press Play Co-founded by Matt Zoller Seitz and Ken Cancelosi,  Press Play  (published by Indiewire)   is one of the oldest high-brow venues for video essays about television, cinema, and other aspects of popular culture.

Various contributors, Keyframe   (A Fandor online publication) Fandor’s video essay department publishes work from many editors (what many video essayists call themselves) on and in a range of topics and styles.  Check it out to get an idea of all that things a video essay can do!

Various contributors, Moving Image Source A high-brow publication for video essays.

Tony Zhou, Every Frame a Painting The master of video essays on filmic form, Tony’s arguments are clean, simple, and well-evidenced.  Look to Tony as an example of aggressive and precise editing and arrangement.  He’s also an excellent sound editor–pay attention to his choices and try out some of his sound-mixing techniques in your essay.

Adam Johnston, Your Movie Sucks (YMS) Although an excellent example of epideictic film rhetoric, this channel is a great example of what  not  to do in this assignment (write a movie review, gush about how good/bad you think a movie is, focus on motifs or narrative content instead of  film form  as the center of your argument).  What you  can  learn from Adam is a lot about style.  Adam’s delivery, pacing, and editing all work together to promote a mildly-disinterested-and-therefore-credible ethos through a near-monotone, which I’ll affectionately dub the “Daria” narratorial ethos.

Adam Westbrook, delve.tv Adam Westbrook is part of an emerging group of professional video essayists and delve.tv is his version of a visual podcast.  Using the video essay form, Adam has developed a professional public intellectual ethos for himself through skillful overlay of explanation/interpretation and concept.  Check out Westbrook’s work as a really good example of presenting and representing visual concepts crucial to an argument.  He’s a master at making an argument in the form of storytelling, and he uses the video essay as a vehicle for that enterprise.

:: kogonada (various venues) If you found yourself wondering what the auteur video essay might look like, :: kogonada is it.  I like to call this “expressionist” video essay style.  Kogonada is the ultimate minimalist when it comes to voiceover/text over–its message impossibly and almost excessively efficient.  Half of the videos in his library are simple, expertly-executed supercuts , highlighting how heavily video essays rely on the “supercut” technique to make an argument.  Crafting an essay in this style really limits your audience and may not be a very good fit for the constraints of assignment (very “cutting edge,” as we talked about it in class), but you will probably draw inspiration from ::kogonada’s distinct, recognizable style, as well as an idea of what a video essay can do at the outer limits of its form.

Lewis Bond,  Channel Criswell Narrating in brogue-y Northern English, Bond takes his time, releasing a very carefully-edited, high-production video essay once every couple of months.  He’s a decent editor, but I feel his essays tend to run long, and I feel rushed by his narration at times.  Bond also makes a useful distinction between video essays and analysis/reviews on his channel–and while most of his analysis/reviews focus on film content (what you don’t want to imitate), his video essays stay pretty focused on film technique (what you do).  Hearing the same author consciously engage in two different modes of analysis might help you better understand the distinction between the two, as well.

Jack Nugent,  Now You See It Nugent’s brisk, formal analysis is both insightful and accessible–a good example of what it takes to secure a significant following in the highly-competitive Youtube marketplace.  [That’s my way of slyly calling him commercial.] Nugent is especially good at pairing his narration with his images.  Concentrate and reflect upon his simple pairings as you watch–how does Nugent help you process both sets of information at the pacing he sets?

Evan Puschak, The Nerdwriter Nerdwriter  is a great example the diversity of topics a video essay can be used to craft an argument about.  Every week, Puschak publishes an episode on science, art, and culture.  Look at all the different things Puschak considers visual rhetoric and think about how he’s using the video essay form to make honed, precisely-executed arguments about popular culture.

Dennis Hartwig and John P. Hess,  FilmmakerIQ Hartwig and Hess use video essays to explain filmmaking technique to aspiring filmmakers.  I’ve included the channel here as another example of what  not  to do in your argument, although perhaps some of the technical explanations that Hartwig and Hess have produced might help you as secondary sources.  Your target audience (someone familiar on basic film theory trying to better understand film form) is likely to find the highly technical, prescriptive arguments on FilmIQ boring or alienating. Don’t focus on technical production in your essay (how the film accomplishes a particular visual technique using a camera); rather, focus on how the audience interprets the end result in the film itself; in other words, focus on choices the audience can notice and interpret–how is the audience interpreting the product of production?  How often is the audience thinking about/noticing production in that process?

Kevin B. Lee (various venues) A good example of the older, high-brow generation of video essayists, Kevin’s collection of work hosted on his Vimeo channel offers slow, deliberate, lecture-inspired readings of film techniques and form.  Note the distinct stylistic difference between Kevin’s pacing and someone like Zhou or Lewis.  How does delivery affect reception?

Software Guides

How to access Lynda tutorials (these will change your life)

Handbrake and MakeMKV  (file converters)

Adobe Premiere  (video editing)

Camtasia  (screen capture)

File management

Use your free UTBox account to upload and manage your files.  Make sure you’ve got some sort of system for tracking and assembling everything into your video editing software.   UTBox has a 2 terabyte limit (much higher than Google Drive) and is an excellent file management resource for all sorts of academic work.

Adobe Premiere saves versions with links to your video files, so it’s imperative that you keep your video files folder in the same place on every machine you open it up on.  That’s why I keep all my video files in a big folder on box that I drop on the desktop of any machine I’m working on before I open my premiere files.  The Adobe Premiere project walkthrough  has more details on this.

Where to find video and how to capture it

About fair use . Make sure your composition complies with the Fair Use doctrine and familiarize yourself with the four criteria.

The best place to capture images is always from a high-resolution DVD or video file .  The first place you should go to get the film is the library– see instructions for searching here .

To import the video and audio from your DVD or video file into your video editing software (like Premiere), you will first need to use a software to convert it to an .mkv.  See instructions on how to do that here .

Camtasia tutorials .  Camtasia is a program that allows you to capture anything that’s going on on your screen .  This is a critical tool for this assignment as you decide what kind of interface you want to present to your reader in your video essay.  Camtasia also allows you to capture any high-quality video playing on your desktop without licensing restrictions.

You can also use Clip Converter to capture images and sound from pre-existing YouTube videos , and it may be a little faster and easier than Camtasia.   I suggest converting things into .mkv before putting them into your video editor, regardless of where you get the material from.

Film theory and criticism

• /r/truefilm’s reading and viewing guide

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The best video essays of 2020

A year of physical separation and isolation was, not coincidentally, a year of unprecedented outreach and collaboration amongst the artists, critics and scholars at work in the burgeoning form of the video essay. Our poll of 42 of those essayists highlights 170 recommendations.

26 December 2020

By  Ariel Avissar , Cydnii Wilde Harris , Grace Lee

Introduction

As with any retrospective article, newsletter or GDPR -compliant email this year, we must begin with the unavoidable acknowledgement of: wow… what a year.

But while many essayists may have understandably been less prolific than in previous years, this year’s turmoil may have incited an even stronger drive towards the ways we can connect with each other virtually. Last year, the word ‘community’ was suggested as an overarching theme for the poll, and if a theme has emerged through this year’s results it would be an evolution of that same communal spirit into one of collaboration. It has repeatedly been collaborative projects that have helped inspire new ideas in a time when motivation wasn’t easy to find and allowed us to feel closer when we physically cannot be.

The Video Essay Podcast, created by Will DiGravio, has expanded its scope this year, co-curating The Black Lives Matter Video Essay Playlist (along with Cydnii Wilde Harris and Kevin B. Lee), launching the Notes on Videographic Criticism newsletter to further share news and promote interesting new work, and introducing experimental homework assignments to encourage creativity and new methods of working. Response from the video essay community has been overwhelming: the BLM Playlist (selections of which have already been screened in several online events, discussed and written about) has grown to include over 130 video essays and related audiovisual materials, and nearly 70 videographic exercises have been submitted thus far in response to the various homework assignment prompts.

Another collaborative video essay project, Once Upon a Screen , organised by Ariel Avissar and Evelyn Kreutzer, was published in the latest issue of The Cine-Files, and consists of a series of fantastic essays responding to a singular theme: how formative, traumatic experiences of cinema go on to impact our lives. Meanwhile, Nando v Movies gathered over 180 essayists on YouTube to come together and create the One X-Cellent Scene playlist (a sequel to 2019’s One Marvellous Scene ), collectively exploring the X-Men franchise.

These efforts were matched by increased institutional engagement, with further venues for the production and circulation of video essays joining the fold, such as the Netflix UK commissions (with an emphasis on Black creators); the new online journal Zoom Out ; Monographs , a new series of commissioned essays on Asian cinema by the Asian Film Archive ( AFA ), which premiered at the Dharamshala International Film Festival; and Thinking Images , a new videographic program at the Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival.

Trends and numbers

An overview of the poll, and some numbers and statistics: of the 42 contributors to the poll this year, 27 are male, 13 are female and two are non-binary. They submitted a total of 241 votes, for 170 unique entries which span online video essays, essay films, documentaries, installations and an HBO series; also a Kanye West music video! These works were made – or published – this past year, by both established essayists and newcomers to the field; they range from 24 seconds to 14 hours in length; some were viewed only once or twice prior to appearing on this poll, others had up to 10.4 million views, and everywhere in between.

Unsurprisingly, some prominent trends that emerged in the poll results this year included video essays related either directly or indirectly to the COVID -19 pandemic and its consequences (with 21 mentions); the presence of the BLM movement was also felt (with 22 mentions), as well as a more political slant to this year’s picks in general. The Once Upon a Screen collection was also featured prominently (with 25 mentions), and included the two top-mentioned videos in the poll.

The top-mentioned videos were: Once Upon a Screen: Explosive Paradox by Kevin B. Lee (12 mentions); My Mulholland by Jessica McGoff (ten mentions); Forensickness by Chloé Galibert-Laîné (nine mentions); and Feeling and Thought as They Take Form: Early Steadicam, Labor, and Technology (1974-1985) by Katie Bird (eight mentions). Catherine Grant and Luís Azevedo each had five different videos mentioned on the poll.

The videos are overwhelmingly presented in English (91 per cent) and are predominantly from the US (41 per cent) and the UK (28 per cent), while France makes up 6 per cent of the remaining votes, followed by 18 other countries (mostly in Europe). The dominant focus in terms of medium remains film (71 per cent of videos), with television (five per cent) and gaming (circa two per cent) coming in at distant second and third.

Of the essayists whose work is featured on the poll, 33 per cent are female (up from 24 per cent last year!) and 57 per cent are male (down from 68 per cent last year), with the remaining ten per cent made by mixed-gender teams or non-binary essayists. We did not parse – neither contributors nor picks – by race (among other reasons, as this would have been somewhat challenging), but hope that everyone is thinking more critically about whose voices they’re choosing to listen to and endorse.

We hope this poll continues to contribute to the ongoing conversation among creators and lovers of video essays worldwide, and that next year will see even more opportunities and venues for collaborating on, making and sharing this form that we are all so enthusiastic about; and also, you know, fewer fires and plagues?

Here are the results…

Table of contributors

(click on a name to jump to their picks.)

Film theorist and curator, Charles University in Prague & Národní filmový archiv

Forensickness

Chloé Galibert-Laîné

The author’s ongoing investigation of online communities and desktop interfaces continues to yield fascinating results. This time, it takes the form of a detective story which makes sure that no revelation waits for us at the end, but also, more importantly, that our cultural and technological mechanisms of knowledge-seeking are fundamentally flawed. Instead, it guides us through an endless road of detours whose diversity can surprise even a know-it-all desktop cinema aficionado. Not only a poignant contribution to videographic film studies but also a work that gives the adjective ‘essayistic’ a truly contemporary meaning.

Feeling and Thought as They Take Form: Early Steadicam, Labor, and Technology (1974-1985)

While examining film technology and its impact on the image content, I often wonder how to make these material interventions visible and open to reflection at the same time. Katie Bird’s exploration of the Steadicam and Panaglide camera devices indicates that videographic scholarship can be employed to overcome this dilemma. By understanding the camera operating as, first and foremost, an affective, embodied experience, many supposed ‘imperfections’ and ‘instabilities’ can be revealed as things that make the films tick. Moreover, the essay shows that the application of digital tools in archival research may have a more playful, creative side.

Crossings. On Freak Orlando

Johannes Binotto

This essay resurrects a relatively overlooked cinematic trend – the German queer cinema of the 1970s–80s and the wider tendency of stylistic and bodily excess in avant-garde cinema. What is crucial is that the author uses the short scene from Ulrike Ottinger’s Freak Orlando in a way that renovates the contemporary videographic practice as well. By putting his own body on display and overlaying the action on screen with his performance, he enables us to take the haptic visuality of the shot literally, and not just through the usual analog/digital manipulations. More of this, please.

The Wind in the Trees from Early Cinema to Pixar

Jordan Schonig

I have stumbled upon Schonig’s work thanks to Shane Denson’s new book Discorrelated Images (highly recommended, by the way), and I was happy to find out that he also makes accomplished scholarly video essays. This piece focuses on the contingencies (“rippling waves, rising dust, and fluttering leaves”) in early films and CGI animation, highlighting how digital algorithms make the distinctions between accidental qualities and careful calculation blurrier than ever. Schonig effectively demonstrates the divergences and affinities between the pre-cinematic and post-cinematic modes of staging accidents while also opening ways for addressing this complicated dialectic in the videographic form itself.

There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here

Rainer Kohlberger

This year has seen the completion of a brilliant experimental film essay The Philosophy of Horror: A Symphony of Film Theory (Péter Lichter and Bori Máté). Nevertheless, as I have already mentioned this project in the last year’s poll, I would like to give a shout to another experimental work. Kohlberger’s film brings the spectacular world of disaster movies into contact with the dance of coloured dots on the surface of the image. This unpredictable humming occludes the well-worn explosions and catastrophes in Hollywood cinema and exposes them as mere paltry things compared to the horrors of filmic matter.

Live at Appleville

It may not be a videographic essay per se, but… In this video, as far from a traditional music concert as possible, the American hyperpop duo is goofing around in a dark room with a laptop showing scenes from Ratatouille. This disturbing yet strangely funny exercise creatively exploits the limitations of Covid and opens yet another place where cinema can be relocated. Somehow it could even fit as an unlikely addition to the Once Upon a Screen videographic project – a childhood cinematic trauma turned into a liberating performance. And I am not even a fan of the band…

Thinking Audiovisually

Department of Film Studies, Charles University

This is clearly a biased choice, but I still feel obliged to mention three student video essays. A workshop with Kevin B. Lee saw the birth of many short videographic exercises, some of which were developed into full-length pieces. As the videographic practice in the Czech Republic is being invented practically from scratch, I was surprised how accomplished, original, and funny the videos turned out. Thus, Lucie Formánková’s essay on her fascination with Tom Cruise’s acting, Valerie Špuláková’s work on a failed Czech dubbing of Twin Peaks, and Otto Urban’s look on the synecdochic character of trailers deserve a shout.

↑ Back to top

Ariel Avissar

Media scholar, video essayist and lecturer at the Steve Tisch School of Film and TV , Tel Aviv University

What begins as a personal account of the experience of watching Chris Kennedy’s Watching the Detectives evolves into so much more; part essay film, part desktop documentary, part conspiracy thriller with a twist ending, this epistemological audio-visual meditation expertly weaves together some of my favourite preoccupations – cultural depictions of counter-terrorism intelligence efforts, John Carpenter’s They Live!, conspiracy boards, Game of Thrones fandom and Chloé Galibert-Laîné – into one jumbled, coherent, meandering, beautiful whole. My favourite media object of the year.

A Very Long Exposure Time

This silent visual poem was produced for the Time Complex exhibition at the Yerevan Biennial 2020. While aesthetically the polar opposite of Forensickness, it similarly develops Chloé’s ongoing fascination with images – how we see them, what they reveal, what they leave out, what can we use them for. Simple, stimulating, sublime.

To The Lighthouse

Kevin B. Lee

How do you make a video essay about a film you have no access to? Lee has previously wrestled with the challenges of inaccessibility. Commissioned for the 2020 International Film Festival Rotterdam Critics Choice, this enthralling mashup of 36 different films starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, described by Lee as his ‘fanfic version ’of The Lighthouse by Robert Eggers, will make anyone who hasn’t seen the film feel as though they have. Arguably more enjoyable than the original, and with considerably less flatulence.

Extreme Is My Name

Johanna Vaude

Made for ARTE ’s online magazine “Blow Up”, this impressive montage is both a tribute to and a study of the works of one of my favourite directors, Kathryn Bigelow. Vaude takes Bigelow’s raw, adrenaline-fused energy then dials it up to eleven. Her video grabs hold of you from the get-go, and doesn’t let up until it’s – regrettably – over.

The Age of Emptiness

Oswald iten.

Iten’s lovingly-edited video recuts the lush imagery of Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, focusing on shots devoid of human presence, and excluding human faces entirely. Fittingly accompanied by Bernard Herrmann’s score from Scorsese’s own Taxi Driver, this tale of Edwardian-era New York aristocracy is recontextualised for our current day and age. The result plays like an annotated relic of the Age of the Coronavirus, such as might be uncovered by future historians seeking to make sense of this bizarre period in human history.

Catherine Grant

This moving epigraphic tribute to the late Irrfan Khan merges Khan’s performance in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool with excerpts from Laura Mulvey’s Death 24x a Second to powerful, touching effect. Another example by Grant of what the videographic epigraph can achieve at its purest and most potent form.

House – Everything but the Kitchen Sink

Jesse Tribble

This ambitious six-part series on House MD , clocking in at four hours(!), is one of the most comprehensive analyses of a television series I’ve seen, certainly one devoted to a network medical procedural (in its early seasons, anyway). House remains one of my favourite (semi-guilty) pleasures, and while this episodic, narration-led effort by Tribble, highly impressive in its intimate familiarity with the show’s eight seasons, might not be ground-breaking in form or content, I found it extremely enjoyable and ridiculously watchable. Try the first part then see if you can resist the urge to keep on going; I certainly couldn’t.

Luís Azevedo

Filmmaker for hire. Maker of direct-to-video essays for Little White Lies , Mubi, Fandor, Amazon Prime &  Barbican

6ix9ine GOOBA except theres no music

Rob Lopez ( RØB )

Christopher Nolan | Doing It For Real

Julian Palmer (The Discarded Image)

Women Make Film

Mark Cousins ( watch trailer )

Cliff Booth Drives Home

Philip Brubaker

The Visual Architecture of Parasite

Thomas Flight

The Movies Behind Your Favourite GIF s

Leigh Singer (Little White Lies)

What Gordon Parks Saw

Evan Puschak (The Nerdwriter)

Filmmaker/writer

Expands the notion of what a video essay is and can be. Fascinating, even suspenseful. Blends performance in with videographic criticism in a way I had not seen before. Because of Binotto’s video, the way a critic can interact with a film is not what it was even a year ago.

From screening to (live) streaming

Davide Rapp & Andrea Dal Martello

An incredible marriage of past and present culture. Rapp & Martello have made a drop-dead hilarious critique of pandemic-era social media that is precisely funny because of how it recontextualises the movies that we grew up watching. It is an in-joke that richly rewards those who get it; how would these movies we loved in the past translate in today’s world?

Francisca Lila

A breathtaking, thorough taxonomy of flowers, plants and trees from the film canon. Lila’s brilliant, seamless editing makes the transition from Antichrist to Pather Panchali flow naturally, and part of the joy of this video essay is spotting and identifying the films she draws from.

In the Kitchen with Pedro Almodóvar

Luís Azevedo (Little White Lies)

Azevedo makes videos that are so sensuous and nimbly edited that he breathes new life into the clips on his timeline. Here his sensibility finds the perfect match: the kitchen. He finds captivating gestures from Almodóvar’s films and his speaking voice strikes just the right chord between his ideas and the visuals. Bravo.

Bad Vacations

The Criterion Channel

Criterion makes many great, concise supercuts to advertise the films on their streaming service. I wish they would credit the editors more generously, or at all, even. This is one that I have rewatched many times, because I love the arc; how a promising vacation can turn into a nightmare. This was a year full of miserable events that caused me great dismay, but somehow I delight in the pessimism of this teaser.

Change Needs to Come

Nelson carvajal.

Using simple, unadorned straight cuts set to an iconic song of the civil rights movement, Carvajal says what needed to be said. And oh, is it painful. A collection of cell phone imagery of black people murdered in contemporary life is juxtaposed with archival images dating back to slave times to show that in many ways, nothing has changed. We saw coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement throughout 2020, so I would be remiss not to include what I believe to be a very strong entry in this significant genre. I hate watching this video essay.

Video Artist and Founder of Free Cinema Now

Transcending Heidegger – The Cinema of Terrence Malick

Tom van der Linden (Like Stories of Old)

I was surprised by how moved I was by this video essay. Even with the voiceover element, van der Linden never hits the snooze button; his voice inquires, wonders and keeps insisting. By the end, I was floored by this work’s sincerity, the messaging, and its revelations about the human condition. Malick himself would be proud. It’s the best video essay of the year.

The Unloved – The Siege

Scout Tafoya (RogerEbert.com)

Part of the charm of Tafoya’s The Unloved series is that it gives us all a chance to beat our chests about our sentimental favorite films or guilty pleasure movies. When this entry on The Siege came out, it was a couple of months into the pandemic here in the States. I, like many people, was working from home, and felt really disconnected from the outside world. The way Tafloya injected socio-political urgency into his thesis for Zwick’s film, was like a bolt of electricity; it woke my senses, and reminded me of the very real world outside.

Wash Us In The Blood

Arthur Jafa

It was released as a music video but as soon as the appropriated images hit the screen and it was revealed to be created by video artist Arthur Jafa, it became, for me, a video essay. The striking juxtapositions Jafa creates between images and Kanye West’s music is thrilling. This is a vital work disguised as a music video. As I write this, it has 10,370,226 views on YouTube. That’s a really good turnout for a video essay if you ask me.

Andris Damburs

Cinefile, creator and moderator of 35 MM – A GROUP FOR CINEPHILES

Nothing at Stake

Everything is a remix: reality.

Kirby Ferguson

Aspect Ratio – The Changing Shape of Cinema

Leon Barnard

Physical Storytelling in Céline Sciamma’s Coming-Of-Age Trilogy

Why do you love cinema.

Ignacio Montalvo

Czechoslovak New Wave

Jonathan Keogh

Ian Danskin

Writer/editor/creator of YouTube channel Innuendo Studios .

Children of DOOM

Errant Signal

Errant Signal’s Children of DOOM is a dissection of the first-person shooter, wherein Chris Franklin takes what he considers to be the most important/interesting FPS from a given year and analyses it, planning to do one for every year of the genre’s existence. Chris has long been one of the most thoughtful voices in games criticism, and he’s always at his best discussing FPS . (His video on BioShock Infinite is what set me on the path to becoming a YouTuber.) In a year when watching political deep dives of the kind I typically make felt exhausting, this was my comfort food.

Coronavirus and America’s Death Cult

Carlos Maza

This is the year Carlos Maza – having previously been the main reason to subscribe to Vox’s YouTube – went solo and launched his own channel (he picked a heck of a year). He’s done excellent videos on the primaries and police brutality, but my fave is his video explaining the government’s response to the pandemic through the lens of neoliberalism and slowly devolving into a horror film. It does what all great political essays do: helps you understand a current event while also teaching you something fundamental that will help you understand much else about our world.

In Search of a Flat Earth

Dan Olson (Folding Ideas)

What at first appears to be a feature-length dissection of flat earth conspiracy theories telescopes out into the first comprehensive explanation of QA non I’ve seen, a distillation of the nature of conspiracy theories, a list of what other thinkers tend to overlook about conspiracists, and a sprinkling of love for the pursuit of knowledge. “Ultimately, it’s not about facts, it’s about power” is one of the most important takeaways of 2020.

Is Vine Cinema?

Kyle Kallgren (Brows Held High)

As he did two years ago with his video on bisexual lighting, Kyle Kallgren takes a seemingly innocuous subject – the life and death of Vine – and makes a video about EVERYTHING . About the essential units of filmmaking, about media that crosses social boundaries, about the speed of modern life and the formats best able to capture it, about race uprisings and cultural appropriation, about what happens when every so often The Youth are allowed to dictate culture. And all while montaging together his favorite Vines.

The $150,000 Banana

Sarah Urist Green (The Art Assignment)

Sarah Urist Green’s The Art Assignment didn’t end this year so much as go into low-power mode. The channel is still updated sporadically, but Sarah has refocused her attentions on other work. But, back in January – remember January? – she discussed Maurizio Cattelan’s then-trending art piece in which he duct taped a banana to a wall. Sarah employs her talent for taking strange, pretentious works on their own terms, digging into the banana’s surrounding contexts, the artist’s history, and the movement it’s part of, without ever claiming the work is ‘good’. This is her in her element.

we’re already ded || Zack Snyder, Part 2

Maggie Mae Fish

This year, the criminally under-appreciated Maggie Mae Fish started a series on the works of Zack Snyder, starting with a 15-minute look at how Snyder’s Superman contrasts with Supermen past, and then this 42-minute dive into how Snyder’s calcified, objectivist worldview manifests first in Dawn of the Dead and then across all his films.

Hamilton and the right mess it’s gotten me into

Grace Lee (What’s So Great About That?)

Grace’s dense and kaleidoscopic style proves a perfect match for the captivating yet self-contradictory musical that is Hamilton. The video goes back and forth over what makes Hamilton compulsively likable and also frustrating as heck, with every progressive idea undercut by something that seems to say the opposite, and every troublesome moment looking like it might be commentary on itself. Grace proves up to the task, providing not so much answers as a whole lot to think about.

Steven E. de Souza

It’s a Christmas movie. Bylines: @nytimes @LosAnglesTimes @FadeInMagazine @EmpireMagazine @SightSoundMagazine

How the Safdie Brothers Lie in Uncut Gems

Nehemiah Jordan (Behind the Curtain)

Never has a film essay had so disingenuous a title – but then N.T. Jordan’s essay is all about the art of misdirection. In truth, the brothers dissect as much as they dissemble, revealing more truths about the filmmaking process in 11 minutes than a semester of screenings. From the unanticipated dominoes that fall with casting changes (for instance, from a contemporary setting to a period one and back again), to unexpected sources of inspiration (spoiler alert: a colonoscopy) to the brutal marathon of 160 drafts over 10 years, the Safdies provide an unflinching portrait of the grind that is art.

The Most Important Filmmaker You Haven’t Heard Of

Jack Nugent (Now You See It)

Since silent days, women have been present in the editing suite, far too often unheralded (though not, of course, here). Starting with Margaret Booth in the 1930’s, then turning to Dede Allen and the late Sally Menke, Jack Nugent makes a strong case for these three artists as the midwives of modern film cutting. Both insightful and long overdue, Sight & Sound readers are urged to overlook the essay’s click-bait title… as they undoubtedly have.

Orson Wells a la Cinematheque Francaise

Pierre-André Boutang, Guy Seligmann

This month’s release of a major motion picture from an important filmmaker like David Fincher directly to a streaming platform sent a shock wave through Hollywood…. no, not the potential end of theatrical distribution as we know it, along with the shattering of the livelihood of exhibitioners and the shuttering of countless venues…I mean the impossible-to-shutter endless debate over Orson Welles: Boy wonder, or one-and-done-er? Found by Francois Thomas in the archives of the Cinematheque Francais only months ago, Welles gets another one hour 33 minutes with us… and we, with him.

Every Stormtrooper In Star Wars, Explained by Lucasfilm

Madlyn Burkert <@alohamaddy> and Doug Chiang

Call it classic or kitsch, revolutionary or rehash, but after 14 theatrical pictures and seven television series over 43 years for a total running time of let’s see, the original trilogy, six hours 20 minutes, then in chronological order Star Wars: Droids that’s 13 episodes x 23 minutes, plus 121 episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars… oh wait damn it, between the time I’m typing this and when it gets eyeballs, two more episodes of The Mandalorian will have been out, God knows what their running time will be, @jonfavs and @TaikaWaititi can’t even agree. Anyway, a long overdue taxonomy.

Steven Spielberg’s Use of Reflections

Shera Junushev

Like Bogart, this screenwriter is in a lonely place here with this one: I come to praise it, not critique it – but as observant as this essay is in recognising a signature Spielberg technique, in defining its effect as “allowing the audience to examine the details of a scene without losing connection to the character” it reduces psychology to geography. Rather, the subjective reflection shot’s true dynamic lies in flinging the filmgoer literally headlong into the protagonist’s shoes, bonding the viewer’s sense of self to the character with subliminal power.

The Irishman and the Death of the Gangster Film

In 1992 Francis Fukuyama declared The End of History. In 2020, Luis Azevedo is here to tell us that when we weren’t looking, Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992) declared the End of the Western, and in 2019, Martin Scorsese… hmm, how to best put this? Let’s just say that Luis thinks we got a real good genre here, it’d be a shame, a real shame if something happened to it…

Doctor Who and The Fourth Wall

Samuel Davis

From Justus D. Barnes’s gunshot in The Great Train Robbery in 1903 to Michael Caine’s seductive asides in Alfie (1966) to Joe Pesci bringing us full circle in Goodfellas (1990), breaking the fourth wall has been a key part of the motion pictures tool box. But those heralded films aren’t where we oh-so sophisticated Cineastes first encountered that jarring technique now, was it? And it wasn’t O Lucky Man, Amélie, or Fight Club, either. Come on, kiddies, fess up, you know the answer: here’s Samuel Davis to refresh your memory.

Monica Delgado

Peruvian film critic, director of Desistfilm.com

Presence: Call Me By Your Name

Fabian Broeker

I really liked this video: the search for a new topic in the treatment of a very hackneyed film.

On Contamination

Jessica McGoff

I felt interested about the political view of McGoff, because in this video she establishes correspondences between the filmmaker universe (animals and humans coexisting together) and social-environmental context.

Notorious Wavelengths

A Wave of the Hand. A way to the photo. An analysis of the use of the zoom in two opposite films, as a provocation. I never imagined watching this strange duel between Snow and Hitchcock.

Can any Johnny Guitar fan be indifferent to this?

Mariana Dianela Torres

There is a musical intention in this montage that attracts me a lot, that recovers a sensation of movement in the films of Chantal Akerman.

The Other Side of the Street

Cristina Álvarez López and Adrian Martin

I’m interested in the way in which Adrian and Cristina edit the images, research and voices, in an exact timing and leading us to subtle endings.

For some video essayists it’s a problem to work without complete films (for different restrictions). Kevin finished this challenge in a very playful and fresh way.

Will DiGravio

Host, The Video Essay Podcast ; Creator, Notes on Videographic Criticism ; Contributor, Film School Rejects

Follow the Cat

If there is one video essayist whose style and sensibility I most try to emulate in my own work, it is Johannes Binotto. His videos are rigorous and scholarly, yet deeply personal and emotional. In this video, like much of his work, Johannes turns his cinephilia into a shove which, like Lisa Fremont, he uses to dig deeper and deeper into the fabric of Rear Window. Follow the Cat gives us a new way of understanding familiar images, and thus gets at the heart of what videographic criticism is and what it can do and be.

Jazmin Jones

I think about Unlocked by video artist Jazmin Jones often. In an interview, Jones described the way she shifted the focus of the appropriated videos away from the white people at the centre: “It was a matter of zooming in… trying to reframe so that we’re really focusing on the pleasure and the experience of the black fems.” Jazmin may not have set out to make a ‘video essay’ when she created Unlocked, but the way she manipulates the footage is among the most powerful examples of the form I have seen.

cops ordering food

Manny Fidel

I can’t do justice to Manny’s video in 100 words. It’s hilarious and deeply insightful. I also love his follow-up tweet: “I made this in like four mins do NOT comment on its quality.” Manny’s video was made three weeks after the murder of George Floyd, at a time when a narrative emerged in the United States that police officers were somehow the real victims in society. The video makes a mockery of that absurd notion and, in the process, shows that a definition of ‘quality’ as it relates to videographic criticism is far more nuanced than one might think.

My First Film

Zia Anger ( watch trailer )

My First Film debuted in 2019 as a live film performance; an innovative desktop documentary that earned high praise in last year’s poll. Unable to perform in person this year, Anger began streaming live performances throughout the spring. The work continued to break ground and morphed into something new, a film that reflected Anger’s own pandemic experience. During the performance I saw, Anger texted her dad to say she loved him. Watching “My First Film” during such frightening times was a cathartic experience, one that made me briefly feel like I was back at the movies among friends and strangers.

Indy Vinyl: Records in American Independent Cinema: 1987 to 2018

Ian Garwood

Another ground-breaking work this year came in the form of Ian Garwood’s Indy Vinyl: Records in American Independent Cinema: 1987 to 2018, a project that features a range of video essays and written works. One aspect of video essay-making that often gets overlooked is the amount of time dedicated to making each and every video. Ian’s project, both in size and scope, but also given the fact that he released parts of this project as they were finished, beautifully captures the labor of love that is video-essay making, all while pushing the boundaries of what the form can be.

Tear away Turn back Breathe

Martina Probst and Chantal Hann

Over the past nine months, I have tried to relive my favourite pre-pandemic moviegoing experiences through video essays. This video by Martina Probst and Chantal Hann, two students at the Lucerne School of Art and Design, is among the finest analyses of Portrait of a Lady on Fire I have seen. But what I find so compelling about their essay is their willingness to at times forgo images entirely and embrace a blank canvas: the black screen. Video essayists often feel the need to fill every second with images. Perhaps we should allow our work to, like Marianne, breathe.

It’s Bad Luck to Compare Hands

Alex Slentz

Meshes of the Afternoon is one of those films that I rewatch all the time, just to try and understand how it works; how it was assembled. I feel the same way about Alex Slentz’s video, which blends together footage from Maya Deren’s film, Persona, and Un Chien Andalou. Similar to the video by Probst and Hann, I am inspired by the way Sletz allows us to see the canvas on which the video essay was created. The fluid movements of the images and their interactions with one another blend together in a beautiful collage and insightful analysis.

Video Essayist and Filmmaker

How Edgar Wright Uses Sound

Sound tends to be an underrepresented subject in the world of video essays. Julian’s essay mimics Edgar Wright’s editing and sound design to move effortlessly between his films, showcasing Wright’s unique approach to sound.

The Strange Reality of Roller Coaster Tycoon

Jacob Geller

Jacob Geller expertly ties together internet culture, video game design, and physics in this profound examination of the existential unease that can be found in a theme park simulation game from 1999.

Lies of Heroism – Redefining the Anti-War Film by Tom van der Linden (Like Stories of Old)

Weaving together examples from 49 films during the course of this nearly feature-length video essay, Tom thoughtfully and thoroughly examines depictions of war in cinema and whether it’s truly possible to make an anti-war film.

Dinner with Brad Pitt

Video essays can also just be a lot of fun. I’m not sure who had more fun, Luís Azevedo sitting down to edit this video, or Brad Pitt sitting down to dinner in all these scenes.

Researcher and filmmaker

The Viewing Booth

Ra’anan Alexandrowicz ( watch trailer )

An incredibly careful and thorough examination of the spectatorial mechanisms of two protagonists (a filmed spectator, and the filmmaker who is filming her) that exposes how much our beliefs and ideological convictions determine how we make sense of online images. Though rather pessimistic in its conclusion (no image can change a person’s political opinions – so long for a century-long history of activist media and political filmmaking), the film advocates convincingly for the political power of building respectful interpersonal relationships with our political opponents, and for the potential of images to serve as the basis for such conversations.

Il n’y aura plus de nuit

Eléonore Weber ( watch trailer )

This essay film looks at thermal imagery produced by helicopter pilots in a war context. We hear only one voice, but the words it speaks contain the gazes of many: from the pilots themselves, to the judges in military courts in charge of examining these images to determine retrospectively the legitimacy of the pilots’ decisions to kill, to the filmmaker who questions her mixed fascination for these images, to our own uncertainty about what these images expect from us – their probably unwanted, surplus witnesses.

On Contamination and My Mulholland

I equally love these two videos by Jessica McGoff. Re-watching On Contamination at the end of this year of sanitary crisis gives the video an uncanny, definitely prescient quality, but it is a great work independently from its unfortunate topicality. Like My Mulholland (which McGoff produced in the context of the video essay series Once Upon a Screen ), On Contamination explores an intimate form of narration in which the discussed film becomes not so much the limiting frame of the essay, but the substrate from which it grows in unexpected directions.

Elie Ga ( watch excerpt )

This essay – very much like my other picks – proposes a very personal, partly autobiographical, partly fictional narration, loosely based on a collection of images figuring objects found by ‘beachcombers’. Images come in waves onto the filmmaker’s table, who tentatively combines them into spatial arrangements and explorative superpositions, until the surf of the narration prompts their replacement with other images – some we discover, some we see again and again, constantly re-invested with new meanings.

I know very few video essayists who are willing to implicate themselves as much in their videos as Binotto does in this performative, wistfully celebratory and intensely personal short video piece. I admire the growing abstraction of Binotto’s work (such as in his video Trace , another strong candidate for this poll) for it opens up the possibility of unexpected, sensual engagements with the films with which it dialogues. These are video essays where images burgeon with news meanings and unlikely sensations, rather than being pinned down or constricted by the analysis.

Amel Alzakout and Khaled Abdulwahed

This year I’ve seen a number of video essays reflecting on images of migrants on their way to Europe, and this film is by far the one I found the most inspiring. It recalls Philip Scheffner’s Havarie in its focus on a single, arguably illegible image, and its investment of the soundtrack as the lieu of meaning production. But the perspective is reversed: Havarie watched a ship sink from afar, Purple Sea plunges us in the water. The presentness of the image serves as the loam from which the story unfolds, made of the narrator’s uncertain memories and hopes.

Wild Heart 1981 / 2020

Zach Dorn ( watch excerpt )

From randomly filming contemporary online media flows to carefully re-animating on paper a decades-old improvised piece of footage (that was later uploaded to YouTube), this short essay deploys an impressively wide, and very personal narrative arc. The diversity of visual techniques that are employed in this virtuoso single-shot speaks to Dorn’s attempts to grasp his digital object and materialise it in the space of his home – a gesture that is fascinatingly articulated as one of self-care and compensation for the anxieties triggered by contemporary online media.

Senior Lecturer in Film and Television Studies, University of Glasgow

Desegregating the Two Shot: The Use of the Frame in The Defiant Ones (1958)

Henry Rownd

This finely detailed audiovisual commentary operates in the best tradition of close mise-en-scène analysis – a surprisingly marginal genre in the academic video essay world. Rownd demonstrates astutely how the image construction of the film tells a nuanced and complex story about race and space in the Civil Rights era, even as the surface narrative hammers home a more heavy-handed message.

Lisa Hanawalt: Being Human by Being Animal

This year I taught a dedicated video essay course for the first time in a while and Grace Lee was the go-to for examples of incredibly smart, quick-witted, well-researched and audiovisually engaging work. Lee’s awareness of the possibilities of animation shines through in this video, an awareness developed through both her critical and filmmaking practice.

Satis House

As is often the case with Catherine Grant’s work, Satis House is an exemplary act of collaboration. Firstly, it invites collaboration from the viewer by giving them more and more visual information to compare, without authorial commentary, as the video proceeds. Secondly, Grant’s accompanying writing refines and deepens the viewing experience, collaborating with it rather than simply describing it. Finally, the collaboration through writing is extended by the inclusion of a reflective piece by the cultural historian Lynda Nead, whose thinking about Great Expectations inspired the video in the first place.

My Mulholland

From my admittedly partial perspective, skewed towards video essays published in academic journals, a turn to the overtly personal seemed evident in a number of examples this year. Maybe it was fitting, then, that the year closed with the publication of the Once Upon a Screen collection in the Cine-Files, where video essayists reflected on formative film-viewing experiences. I’ve had a little more time to watch and think about Jessica McGoff’s contribution than the others, and it’s a wonderful reflection on the allure and perils of online media consumption, funnelled through a memorable first encounter with Mulholland Drive.

”Who Ever Heard…?”

Like Catherine Grant’s Satis House, Payne’s video uses an additive multi-screen compositional process that draws attention to repetitions in the source material – in this case a scene from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Payne’s approach is more overtly manipulative than Grant’s, repeating each shot from the scene to create a visual and aural montage that builds then recedes in intensity. The looping effect of the soundtrack, in particular, is mesmerising.

The Before Sunrise Waltz

This was the act of virtual film tourism I needed in the early months of lockdown. By orchestrating a Google Earth tour of the locations visited in Before Sunrise, Stone re-envisages the film from a panoramic perspective, thereby offering a completely different take on the original, which stays determinedly tied to Jesse and Celine’s ground-level progression through Vienna’s streets.

A Machine for Viewing

Richard Misek, Oscar Raby, Charlie Shackleton

Of course it’s a shame that the pandemic put a (temporary?) stop to the VR -video essay roadshow envisaged as part of Machine for Viewing, but the three videos published in NECSUS demonstrate that the project’s potential has already been realised. Whilst the demonstration of the technology is impressive, I related most to the videos’ use of VR to reflect on a traditional 2-D cinema-going experience. Who would have thought that the sight of a packed auditorium, witnessing the live VR presentation and commentary at the Sundance Festival, would now seem so poignant?

Hailey Gavin

Video essay creator

Yorgos Lanthimos’s Absurd Worlds

This is an excellent articulation of the questions Lanthimos asks and the visual and structural tools he employs. This is a must-watch for anyone who loved Nimic and conveys the power of shorts to reframe our understanding of auteurs’ work.

How Portraits Lie – What to be aware of in your portrait photography

Jamie Windsor

I love this clear exploration of a nuanced topic, supplemented by beautiful motion graphics and fluid editing.

This piece illustrates the sometimes inextricable nature of nostalgia and trauma. I also loved the way the essay draws points of connection between media of different formats from different times.

Audiovisual essayist and Professor of Film at the University of Reading.

Slap That Bass Zoomed

The elephant man’s sound, tracked., the original ending: the last acts of black horror heroes.

Cydnii Wilde Harris

Music and Point of View in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Patrick Keating

Once Upon a Screen: Explosive Paradox

Video essayist; founding co-editor of [in]Transition: Journal of Videographic Film & Moving Image Studies ; Honorary Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London, and elected member of Academia Europea. Currently completing https:screenstudies.video

One of my all-time favourite videographic works by foundational artist and essayist Lee, or indeed by anyone. Part of a brilliant project recently published in issue 15 of the Cine-Files in the collection Once Upon a Screen , commissioned and curated by Ariel Avissar and Evelyn Kreutzer.

Another astonishing work by one of the most innovative and significant of video essayists. Published online in December 2020, this video also deservedly garnered huge festival success, screening in competition at the Marseilles Festival of Documentary Film as well as at the Festival dei Popoli, the Kasseler Dokfest and the festival Caminhos do Cinema Português.

One of my all-time favourite pieces that we have published at [in]Transition: Journal of Videographic Film and Moving Studies this last (or any) year. A wonderfully ambitious exploration of the first decade of stabiliser technologies and techniques. In surveying the industrial histories of two competing devices, the Steadicam and the obsolete Panaglide, Bird demonstrates, powerfully and movingly, how “now codified norms of craft labour practice around stabiliser’s aesthetic and generic forms emerged amongst a diverse range of media and eclectic techniques”.

Maryam Tafakory ( read synopsis )

I love Tafakory’s essay films and video essays, and this brilliant piece by her was one of the excellent new series of commissioned essays on Asian cinema, Monographs by the Asian Film Archive ( AFA ).

”Drawing upon histories and archives, both personal and regional, these works reveal new vistas of inquiry; ruminations that evince the essayists’ personal connections to [Asian] cinema, made more poignant by the fact that they were created during various states of isolation and solitude.”

The series had its world premiere at the Dharamshala International Film Festival held online from 29 October to 4 November 2020.

The latest work by hugely talented video essayist and film McGoff; her video was also part of the high quality collection Once Upon a Screen .

One of an outstanding collection of audiovisual essays devoted to explorations of gesture published in NECSUS : European Journal of Media Studies , curated by the wonderful video essayist and scholar Tracy Cox-Stanton, in December 2019. This video was also added to the essential Video Essay Podcast Black Lives Matter video essay playlist , curated by Cydnii Wilde Harris, Kevin B Lee and The Video Essay Podcast founder and host Will DiGravio.

Indy Vinyl, Interrupted

This video, published in 2020, is the tip of the amazing videographic iceberg that is Garwood’s work on his hugely original videographic/monographic project Indy Vinyl, as set out here and here .

Reader in Film and Sonic Arts, Liverpool John Moores University.

This audiovisual essay marries form and content in such an affecting manner that I was completely drawn into the essayist’s world. The universality of the space that Lee re-enacts/re-presents urged me to think back to the complexity of early childhood memories. The camera shot and movement choices coupled with the voice (which is sometimes masked) allows for an intimate story that perfectly reflects this particular moment and the trauma of early childhood.

If I could have made any other audiovisual essay, I wish it could have been this one! I love everything about it, from the voiceover, with its centrality of the cat, to the essayist’s own cat watching the screen. It is beautifully paced and offers an insightful point of entry to Hitchcock’s camera moves. It prompts a personal way into questioning cinematic spectatorship and image-making, and draws from an array of interesting representations of cats in cinema.

This audiovisual essay makes me think and feel differently about camera movement in cinema. It details a rich history drawing from technical manuals, instructional videos, film tests and experiments and other archival material to present an embodied argument that allows me to feel the moves of the Steadicam/Panaglide operator(s). The extent of the research is significant, but this is not merely a dissemination of research – the entire essay builds movement into its shape and form. It is truly inspiring work!

Forensickness is a longer audiovisual essay/experimental film that considers Chris Kennedy’s film, Watching the Detectives. Much like Galibert-Laîné’s earlier work, it deconstructs Kennedy’s film, goes to the online archive of material (this time on Reddit) to consider both the news footage circulating around the Boston Marathon bomb attack in 2013 and the Hollywood depiction of these events. This work is about how we see, how we consume images, and how we think about and through images.

McGoff’s My Mullholland is a poignant consideration of traumatic film viewing. The desktop format is most appropriate for examining the online consumption of film, and here the essayist’s own adventures on the internet and into the cinema of David Lynch are richly depicted through this approach. The audiovisual essay details some darker areas of the internet whilst also re-presenting the edgier moments of Lynch’s, Mulholland Drive. It is often fun and playful and the use of text is brilliantly deployed.

Garwood has had a prolific year creating audiovisual essays and has made a number that are inspired by the Zoom app as an aesthetic device, reflecting these recent months and how we have been collectively engaging online. He has created a showcase of this work which is available to audioview here . In a year where Black Lives Matter is at the forefront of political discussion, “Slap That Bass Zoomed” offers a timely de-centring of the white appropriator, instead offering an array of Black artists (named and unnamed) to take their rightful place onscreen.

Paris Bagdad: Fantasies of America(na) in German-American Cinema

Evelyn Kreutzer

Paris Bagdad: Fantasies of America(na) in German-American Cinema offers a personal route through Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) and Baghdad Café (Percy Adlon, 1987). This essayistic approach includes the use of superimposition, which is beautifully rendered and speaks to the sense of place and wanderlust that Kreutzer narrates her way through. This feels like a logical follow on from her earlier inspired work on German cinema, Berlin Moves (2017).

Chiara Grizzaffi

Postdoctoral Fellow at IULM University – co-editor of [in]Transition

MADELEINE / JUDY

The philosophy of horror: a symphony of film theory.

Péter Lichter, Bori Máté ( watch trailer )

Once Upon a Screen: Titanic

Victoria Wegner

Safe Bodies, Safe Environment: The Atmosphere of Todd Haynes’s Safe (1995)

Kelsey Draper

Film scholar and video essayist

That she was able to commute the cinematic trauma of Lynch’s work to the universal trauma of growing up during the Wild West years of the internet was a sublime insight. From the choice to take her audience on a journey through her desktop, to her recreations of jump scares and the IMD b message boards, this piece resonated with me on so many levels.

It’s one thing to understand that your colleague is brilliant. It is another experience entirely to watch an artist, independent of your relationship to them, so handedly exceed their own boundaries. Kevin’s piece on his childhood experiences with the film Platoon are an example of the very power of cinema to shape our relationship with the world, and the world’s relationship with us. Include that footage, and his deeply personal voiceover all combine to create an experience of childhood trauma so visceral, that I haven’t just gained new insight on the war epic itself.

This piece redefined what I believed to be the parameters of the video essay. By making manifest his own desire to enter a film, Joannes transcends the medium technically, and does so by seamlessly immeshing his own visuals, music, and handwriting into the groundbreaking work, Freak Orlando. He uses the style of his piece to supplement both that of the existing property and what the essayist has to say about it. Johannes didn’t just redefine how I’d like to create video essays. He redefined the limitations of how I can enter a film itself.

The greater focus of Dan’s essay, distilled what I’ve found so troubling about conspiracy theories, from the Illuminati to QA non, and how more often than not, their unstated purpose is to oppose my very existence. By laying bare the historical context of these theories and their creators, Dan articulated the harm these theories stand to enact, and makes them far less easy to laugh off.

As far as works responding to or including elements of our current reality, Ian’s use of Zoom is perhaps one of the most hopeful. This may also be a standout for how it combines both the Zoom revolution with the Racial Equity revolution, and may be one of the most effective ways I’ve seen the Zoom framework employed. Add to that, the editing is impeccably timed, and I left the video with a healthy list of performers to whom I was newly introduced.

Coco’s Feel-Good Oppression

Eliquorice’s video essay on Coco was my gateway drug to the rest of his works. His analysis of the film’s depiction of immigration within the narrative is poignant, but his comparisons between the failings of the immigration system in Disney’s magical realm to the failings of the system in our reality make a compelling case for how political ideology is communicated in family films. The inclusion of his own experiences with the immigration system come at just the right moment, thereby narrativising his analysis, while giving a human face to an issue often overshadowed by the enormity of the system.

The Satirical Resurgence of Reefer Madness

Yhara’s recent video essay on Reefer Madness delves into the historical context that lead to the film, its reception upon release, and its place in the canon of midnight features. Her candour, humour, and personality transcend what could have been a simple history lesson into an engaging conversation about the mutability of everything from social attitudes about cannabis to the constantly shifting legacy of a specific film alongside those attitudes. It’s Yhara’s deft balance of humour and context that reveals to her audience the absurdity that is racial stereotyping and discrimination.

Film scholar, video essayist, animation artist

When was the last time I found myself enjoying a supercut for almost seven minutes? Conforme has a relentless urgency thanks in large part to the driving score by Vaude herself. For me, it captures that contradictory state of frantic stasis that was and is 2020.

Johannes Binotto keeps exploring the possibilities of the video essay in all kinds of directions sidestepping technological wizardry by relying on household items. In Trace he creates tactile sensations from a single film still on a tablet. Seeing it again now, I wonder if it was about that one question all along: what does physical contact feel like?

With her well paced self-reflective long form essays, Chloé Galibert-Laîné has more than once managed to entice me into agreeing then disagreeing with her narration before finally realising that I had been too immersed to “pay attention to that woman behind the curtain”, so to speak.

With his entry in the Once Upon a Screen collection, Kevin B. Lee confirms that he is an incredible storyteller. Explosive Paradox looks deceivingly simple, but works on so many levels. Most importantly, I found it a deeply moving experience.

Black Lives Matter Video Essay Playlist

Curated by Cydnii Wilde Harris. Kevin B. Lee and Will DiGravio

As our field becomes ever wider, curated lists have become crucial to make sure that notable video essays and voices do not go unnoticed. Among them, the Black Lives Matter Video Essay Playlist is an essential contribution, has a clear-cut profile and is co-organised by three widely connected practitioners.

Nehemiah Jordan

Creator of Behind the Curtain , an online community of screenwriters

The Social Network – Ten Years Later

The Royal Ocean Film Society

The reason why I chose this was primarily its experimental form. Using the topic of Facebook and social media, Andrew Saladino (creator) builds the entire video essay off of the Facebook feed – scrolling from clip to graphic to clip. Something to watch for its inventiveness.

Brave was a Disappointment

This video does a great job of walking through the origins of making this film, breaking down how it’s structured, and finally, how it could’ve been rewritten to be stronger. A long video, but extremely entertaining and well-organised.

The Psycho Chord – Consonance vs Dissonance

Listening In

This channel takes a deep look into an unexplored section of filmmaking: the sound. Specifically, the music and how it’s an integral part of the storytelling. Also, the production quality of these videos are incredibly high.

How Martin Scorsese Integrates The Shadow: A Jungian Practice

Jillian Snead (Jilloms)

A deep but practical analysis of the Shadow, using examples from Martin Scorsese’s filmography to explore how it’s been utilised in different characters. What’s so great here is that she translates all of the analysis into practical application for ourselves. How does one begin integrating their own Shadow into their lives? This video gives you the steps.

Christian Keathley

Professor of Film & Media Culture, Middlebury College; Founding co-editor of [in]Transition

Santa y Teresa

Michelle Farrell

Tarkovsky’s Napes

Pavel Tavares

Miklós Kiss

Associate Prof. in Audiovisual Arts and Cognition at University of Groningen, NL /co-author of Film Studies in Motion: From Audiovisual Essay to Academic Research Video

One of the best audiovisual research essays of the year, through its presented information (a rich exploration of the first decade of film stabiliser technologies and techniques) and quality of presentation (technical skill, soundtrack, use of split-screen, etc.).

All Is Not Lost

Amy Rachlin

The video that managed to squeeze all the suspense of living in isolation during a pandemic AND one of the most goose-bumpy scenes of my favourite TV series into less than four minutes. Bonus: it’s also funny.

Davide Rapp and Andrea Dal Martello

Famous film scenes appear in TikToks, Skype calls, distance learning and online conferences. Another COVID -19 cinephile fun.

If you want to watch only one video about GIF s, it should be this one. [insert Robert Redford as Jeremiah Johnson nodding meme.]

Repeating Terror: Contemplating Death in Amat Escalante’s Heli (2013)

Niamh Thornton

A calm but powerful side-by-side reflection on the ethics of the slow depiction of hyper-realist violence in Amat Escalante’s 2013 Heli, using repetition and variation of the ‘same’ scene. A brilliant demonstration of the potentiality of videographic criticism.

“Parasites move from animal to human. Are we the parasites or the hosts?” An eerily prophetic video ‘on contamination’ (a response to Janis Rafa’s KALA AZAR ), made for the Critics’ Choice panel of the 2020 International Film Festival Rotterdam – thus released just weeks before the COVID -19 virus turned into a pandemic.

Contagion – Willy and Rutty

Luca Gentile, Sasha Quinlan Narciso, Romy Weggeman, Sam Klement

A naughty little video made by my Videographic Criticism students at the University of Groningen, mixing Soderbergh’s Contagion with the TV speeches of the Dutch king and prime minister during the first wave of COVID -19. It’s in Dutch, but you’ll get the point without understanding the language.

Jaap Kooijman

Associate Professor Media Studies, University of Amsterdam

Explosive Paradox undoubtedly is one of the most personal and moving audiovisual essays that I have after watched, and at the same time presents a convincing criticism of the way Hollywood glorifies violence, not only in films themselves, but also in the way these films are celebrated by film critics and Academy Awards. The essay contrasts the mundaneness of the cinema-turned-liquor-store where Lee first saw the film, back in the 1980s, and the seriousness of the trauma he experienced when confronted with this racially motivated violence. A wonderful piece of videographic criticism and art.

Mastering Dialogue: American Crime

Andreas Halskov and Previously on Perry Mason

Henrik Højer

I select these two audiovisual essays together, because they are the first two of a new series by the Danish 16:9 film journal which is based on a very specific parameter, a constraint in length. The audiovisual essays are 169 seconds (thus 2:49 minutes) long and described by the journal as ‘condensed audiovisual breakdowns’. Both take a US American television series as case study. The constraint in length forces the authors to focus on one specific element and to come straight to the point. Viewers are reminded of the short length as the seconds literally tick away.

Although I find the arguments of both audiovisual essays on, respectively, American Crime and Perry Mason, compelling and convincing, I am most fascinated by their shared form and how a relatively arbitrary constraint in length succeeds in condensing academic arguments about US American television into very seductive bites of television studies knowledge.

Days of Linda

One does not have to be familiar with Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978) to make sense of Days of Linda, a tribute to the actress Linda Manz, whose first film role was playing Linda. The audiovisual essay highlights Manz’s ‘central authorial contributions’ by combining Manz’s voiceover with footage from the film presented in split screen, with shots of a non-speaking Linda on the left and other scenes (some including Linda) on the right. In this way, character Linda does not only get a voice through actress Linda, but her original marginalised and silenced role is emphasised as well.

Adjunct lecturer and video essayist, Northwestern University

This year I was so short on time that I missed out on seeing a lot of videographic work, so even more than in other years, my suggestions are highly subjective. I picked three videos whose originality and/or currentness caught my attention this year.

Katie Bird’s video essay on early stabilisation technologies is a marvellously executed demonstration of videographic scholarship’s ability to simultaneously communicate historical film scholarship and evoke aesthetic, phenomenological experiences. Reflecting upon an under-researched, complex topic in a very accessible (and fun!) way, it’s also a perfect video essay to show in film classes.

Who Ever Heard…?

Matthew Thomas Payne

Payne’s short and playful videographic engagement with a single scene from John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance spoke to me because of its marvellous use of rhythm, repetition, and sonic layering. As a sound scholar, I often ponder on the possibilities and limitations of videographic methods to investigate and/or express one’s ideas via sound. Payne’s video certainly does both.

Before the End

Before the End is an interesting case in terms of its circulation and 2020-ness (rather than conceptual or formal novelty). It’s a very simple, short video that uses the basic principles of editing and the Kuleshov effect to join excerpts from separate zoom interviews with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy (without the audio) to suggest a narrative sequel to the Before film series. Stone’s video went viral, eventually reaching way more viewers than the original interviews had. It speaks to various intersecting technological, narrative, and communicative desires of this particular moment.

Video essayist

What Do I Want?

This video makes great use of the looping format of social media video and, originating from TikTok, an exciting addition to the ever-monstrously-expanding field of video essay.

For All Mankind: Is The Moon Landing Cinema?

Kyle Kallgren

I mean, if your video essay doesn’t have lego recreations of your subject matter… what are you even doing here? Get out of my house!

Sorry to Bother You – You can’t just tame people

Curio (Eric Sophia and Natalie)

Curio has made so many amazingly ambitious essays this year, but I especially liked this more low key video on white supremacy and capitalism in Sorry To Bother You which people may have missed amidst the excellent creative flair of their higher profile videos.

I’m sure this will be on many lists this year, but Kevin continues to be the most inventive, versatile video essayist out there and… come on… I couldn’t NOT mention this video (as well as the Once Upon a Screen project in general).

We Are Here Because of Those That Are Not

Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley

I’m maybe stretching the definition of video essay more than I ever have but if there isn’t at least one pick on a list that makes you think “come on now, this is just taking the piss” then is it even a Sight & Sound video essay poll list? This interactive archive of black trans experiences may be neither strictly video nor essay, but it’s one of the most important, creative and emotional things I saw this year. It’s got audio, it’s got visuals and it’s going on the list!

Filmmaker, Director of the first Masters program for Video Essays and Desktop Documentaries (at Merz Akademie)

Purple Sea and Shipwreck at the Threshold of Europe, Lesvos, Aegean Sea: 28 October 2015

Amel Alzakout and Khaled Abdulwahed, Forensic Architecture

These are separate works, but together they encompass the vast range of possibilities that video essays can have in using the same source material. Explanatory in the best sense, Forensic Architecture uses Alzakout’s footage as part of a potent account of a disastrous shipwreck. Alzakout takes her footage in the opposite direction, with a deep exploration into the thoughts and experiences the footage does not reveal. In doing so the film offers a strong rebuke to the instrumentalisation that dominates image discourse.

More about Purple Sea can be found here .

Originally a VR video essay performed live at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, this virtual exploration of the cinematic experience is all the more poignant in a year in which cinemas face an existential crisis and so much of daily life has migrated to a digital simulacrum of itself. Along with Zia Anger’s live online performances of My First Film, it points to exciting new directions for the video essay – interactive and in real time.

Various Creators with the Asian Film Archive (detailed info here )

I should acknowledge that I served as editorial consultant on this, but there is simply no precedent for this massive series of video essays on Asian cinema commissioned by the Asian Film Archive in Singapore, involving an impressive roster of filmmakers, moving image artists and scholars. They premiered last month at the Dharamshala International Film Festival and will circulate over the coming months. I am especially enamoured of Ghosts Like Us by Riar Rizaldi, Spirit Film by Raya Martin, and Irani Bag by Maryam Tafakory.

The most thoroughly and impressively researched academic video essay I’ve seen this year, bringing a heightened and expanded awareness of the physical labor that goes into a shot and how different approaches to technology and craft yield different effects of cinematic embodiment. A video essay that deepens one’s appreciation for the bodily experience of film viewing and filmmaking alike.

Also: Sonic Chronicle Post Sound by Cormac Donnelly.

An experiment in watching propaganda leads to a wholesale reassessment of the assumptions behind progressive documentary filmmaking. A brave self-critique of one’s longstanding practices and ideals in the face of an emerging set of sobering realities.

See also: Indy Vinyl, Interrupted by Ian Garwood.

Part of the Once Upon a Screen series of video essays on childhood film viewing-as-trauma, published on the Cine-Files Journal – this particular entry brings the topic out of the past tense with an exceptional liveness and presence. As my other selections would attest, questions of spectatorship and an expanded cultural and technological framework for understanding cinema are the foci for the video essays that I find most exciting right now. This desktop documentary engages all those themes brilliantly.

Real Talk: Is Breadtube Discussing Race ‘Right’?

Professor Flowers

Working on the Black Lives Matter Video Essay Playlist was among the most significant experiences of the year for me, and through it I learned about several fantastic video essayists working in academia, YouTube and social media. I found especially noteworthy this careful consideration of the performativity of progressive racial politics on YouTube.

Eric Sophia McAllister

Video essayist working on YouTube covering media and cultural analysis, with a particular political focus on queer and leftist topics

I have to get this pick up front because it is the single greatest piece of video essay/documentary content on YouTube, not just this year. Olson has raised the bar absurdly high with this moving, insightful, well-researched, funny, well-shot and ideologically devastating look into the worlds of internet conspiracy theory. This isn’t just a YouTube video about conspiracy theorists, it is a phenomenology. What is always impressive about Dan Olson is how well he structures information for maximum impact, and the “mid point twist” of this video hits like an atom bomb.

A Prison of Our Own Loneliness

Sarah Zedig (let’s talk about stuff.)

This piece subverts the oft-derided talking head form of the YouTube video essay by having Sarah sit staring into the camera NOT talking while her pre-recorded voice-over delivers this essay about the pandemic, loneliness, nations, world politics and media, culminating in a silent scream and then breakdown into tears that is simply one of the most moving things I have ever seen on the platform. By the end of watching this you definitely will feel the catharsis of letting everything out with a ‘good old cry’, but most likely because you will actually cry.

Tyr & Grem (Pamphleteer)

It’s best to acknowledge up front that this video is aping off the style of a video that I made, simply because I want to say that I see how self-serving it might appear to select it but I had to anyway, because this video is simply so so SO good. Tyr & Grem had a double realisation earlier this year when Tyr came out as a trans woman and Grem realised they were, and always had been, a lesbian. This video takes the form of a “Martian Poem” inspired by Alan Moore’s Watchmen and will knock your socks off.

The Ideology of Apocalypse

Jack has been at the top of his game as a media analysis and political commentary essayist for a while – from his ‘Copaganda’ trilogy about police movies to his evolving series on cartoon animals as race metaphor and all the inherent problems therein – but this masterwork taking a broad survey across apocalyptic fiction to study its cultural and ideological trends is the tippy top of the tippy top. Not to mention that in the year of our Lord 2020 the cultural question of how we perceive and process the apocalypse seems uncomfortably relevant.

Twitter and Empathy

In the world of liberal and progressive politics, the notion of ‘empathy’ is often invoked as a virtue, but this essay is really special for questioning what we actually mean when we talk about empathy. Big Joel knocks it out of the park by dissecting the way we evoke this concept and the revelation that it’s actually several different, intersecting and nebulous concepts being crammed under the one umbrella.

Oblivion &  Women

Lilly (mothcub)

Did you know feminism makes games more fun, not less? Lilly knows this. While her channel doesn’t usually engage in media analysis or produce video essays, this was still one of my favourite media analysis essays this year. Lilly takes us on a journey through a quest in Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion and how it seemingly for no reason at all pulls the rug out from under itself and makes the quest less fun, when the obvious answer to any feminist gamer chad would be to go the other way entirely.

The Beginner’s Guide: This Is Not For You

Grace’s essays are always stunningly good. Shockingly good. Upsettingly good. Their essays are sharp, funny, insightful, well researched and paced so well that at the end of a ten-minute What’s So Great About That video I feel like I’ve just watched an hour, but in the best possible way. To paraphrase my esteemed colleague in political commentary, Mr. Rubin, Grace’s videos put my brain in recovery mode from all the high-level important ideas. This particular essay takes a hard look at the cultural, social, and personal implications of interpretation and when and how we should and shouldn’t do it.

Critical writer and video essayist

Days Passed: Lee Kang-Sheng Through the Eyes of Tsai Ming-Liang

Michelle Cho

Once Upon a Screen: On Psycho and The Witches

Daniel mcilwraith.

Video essayist and video editor

Blissfully Between Binaries with Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Carlos natálio.

Film Teacher and Researcher at Católica University (O Porto); Film Programmer at IndieLisboa Film Festival; Film Critic at À pala de Walsh website

One of the reasons why Kevin B. Lee’s work is ground-breaking in video essays because his imagination is always one step ahead. He is constantly reminding us that working with the body of cinema is working with your memories and affections, and circumventing material limitations. Here, childhood cinema is projected on a shadowy wall of a former movie theatre, Platoon is remembered between leaves and trees’ reflections. Violence of the past, violence of the present. An essay about memory and the permanence of racism. Video essays are tools to reedit the present.

Forensickness is a real detective story. Chloé understands the whodunnit potential of the desktop film form and the intellectual investigation of a visual construction. She takes us by the end through her own investigation processes, while making us realise that there are only combinations, versions of the truth. We’ve passed the moment where critical theory intellectuals would point out the ‘spectacle’ in images. At the moment, the faking and ‘unfaking’ of images is a two-way business, intellectuals go along with pastors and internet police works share regards with so-called police experts.

Some Visual Thoughts About Perceptions in Rebecca

Ricardo Vieira Lisboa

Lisboa is a very ironic and shrewd video essayist. Here he is fooling around with Hitchcock’s Rebecca, using cinema’s toolbox of directors and works – Kiarostami’s Copie Conforme, Lang’s Secret Behind the Door, Godard’s Adieu au Language, Cláudia Varejão’s No Escuro do Cinema Descalço os Sapatos. The essay dismantles Rebecca’s work from the themes of signature, drop/marriage, sea/see, idealisation, signature appropriation. In Lisboa’s works always expect the unexpectable: a laugh or an unhappy emoticon, next to a brilliant capacity for film analysis.

In Memoriam

Lucía Alonso Santos

2020 is a year of confinement, although we are able to film inside our homes, inside our heads, and travel virtually. In this honest video essay, Lucía Santos is ‘verifying’ what she knew of Thailand through Apichatpong’s films using Google Street Views. Memories of something not happening as she anticipates Memoria by the Thai director. In what way do the images we have access to replace the cinematic experiences we might have?

L’Assassinat Kennedy au cinéma

Editing together various films and also archive footage, this video essay signals the assassination of John F. Kennedy 57 years ago. More than just documenting and representing the tragic event, Luc Lagier aims at expanding our perception by combining several other films that confuse, momentarily, our perception and feelings towards the event. Suspense without graphic violence is also at play here.

I have always had a fascination with the idea that directors’ works and films can sensually meet and clash through video essays. Which beautiful monsters can be brought to life via these experiments? Ian Magor does this by joining an iconic shot from Notorious by Alfred Hitchcock to Michael Snow’s classic avant-garde Wavelength. The result is disquieting and this tells us how video essays, despite their analytical potentialities, might also look like Dr. Frankenstein’s experiment laboratory.

Shadows of Our Forgotten Montages

Dianela Torres

From watching films other films are born. Giving a form to our cinephile gaze, a body of montage made with what I see and what I make of that seeing. In this beautiful, oneiric video essay, on Sergei Parajanov’s film Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors, Dianela states she aimed for “interpretation and dialectical appropriation of rhythmic and metric”, “emotions and the fluid time-space, music and colours”. Montage unto montage, organic appropriations, essay convey aesthetics and we are reminded of Marcus Aurelius’ words: “all things are implicated in one another.”

Daniela Persico

Programmer, Locarno Film Festival / founder, filmidee.it

A video about the investigation as a drive of contemporary man and a gesture of cinematic love.

The expressive elegance of making the art of editing perceived in Parajanov (and in particular in the film Shadows of our forgotten ancestors) as a process of bringing shadows back to life. Fantasmatic and inspiring.

Once Upon a Screen

A collection of gazes on the evocative theme of traumatic childhood encounters: different styles and perspectives that articulate a critical and cinephile discourse open to different interpretations.

Managing Editor at No Film School

Kevin lays bare something you don’t often see in film analysis: a personal account of how a film traumatises. He takes us to the theatre, now a BevMo!, where he first saw Platoon and tells the intensely intimate story of how the film affected him as a kid. It’s a direct emotional connection between the film analyst and the film he’s analysing: the site of traumatisation may have changed but the trauma itself remains.

This video is a shock to the system of film analysis.

How Movies Prepared Us For Coronavirus

Answer: Surprisingly, they pretty much didn’t.

We’re living in a disaster movie.

No, in My Room | A desktop documentary on the making of a video essay

Beyond the Frame

Video essays make me feel dumb. This one makes me feel like we’re all dumb. I love it so much.

David Lynch | Movies As Therapy

The Discarded Image

Clearly there’s a pattern to my selections this year, you guys. I’m very obviously a nervous and emotional wreck or something because I really gravitated to this video essay by The Discarded Image about how David Lynch uses filmmaking as his therapy.

Why The Red Shoes Looked So Stunning

If you want to know how colour can be used to tell a story, watch The Red Shoes. Boom. It’s an absolute masterclass and it’s beautiful and it almost convinced me that ballet was kinda cooler than basketball. This video essay is an excellent primer into the film’s aesthetic and narrative use of red.

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Film critic

In alphabetical order:

L’Année Dernière à Dachau

Mark Rappaport ( read synopsis )

A look at the emotional and historical complexity of our aesthetic preferences.

Her Socialist Smile

John Gianvito ( watch trailer )

It offers some things we may not have known about Helen Keller, socialism, and ourselves.

A House is Not a Home: Wright or Wrong

Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa ( watch trailer )

It offers a lyrical and personal look at the relations between architecture and familial dysfunction by examining Frank Loyd Wright’s Rosenbaum house in Alabama. It isn’t my film, but I was interview subject, consultant, and camera assistant on it.

The Social Dilemma

Jeff Orlowski ( stream on Netflix or watch trailer )

It examines the corruption of communications via marketing, demonstrating how capitalism isn’t a victimless crime.

Sportin’ Life

Abel Ferrara ( watch trailer )

Ferra accurately calls it a documentary on the act of making documentaries.

Women According to Men

Saeed Nouri ( watch trailer )

An archival look at Iranian gender relations.

Charlie Shackleton

Filmmaker and sometime film critic

How To with John Wilson

John Wilson (stream on HBO Max or watch trailer )

I can’t think of anything that gives me greater pleasure than lo-fi on a hi-budget, and nobody’s fi is loer than John Wilson, whose sublime new HBO (!) show captured the beauty of the mundane with an ethereal grace made only more poignant by Wilson’s trademark fumbled voiceover. I didn’t expect the field of video essay to produce a more unexpected mainstream crossover this year than Theo Anthony getting an ESPN special (the excellent Subject to Review) but here it was.

Those That, at a Distance, Resemble Another

Jessica Sarah Rinland ( watch trailer )

At one of the last social gatherings I attended before the pandemic, a friend told me that their favourite kind of film is one in which “nothing happens, many times”. That description stuck with me in Britain’s first national lockdown, as I rediscovered my taste for cinematic minimalism in newly streaming films like Ben Rivers’s Now, At Last! and – most memorably – this mesmerising study of archaeological restoration. As with all the best films where nothing happens, many times, Rinland’s work was a catalyst for a torrent of personal imaginative thought, and just when I was starting to feel incapable of it.

In a busy year for video essays on conspiratorial thinking (I also enjoyed Dan Olson’s In Search of a Flat Earth and Kirby Ferguson’s Constantly Wrong ), Chloé Galibert-Laîné’s characteristically probing and precise film was the only offering that seemed more concerned with asking questions than giving answers—surely a prerequisite of getting to grips with a cultural sphere increasingly dominated by conspiracy theories.

Leigh Singer

Film Journalist, programmer, video essayist

One of the saving graces of this awful year has been a greater involvement and engagement with student video work. The results across various courses and different countries has been a revelation – so much insight, originality and technical accomplishment. Though I advised on a couple of the videos below, the finished pieces are entirely the students’ own and I feel very fortunate to have watched the work take shape and then become so expertly realised. In the world of video essays, at least, the future looks bright.

Elizaveta Gushchynskaya

A brilliant, probing pop culture mash-up reflecting and refracting life under lockdown that doubles up as a superlative music video. It’s also the first video essay as part of a student course at the Polish-Japanese Institute of Technology, produced within five days, which makes the results even more extraordinary.

Ways of Looking: Playtime

Sergio Martínez Esqueda (password: Tati)

A dazzlingly original, present tense negotiation of Jacques Tati’s comic masterpiece that reveals so much about its multiple, often simultaneous visual delights and examines how different viewing experiences play a part in these discoveries. Another revelatory first time student video, made on the UK ’s National Film & TV School’s MA in Film Studies, Programming and Curation.

Mandy: The Film Concert

Too few video essays go into the audio textures of a film and its score. This one does a superbly effective, visually striking job at conveying complicated technical effects with great clarity. Yet another unbelievably accomplished student project, from the ever-impressive University of Warwick Film Studies department.

So simple, original, elegant, and strangely haunting.

Magnolia Zoomed

A terrific idea, beautifully executed, that resonates in a range of different ways in this most unsettling of years. Could be 2020’s video essay anthem.

Comedy and Tragedy in Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite

A video essayist whose growing sophistication and playful touch when examining serious issues gets better every year. Parasite is the video essay gift that keeps on giving, but this is up there with the best feeding off of Bong’s hits.

Let’s Repo! Repo Man’s Plate O’ Shrimp Logic

Miklos Kiss & Shant Bayramian

An inventive, pretzel-logicked (is that a word?), suitably anarchic blast from start to finish, a hit-and-run job that makes you want to (re-)watch the film it hijacks immediately.

Shannon Strucci

video essayist StrucciMovies

Street Cat Rescue: Lionel

Flatbush Cats

Every video by Flatbush Cats is its own touching, elegantly written and edited and edifying little story about a cat. Together they make up a channel that is both a tremendous educational resource and a series of charming vignettes about individual animals and their personalities. You know from the outset that Lionel’s video has an unhappy ending and that it will break your heart, but it’s worth watching anyway, and it’s a fantastic example of what makes this channel so unique and so worth celebrating.

Scout Tafoya

Video essayist, critic and filmmaker

There Are Not Thirty-Six Ways of Showing a Man Getting on a Horse

Nicolás Zukerfeld ( watch trailer )

The video essay casually makes it to the festival circuit. Hypnotic and funny.

last night i dreamt that somebody loved me , The Tale of Eurydice and a letter to adolescence

Haaniyah Angus

My new favourite filmmaker. She doesn’t make traditional video essays, so much as essays written in images. Heartbreakingly raw and emotionally open, even though she’s put barriers between her and her audience (footage from other movies), the connection between them is deeper for its distance. She reaches across mediums with a report on her melancholy, which becomes universal when painted with faces.

A Revolt Without Images (Una revuelta sin imágenes)

Pilar Monsell ( watch trailer )

What Makes a Movie Line Memorable?

Luís Azevedo & Mark Forsythe (Little White Lies)

Crystalline editing from Luis. Just soft as snow.

Milad Tangshir

Iranian filmmaker based in Italy

The Rising of the Moon

James Slaymaker

Surviving Memories

Alessandro Luchetti and Manuela Lazic

Irina Trocan

Lecturer in Film Studies, freelance film critic

Shipwreck at the Threshold of Europe, Lesvos, Aegean Sea: 28 October 2015

While there are many moving films trying to sway the audience into empathy with the perils of migration, few provide such a watertight demonstration: using footage and data from various sources, this video essay/installation follows the play-by-play of an avoidable tragedy. A visually coherent, meticulous and fact-based plea to put human lives ahead of national interests and structure competent institutions accordingly.

The crackdown before Trump’s photo op

Washington Post/Dalton Bennett, Sarah Cahlan, Aaron C. Davis & Joyce Sohyun Lee

Should We Still be Watching Gone with the Wind? Part 1 + Part 2

Cold Crash Pictures

YouTube-standard in form but amazingly communicative in content, this take on the racism of Gone with the Wind is the best chance for anyone on the internet to be heard by the other side. Serge’s imagined viewer is initially respectful of Southern legacy, the monumentality of the 1939 film, skeptical towards accusations of racism and historical inaccuracy. Approaching the film through various videographic means, he builds a case by tackling counterarguments one by one.

Clean with Me (After Dark)

Gabrielle Stemmer ( watch trailer )

A nightmarish vision of what lies behind the shiny surfaces of Cleaning Motivation YouTube, this desktop documentary is borderline-voyeuristic (most likely in tune with how YouTube is meant to be used) and heart-on-its-sleeve empathetic toward the socially isolated women broadcasting themselves (along with the daughters they raise to take on their role). Social media is performative, which is a surprise to no one except the performers themselves.

Repeating Terror in Amat Escalante’s Heli (2013)

Violence is always a tricky subject for videographic exploration – and this take on how the threat of bodily harm exudes from the screen outwards is guaranteed to make you uncomfortable, which is precisely the point.

Like Watching Paint Dry – Éric Rohmer’s My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend

Putting a cinephile spin on a famed diss of Rohmerian cinematic style, this video uses digital wizardry for emphasising individual blocks of colour in an ostensibly plotless film to show where the story really is located: it is to be found in the slow completion of the colour scheme, inspired by a Nicolas de Staël painting that fleetingly appears on a wall as if to confirm an inside-joke of a climax. Like watching paint dry, indeed.

Manual for a Disassembly of Cinema (A Machine for Viewing, episode 3)

A theoretical excursion from cinematic projection to VR interactive gear via North Korean mass gymnastics with a “broken human pixel”, it makes you think of how seeing is altered when mediated by man rather than machine.

David Verdeure

Creator, collector and curator of video essays under the nom de video Filmscalpel

Swings Don’t Swing

Leonhard Müllner

The visual regimes of video games balance between realism and absurdity, between aesthetic refinement and ethic crudeness. There’s a wealth of great video essays and machinima about games. YouTuber eurothug4000 fascinatingly focused on virtual photography within games . But I chose this piece by Leonhard Müllner which virtually visits children’s playgrounds in shooter games. Those playgrounds are used as innocent-looking backdrops to the violent mayhem. Müllner’s video uses the games’ mechanics against themselves to lay bare their visual cynicism. He enacts the revenge of innocence on gamified violence, not in the least through the elegant spatial arrangement of his piece.

I Can’t Stop Watching Contagion

Lockdown life boosted the output of some video essayists and made others sour on the form, but it left nobody indifferent. Several pieces poked fun at our Zoomified existence or lamented our Skyped interactions. Rob Stone fabricated a touching video call between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The fact that his Before the End went viral proves our need for comforting connections – even if they’re not our own.

Dan Olson watched Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion on repeat. The radical form of his confessional video essay visualises how a film can mark us and how it can serve as ‘emotional inoculation”.

Michigan Coronavirus Protestors Roots

The rhetorical strategies of the video essay can be applied to other subjects than film or television. In this US election year, I saw them being used for political purposes in a variety of ways. There were downright deceitful remixes (no, I won’t link one). There were revelatory side-by-side pieces . There were online experiments that made harrowing use of the absence of image and sound. But because politics (and 2020) can benefit from some levity, I chose a frivolous example for this poll. TikToker rebabeba used the desktop documentary format to get to the root of the problem .

Academic practitioners of the video essay served up some fascinating fare in 2020. It is especially great to see some practitioners confidently conduct formal experiments instead of sticking to tried and tested audiovisual strategies. Jill Walker Rettberg for instance enthusiastically embraced Snapchat technology in her video essay on the app’s biometrics .

Katie Bird’s video essay starts off conventionally with a mini-documentary on the early history of Steadicam and Panaglide. But her piece then builds on this historical research with a series of imaginative (and even speculative) visual experiments that make the most of the videographic form.

John Cleese + Anthony Braxton

Olivier Godin

Video essays and performance studies are a natural match. This piece for the Canadian website Zoom Out is another fine piece of evidence. Olivier Godin matches up the work of two performers: one an actor and the other a musician. Scenes from the legendary British sitcom Fawlty Towers are rescored using Anthony Braxton’s free-jazz composition For Alto. The music emphasises Cleese’s erratic physical comedy and brings out the unpredictable dynamism of his dialogue delivery. This counterintuitive combination prompts the viewer to consider Cleese’s dialogue delivery as a musical improvisation – one with the unpredictable energy of Braxton’s jazz.

Michael Witt

Professor of Cinema at the University of Roehampton, London

Characteristically sharp, inventive audiovisual film criticism from the great Mark Rappaport.

Illuminating audiovisual study of the history, uses and effects of the Steadicam and Panaglide.

Andrea Luka Zimmerman

Moving personal exploration of the terms of the film’s title.

Golden Gate

William Brown

Insightful audiovisual investigation of the cinematic representation of the Golden Gate Bridge from a post-humanist perspective.

Thought-provoking poetic study of the relationship between successive image recording technologies and what they capture and omit.

Against the Day

Succinct reflection on the role of light in Philippe Grandrieux’s Sombre (1998).

Further reading

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The use of video essays and podcasts to enhance creativity and critical thinking in engineering

Patricia caratozzolo.

1 Institute for the Future of Education, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico

2 School of Engineering and Sciences, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Santa Fe Campus. Av. Carlos Lazo 100, Mexico City, Mexico

Vianney Lara-Prieto

4 School of Engineering and Sciences, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey. Campus Av. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey, NL Mexico

Samira Hosseini

3 Writing Lab, Institute for the Future of Education, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Ave. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, Monterrey, NL Mexico

Jorge Membrillo-Hernández

5 School of Engineering and Sciences, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus. Av. Del Puente 222, Mexico City, Mexico

The current demands of the labor market demand a new compendium of skills from engineering graduates. To develop skills at a more complex level, this study analyzed the use of second-generation Video Essays and Podcasts to improve soft skills. The characteristics of students belonging to Generation Z as digital natives were considered and digital platforms were adapted for interaction in social networks to enhance critical thinking and creativity (Criticality). Active learning experiences in different engineering programs were analyzed using the 4-group Solomon methodology with a quantitative design and different assessment instruments were used for Pre-Tests and Post-Tests, including various fluency and originality tests, as well as answering articulation ability tests. and modified VALUE rubrics from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). Our results clearly suggest that the use of these two tools substantially improves understanding of scientific concepts in engineering subjects, a greater ability to develop increasingly in-demand skill sets, and a greater awareness of creative thinking competence.

Introduction

The study of the development of soft skills in engineering, especially critical thinking and creative thinking, has proven to be of special interest, first in relation to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and then, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis [ 1 , 2 ]. For almost two years, from March 2020 to the end of 2021, most Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) around the world struggled not only with teaching classes remotely but also with the incorporation of students belonging to the Generation Z, which strengthened the need for innovative approaches so that these skills are developed effectively and lastingly, considering the particular characteristics of Generation Z youth [ 3 , 4 ]. As part of the Education 4.0 theoretical framework, both employers and international accreditation agencies have focused on the development of these competencies and propose that they be formally included in engineering programs. Additionally, educational innovation strategies suggest including new cognitive and metacognitive tools to achieve the full development of soft skills in Generation Z engineers. Among the triggering factors of these proposals are: first, the strong consolidation of the communication in social networks, where private and public affairs converge indistinctly; and secondly, the exponential development of technological platforms, which mean a big difference in the way that Generation Z engineering students develop their cognitive skills, compared to the previous generation, the Millennials [ 3 , 4 ].

The development of resources -in social networks and information technologies- that was unleashed as an avalanche due to the COVID-19 pandemic in all areas of society, was incorporated in an uncontrolled way into HEI's educational environments, with the risk that it would not be possible to guarantee the effective intellectual engagement of students in their own learning process [ 5 ]. To correct these harmful effects, all kinds of classroom implementations emerged with the aim of increasing the motivation and commitment of university students, mainly in the first years, when the highest dropout rate is observed [ 6 ]. Some of the most interesting implementations were the gamification of courses, the incorporation of educational apps and videos, the use of mobile devices for communication, and the use of augmented reality and virtual reality programs. This phenomenon was especially noticeable in engineering courses due to the use of essential technological platforms in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs. This section does not attempt to summarize the entire scope of the literature, but rather to identify key themes related to creativity and critical thinking (criticality) in engineering and provide a narrative description of the gaps of the last four years (2019–2022) with the aim of understanding the design of the new learning approaches proposed in this study (use of Video and podcast):

2019. Chaikovska et al. (2019) recommended university teachers to integrate profession-based podcasts with students of technical universities to improve student communication skills, to provide participants with new vocabulary and to encourage the interaction with engineering community [ 7 ]. On the other hand, Hussein et al. (2019) analyzed the public perception and understanding of technological advances in engineering and finds that they are difficult to maintain. The study determined that the rate of dissemination of information is a limiting factor since public policies and practices handle outdated information with respect to cutting-edge technology. This study proposed that the STEM community participate in scientific education and communication practices appropriate for the new digital age through a podcast channel where findings on impact and best practices are shared [ 8 ]. Likewise, Sgambi et al. (2019) reported an active didactic experience -from its conception to its development in the classroom with the students- with three main steps: stimulation, practice, and discussion. The study highlighted the relevance of an active didactic experience to improve courses that are generally passively structured and argues that, in an era where the importance of cutting-edge technology is growing, this type of experience, with a low-tech approach, results very suitable to develop the creativity and criticality of the students [ 9 ]. Finally, the findings of a study by Miller et al . (2019) had important implications for engaging students in interdisciplinary applied research, including fostering critical and creative thinking skills and harnessing technology for the greater good social science by collaborating on the design of mobile device applications that improve the lived experiences of community [ 10 ].

2020. The work of Nissenson et al. (2020) detailed the creation and distribution of an audio podcast related to the engineering student experience with the purpose of helping current and future engineering students thrive in college and in their future careers through conversations and interviews with practicing engineers, engineering professors and engineering students [ 11 ]. In the same line, Becerra & Almendra (2020) measure the motivation levels of students in the statistical inference module of an engineering course. The data showed a high motivation with the use of podcasts as a means of instruction in the course [ 12 ]. Moreover, the goal of the Chiodo et al . (2020) was to make students reflect on the role of imagination in various contexts, including scientists and citizens, and to teach them how to strengthen creativity in order to improve the graduate competencies of an engineer [ 13 ]. Finally, the study by Wu et al. (2020) introduced project-based learning and SCAMPER teaching strategies in an engineering project course. This project involved students in experimental activities for two semesters, which allowed to analyze the differences between high and low creativity students in terms of cognition, personal motivation and personality traits [ 14 ].

2021. Torres-Gómez et al. (2021) demonstrated that improvements in teaching effectiveness are possible through a multi-sensory approach supported by the liberal arts. The methodological design included the development of artistic and literacy skills along with the fundamentals of specific technical topics, which were taught from a qualitative perspective. The project confirmed that this approach increased both the understanding and the evaluation of abstract concepts by stimulating the creativity and curiosity of the students [ 15 ]. Qamar et al. (2021) described a strategy to instill critical thinking skills in engineering graduates. Various critical thinking models were explored, and Paul and Elder's model was found to be more suitable for engineering as it provides a good foundation for the way engineers think and focuses on issues such as creativity, design development and professional and ethical issues. During this study, the instructional strategy (especially discussions and interactive sessions) was modified to include aspects of critical thinking [ 16 ]. In the same line, Zúñiga-Robles and Truyol (2021) aimed to investigate the benefits of using an innovation "Flipped Classroom + Podcast" in a geophysics course for engineering students. A descriptive research approach was used to determine if the use of podcasts had a positive impact on students' attitudes and if they were perceived as a useful tool in the construction of knowledge, discovering that students did indeed obtain greater motivation and engagement [ 17 ]. Aulia and Utami's (2021) assessed the students' e- learning knowledge to support the development of twenty-first century learning skills. Several indicators in the development of learning management were studied, including critical thinking, creativity, and communication skills. The results indicated that students' literacy skills can be improved to meet the learning requirements of the twenty-first century [ 16 ].

2022. Sudakova's (2022) analyzes the role of creativity in the formation of meta-competences of students and future engineers. She compares examples of successful pedagogical practices that use various forms of interaction between teachers and students in the learning process: discussion, business role-playing games, and video essay [ 18 ]. On the other hand, Schiele et al. (2022) proposes minor but important modifications in the design of traditional "World Café" experiences to be fully applicable as a method of academic data collection. Their results include a strong discussion of rigor and relevance in management research and therefore introduce the "research world café" as an academically rigorous data collection method [ 19 ]. In addition, Priyadharshini and Parveen (2022) offers the results of the application of a survey on the perceptions and the impact of the podcast on teaching–learning practices. The study focuses especially on the teaching–learning process and analyzes findings that suggest that the contents of podcasts are referred by students especially for the preparation and review of evaluations [ 20 ]. Very recently, Zainal et al . (2022) analyzes the current requirements to train competent graduates in oral and written communication, who stand out for their twenty-first century skills such as creativity, media and technological literacy. The study proposes that these competencies be comprehensively developed through instructional approaches such as project-based learning. The use of group work video essays in the classroom was examined during this project and was based on an assessment of student video essays and an open interview with students [ 21 ].

The review of the studies carried out in the last four years seems to indicate, the use of video and podcast technology is very important for the development of creativity, reliability, and critical thinking of engineering students, which will most likely lead to strengthening the intellectual commitment of Generation Z Engineering students. During this literature review, weaknesses, and gaps in the strategies for developing soft skills in engineering were detected, especially in studies related to the development of critical thinking and its correlations with creative thinking, since some works refer to the infusion of strategies in the classroom and others to the incorporation of more technological tools. The biggest gap detected was trying to develop soft skills through the traditional logical-scientific thinking modality for specific critical thinking skills that include inference, judgment, problem solving and identification of assumptions. The proposal of this study consists of an approach that intellectually engages engineering students and encourages the development of specific creative and critical thinking dispositions, instead of limiting the scope of the approach to separately strengthening creativity and criticality skills.

In the following section, the background related to four aspects of learning in higher education, specifically in engineering, will be presented: (i) the characteristics of Generation Z students; (ii) the dynamics of cognitive processes; (iii) the traditional model of creativity, and finally (iv) the traditional model of criticality.

Learning skills of generation Z students

Generation Z (Gen Z) is defined as people born between 1995 and 2010. Gen Z individuals were exposed to many digital technologies and developed different learning characteristics compared to the previous generation, the Millennials. Gen Z students make intensive use of digital technologies not only for formal learning, but also for informal training and for their interaction in social networks [ 22 ]. Gen Z students are highly skilled technology users who rely heavily on information from social media and the Internet, making their learning processes deeply dependent on all types of modern technologies: online platforms, social networks, digital chats, online games and -forced by the COVID-19 pandemic- they have received two years of online education, D-Learning.

Gen Z students are characterized by a special typology of "digitalized" consciousness and thought that had not been identified in Millennials, which is called clip thinking , which implies that their thought has a segmented consistency. The effectiveness of educational teaching strategies will be directly conditioned to this segmented nature, form and content that form the thought processes of students. In the environment of engineering education there is no unified interpretation of the concept of clip thinking , but it is possible to identify its main characteristics and distinctive properties [ 23 ]:

• Ability to perceive large flows of digital information, such as electronic, audio or video information
• Habit of consuming large amounts of fragmentary information from social networks without reflecting on whether it is fake or tendentious information
• Immediate perception of fragments of information dispersed in the flow, and subsequent interpretation of them as if it were a coherent speech
• Strong preference for high-speed visual perception of information at a superficial level, without awareness of deep content
• Predominance of concrete thought over abstract thought, with a preference for non-textual information
• Ability to flow naturally from a real environment to a virtual one and vice versa,
• Lack of development of reflective plans based on critical thinking, and weak ability to draw conclusions and consider consequences
• Difficulties in comprehensive analytical perception and logical understanding of phenomena and their relationships
• Minimalism of the lexical corpus and limitations of oral communication

The advancement of technology has contributed to the knowledge and skills gap between Gen Z students and their predecessors, the Millennials. For example, Gen Z individuals are, on the one hand, more pragmatic and aware of opportunities thanks to technology, while on the other hand they are more impatient and have a shorter attention span. The learning characteristics of Gen Z students are modeled according to their personality traits, as they are addicted to technology and speed, independent and individualistic, do not appreciate teamwork, and tend to be dissatisfied [ 24 ]. Teaching approaches aimed at Gen Z students must adapt to these personality traits since they have developed a flexible perspective and a preference for non-standard, non-routine and personalized activities that allow them to live innovative and creative experiences.

Gen Z students are immediate feedback oriented and need to access information quickly, so they expect the same real-world circumstances in the classroom. Most of the time, teachers have to deal with the fact that students become impatient if they don't receive immediate feedback and quick information that they are used to during their daily online life. Various studies suggest that the intensive use of the internet and the search for information on the digital network influence the brain activity of Gen Z individuals: the activity is generalized in certain determined areas while those neural pathways, which supported traditional mental functions, weaken and new connections suitable for clip thinking are formed [ 25 ]. This new "way of thinking" forces the brain to do intensive work that can impede deep thinking and learning. By prioritizing segmented thinking, the capacity for mental coordination and decision-making is lost. This circumstance could be reversed by promoting spaces for critical reading of academic texts, oral communication experiences among peers, and debates on technical issues in the classroom [ 26 , 27 ].

Cognitive process and creative thinking

Before choosing methods to evaluate creativity, it is important to be able to understand what the qualities that help students to express their creativity are, that is, those that unravel their cognitive process. It can be said that creative thinking includes divergent thinking, which is formed by three characteristics: Fluency (as the ability to generate many responses or ideas, including flexibility); Originality (as the ability to change form, modify information or shift between thinking modes); and Elaboration (as the ability to express an idea with multiple details). As shown in Fig.  1 , creative thinking not only is divergent thinking but also includes other traits of creative strengths, related to problems sensitivity and redefinition of skills such as transformation of thought, reinterpretation and ability to avoid cognitive fixation [ 28 ].

Creative thinking and divergent thinking. as it is shown, creative thinking is a broader concept than divergent thinking

Another way to conceptualize Creative Thinking is by considering five subscales: the three characteristics of divergent thinking ( Fluency  +  Originality  +  Elaboration ) and two Norm-referenced measures of creative potential ( Abstractness of titles  +  Resistance to premature closure ). When considering this different taxonomy, two concepts appear that will be very useful to understand how the cognitive process works and how to measure it: lateral and vertical thoughts. Lateral Thinking, also known as Innovative Thinking Factor, is represented by two characteristics: fluency (understood as the amount of relevant ideas) and originality (understood as the amount of statistically uncommon, unusual, unique ideas) [ 29 ]. Vertical thinking, also known as adaptive, is represented by two characteristics: (i) Elaboration, understood by the number of ideas that arise from others, combining them, adapting them and giving them “another twist” which shows a conviction to be creative; and (ii) Abstractness of titles (abstract articulation) which is the ability to carry out the reasoning process that involves synthesis and organization, as well as the ability to distinguish the essence of information and recognize what is important. The abstraction of thought implies "verbal intelligence", with which this characteristic is closely related to critical thinking. A schematic showing these concepts can be seen in Fig.  2 .

Schematic showing the relationship between different taxonomies for Creativity

The factors for a creative personality are represented by: Resistance to premature closure (it is the depth of intellectual curiosity and the level of open-mindedness), and thirteen other Creative Strengths, also known as Personality Traits. There is evidence in Torrance's original studies (1979, 1988 and 1994) that the thirteen subscales are good predictors of Creative Achievement, so it is valid to propose an instructional method for the development of creative thinking through the practice of experiences related to the exercise of only four personality traits shown in Fig.  3 : Storytelling Articulateness (verbally expressive), Humorous Ability, Richness of Imagery (passionate) and Colorfulness of Imagery (perceptive) [ 30 ].

Four traits of creative strengths considered in this study in addition to resistance to premature closure

In this study it was also taken into consideration that with a two-factor model, more significant results could be obtained than with a single-factor model; Thus, the Kirton Adaptor-Innovator (KAI) theory was also considered [ 31 ]. According to Kirton, people react to changes with attitudes that define them in two very different positions: Innovators, who prefer to create change by breaking paradigms; and the Adaptors, who prefer to create changes working within the existing paradigm. These two positions can be understood as two opposite ends; however, there is a whole continuum of approaches to creative problem solving known as Kirton’s continuum If the composition of any engineering group is analyzed, it is verified that students present differences in cognitive style according to normally distributed continuum, which ranges from strong adaptation on one end to strong innovation on the other, as is shown in Fig.  4 . This distribution refers only to the creative style and is independent of the level of creativity, therefore when measuring the correlation between the subclasses of creativity and the level of creative thinking, Kirton’ s theory must be considered.

Kirton’ s cognitive style and creativity factors, modified from [ 32 ]

Adaptors and innovators have different perception of problems and therefore different approaches to solution, with no appreciable differences in the level of creativity of students. Making a parallel between the KAI and the divergent-convergent process of Design Thinking Method , the innovators will stand out in the divergent stage and the adapters in the convergent. This highlights the usefulness of forming creative teams in a balanced way, taking advantage of the natural composition of groups with participants with cognitive styles from all states. All the elements of a creative team can and should be involved in the divergent-convergent processes, to be able to contribute their points of view, considering that their level of engagement at each stage will depend on factors such as the level of perseverance, motivation and satisfaction with the proposed solutions, and the level of Premature Closure [ 32 ]. Although the studies do not reveal differences in the creative potential of Gen Z students due to their KAI personality, there are implicit theories of creativity among university professors that lead to a misinterpretation of the evaluation of creative thinking, especially regarding STEM students. Many teachers misunderstand the creative potential of students due to the confusion produced by different personality traits related to creativity, since they relate the level of creativity to the cognitive style [ 33 ].

Traditional creativity model

Creative ideas arise from the synergy of many sources, and not only from the mind of an isolated person. Because students are part of a learning group, social interaction ability should be considered part of the creative process. Therefore, to strengthen the development of this individual skill, each student should be considered to be immersed in a Creative Model in the style proposed by Csikszentmihalyi [ 34 – 36 ]. This model states that a person's creative process cannot be analyzed as if the individual were isolated but should be considered in relation to the environment in which individuals operate, that is, Person interacts with Domain and Field . The Field is what we usually call culture, a series of rules or symbolic knowledge shared by a particular society; The Person is who exercises a creative process and who wants to create a new Field or change it to show their ideas and products; and the Domain is which includes those individuals who act as gatekeepers to give access to the Field . Its function is to decide whether an idea or product of a Person should be included in the Field . One of the most recent studies on creative thinking in engineering is that of Santos et al . [ 37 ] that proposes a methodology to introduce creativity and innovation techniques in the engineering process. The method uses a variety of creative techniques that are considered appropriate for the different stages of the process and draws inspiration from existing creative problem-solving methods and techniques.

Traditional criticality model

Critical thinking is the active, persistent and careful analysis of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in light of the fundamentals that support it and the conclusions from which it arises [ 38 ]. In this study, it was taken into consideration the theory of the relationship between critical thinking and the educational process presented by John Dewey in order to develop students' ability to think reflexively [ 39 ]. Currently, it is very difficult to counteract the natural tendency of people to generate incorrect thinking; what Francis Bacon called idols , which attract the mind to false paths. This model is made up of four elements: the Tribe , that encourages individuals to make mistakes whose roots are in human nature in general, for example with superstitions, fantasies and myths; the Market , that generates in individuals the erroneous methods that come from exchange and language, such as misunderstandings and prejudices; the Cavern , whose incitements to error have strictly individual causes, such as traumas and frustrations; and the Theater , that produces those errors that have their origin in fashion or the general opinion of society, generating trends and political positions [ 40 ]. One of the most recent studies on critical thinking in engineering is that of Giuliano et al . [ 41 ] that develops some ideas to strengthen the inclusion of humanistic knowledge in science education. The study includes a novel formal definition of the term "judgment" to illuminate the conceptual links between technical rationality and critical thinking in the context of the engineering profession.

Proposed approach: creativity in criticality

Different studies reinforce the idea of Vigotsky and Csikszentmihalyi about the influence of the social interaction on reflective thinking and the development of creative process [ 42 , 43 ]. Generation Z students have idols -Market, Theater, Tribe and Cavern- which are particular and different from those expressed by previous generations. For the practical application of the approach in the present study, some considerations were made regarding how the two models could be related: First, the Person is represented by the Cavern (is each engineering student); Secondly, the Tribe is represented by the Domain (are all the teachers, instructors, classmates, jury contests, publishers of scientific publications, synod and advisors); and finally, both the Market (the areas of cutting-edge knowledge such as virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, IoT, automated vehicles, etc.) and the Theater (current trends such as sustainability, climate change, energy efficiency, social networks, circular economy, transactional energy, etc.) are represented by the Field .

A systematic and theoretical analysis was carried out in this study, considering an extended approach between both systems, creativity and criticality, to find metacognitive tools that will improve the teaching-learning process considering the development of both soft skills in a joint and synergistic way. Figure  5 shows how both model systems can be considered together using the hypothetical relationship mentioned in the previous paragraph. The Idols model can be represented by a Reuleaux Triangle , which imposes its beliefs -it pushes out the three circles of Csikszentmihalyi's creativity model- interfering in the free creative flow.

Creativity and false idols represented with a Reuleaux Triangle of beliefs

A creative process is verified when a Person, using symbols and languages of the Market , and imposing her/himself to the fashions and trends of the Theater , manages to place a new idea or product in the Field -overcoming the traumas and frustrations of his own Cavern - with the approval of the Domain, which accepts it despite the superstitions and myths of the Tribe . Therefore, it is not enough to just unravel the internal mental process of the students, but it is necessary to analyze the process in the context of the classroom and the academy, to understand how creative thinking can be enriched and what possible reluctances are interspersed in their flow path. The innovative approach developed in our study allows to distinguish the Cognitive Process , internal to the Cavern; the FLOW path, going from the Domain to the Field (across the Person), and finally, the reluctances that any idea or new product must overcome to complete the creative process successfully. It can be verified that Idols Model does not represent impermeable barriers but strong reluctances to the free flow of ideas [ 28 , 44 , 45 ].

Jerome Bruner points out that there are two modalities of cognitive functioning of thought, and each of them offers characteristic ways of constructing reality and ordering experience [ 46 , 47 ]: The logical-scientific modality (critical thinking) tries to fulfill the ideal of a mathematical, formal system of description and explanation. It uses the categorization or conceptualization and the operations by which the categories are established, represented, idealized and related to each other in order to build a system. The artistic-narrative modality (creative thinking), on the other hand, looks for connections between two events and uses procedures to establish the likelihood, not the truth. The artistic-narrative modality deals with students’ ability to develop new technological products through conversion of the imaginative concepts into a dependable reality. Although shifting may occur in either direction, training for shifting from critical thinking to creative thinking has been unfairly suppressed in engineering programs mainly so as not to lose the rigor of the search for empirical truth. There is a false perception that engineers should use only the principles of criticality instead of creativity, however, emotions and aesthetics enrich the solutions provided to the problems since it is impossible to judge critically what is based solely on rational arguments [ 48 , 49 ].

Because Gen Z students are part of the learning group, Shifting Mode -the ability to shift between thinking modalities- should be considered part of the creative process. Our study considered the Stiffness of the Shifting Mode according to the magnitude of two cognitive biases: (i) Premature closure (as the cognitive bias that causes the student to not consider reasonable alternatives after an initial diagnosis of a problem is made); (ii) Cognitive fixation (as the cognitive bias that causes the student to evaluate the functionality of an object only in the way it is traditionally used). The development of higher levels of students' creative potential seems to require two catalysts to counteract these biases: (i) The continued exposure to diversified experiences that help weaken the restrictions (cognitive fixation) imposed by the Domain ; and (ii) the experience of challenging experiences that help strengthen the ability to persevere in the face of obstacles (Premature Closure) that Field represents.

The most innovative element of our approach is the introduction of the concept of metacognition as part of the theoretical framework of the learning process of Gen Z engineering students. Metacognition or thinking about thinking is a multidimensional set of general, rather than domain-specific skills. Metacognitive knowledge consists of cognitive learning strategies, which students can use to regulate the process of knowledge acquisition. Intellectual engagement does not occur automatically: successful engagement depends not only on the cognitive effort but also on the metacognitive processing, which in turn depends on the development stage of the student. Due to the fact that in the same classroom students with different levels of cognitive development coexist, we have considered two fundamental concepts derived of Vygotsky's work, Scaffolding and Zone of Proximal Development [ 50 ] .

A graphical way of understanding our novel approach is to imagine it as a three-dimensional space, a kind of multi-level tiered yard : in one direction are the stages of the Cognitive Process Dimension, which consists of the six levels of the Taxonomy of Bloom (Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate and Create) [ 51 ]; in the other direction are the stages of the Knowledge Dimension, which consists of the four levels of the Anderson & Krathwohl Taxonomy (Factual, Conceptual, Procedural and Metacognitive) [ 52 ]. Figure  6 (based on the graphical model presented in [ 53 ]) shows a possible interpretation of this tiered yard where it can be seen that joint progress in both dimensions means not only a cognitive effort (which means moving from moment 1 -in which the student masters the application of a concept- to moment 2 -in which the student is capable of critically analyzing that concept-) but also intellectual commitment (which means going from moment 2 -in which the student is able to critically analyze a concept- to moment 3 -in which the student can take a creative advantage of the previously acquired knowledge to analyze the procedure that brings together different concepts-). to be able to climb each terrace and reach the upper levels in both dimensions. The creativity approach in criticality implies the design of experiences that allow students to be able to climb each terrace and reach higher levels, advancing in both dimensions (with cognitive effort and intellectual commitment).

The multi-level tiered yard of the creativity in criticality approach

This model is opposed to the traditional approach of advancing only in the first three vectors of the dimension of knowledge (Factual-Conceptual-Procedural) towards the highest stages of Bloom's Taxonomy, which is known as domain specificity of subjects [ 54 ].

We consider that the two-dimensional approach to development is an adaptation of the learning process to the personality characteristics of Gen Z students. This adaptation should be based on recognized theories of cognitive (critical thinking) and metacognitive (creative thinking) processes. Therefore, for this study, we proposed the following research question (RQ):

RQ1: What are the learning experiences that develop in Gen Z students the ability to advance each vector in the stepped playground of their learning?

RQ2: What are the most appropriate learning techniques for Gen Z students to develop skills of both creativity and criticality in the subjects of the engineering program?

Methodology

Participants and procedure.

In addition to considering the possible bias that the cognitive style introduces in the evaluation of creative thinking, the significant influence of motivational processes should also be considered. On the one hand, the behavior of the groups is strongly modified by the situations of stress and health of the students, as well as by the environment generated by the teacher, the attitudes between peers, the conditions in which the tests and surveys are conducted, and the observations and rubrics that are used. Hence, the importance of conducting experiments with a methodological design appropriate to the social sciences. In the case of the present study, 4-group Solomon research design was chosen [ 55 , 56 ]. A total of 323 undergraduate students of engineering programs have voluntarily participated in our study: 173 students attended three “creativity in criticality” experiences each semester during three consecutive semesters, so that each student participated in a total of 9 experiences (Experimental group with and without Pre-Test), and 150 students remained untrained (Control group with and without Pre-Test). It is also very important that, in the experimental groups, regardless of whether they have Pre-Test or not, warm-up activities are carried out, designed as in the infusion-immersion mixed approach methodology, to increase the interventions and interactions of the divergent stage of the creative process. Participants who contributed to this study had an average age of 22 years at the time of the PostTest application, and were considered to belong to generation Z (born after January 1, 1995) [ 3 ]. The group criteria were:

Total Experimental Group: 173 students.

Experimental Group with PreTest and Treatment: 101 students.

Experimental Group without PreTest, only Treatment: 72 students.

Total Control Group: 150 students.

Control Group with PreTest: 72 students.

Control Group without PreTest: 78 students.

Instrumentation

Instruments for data collection in Pre-Test and Post-Test: Vocabulary tests, with different levels of complexity, some about general culture and others with specific lexicons of each subject. The lists were made from lists of the SAT Vocabulary [ 57 ] and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) [ 58 ]; Reading comprehension tests, designed to determine the level of cognitive maturity of students; modified version of the tests and rubrics presented by Paul & Elder [ 59 ][ 60 ]; and the AAC&U VALUE Rubrics, developed for the Association of American Colleges and Universities Essential Learning Outcomes [ 61 ]. Some definitions of the performance levels of the Capstone, Milestones, and Benchmark rubrics, adapted from the AAC&U VALUE Rubrics, are shown in Appendix A. The pretests were very important to know the level of cognitive maturity of the students. Therefore, Egan's taxonomy was used in this study to place students: mythical, romantic, philosophical or ironic level. It is important to emphasize that the PreTest did not have a diagnostic function in terms of the level of domain-specific knowledge. The PreTests were also used to find out the level of development that students have in: Creativity and seven other transversal skills and competencies of ABET graduation [ 62 ]: Teamwork, Self-knowledge, Transfer, Criticality, Knowledge of Cultural Frameworks, Broad Perspective and Taking Risks. The methodological procedure is shown in the scheme of Fig.  7 .

Methodological design

The procedure consisted of carrying out pre-tests on 101 students from the experimental group and 72 students from the control group. These tests were conducted during the first week of classes of each semester. During the semester, the Treatment experiences were carried out with the 173 students of the experimental group. Finally, the subsequent tests were carried out on the 323 students. In the Findings and results section, discussions about the statistical tests performed will be presented: comparison between the results of the Pre-Tests of the experimental and control groups; comparison between Pre-Tests and Post-Tests; and comparison between final grades of the subjects and evaluation of competencies.

Treatment : For the selection of the experiences that would be carried out with the students of the experimental group, those didactic activities that were endorsed and validated in the literature review were considered. For the design of experiences using Video Essays, the authors took into account the results and suggestions of the studies by Moser and Hlavacs [ 63 ], Anas et al. [ 64 ] and Zainal et al. [ 21 ] . For the design of experiences using Podcast, the authors considered the results and suggestions of the studies by Ketelle [ 65 ] and Hess et al. [ 66 ]. For the design of experiences using World Café, the authors considered the results and suggestions of Torres and Costa Neto [ 67 ] and Bisello et al. [ 68 ] . Various other activities ( on-line debates, discussions, argumentative panels, round tables and micro-workshops) were carried out to adapt to the particular social conditions of each group and to the circumstances derived from confinement by COVID-19 throughout the year 2020 and part of 2021 [ 69 , 70 ]. These activities provided opportunities for students to share their opinions and practice collaborative learning activities on the subject, with a student-centered approach. Scaffolding ZPD was incorporated with learning activities designed with the tiered yard.

Experimental design

All the "Creativity in Criticality" experiences included in this project were designed so that Gen Z students could holistically and comprehensively develop their creative thinking and critical thinking skills, efficiently taking advantage of their personality traits and characteristics of learning, which were discussed in the previous sections. At all stages of the treatment, their digital information management skills were stimulated, and they were encouraged not to passively wait for an explanation of the experience, but rather to actively participate in training their ability to understand, translate and encode symbolic information and to develop their own concepts and constructions through abstract reasoning. Some of the considerations that were discussed in detail with the instructors were related to the fact that the activities should be carried out with total concentration with the conscious objective of generating an active and collaborative learning environment, where the students were able to get involved in the learning process, being aware of the different levels of cognitive and motivational effort required in each session (according to what is explained in Fig.  6 . The students were promptly informed that the process was going to involve increasing efforts, in the sense that the activities they would gradually become more difficult. The students received weekly feedback to know their progress and collaborate in fulfilling that the easier activities would be mastered through repetition before practicing the more difficult ones (scaffolding and ZPD concepts).

Examples of experiences and activities

The activities were designed considering the actual cognitive stages of thinking of the students according to Kieran Egan’s theory [ 71 , 72 ], and incorporated analysis sessions. Specific metacognitive tools were considered to develop creative thinking and to enhance the capacity for analysis and combination of existing ideas and images through new disruptive and alternative solutions. Table ​ Table1 1 shows the different activities included in Treatment and the skills to develop in the processes.

Type of experiences included in Treatment

*See Appendix A

Dialogue Seminars [ 73 ]. The Dialogue Seminar was a safe space that allowed students to discuss ideas openly. The instructor provided a case example of a real conflict and the group discussed to reach a consensus, sharing opinions and different perspectives, and fostering the students' intellectual engagement with their own learning process. Figure  8 shows the photographs taken during different dialogue seminars with students, where metacognitive instruction strategies were used, and the concepts: Scaffolding and ZPD were used.

Dialogue seminars

Supervised Questioning Sessions [ 74 ] . The supervised question method was used to stimulate the recall of the knowledge acquired in previous sessions and improve the understanding of the concepts. The instructor planned the sessions sequentially, to get the most motivation from the students and prevent them from responding in a hasty way with a premature closure. When using the Creativity in Criticality approach, the method consisted of sessions of ten questions, three of them non-hierarchical, three questions belonging to the Cognitive Dimension of Bloom's Taxonomy, and four questions belonging to the Knowledge Dimension of Anderson's Taxonomy & Krathwohl, as shown in the design of the tiered yard of the Fig.  6 .

Challenge-based Experiences [ 75 ]. Challenge-based Experiences (CBL) is an active and experiential learning approach, which allows to develop a real-world perspective "by doing" on a subject of study. This approach offered an ideal learning framework for Gen Z students as it emulates real work experiences in industry and corporations. Figure  9 shows a field trip for a CBL experience in a 400 kV Substation.

Challenge-based Learning at a 400 kV Power substation

Podcasts and video essays recording (including script writing)

Students of the Experimental Group made second-generation Podcasts (Podcast with video) and Video Essays using both screencasts and audio recordings made in the campus radio station facilities and audio recordings made with the portable equipment. The topics developed with this technique included teach other classmates how to use specialized software, record their learnings on a particular topic that shows a step-by-step process, so that other classmates can learn the material at their own pace or catch up on missed sessions, and communicate opinions, facts and ideas on the topics seen in class, their applications, advantages, and current news in the sector of interest. Podcasts shows were recorded at the radio station facilities or using portable recording equipment to broadcast from the classroom and outdoors, as shown in Fig.  10 .

Podcast recording at the radio station and portable recording equipment

The video essay was an attractive tool due to its two main characteristics that make it more appreciated by Gen Z: first, its length, since most video essays do not last more than a few minutes; and second, the video essay is free form because the format and rhetorical strategies can differ enormously from one video essay to another. Another aspect that made video essay attractive to Gen Z engineering students was that there were no specific rules that authors must follow. From the point of view of the teaching–learning process in engineering, the video essays allowed students to be shown things that they could not have been shown in a traditional essay. Furthermore, as the scripts were written following a Serious-Storytelling technique, the images significantly enhanced the story being told: the images were allowed to "speak for themselves". The technological tool chosen for the present study was the recording of video essays and second-generation podcasts (Podcast with video), created from screencasts, with scripts prepared by the students themselves on topics selected from the official syllabus of each course [80]. Figure  11 shows a collection of frames from video essays.

Frame collection of video-essays

To answer the research question and validate the functionality of the Creativity in Criticality model, the following analyses were carried out:

• Analysis of the results of the Pre-Tests, for 101 students from the experimental group, and 72 students from the control group
• Analysis of the results of the Post-Tests, for the 323 students
• Analysis of the impact of the Treatment on the development of creative thinking and critical thinking for the 173 students of the experimental group
• Discussion on the first RQ: What are the learning experiences that develop in Gen Z students their ability to advance in each vector in the stepped playground of their learning?
• Discussion on the second RQ: What are the most appropriate learning techniques for Generation Z students to develop skills of both creativity and criticality in the subjects of the engineering program?
• Discussion on the results of the opinion survey answered by the students of the experimental group regarding the experiences of the treatment.

Pre-test analysis

The results of the diagnostic Pre-Test in both groups (101 students from the experimental group, and 72 students from the control group) were compared with the purpose of verifying that the students of both groups had similar initial conditions in terms of the level of development of the following competencies: Taking risks; Embracing Contradictions; Attentiveness towards different situations; self-awareness; and Broad Perspective View. The analysis of the results of the Pre-Tests did not reveal significant differences in their background of skills and competencies.

Regarding the Pre-Tests related to the lexical corpus of the students, the vocabulary tests consisted of proposing to the students the reading of short essays -high-quality lexical texts of less than 200 words- written by specialists. Two different types of tests were implemented to determine, respectively, whether the student could explain the meaning of the words (open response) and whether or not the student could distinguish the meaning of the word in a context. For more details on the design of language and written communication skills tests, see [ 76 ].

The study of the results of these previous tests suggests that the sporadic and fragmentary speech habits that Gen Z young people practice in social networks exert an intellectual disintegrative influence on language. Considering these results, we considered that it was particularly important to include, in the Treatment experiences, the exercise and practice of continuity and the ordering of meanings, which is what finally gives coherence to a discourse, whether oral or written.

Post-test analysis

The results of the Post-Test were compared in both groups (173 students from the experimental group and 150 students from the control group) to determine differences in the development of the competencies declared in the Appendix A rubric. Figure  12 shows the performance levels obtained by the control group (average of the 3 semesters of the project) and by the experimental group (in each of the 3 semesters of the project).

Post-test skills levels measured in semesters 1, 2 and 3

The comparison between the average performance of the control group in the three semesters and the performance of the experimental group in the first semester of the project shows similar levels of competence in the skills considered in Appendix A. However, the results obtained by the group experimental in semesters 2 and 3 suggest a significant development in all the skills and an outstanding strengthening in the skills of creativity and criticality. This result is validated with the opinion surveys on the very positive perception of the students of the experimental group towards the Treatment activities (especially those related to the Video essays and the Podcasts).

Post-Test comparison of the skills levels developed in the project revealed that experimental group showed a significantly greater improvement than control group. The Post-Tests using Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) rubrics showed that the experimental group attained 37% improvement in comparison with the students of the control group in the upper “Capstone” level and a 25% decrement in the number of students who remained at the lowest “Benchmark” level of the rubric. In the Milestone 3-level the experimental group attained 65% improvement in comparison with the students of the control group, and in the Milestone 2-level the experimental group attained 34% decrement in comparison with the students of the control group. These results are shown in Table ​ Table2 2 .

AAC&U Rubrics distribution for experimental and control groups

A very interesting analysis of the Post-Test results is that of the behavior of the performance distributions in both groups of students, experimental and control. As shown in Fig.  13 , it was observed that the shapes of the Gaussian bells had an asymmetry to the right in the case of the experimental group and a bias to the left in the case of the control group. On the one hand, the left-skewed distribution of the experimental group shows a long tail in the positive direction indicating that most students achieved high performance on the AAC&U rubrics and are in the "Capstone" and "Milestone 3-level" cohorts. On the other hand, the right-skewed distribution of the control group has a long tail to the left, skewed negatively, indicating that most students performed poorly on the AAC&U rubrics and are in the "Milestone 2-level" and "Benchmark" cohorts.

AAC&U distributions of the post-test results

Treatment impact analysis

With the purpose of evaluating the impact of the different experiences of the Treatment, independent analyzes of each of the competencies investigated were carried out. The treatment impact graph, which can be seen in Fig.  14 , suggests high motivation with the use of video essays and podcasts as a means of instruction in the course, in all the competencies evaluated. Regarding the main objective of this work, which was to measure the effectiveness of the use of technological tools for the creation of Video Essays and Podcasts as a treatment for the Creativity in Criticality approach, the following results were obtained:

• Regarding the strengthening of creativity and criticality skills, the results agree with those obtained in the works investigated in the literature review, specifically those of Chaikovska et al . [ 9 ], Hussein et al . [ 10 ], Nissenson et al . [ 14 ], and Becerra & Almendra [ 13 ], regarding the advantages of training in communication practices and scientific education with tools of the new digital age through podcast channels. Additionally, the data suggests a high motivation with the use of podcasts as a means of instruction in the course.
• Regarding the efficacy in the use of active and experiential learning techniques related to Challenge-Based Learning, the results showed agreement with the studies by Sgambi et al . [ 7 ] and Miller et al . [ 8 ], regarding the relevance of interdisciplinary active experiences for Gen Z students to have greater achievements with the “Taking Risks” skill, enhanced metacognitive awareness and personal motivation, appropriate to their personality traits.
• Regarding the relevance of training with Supervised Questioning Sessions, the results showed a greater understanding of abstract concepts and the development of greater motivation to make cognitive efforts. These results agreed with those obtained by Wu et al . [ 12 ] and Qamar et al . [ 17 ] related to the strengthening of students in their development of the competence of "Embracing Contradictions" to overcome cognitive biases related to Cognitive Fixation and Premature Closure .

Treatment Impact (in each skills level developed)

Treatment Impact (in general)

Discussion on the first RQ

Regarding which were the learning experiences that best developed in Gen Z students their ability to advance in each vector of the "Creativity in Criticality" taxonomy, the results suggest that the experiences of creating Video Essays and Podcasts (especially those that include video) achieved not only a greater strengthening of skills but also a very good acceptance by Gen Z students. Approximately 76% of students reported perceiving less cognitive effort when acquiring higher-order skills (equivalent to step 1–2 in the tiered yard of Fig.  6 ) in semesters 2 and 3. Almost 72% of the students reported perceiving greater commitment and motivation when acquiring metacognitive skills (equivalent to step 2–3 in the tiered yard of Fig.  6 ). Figure  6 ) in semesters 2 and 3. These findings suggest the efficacy in the Treatment and greatly exceeds those reported in the studies by Anas et al . [ 64 ], Persada et al. [ 22 ] and Magano et al . [ 24 ].

Discussion on the second RQ

Responding to the question of what were the most appropriate learning techniques for Gen Z students to develop skills of both creativity and criticality in the subjects of the engineering program, the results mentioned regarding Fig.  14 suggest that the activities of active, collaborative and experiential learning had a great impact on the learning process of the students of the experimental group, who achieved -in 3 semesters- up to 44% strengthening in the case of criticality and up to 31% strengthening in the case of case of creativity. These results confirm studies published by the authors in 2021 [ 27 , 53 ] and are consistent with the results obtained in recent studies from 2022, such as those by Hiğde and Aktamış [ 33 ] and Giuliano et al . [ 41 ].

Students’ opinion survey

The study on the opinions of the students at the end of the project showed a good acceptance towards the type of approach in general (with positive opinions in 77% of those surveyed), and a very good acceptance for three of the activities: Podcasts (81% of the participants); Video Essays (79% of respondents) and World Café (76% of respondents). This last result suggests the perception of benefit, in terms of improving oral and written communication, media literacy and broad perspectives, which students seek as job skills.

Qualitative opinion survey, interviews and focus groups that were carried out to interpret students' feelings of online dialogue seminars during the COVID-19 lockdown showed that learning during the pandemic raised many concerns about future adaptations of online learning, especially related to the widespread disappointment of students in their learning effectiveness experiences when the seminars were conducted online. The results were consistent with those obtained in other studies conducted by Park in 2020 [ 69 ] and Piyatamrong in 2021 [ 70 ].

Conclusions

One of the areas of opportunity in engineering education is the development of job skills that make students more competitive. Here we study the role that two tools, video, and podcasts, can have in the development of competencies following a systematic and quantitative study. The results show that for generation Z they can constitute a very important didactic strategy for the development of graduation competencies. The significant increase in communication skills, linguistics, as well as cognitive and emotional empathy was evident. The results show that the inclusion of these reflection spaces within the rigid scientific space of the engineering classroom allowed students to arouse their curiosity and the formation of an opinion. The main conclusion that can be drawn is that the Approach to Creativity and critical thinking (Criticality) is an effective cognitive tool to acquire creative thinking and foster the specific temperament dispositions required by Generation Z engineering students. More studies are necessary to study the role of these tools in other engineering environments, however, this study establishes a solid direction to help develop skills using podcasts and videos.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial and the technical support of Writing Lab, Institute for the Future of Education, Tecnologico de Monterrey, in the production of this work. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Novus Grant with PEP no. PHHT085-21ZZNV016, Tecnologico de Monterrey, in the production of this work.

Example of the Rubric used as PostTest to evaluate skill development. ( This rubric was created using the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) VALUE Rubrics) [ 78 ] .

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The best video essays of 2023

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Share All sharing options for: The best video essays of 2023

Looking at the year’s notable video essays, many grapple with issues at the heart of contemporary media itself. There are dissections of video-playing tools, exposés of how corporations restrict access, contrasts between tropes and reality, and thorough investigations of trends in plagiarism and/or fabrication. As the essay landscape refines, it seems to peer inward as much as out.

On the making of this list: I’ve been trying to stay up to date on video essays for a while, and have been contributing to lists and/or voting in polls about the best videos made each year since 2018. Over this time, doing these kinds of roundups has gotten exponentially more difficult. As YouTube has grown to become a mega-business hosting powerful creators (part of the general trend of social media video sites becoming the new primary forum for cultural influence), I’ve seen essayists I once thought of as niche accrue follower counts in the millions. It’s been surreal. For this year’s list, I tried to shake things up by keeping the essayists who have appeared in previous editions to a minimum, along with the usual considerations about incorporating a diversity of creator backgrounds and video style. Once again, the videos are presented simply in order of publishing date.

[Also, I’m going to preface this with a mega mea culpa: It was absolute malpractice of me to not include Platformer Toolkit by Game Maker’s Toolkit in the best video essays of 2022 list . I don’t have a good excuse, either; I just straight up missed the essay at the time it came out, and then overlooked it during my catch-up phase at the end of the year. But an essay about game design that instructs you on its ideas by letting you actively engage with them through interactivity feels like a breakthrough in the form.]

Practices of Viewing by Johannes Binotto

Johannes Binotto is a Swiss researcher and lecturer who has been adding to his “Practices of Viewing” series for several years now, and every installment preceding 2023’s videos, “Ending” and “Description,” is well worth checking out. With each essay, Binotto examines a specific element of the media viewing interface, and how they affect an audience’s engagement with it. Some subjects, like fast-forwarding, pausing, or muting, may seem like obvious touchstones, while others, like sleep, are more out-there approaches to the conversation.

A History of the World According to Getty Images by Richard Misek

This technically debuted last year, making the rounds at film festivals, but it was made available online this past spring, so I’m including it here. A History of the World According to Getty Images is a great example of a work embedding its own ethos into its construction. Misek, another academic, is scrutinizing how for-profit companies (specifically Getty Images) mediate information that’s supposed to be available for all. In practice, a great deal of visual material that’s technically in the public domain can only be accessed in decent quality by paying an archive like Getty. Misek circumvents this by paying the fee to use select footage in this essay and then making this essay itself available for anyone to cite and clip from, putting that footage out into the world for real.

The Faces of Black Conservatism by F.D Signifier

I feel that video essays that consist mainly of the creator talking directly into a camera stretch the definition of the term – to me, the best cinematic and argumentative potential of the form lies in the power of editing. F.D Signifier’s contrast between fictional depictions of Black conservatives and the reality of how they appear across media exemplifies is what sets him apart in this genre: not just the depth of his thought (though it is considerable), but also the playful ways in which he presents the objects of his discussion. The running gag here in which he films himself holding hairstyling tools over the heads of various people on his screen had me laughing harder with each appearance.

Games That Don’t Fake the Space by Jacob Geller/Why We Can’t Stop Mapping Elden Ring by Ren or Raven

I don’t actually think this is the best essay Jacob Geller released this year (that would be either “Games that Aren’t Games” or “How Can We Bear to Throw Anything Away?” ), but it pairs so incredibly well with Renata Price’s essay (an impressive video debut building on her experience as a games critic) that it felt more appropriate to present them as a double feature. Both videos are sharp examinations of the ways that video games conjure physical space. Geller illuminates the shortcuts and tricks games often employ through examples of ones that, as the title suggests, don’t use such devices, while Price analyzes the impulses beneath what one could call the “cartographic instinct” in open-world games.

Why Do Brands Keep Doing These Crazy Influencer Trips?? by Mina Le

It’s been encouraging in recent years to see Le grow more confident in her mixing of media in her videos on fashion and film/television. You might remember the controversy around Shein granting influencers a limited hangout in a clothing factory this past summer. Le contextualizes this story by delving into the wider, supremely odd world of sponsored tours. If you watch this on your phone, the transitions between Le speaking to the camera and the clips of TikToks and other videos and photos flow together in a manner not unlike how one would scroll a social media feed, creating queasy resonance between message and medium.

Feeling Cynical About Barbie by Broey Deschanel / The Plastic Feminism of Barbie by Verilybitchie

I present these two videos not as a contrarian attack on Barbie (a film I enjoyed), but to highlight the important role of considered critical voices that dissent against prevailing opinions. Both Maia Wyman and Verity Ritchie unpack the issues with a heavily corporate product attempting to capitalize on feminist sentiment. Ritchie emphasizes the history of Barbie the brand and how the movie fits into it, while Wyman reads more into the specifics of the film’s plot. Together these videos do a good job of elaborating on legendary critic Amy Taubin’s Barbie reaction : “It’s about a fucking doll !’”

TikTok Gave Me Autism: The Politics of Self Diagnosis by Alexander Avila

There’s a lot of social media discourse over who can and can’t — and should or shouldn’t — claim the label of “autistic.” As someone who’s struggled with both the logistics and appropriateness of sussing out whether I’m on the spectrum, this video hit me hard. There are parts that feel like they veer so far into philosophical query that they threaten to obfuscate rather than elucidate the subject, but the essay as a whole is undeniably compelling. Avila’s own confessed stake in the question of self-diagnosis is itself affecting. This is the most searingly personal video on this list, uniting self-inquiry with rigorous research.

Chaste/Unchaste by Maryam Tafakory

This years shortest entry is a deceptively simple interrogation of the concept of “chastity” as defined by Iranian censorship standards. Takafory is a veteran of the academic essay scene, and I’m delighted by the opportunity to present her work to a wider audience. The video’s text is minimal, and its visuals are simply a montage of clips from Iranian films, but the implicit question of propriety grips the viewer with each cut.

Journey to Epcot Center: A Symphonic History by Defunctland

This is the most boundary-pushing essay on this year’s list. Completely lacking commentary, it instead emphasizes visuals and reenactment in telling the story of how Disney’s Epcot park went from concept to realization over the decades. Kevin Perjurer also provides a detailed set of notes that are meant to be read along with watching the video, further demanding one’s full attention. This is a direct acknowledgement of how we use the internet, the windowed experience of browsing and watching videos. I don’t think everything works; many of the reenactments, while impressively professional, feel somewhat redundant. But I’d prefer a creator take big swings that result in a few flaws rather than play it safe, and I hope both Perjurer and others continue in such an experimental vein.

Plagiarism and You(Tube) by Hbomberguy

Harry Brewis is popular enough that he doesn’t need any boost, but even in the very brief period since this video’s release as of the time of writing, Plagiarism and You(Tube) has made seismic impact on the YouTuber scene . Does it need to be almost four hours long? Maybe not. Yet the sheer volume of evidence it pulls together to support various accusations of plagiarism does seem vital. The main focus of the piece, James Somerton, went into lockdown over the fairly comprehensive evidence presented against him (and has since attempted to apologize ). I’m seeing conversations flourish around the endemic problem of plagiarism on the internet and what is to be done about it, and a surge of creators recognizing and calling out others who have taken their work without credit. There’s a deeper issue at play here, which is that the growth of YouTube entertainment has come with a truly daunting mountain of crap content that nonetheless attracts views (and thus dollars).

On the subject of low quality standards on YouTube, beyond plagiarism, Todd in the Shadows’ recent exhaustive effort to fact-check various false claims Somerton has made in his work is a useful supplement to this video.

Polygon’s Best of the Year 2023

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Video Show Versus Podcast: What's Right For Me?

August 28, 2020

• Episodic Content
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Lisa Marinelli

We think it’s more important than ever for brands to focus on building brand affinity , not just awareness, for long-term success. Some of today’s most prominent brands across B2B and B2C are already doing this by creating binge-worthy content like podcasts and video series. And if you’re all-in on brand affinity marketing and have been thinking about creating this type of content to grow your audience, you might be wondering which path you should take.

In this post, we break down the pros and cons of a video series versus the pros and cons of a podcast to help you make a decision that’ll support your brand. Keep reading to figure out what’s right for you!

Pros and cons of a video series

First, let’s talk about creating a video series for your business. Investing in a video series or long-form video content can be an incredible investment for your brand. In many cases, it becomes an evergreen piece of content your company can use and repurpose for many years. If we take a closer look, what are the pros and cons of this binge-worthy video strategy?

Build a stronger connection to your brand

Video is one of the best mediums for conveying your brand identity and values. Building a loyal audience won’t happen overnight —  audiences build affinity for brands over time . But, video can help you communicate your brand identity and values in a way that’ll resonate deeper with people. Human brains are also hardwired to recognize faces. By putting people in your videos , folks are more likely to understand and trust what your video is saying when they can see the human behind the voice.

With a video series or long-form piece of content, you have the creative freedom to control the story you’re trying to tell. From weaving in your visual branding to creative editing — you can instill anything about your company that you want people to walk away and remember.

Easier to repurpose video content into a podcast

Depending on the format of your video series or long-form content, you can repurpose your videos into a podcast much easier than you could repurpose your podcast into a video series. For example, if you have a robust video show, you already have audio files on hand. If it were the other way around, it would take a lot more production effort and resources to create video content to support audio-only assets.

One way to successfully use the repurposing approach is to offer a strategic and unique value elsewhere and your main video content. We did this at Wistia for our original video series, Brandwagon . We took the uncut interviews of our CEO, Chris Savage, and guests, and turned them into The Brandwagon Interviews Podcast .

Stand out against traditional marketing strategies

Capturing people’s attention in the digital advertising space is getting increasingly difficult and costly . Instead, investing in long-form video content can help your brand stand out among other businesses that are still relying on traditional marketing tactics to generate brand awareness. By offering content that provides value to a niche audience, you can create brand affinity, not just awareness, and resonate with the right folks who will gladly share your content with their networks and keep coming back for more.

“By offering content that provides value to a niche audience, you can create brand affinity, not just awareness, and resonate with the right folks who will gladly share your content with their networks and keep coming back for more.”

Generates more assets for marketing

In terms of marketing your video series, you’ll have tons of content you can pull clips from to pique your audience’s interest on their favorite social media platforms. The key to social media success is marketing like a media company. For example, media companies will create dozens of trailers spanning different lengths, formats, and styles to market new episodes. The trailers are optimized for the platforms they’re distributed on, with the primary call to action being “watch the full episode.”

Production and editing can be a heavy lift

If you don’t have an in-house video team already, production and editing tend to be a heavy lift. After all, video production is a new skill you’ll have to dedicate time to master. However, if you have the budget, you can hire experienced freelancers from marketplaces for film professionals such as Storyhunter , ProductionHUB , and Staff Me Up , or work with an external full-service video agency to help turn your ideas into a reality.

On the other hand, if your company is completely bought-in on producing episodic content as a long-term strategy, you might want to consider hiring a producer full-time or even start building a studio team of your own . We’re seeing B2B companies like MailChimp and ProfitWell re-investing their marketing budgets into building out studio teams that can produce engaging content to reach their niche audiences and grow their brand.

However, even with a small or solo video team, executing a video series is much harder than managing a podcast for your business.

Typically more expensive to execute

As we just mentioned, the decision to go down this path can require a considerable investment. You’ll need video gear, studio equipment, and a team to bring your show to life. Luckily, we know a few tips that can help you create a video series if you’re on a tighter budget!

Not everyone loves being on camera

Another issue with video arises when you’re sourcing talent or getting guests to come on your show. The truth is, not everyone loves to be in the spotlight! Finding enthusiastic employees to be in your videos is one way to go, but learning how to direct non-actors will be vital to make everyone feel more comfortable on camera.

When a guest outside of your company agrees to be in your video, you can help set them up for success by sending them a document ahead of time with any information they should know for the actual shoot day. Whether it’s pre-interview questions, outfit suggestions, or specific directions, extra information ahead of time will make them feel more confident about what to expect on set.

Being remote makes video super challenging

Shooting a series is also harder to execute in a remote world when you have people in multiple locations. To maintain the same production quality throughout your videos, you might have to ship folks the gear and equipment they need to record their parts. Remote directing is another new challenge you’ll need to consider to help coach your talent through their lines and capture solid takes.

Pros and cons of a podcast

Now, let’s talk about podcasting and weigh the pros and cons of going down this audio-only road for your business. Like video series, a podcast can also become an evergreen piece of content that could benefit your company long after producing it.

More comfortable than being on camera

For anyone familiar with the struggle of being camera shy, podcasts are a more appealing option and offer more leniency for slip-ups during conversations between co-hosts and guests. Reading off of a script still takes practice to sound natural and authentic, but compared to video, no one will be able to see your eyes moving away from the camera to read any lines. Plus, if you’re recording a podcast from the comfort of your own home, no one can see what you’re wearing — feel free to activate pajama-mode for maximum recording comfort!

Typically more affordable to execute

Even if you’re working with a shoestring budget, making a great podcast is still completely feasible. You don’t need the fanciest gear or software to get spun up — technology is so advanced today that talking into your iPhone while you’re in a quiet room will almost always produce decent audio. But, if you want to add a microphone to your toolkit, we have a gear review post that covers three affordable microphone setups .

With podcasting being more affordable to execute, it also allows for more experimentation and testing the waters. You can pilot multiple podcasts with different formats to find out what works best for your business before getting too deep into production.

Lighter lift for production and editing

In terms of production and post-production editing, don’t feel like you have to learn the ins and outs of a software program, either! There are plenty of talented freelance audio editors on sites like Fiverr and Upwork that can help you clean up the audio content. This approach is a convenient, low-risk way to test the waters when it comes to podcasting.

If you do want to tackle some basic editing, try GarageBand . We’d say it’s the most beginner-friendly audio-editing program, and there are tons of tutorials on YouTube that can help you out along the way. Plus, it comes preloaded on all Mac computers! If you don’t have a Mac, try Audacity .

After your podcast episode is ready to go, uploading your podcast for everyone to listen to is pretty simple. You’ll need to sign up for a podcast host where you can upload your .mp3 files and publish show notes with episode summaries, transcripts, and any other additional information. From there, you can submit your RSS Feed to podcast directories like iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more.

More convenient consumption

Podcasting also offers more opportunities for your audience to consume your content. With the ability to download a podcast and listen on the go, folks can easily listen on their commute, at the gym, or anywhere else. Podcasts also offer more privacy; you can listen without someone looking over your shoulder in the office or on the train to see what you’re watching. Additionally, podcasts don’t necessarily require someone’s full attention to take away important details, unlike watching an immersive video series or show.

Easier to execute remotely

If you have folks in different locations, executing a podcast is much easier than producing a video series. There are no visuals involved, so you don’t have to worry as much about remote directing or recording the perfect take.

Harder to repurpose into video content

As we previously mentioned, repurposing your podcast into a video will require more investment in production. Even if you created a video series to go along with your podcast, it’s important to remember that these mediums are not created equally. You should be offering unique value and perspective if you choose to use both.

Creative constraint with formats

Although there’s more room for testing the waters with podcasts, you’re also more limited in the format your show can take. There are more elements to video series that could engage your audience — the design of the set, interview locations, immersive brand visuals throughout the series, and more. But with podcasts, you don’t have these visuals and must rely heavily on storytelling, scripting, auditory branding, and host selection. Being able to hook your listeners will test your creativity within these constraints.

Accessibility

Due to podcasts’ audio-only nature, it’s harder to provide more accessibility for your audience. You should keep this in mind when you’re brainstorming show concepts.

Podcasts can be made more accessible through written transcripts, encoding your website with accessibility in mind, and making sure your media player is accessible. For more information on podcast accessibility, visit podcast-accessibility.com .

Discoverability can be a challenge

As of August 2020, there are over one million podcasts and almost 30 million podcast episodes . In such a crowded space, getting discovered presents a promotional challenge for marketing your podcast and getting the word out.

According to Makermag , there are no algorithms used in podcast apps, limiting the organic discovery opportunities. The only way to get organic traffic in a podcast app is from listeners using search in their app and for your podcast to show in the results. Your team will need a solid promotion plan to complement organic discoverability to really grow your podcast audience.

The case for binge-worthy content

No matter the medium, creating binge-worthy content in the form of podcasts, video series, or long-form content can help reach your audience in new ways and build your brand. Here are a few reasons why we think businesses should be investing in binge-worthy content as part of a brand affinity marketing strategy .

Binge-worthy content can improve time spent with your brand

A strong case for creating a show — either a video series or a podcast — is based on the way users choose to consume media. In this binge-watching era, users are embracing the trend of watching or listening to content for several hours straight when it’s worthwhile and engaging.

When you invest in creating long-form content that offers value and entertainment for a niche audience, the increase in time spent with your brand for one engaged individual is significant. There’s no comparison when you think about someone who willingly watches 10-minutes of a brand show versus someone who is forced to watch a 10-second video ad.

It’s the most scalable type of content

If your business creates an asset — whether it’s a video series, podcast, or docuseries — it lives on forever. You can scale your marketing assets just like media companies by creating a trailer to tease the release, extracting clips from the actual series to promote it, engaging people with behind-the-scenes footage, and so much more. This investment becomes an evergreen piece of content for your business that’ll support your brand indefinitely. And, you’ll be able to reuse and re-create marketing assets from your podcast or series far into the future.

“You can scale your marketing assets just like media companies by creating a trailer to tease the release, extracting clips from the actual series to promote it, engaging people with behind-the-scenes footage, and so much more.”

For example, when we released our four-part docu-series One, Ten, One Hundred , we created several unique marketing assets to get people excited and interested in watching. One year later, we re-marketed the series on social and posted behind-the-scenes footage to reach new audiences. As a result, we saw new people access this evergreen piece of content and spread the word to others that it’s worth watching, too.

What’s best for me?

With a better understanding of what truly goes into making a video series versus a podcast, figuring out what’s best for your business boils down to being honest with yourself about the amount of time, money, and resources you can dedicate to this type of content.

These are some questions you should ask yourself to scope out your project:

Do we have the time to really execute a show?

The time required to execute both a video show or a podcast will significantly depend on your chosen format. Is the show ongoing, or is it a one-time mini-series? Will there be multiple seasons with breaks in-between? Explore your options and really consider how much time your team will have to tackle every aspect of show planning, production, and editing.

What resources do we have on hand, and what else do we need?

What existing resources do you have on hand? Do you have existing video or audio gear that you can use to support your project, or will you need to rent or buy the equipment to get started? Will you be managing the project in-house, or are you outsourcing to an agency or contractor? What are the natural strengths of your team? Be realistic about what you have on-hand and what you’ll need for a successful launch.

What’s our budget?

What is the budget for your show? This number should include team time or external costs associated with planning, producing, and editing your show. While it’s certainly possible to create a great video series on a budget, in general, it’s more affordable to launch and maintain a podcast over time.

Do we already have a clear vision?

Many businesses struggle with coming up with creative ideas for a show or podcast. If you already have a clear vision of what you want to make in the form of a video series or a podcast, we suggest you take the risk and invest in the medium you think will work best — trust your gut!

“At the end of the day, if you have a clear idea of what you want — if you can see the end product — that’s the path you should choose! Whether it’s a podcast idea you can already hear in your head or a video series you feel inspired to create, make the content that you and your team have the strongest vision for.” Adam Day Lead Producer, Wistia

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We’re in a Golden Era of Video Essays and That Is Awesome

Exclusive content curated for Create: All things pre-production to post. See trends and topics like this and more come to life at NAB Show in Las Vegas. Explore the latest tools and advanced workflows elevating the art of storytelling.

READ MORE: The video essay boom (Vox)

Video essays are thriving in the TikTok era, even while platforms like YouTube are pivoting to promote short-form content. According to Vox , their popularity reflects our desire for more nuanced content online.

Video essays have been around for a decade or more on YouTube. Since 2012, when the platform began to prioritize watch-time over views , the genre has flourished.

READ MORE: YouTube search, now optimized for time watched (YouTube)

Today, there are video essays devoted to virtually any topic you can think of, ranging anywhere from about 10 minutes to upward of an hour.

“Video essays are a form that has lent itself particularly well to pop culture because of its analytical nature,” Madeline Buxton, the culture and trends manager at YouTube, tells Vox . “We’re starting to see more creators using video essays to comment on growing trends across social media. They’re serving as sort of real-time internet historians by helping viewers understand not just what is a trend, but the larger cultural context of something.”

To Vox writer Terry Nguyen , what seems especially relevant is how the video essay is becoming repackaged, as long-form video creators find a home on platforms besides YouTube. This has played out concurrently with the pandemic-era shift toward short-form video, with Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube respectively launching Reels, Spotlight, and Shorts to compete against TikTok.

Yet audiences have not been deterred from watching lengthy videos on TikTok either. Emerging video essayists aren’t shying away from length or nuance, even while using TikTok or Reels as a supplement to grow their online following, Nguyen finds.

She points to the growth of “creator economy” crowdfunding tools , especially during the pandemic, that have allowed video essayists to take longer breaks between uploads while retaining their production quality.

READ MORE: Virtual tips are helping content creators actually make money (Vox)

CRUSHING IT IN THE CREATOR ECONOMY:

The cultural impact a creator has is already surpassing that of traditional media, but there’s still a stark imbalance of power between proprietary platforms and the creators who use them. Discover what it takes to stay ahead of the game with these fresh insights hand-picked from the NAB Amplify archives:

• The Developer’s Role in Building the Creator Economy Is More Important Than You Think
• How Social Platforms Are Attempting to Co-Opt the Creator Economy
• Now There’s a Creator Economy for Enterprise
• The Creator Economy Is in Crisis. Now Let’s Fix It. | Source: Li Jin
• Is the Creator Economy Really a Democratic Utopia Realized?

YouTube creator Tiffany Ferguson admits to feeling some pressure from audiences to make her videos longer.

“I’ve seen comments, both on my own videos and those I watch, where fans are like, ‘Yes, you’re feeding us,’ when it comes to longer videos, especially the hour to two-hour ones. In a way, the mentality seems to be: The longer the better.”

In a Medium post, “ We Live in the Golden Age of Video Essays ,” blogger A. Khaled remarked that viewers were “willing to indulge user-generated content that is as long as a multi-million dollar cinematic production by a major Hollywood studio” — a notion that seemed improbable just a few years ago, even to the most popular video essayists. To creators, this hunger for well-edited, long-form video is unprecedented and uniquely suited to pandemic times.

READ MORE: We Live in the Golden Age of Video Essays (Medium)

Last month, the YouTube channel Folding Ideas published a two-hour video essay on “ the problem with NFTs ,” which has garnered more than 6.4 million views to date.

Hour-plus-long videos can be hits, depending on the creator, the subject matter, the production quality, and the audience base that the content attracts. There will always be an early drop-off point with some viewers, who make it roughly two to five minutes into a video essay.

“About half of my viewers watch up to the halfway point, and a smaller group finishes the entire video,” Ferguson said. “It’s just how YouTube is. If your video is longer than two minutes, I think you’re going to see that drop-off regardless if it’s for a video that’s 15 or 60 minutes long.”

Some video essayists have experimented with shorter content as a topic testing ground for longer videos or as a discovery tool to reach new audiences, whether it be on the same platform (like Shorts) or an entirely different one (like TikTok).

“The video essay is not a static format, and its development is heavily shaped by platforms, which play a crucial role in algorithmically determining how such content is received and promoted. Some of these changes are reflective of cultural shifts, too.”

The growth of shorts, according to Buxton, has given rise to this class of “hybrid creators,” who alternate between short- and long-form content. They can also be a starting point for new creators, who are not yet comfortable with scripting a 30-minute video.

“It’s common for TikTokers to tease a multi-part video to gain followers,” Nguyen reports. “Many have attempted to direct viewers to their YouTube channel and other platforms for longer content. On the contrary, it’s in TikTok’s best interests to retain creators — and therefore viewers — on the app.”

In late February, TikTok announced plans to extend its maximum video length from three minutes to 10 minutes, more than tripling a video’s run-time possibility.

READ MORE: TikTok expands maximum video length to 10 minutes (The Verge)

Last October, Spotify introduced “ video podcasts ,” which allows users the option of toggling between actively watching a podcast or traditionally listening to one.

READ MORE: Introducing Video Podcasts on Spotify (Spotify)

What’s interesting about the video podcast, Nguyen suggests, is how Spotify is positioning itself as an interchangeable, if not more intimate, alternative to a pure audio podcast: “The video essay, then, appears to occupy a middle ground between podcast and traditional video by making use of these key elements. For creators, the boundaries are no longer so easy to define,” she writes.

The video essay is not a static format, and its development is heavily shaped by platforms, which play a crucial role in algorithmically determining how such content is received and promoted. Some of these changes are reflective of cultural shifts, too.

That’s because the basic premise of the video essay — whether the video is a mini-explainer or explores a 40-minute hypothesis — requires the creator to, at the very least, do their research. This often leads to personal disclaimers and summaries of alternative opinions or perspectives, which is very different from the more self-centered “reaction videos” and “story time” clickbait side of YouTube.

“The things I’m talking about are bigger than me. I recognize the limitations of my own experience,” Ferguson reports. “Once I started talking about intersections of race, gender, sexuality — so many experiences that were different from my own — I couldn’t just share my own narrow, straight, white woman perspective. I have to provide context.”

This is a positive shift, Nguyen concludes. “A video essay, in a way, encourages us to engage in good faith with ideas that we might not typically entertain or think of ourselves.”

Are you interested in contributing ideas, suggestions or opinions? We’d love to hear from you. Email us here .

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Interviews with leading critics, filmmakers, scholars and other creators about the craft of videographic criticism. Hosted by Will DiGravio. Learn more at www.thevideoessay.com

The Video Essay Podcast The Video Essay Podcast

• TV & Film
• 4.9 • 13 Ratings
• MAY 17, 2024

Krista Calvo & Colleen Laird on Doing Women’s (Global) (Horror) Film History

Today's episode is the first in a series of conversations on videos created as part of the project, Doing Women’s (Global) (Horror) Film History (DWGHFH), a year-long video essay mentoring and training program that culminated in a videographic special issue of MAI: Feminism & Visual Culture.  Led by Alison Peirse, DWGHFH features the work of thirty contributors on "women horror filmmakers in non-anglophone countries, with a particular focus on filmmakers from the Global Majority." This episode features a conversation with Krista Calvo, the creator of "Dos Hermanas: Uncanny Femininity, Grief & Childhood in Carillo's Animations," and Colleen Laird, creator of "Kūki." Support the podcast on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠. Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠. Will DiGravio hosted, edited and produced this episode. Emily Su Bin Ko is the show's associate producer. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Music by Ketsa⁠⁠⁠⁠ and _HEAVYLEG.

• MAY 1, 2024

Making Video Essays About Alice Diop

Today's episode is the fourth in an ongoing collaboration between The Video Essay Podcast and "The Video Essay: Memories, Ecologies, Bodies," a three-year research project on video essays led by Kevin B. Lee, Locarno Film Festival Professor for the Future of Cinema at USI University of Lugano, with Johannes Binotto and Evelyn Kreutzer, and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. In this episode, Kevin talks with project members Libertad Gills, Marine de Dardel, and Silvia Cipelletti about the experience of making video essays on the work of Alice Diop, the featured filmmaker at this year's L'immagine e la parola, the spring edition of the Locarno Film Festival. The event for the group to produce original video essays on Diop's films. In this conversation, the group discusses how they approached the films for their video essays, knowing that they would be screened with Alice Diop in the audience. You can learn more about the project on their Instagram page. Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Music by Ketsa.

• APR 20, 2024

Episode 44. Remixing George W. Bush w/ Christopher Jason Bell

Today's episode features a conversation with filmmaker Christopher Jason Bell, who joins the show to discuss Miss Me Yet, his ten-part found footage series on the presidency of George W. Bush and rehabilitation of Bush's image in recent years. The series is available to stream for free via Means TV. Also, check out an essay on Miss Me Yet written by Will in the latest issue of Millennium Film Journal. Support the podcast on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠. Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠. Will DiGravio hosted, edited and produced this episode. Emily Su Bin Ko is the show's associate producer. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Music by Ketsa⁠⁠⁠⁠: "Live It," "Anvil," and "Refraining."

• APR 8, 2024

On Videographic Berlinale: Viewing Tips with Libertad Gills & Evelyn Kreutzer

Today's episode is the third in an ongoing collaboration between The Video Essay Podcast and "The Video Essay: Memories, Ecologies, Bodies," a three-year research project on video essays led by Kevin B. Lee, Locarno Film Festival Professor for the Future of Cinema at USI University of Lugano, with Johannes Binotto and Evelyn Kreutzer, and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation In this episode, Evelyn talks with Libertad Gills, a project affiliate and post-doctoral researcher for the Future of Cinema and the Audiovisual Arts at the Locarno Film Festival, about works they encountered at this year's Berlinale that might be considered "videographic." Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠.Will DiGravio hosted and produced this episode. Editing by Elsa Despoix, Evelyn Kreutzer, and Will DiGravio. Emily Su Bin Ko is the show's associate producer. ⁠⁠⁠Music by Ketsa.

• MAR 30, 2024

Episode 43. Doing Women’s (Global) (Horror) Film History w/ Alison Peirse

Today's episode features a conversation with Alison Peirse, a horror film scholar and professor at the University of Leeds. Alison led the project Doing Women’s (Global) (Horror) Film History (DWGHFH), a year-long video essay mentoring and training program that culminated in a videographic special issue of MAI: Feminism & Visual Culture. DWGHFH features the work of thirty contributors working on "women horror filmmakers in non-anglophone countries, with a particular focus on filmmakers from the Global Majority." Alison and Will discuss the origins of the project, the contributors and mentors who worked on DWGHFH, how the video essays exist into existing scholarship on women horror filmmakers, and much more.  Support the podcast on ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠. Follow the show on ⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠. Will DiGravio hosted, edited and produced this episode. Emily Su Bin Ko is the show's associate producer. ⁠⁠⁠Music by Ketsa⁠⁠⁠: "Live It," "Anvil," and "Refraining."

• FEB 20, 2024

On Weirdness and Memory: Viewing Tips with Evelyn Kreutzer & Kevin B. Lee

Today's episode is the second in an ongoing collaboration between The Video Essay Podcast and "The Video Essay: Memories, Ecologies, Bodies," a three-year research project on video essays led by Kevin B. Lee, Locarno Film Festival Professor for the Future of Cinema at USI University of Lugano, with Johannes Binotto and Evelyn Kreutzer, and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation In this conversation, Kevin talks with Evelyn about her picks for the 2023 survey of the year's best video essays by Sight & Sound magazine. Evelyn's selections serve as an entry point for the two to discuss the broader themes of their research project. Follow the show on ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠. Learn more at the pod's ⁠⁠website⁠⁠. Get the ⁠⁠free newsletter⁠⁠. Will DiGravio hosted and produced this episode. Editing by Kevin B. Lee and Will DiGravio. Emily Su Bin Ko is the show's associate producer. ⁠⁠Music by Ketsa.

• © The Video Essay Podcast

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The use of video essays and podcasts to enhance creativity and critical thinking in engineering

• Technical Paper
• Open access
• Published: 11 July 2022
• Volume 16 , pages 1231–1251, ( 2022 )

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• Patricia Caratozzolo   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7488-6703 1 , 2 ,
• Vianney Lara-Prieto 1 , 4 ,
• Samira Hosseini 3 , 4 &
• Jorge Membrillo-Hernández 1 , 5  

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The current demands of the labor market demand a new compendium of skills from engineering graduates. To develop skills at a more complex level, this study analyzed the use of second-generation Video Essays and Podcasts to improve soft skills. The characteristics of students belonging to Generation Z as digital natives were considered and digital platforms were adapted for interaction in social networks to enhance critical thinking and creativity (Criticality). Active learning experiences in different engineering programs were analyzed using the 4-group Solomon methodology with a quantitative design and different assessment instruments were used for Pre-Tests and Post-Tests, including various fluency and originality tests, as well as answering articulation ability tests. and modified VALUE rubrics from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). Our results clearly suggest that the use of these two tools substantially improves understanding of scientific concepts in engineering subjects, a greater ability to develop increasingly in-demand skill sets, and a greater awareness of creative thinking competence.

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1 Introduction

The study of the development of soft skills in engineering, especially critical thinking and creative thinking, has proven to be of special interest, first in relation to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and then, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis [ 1 , 2 ]. For almost two years, from March 2020 to the end of 2021, most Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) around the world struggled not only with teaching classes remotely but also with the incorporation of students belonging to the Generation Z, which strengthened the need for innovative approaches so that these skills are developed effectively and lastingly, considering the particular characteristics of Generation Z youth [ 3 , 4 ]. As part of the Education 4.0 theoretical framework, both employers and international accreditation agencies have focused on the development of these competencies and propose that they be formally included in engineering programs. Additionally, educational innovation strategies suggest including new cognitive and metacognitive tools to achieve the full development of soft skills in Generation Z engineers. Among the triggering factors of these proposals are: first, the strong consolidation of the communication in social networks, where private and public affairs converge indistinctly; and secondly, the exponential development of technological platforms, which mean a big difference in the way that Generation Z engineering students develop their cognitive skills, compared to the previous generation, the Millennials [ 3 , 4 ].

The development of resources -in social networks and information technologies- that was unleashed as an avalanche due to the COVID-19 pandemic in all areas of society, was incorporated in an uncontrolled way into HEI's educational environments, with the risk that it would not be possible to guarantee the effective intellectual engagement of students in their own learning process [ 5 ]. To correct these harmful effects, all kinds of classroom implementations emerged with the aim of increasing the motivation and commitment of university students, mainly in the first years, when the highest dropout rate is observed [ 6 ]. Some of the most interesting implementations were the gamification of courses, the incorporation of educational apps and videos, the use of mobile devices for communication, and the use of augmented reality and virtual reality programs. This phenomenon was especially noticeable in engineering courses due to the use of essential technological platforms in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs. This section does not attempt to summarize the entire scope of the literature, but rather to identify key themes related to creativity and critical thinking (criticality) in engineering and provide a narrative description of the gaps of the last four years (2019–2022) with the aim of understanding the design of the new learning approaches proposed in this study (use of Video and podcast):

2019. Chaikovska et al. (2019) recommended university teachers to integrate profession-based podcasts with students of technical universities to improve student communication skills, to provide participants with new vocabulary and to encourage the interaction with engineering community [ 7 ]. On the other hand, Hussein et al. (2019) analyzed the public perception and understanding of technological advances in engineering and finds that they are difficult to maintain. The study determined that the rate of dissemination of information is a limiting factor since public policies and practices handle outdated information with respect to cutting-edge technology. This study proposed that the STEM community participate in scientific education and communication practices appropriate for the new digital age through a podcast channel where findings on impact and best practices are shared [ 8 ]. Likewise, Sgambi et al. (2019) reported an active didactic experience -from its conception to its development in the classroom with the students- with three main steps: stimulation, practice, and discussion. The study highlighted the relevance of an active didactic experience to improve courses that are generally passively structured and argues that, in an era where the importance of cutting-edge technology is growing, this type of experience, with a low-tech approach, results very suitable to develop the creativity and criticality of the students [ 9 ]. Finally, the findings of a study by Miller et al . (2019) had important implications for engaging students in interdisciplinary applied research, including fostering critical and creative thinking skills and harnessing technology for the greater good social science by collaborating on the design of mobile device applications that improve the lived experiences of community [ 10 ].

2020. The work of Nissenson et al. (2020) detailed the creation and distribution of an audio podcast related to the engineering student experience with the purpose of helping current and future engineering students thrive in college and in their future careers through conversations and interviews with practicing engineers, engineering professors and engineering students [ 11 ]. In the same line, Becerra & Almendra (2020) measure the motivation levels of students in the statistical inference module of an engineering course. The data showed a high motivation with the use of podcasts as a means of instruction in the course [ 12 ]. Moreover, the goal of the Chiodo et al . (2020) was to make students reflect on the role of imagination in various contexts, including scientists and citizens, and to teach them how to strengthen creativity in order to improve the graduate competencies of an engineer [ 13 ]. Finally, the study by Wu et al. (2020) introduced project-based learning and SCAMPER teaching strategies in an engineering project course. This project involved students in experimental activities for two semesters, which allowed to analyze the differences between high and low creativity students in terms of cognition, personal motivation and personality traits [ 14 ].

2021. Torres-Gómez et al. (2021) demonstrated that improvements in teaching effectiveness are possible through a multi-sensory approach supported by the liberal arts. The methodological design included the development of artistic and literacy skills along with the fundamentals of specific technical topics, which were taught from a qualitative perspective. The project confirmed that this approach increased both the understanding and the evaluation of abstract concepts by stimulating the creativity and curiosity of the students [ 15 ]. Qamar et al. (2021) described a strategy to instill critical thinking skills in engineering graduates. Various critical thinking models were explored, and Paul and Elder's model was found to be more suitable for engineering as it provides a good foundation for the way engineers think and focuses on issues such as creativity, design development and professional and ethical issues. During this study, the instructional strategy (especially discussions and interactive sessions) was modified to include aspects of critical thinking [ 16 ]. In the same line, Zúñiga-Robles and Truyol (2021) aimed to investigate the benefits of using an innovation "Flipped Classroom + Podcast" in a geophysics course for engineering students. A descriptive research approach was used to determine if the use of podcasts had a positive impact on students' attitudes and if they were perceived as a useful tool in the construction of knowledge, discovering that students did indeed obtain greater motivation and engagement [ 17 ]. Aulia and Utami's (2021) assessed the students' e- learning knowledge to support the development of twenty-first century learning skills. Several indicators in the development of learning management were studied, including critical thinking, creativity, and communication skills. The results indicated that students' literacy skills can be improved to meet the learning requirements of the twenty-first century [ 16 ].

2022. Sudakova's (2022) analyzes the role of creativity in the formation of meta-competences of students and future engineers. She compares examples of successful pedagogical practices that use various forms of interaction between teachers and students in the learning process: discussion, business role-playing games, and video essay [ 18 ]. On the other hand, Schiele et al. (2022) proposes minor but important modifications in the design of traditional "World Café" experiences to be fully applicable as a method of academic data collection. Their results include a strong discussion of rigor and relevance in management research and therefore introduce the "research world café" as an academically rigorous data collection method [ 19 ]. In addition, Priyadharshini and Parveen (2022) offers the results of the application of a survey on the perceptions and the impact of the podcast on teaching–learning practices. The study focuses especially on the teaching–learning process and analyzes findings that suggest that the contents of podcasts are referred by students especially for the preparation and review of evaluations [ 20 ]. Very recently, Zainal et al . (2022) analyzes the current requirements to train competent graduates in oral and written communication, who stand out for their twenty-first century skills such as creativity, media and technological literacy. The study proposes that these competencies be comprehensively developed through instructional approaches such as project-based learning. The use of group work video essays in the classroom was examined during this project and was based on an assessment of student video essays and an open interview with students [ 21 ].

The review of the studies carried out in the last four years seems to indicate, the use of video and podcast technology is very important for the development of creativity, reliability, and critical thinking of engineering students, which will most likely lead to strengthening the intellectual commitment of Generation Z Engineering students. During this literature review, weaknesses, and gaps in the strategies for developing soft skills in engineering were detected, especially in studies related to the development of critical thinking and its correlations with creative thinking, since some works refer to the infusion of strategies in the classroom and others to the incorporation of more technological tools. The biggest gap detected was trying to develop soft skills through the traditional logical-scientific thinking modality for specific critical thinking skills that include inference, judgment, problem solving and identification of assumptions. The proposal of this study consists of an approach that intellectually engages engineering students and encourages the development of specific creative and critical thinking dispositions, instead of limiting the scope of the approach to separately strengthening creativity and criticality skills.

In the following section, the background related to four aspects of learning in higher education, specifically in engineering, will be presented: (i) the characteristics of Generation Z students; (ii) the dynamics of cognitive processes; (iii) the traditional model of creativity, and finally (iv) the traditional model of criticality.

2 Background

2.1 learning skills of generation z students.

Generation Z (Gen Z) is defined as people born between 1995 and 2010. Gen Z individuals were exposed to many digital technologies and developed different learning characteristics compared to the previous generation, the Millennials. Gen Z students make intensive use of digital technologies not only for formal learning, but also for informal training and for their interaction in social networks [ 22 ]. Gen Z students are highly skilled technology users who rely heavily on information from social media and the Internet, making their learning processes deeply dependent on all types of modern technologies: online platforms, social networks, digital chats, online games and -forced by the COVID-19 pandemic- they have received two years of online education, D-Learning.

Gen Z students are characterized by a special typology of "digitalized" consciousness and thought that had not been identified in Millennials, which is called clip thinking , which implies that their thought has a segmented consistency. The effectiveness of educational teaching strategies will be directly conditioned to this segmented nature, form and content that form the thought processes of students. In the environment of engineering education there is no unified interpretation of the concept of clip thinking , but it is possible to identify its main characteristics and distinctive properties [ 23 ]:

Ability to perceive large flows of digital information, such as electronic, audio or video information

Habit of consuming large amounts of fragmentary information from social networks without reflecting on whether it is fake or tendentious information

Immediate perception of fragments of information dispersed in the flow, and subsequent interpretation of them as if it were a coherent speech

Strong preference for high-speed visual perception of information at a superficial level, without awareness of deep content

Predominance of concrete thought over abstract thought, with a preference for non-textual information

Ability to flow naturally from a real environment to a virtual one and vice versa,

Lack of development of reflective plans based on critical thinking, and weak ability to draw conclusions and consider consequences

Difficulties in comprehensive analytical perception and logical understanding of phenomena and their relationships

Minimalism of the lexical corpus and limitations of oral communication

The advancement of technology has contributed to the knowledge and skills gap between Gen Z students and their predecessors, the Millennials. For example, Gen Z individuals are, on the one hand, more pragmatic and aware of opportunities thanks to technology, while on the other hand they are more impatient and have a shorter attention span. The learning characteristics of Gen Z students are modeled according to their personality traits, as they are addicted to technology and speed, independent and individualistic, do not appreciate teamwork, and tend to be dissatisfied [ 24 ]. Teaching approaches aimed at Gen Z students must adapt to these personality traits since they have developed a flexible perspective and a preference for non-standard, non-routine and personalized activities that allow them to live innovative and creative experiences.

Gen Z students are immediate feedback oriented and need to access information quickly, so they expect the same real-world circumstances in the classroom. Most of the time, teachers have to deal with the fact that students become impatient if they don't receive immediate feedback and quick information that they are used to during their daily online life. Various studies suggest that the intensive use of the internet and the search for information on the digital network influence the brain activity of Gen Z individuals: the activity is generalized in certain determined areas while those neural pathways, which supported traditional mental functions, weaken and new connections suitable for clip thinking are formed [ 25 ]. This new "way of thinking" forces the brain to do intensive work that can impede deep thinking and learning. By prioritizing segmented thinking, the capacity for mental coordination and decision-making is lost. This circumstance could be reversed by promoting spaces for critical reading of academic texts, oral communication experiences among peers, and debates on technical issues in the classroom [ 26 , 27 ].

2.2 Cognitive process and creative thinking

Before choosing methods to evaluate creativity, it is important to be able to understand what the qualities that help students to express their creativity are, that is, those that unravel their cognitive process. It can be said that creative thinking includes divergent thinking, which is formed by three characteristics: Fluency (as the ability to generate many responses or ideas, including flexibility); Originality (as the ability to change form, modify information or shift between thinking modes); and Elaboration (as the ability to express an idea with multiple details). As shown in Fig.  1 , creative thinking not only is divergent thinking but also includes other traits of creative strengths, related to problems sensitivity and redefinition of skills such as transformation of thought, reinterpretation and ability to avoid cognitive fixation [ 28 ].

Creative thinking and divergent thinking. as it is shown, creative thinking is a broader concept than divergent thinking

Another way to conceptualize Creative Thinking is by considering five subscales: the three characteristics of divergent thinking ( Fluency  +  Originality  +  Elaboration ) and two Norm-referenced measures of creative potential ( Abstractness of titles  +  Resistance to premature closure ). When considering this different taxonomy, two concepts appear that will be very useful to understand how the cognitive process works and how to measure it: lateral and vertical thoughts. Lateral Thinking, also known as Innovative Thinking Factor, is represented by two characteristics: fluency (understood as the amount of relevant ideas) and originality (understood as the amount of statistically uncommon, unusual, unique ideas) [ 29 ]. Vertical thinking, also known as adaptive, is represented by two characteristics: (i) Elaboration, understood by the number of ideas that arise from others, combining them, adapting them and giving them “another twist” which shows a conviction to be creative; and (ii) Abstractness of titles (abstract articulation) which is the ability to carry out the reasoning process that involves synthesis and organization, as well as the ability to distinguish the essence of information and recognize what is important. The abstraction of thought implies "verbal intelligence", with which this characteristic is closely related to critical thinking. A schematic showing these concepts can be seen in Fig.  2 .

Schematic showing the relationship between different taxonomies for Creativity

The factors for a creative personality are represented by: Resistance to premature closure (it is the depth of intellectual curiosity and the level of open-mindedness), and thirteen other Creative Strengths, also known as Personality Traits. There is evidence in Torrance's original studies (1979, 1988 and 1994) that the thirteen subscales are good predictors of Creative Achievement, so it is valid to propose an instructional method for the development of creative thinking through the practice of experiences related to the exercise of only four personality traits shown in Fig.  3 : Storytelling Articulateness (verbally expressive), Humorous Ability, Richness of Imagery (passionate) and Colorfulness of Imagery (perceptive) [ 30 ].

Four traits of creative strengths considered in this study in addition to resistance to premature closure

In this study it was also taken into consideration that with a two-factor model, more significant results could be obtained than with a single-factor model; Thus, the Kirton Adaptor-Innovator (KAI) theory was also considered [ 31 ]. According to Kirton, people react to changes with attitudes that define them in two very different positions: Innovators, who prefer to create change by breaking paradigms; and the Adaptors, who prefer to create changes working within the existing paradigm. These two positions can be understood as two opposite ends; however, there is a whole continuum of approaches to creative problem solving known as Kirton’s continuum If the composition of any engineering group is analyzed, it is verified that students present differences in cognitive style according to normally distributed continuum, which ranges from strong adaptation on one end to strong innovation on the other, as is shown in Fig.  4 . This distribution refers only to the creative style and is independent of the level of creativity, therefore when measuring the correlation between the subclasses of creativity and the level of creative thinking, Kirton’ s theory must be considered.

Kirton’ s cognitive style and creativity factors, modified from [ 32 ]

Adaptors and innovators have different perception of problems and therefore different approaches to solution, with no appreciable differences in the level of creativity of students. Making a parallel between the KAI and the divergent-convergent process of Design Thinking Method , the innovators will stand out in the divergent stage and the adapters in the convergent. This highlights the usefulness of forming creative teams in a balanced way, taking advantage of the natural composition of groups with participants with cognitive styles from all states. All the elements of a creative team can and should be involved in the divergent-convergent processes, to be able to contribute their points of view, considering that their level of engagement at each stage will depend on factors such as the level of perseverance, motivation and satisfaction with the proposed solutions, and the level of Premature Closure [ 32 ]. Although the studies do not reveal differences in the creative potential of Gen Z students due to their KAI personality, there are implicit theories of creativity among university professors that lead to a misinterpretation of the evaluation of creative thinking, especially regarding STEM students. Many teachers misunderstand the creative potential of students due to the confusion produced by different personality traits related to creativity, since they relate the level of creativity to the cognitive style [ 33 ].

2.3 Traditional creativity model

Creative ideas arise from the synergy of many sources, and not only from the mind of an isolated person. Because students are part of a learning group, social interaction ability should be considered part of the creative process. Therefore, to strengthen the development of this individual skill, each student should be considered to be immersed in a Creative Model in the style proposed by Csikszentmihalyi [ 34 , 35 , 36 ]. This model states that a person's creative process cannot be analyzed as if the individual were isolated but should be considered in relation to the environment in which individuals operate, that is, Person interacts with Domain and Field . The Field is what we usually call culture, a series of rules or symbolic knowledge shared by a particular society; The Person is who exercises a creative process and who wants to create a new Field or change it to show their ideas and products; and the Domain is which includes those individuals who act as gatekeepers to give access to the Field . Its function is to decide whether an idea or product of a Person should be included in the Field . One of the most recent studies on creative thinking in engineering is that of Santos et al . [ 37 ] that proposes a methodology to introduce creativity and innovation techniques in the engineering process. The method uses a variety of creative techniques that are considered appropriate for the different stages of the process and draws inspiration from existing creative problem-solving methods and techniques.

2.4 Traditional criticality model

Critical thinking is the active, persistent and careful analysis of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in light of the fundamentals that support it and the conclusions from which it arises [ 38 ]. In this study, it was taken into consideration the theory of the relationship between critical thinking and the educational process presented by John Dewey in order to develop students' ability to think reflexively [ 39 ]. Currently, it is very difficult to counteract the natural tendency of people to generate incorrect thinking; what Francis Bacon called idols , which attract the mind to false paths. This model is made up of four elements: the Tribe , that encourages individuals to make mistakes whose roots are in human nature in general, for example with superstitions, fantasies and myths; the Market , that generates in individuals the erroneous methods that come from exchange and language, such as misunderstandings and prejudices; the Cavern , whose incitements to error have strictly individual causes, such as traumas and frustrations; and the Theater , that produces those errors that have their origin in fashion or the general opinion of society, generating trends and political positions [ 40 ]. One of the most recent studies on critical thinking in engineering is that of Giuliano et al . [ 41 ] that develops some ideas to strengthen the inclusion of humanistic knowledge in science education. The study includes a novel formal definition of the term "judgment" to illuminate the conceptual links between technical rationality and critical thinking in the context of the engineering profession.

2.5 Proposed approach: creativity in criticality

Different studies reinforce the idea of Vigotsky and Csikszentmihalyi about the influence of the social interaction on reflective thinking and the development of creative process [ 42 , 43 ]. Generation Z students have idols -Market, Theater, Tribe and Cavern- which are particular and different from those expressed by previous generations. For the practical application of the approach in the present study, some considerations were made regarding how the two models could be related: First, the Person is represented by the Cavern (is each engineering student); Secondly, the Tribe is represented by the Domain (are all the teachers, instructors, classmates, jury contests, publishers of scientific publications, synod and advisors); and finally, both the Market (the areas of cutting-edge knowledge such as virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, IoT, automated vehicles, etc.) and the Theater (current trends such as sustainability, climate change, energy efficiency, social networks, circular economy, transactional energy, etc.) are represented by the Field .

A systematic and theoretical analysis was carried out in this study, considering an extended approach between both systems, creativity and criticality, to find metacognitive tools that will improve the teaching-learning process considering the development of both soft skills in a joint and synergistic way. Figure  5 shows how both model systems can be considered together using the hypothetical relationship mentioned in the previous paragraph. The Idols model can be represented by a Reuleaux Triangle , which imposes its beliefs -it pushes out the three circles of Csikszentmihalyi's creativity model- interfering in the free creative flow.

Creativity and false idols represented with a Reuleaux Triangle of beliefs

A creative process is verified when a Person, using symbols and languages of the Market , and imposing her/himself to the fashions and trends of the Theater , manages to place a new idea or product in the Field -overcoming the traumas and frustrations of his own Cavern - with the approval of the Domain, which accepts it despite the superstitions and myths of the Tribe . Therefore, it is not enough to just unravel the internal mental process of the students, but it is necessary to analyze the process in the context of the classroom and the academy, to understand how creative thinking can be enriched and what possible reluctances are interspersed in their flow path. The innovative approach developed in our study allows to distinguish the Cognitive Process , internal to the Cavern; the FLOW path, going from the Domain to the Field (across the Person), and finally, the reluctances that any idea or new product must overcome to complete the creative process successfully. It can be verified that Idols Model does not represent impermeable barriers but strong reluctances to the free flow of ideas [ 28 , 44 , 45 ].

Jerome Bruner points out that there are two modalities of cognitive functioning of thought, and each of them offers characteristic ways of constructing reality and ordering experience [ 46 , 47 ]: The logical-scientific modality (critical thinking) tries to fulfill the ideal of a mathematical, formal system of description and explanation. It uses the categorization or conceptualization and the operations by which the categories are established, represented, idealized and related to each other in order to build a system. The artistic-narrative modality (creative thinking), on the other hand, looks for connections between two events and uses procedures to establish the likelihood, not the truth. The artistic-narrative modality deals with students’ ability to develop new technological products through conversion of the imaginative concepts into a dependable reality. Although shifting may occur in either direction, training for shifting from critical thinking to creative thinking has been unfairly suppressed in engineering programs mainly so as not to lose the rigor of the search for empirical truth. There is a false perception that engineers should use only the principles of criticality instead of creativity, however, emotions and aesthetics enrich the solutions provided to the problems since it is impossible to judge critically what is based solely on rational arguments [ 48 , 49 ].

Because Gen Z students are part of the learning group, Shifting Mode -the ability to shift between thinking modalities- should be considered part of the creative process. Our study considered the Stiffness of the Shifting Mode according to the magnitude of two cognitive biases: (i) Premature closure (as the cognitive bias that causes the student to not consider reasonable alternatives after an initial diagnosis of a problem is made); (ii) Cognitive fixation (as the cognitive bias that causes the student to evaluate the functionality of an object only in the way it is traditionally used). The development of higher levels of students' creative potential seems to require two catalysts to counteract these biases: (i) The continued exposure to diversified experiences that help weaken the restrictions (cognitive fixation) imposed by the Domain ; and (ii) the experience of challenging experiences that help strengthen the ability to persevere in the face of obstacles (Premature Closure) that Field represents.

The most innovative element of our approach is the introduction of the concept of metacognition as part of the theoretical framework of the learning process of Gen Z engineering students. Metacognition or thinking about thinking is a multidimensional set of general, rather than domain-specific skills. Metacognitive knowledge consists of cognitive learning strategies, which students can use to regulate the process of knowledge acquisition. Intellectual engagement does not occur automatically: successful engagement depends not only on the cognitive effort but also on the metacognitive processing, which in turn depends on the development stage of the student. Due to the fact that in the same classroom students with different levels of cognitive development coexist, we have considered two fundamental concepts derived of Vygotsky's work, Scaffolding and Zone of Proximal Development [ 50 ] .

A graphical way of understanding our novel approach is to imagine it as a three-dimensional space, a kind of multi-level tiered yard : in one direction are the stages of the Cognitive Process Dimension, which consists of the six levels of the Taxonomy of Bloom (Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate and Create) [ 51 ]; in the other direction are the stages of the Knowledge Dimension, which consists of the four levels of the Anderson & Krathwohl Taxonomy (Factual, Conceptual, Procedural and Metacognitive) [ 52 ]. Figure  6 (based on the graphical model presented in [ 53 ]) shows a possible interpretation of this tiered yard where it can be seen that joint progress in both dimensions means not only a cognitive effort (which means moving from moment 1 -in which the student masters the application of a concept- to moment 2 -in which the student is capable of critically analyzing that concept-) but also intellectual commitment (which means going from moment 2 -in which the student is able to critically analyze a concept- to moment 3 -in which the student can take a creative advantage of the previously acquired knowledge to analyze the procedure that brings together different concepts-). to be able to climb each terrace and reach the upper levels in both dimensions. The creativity approach in criticality implies the design of experiences that allow students to be able to climb each terrace and reach higher levels, advancing in both dimensions (with cognitive effort and intellectual commitment).

The multi-level tiered yard of the creativity in criticality approach

This model is opposed to the traditional approach of advancing only in the first three vectors of the dimension of knowledge (Factual-Conceptual-Procedural) towards the highest stages of Bloom's Taxonomy, which is known as domain specificity of subjects [ 54 ].

We consider that the two-dimensional approach to development is an adaptation of the learning process to the personality characteristics of Gen Z students. This adaptation should be based on recognized theories of cognitive (critical thinking) and metacognitive (creative thinking) processes. Therefore, for this study, we proposed the following research question (RQ):

RQ1: What are the learning experiences that develop in Gen Z students the ability to advance each vector in the stepped playground of their learning?

RQ2: What are the most appropriate learning techniques for Gen Z students to develop skills of both creativity and criticality in the subjects of the engineering program?

3 Methodology

3.1 participants and procedure.

In addition to considering the possible bias that the cognitive style introduces in the evaluation of creative thinking, the significant influence of motivational processes should also be considered. On the one hand, the behavior of the groups is strongly modified by the situations of stress and health of the students, as well as by the environment generated by the teacher, the attitudes between peers, the conditions in which the tests and surveys are conducted, and the observations and rubrics that are used. Hence, the importance of conducting experiments with a methodological design appropriate to the social sciences. In the case of the present study, 4-group Solomon research design was chosen [ 55 , 56 ]. A total of 323 undergraduate students of engineering programs have voluntarily participated in our study: 173 students attended three “creativity in criticality” experiences each semester during three consecutive semesters, so that each student participated in a total of 9 experiences (Experimental group with and without Pre-Test), and 150 students remained untrained (Control group with and without Pre-Test). It is also very important that, in the experimental groups, regardless of whether they have Pre-Test or not, warm-up activities are carried out, designed as in the infusion-immersion mixed approach methodology, to increase the interventions and interactions of the divergent stage of the creative process. Participants who contributed to this study had an average age of 22 years at the time of the PostTest application, and were considered to belong to generation Z (born after January 1, 1995) [ 3 ]. The group criteria were:

Total Experimental Group: 173 students.

Experimental Group with PreTest and Treatment: 101 students.

Experimental Group without PreTest, only Treatment: 72 students.

Total Control Group: 150 students.

Control Group with PreTest: 72 students.

Control Group without PreTest: 78 students.

3.2 Instrumentation

Instruments for data collection in Pre-Test and Post-Test: Vocabulary tests, with different levels of complexity, some about general culture and others with specific lexicons of each subject. The lists were made from lists of the SAT Vocabulary [ 57 ] and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) [ 58 ]; Reading comprehension tests, designed to determine the level of cognitive maturity of students; modified version of the tests and rubrics presented by Paul & Elder [ 59 ][ 60 ]; and the AAC&U VALUE Rubrics, developed for the Association of American Colleges and Universities Essential Learning Outcomes [ 61 ]. Some definitions of the performance levels of the Capstone, Milestones, and Benchmark rubrics, adapted from the AAC&U VALUE Rubrics, are shown in Appendix A. The pretests were very important to know the level of cognitive maturity of the students. Therefore, Egan's taxonomy was used in this study to place students: mythical, romantic, philosophical or ironic level. It is important to emphasize that the PreTest did not have a diagnostic function in terms of the level of domain-specific knowledge. The PreTests were also used to find out the level of development that students have in: Creativity and seven other transversal skills and competencies of ABET graduation [ 62 ]: Teamwork, Self-knowledge, Transfer, Criticality, Knowledge of Cultural Frameworks, Broad Perspective and Taking Risks. The methodological procedure is shown in the scheme of Fig.  7 .

Methodological design

The procedure consisted of carrying out pre-tests on 101 students from the experimental group and 72 students from the control group. These tests were conducted during the first week of classes of each semester. During the semester, the Treatment experiences were carried out with the 173 students of the experimental group. Finally, the subsequent tests were carried out on the 323 students. In the Findings and results section, discussions about the statistical tests performed will be presented: comparison between the results of the Pre-Tests of the experimental and control groups; comparison between Pre-Tests and Post-Tests; and comparison between final grades of the subjects and evaluation of competencies.

Treatment : For the selection of the experiences that would be carried out with the students of the experimental group, those didactic activities that were endorsed and validated in the literature review were considered. For the design of experiences using Video Essays, the authors took into account the results and suggestions of the studies by Moser and Hlavacs [ 63 ], Anas et al. [ 64 ] and Zainal et al. [ 21 ] . For the design of experiences using Podcast, the authors considered the results and suggestions of the studies by Ketelle [ 65 ] and Hess et al. [ 66 ]. For the design of experiences using World Café, the authors considered the results and suggestions of Torres and Costa Neto [ 67 ] and Bisello et al. [ 68 ] . Various other activities ( on-line debates, discussions, argumentative panels, round tables and micro-workshops) were carried out to adapt to the particular social conditions of each group and to the circumstances derived from confinement by COVID-19 throughout the year 2020 and part of 2021 [ 69 , 70 ]. These activities provided opportunities for students to share their opinions and practice collaborative learning activities on the subject, with a student-centered approach. Scaffolding ZPD was incorporated with learning activities designed with the tiered yard.

4.1 Experimental design

All the "Creativity in Criticality" experiences included in this project were designed so that Gen Z students could holistically and comprehensively develop their creative thinking and critical thinking skills, efficiently taking advantage of their personality traits and characteristics of learning, which were discussed in the previous sections. At all stages of the treatment, their digital information management skills were stimulated, and they were encouraged not to passively wait for an explanation of the experience, but rather to actively participate in training their ability to understand, translate and encode symbolic information and to develop their own concepts and constructions through abstract reasoning. Some of the considerations that were discussed in detail with the instructors were related to the fact that the activities should be carried out with total concentration with the conscious objective of generating an active and collaborative learning environment, where the students were able to get involved in the learning process, being aware of the different levels of cognitive and motivational effort required in each session (according to what is explained in Fig.  6 . The students were promptly informed that the process was going to involve increasing efforts, in the sense that the activities they would gradually become more difficult. The students received weekly feedback to know their progress and collaborate in fulfilling that the easier activities would be mastered through repetition before practicing the more difficult ones (scaffolding and ZPD concepts).

4.2 Examples of experiences and activities

The activities were designed considering the actual cognitive stages of thinking of the students according to Kieran Egan’s theory [ 71 , 72 ], and incorporated analysis sessions. Specific metacognitive tools were considered to develop creative thinking and to enhance the capacity for analysis and combination of existing ideas and images through new disruptive and alternative solutions. Table 1 shows the different activities included in Treatment and the skills to develop in the processes.

Dialogue Seminars [ 73 ]. The Dialogue Seminar was a safe space that allowed students to discuss ideas openly. The instructor provided a case example of a real conflict and the group discussed to reach a consensus, sharing opinions and different perspectives, and fostering the students' intellectual engagement with their own learning process. Figure  8 shows the photographs taken during different dialogue seminars with students, where metacognitive instruction strategies were used, and the concepts: Scaffolding and ZPD were used.

Dialogue seminars

Supervised Questioning Sessions [ 74 ] . The supervised question method was used to stimulate the recall of the knowledge acquired in previous sessions and improve the understanding of the concepts. The instructor planned the sessions sequentially, to get the most motivation from the students and prevent them from responding in a hasty way with a premature closure. When using the Creativity in Criticality approach, the method consisted of sessions of ten questions, three of them non-hierarchical, three questions belonging to the Cognitive Dimension of Bloom's Taxonomy, and four questions belonging to the Knowledge Dimension of Anderson's Taxonomy & Krathwohl, as shown in the design of the tiered yard of the Fig.  6 .

Challenge-based Experiences [ 75 ]. Challenge-based Experiences (CBL) is an active and experiential learning approach, which allows to develop a real-world perspective "by doing" on a subject of study. This approach offered an ideal learning framework for Gen Z students as it emulates real work experiences in industry and corporations. Figure  9 shows a field trip for a CBL experience in a 400 kV Substation.

Challenge-based Learning at a 400 kV Power substation

4.3 Podcasts and video essays recording (including script writing)

Students of the Experimental Group made second-generation Podcasts (Podcast with video) and Video Essays using both screencasts and audio recordings made in the campus radio station facilities and audio recordings made with the portable equipment. The topics developed with this technique included teach other classmates how to use specialized software, record their learnings on a particular topic that shows a step-by-step process, so that other classmates can learn the material at their own pace or catch up on missed sessions, and communicate opinions, facts and ideas on the topics seen in class, their applications, advantages, and current news in the sector of interest. Podcasts shows were recorded at the radio station facilities or using portable recording equipment to broadcast from the classroom and outdoors, as shown in Fig.  10 .

Podcast recording at the radio station and portable recording equipment

The video essay was an attractive tool due to its two main characteristics that make it more appreciated by Gen Z: first, its length, since most video essays do not last more than a few minutes; and second, the video essay is free form because the format and rhetorical strategies can differ enormously from one video essay to another. Another aspect that made video essay attractive to Gen Z engineering students was that there were no specific rules that authors must follow. From the point of view of the teaching–learning process in engineering, the video essays allowed students to be shown things that they could not have been shown in a traditional essay. Furthermore, as the scripts were written following a Serious-Storytelling technique, the images significantly enhanced the story being told: the images were allowed to "speak for themselves". The technological tool chosen for the present study was the recording of video essays and second-generation podcasts (Podcast with video), created from screencasts, with scripts prepared by the students themselves on topics selected from the official syllabus of each course [80]. Figure  11 shows a collection of frames from video essays.

Frame collection of video-essays

To answer the research question and validate the functionality of the Creativity in Criticality model, the following analyses were carried out:

Analysis of the results of the Pre-Tests, for 101 students from the experimental group, and 72 students from the control group

Analysis of the results of the Post-Tests, for the 323 students

Analysis of the impact of the Treatment on the development of creative thinking and critical thinking for the 173 students of the experimental group

Discussion on the first RQ: What are the learning experiences that develop in Gen Z students their ability to advance in each vector in the stepped playground of their learning?

Discussion on the second RQ: What are the most appropriate learning techniques for Generation Z students to develop skills of both creativity and criticality in the subjects of the engineering program?

Discussion on the results of the opinion survey answered by the students of the experimental group regarding the experiences of the treatment.

4.4 Pre-test analysis

The results of the diagnostic Pre-Test in both groups (101 students from the experimental group, and 72 students from the control group) were compared with the purpose of verifying that the students of both groups had similar initial conditions in terms of the level of development of the following competencies: Taking risks; Embracing Contradictions; Attentiveness towards different situations; self-awareness; and Broad Perspective View. The analysis of the results of the Pre-Tests did not reveal significant differences in their background of skills and competencies.

Regarding the Pre-Tests related to the lexical corpus of the students, the vocabulary tests consisted of proposing to the students the reading of short essays -high-quality lexical texts of less than 200 words- written by specialists. Two different types of tests were implemented to determine, respectively, whether the student could explain the meaning of the words (open response) and whether or not the student could distinguish the meaning of the word in a context. For more details on the design of language and written communication skills tests, see [ 76 ].

The study of the results of these previous tests suggests that the sporadic and fragmentary speech habits that Gen Z young people practice in social networks exert an intellectual disintegrative influence on language. Considering these results, we considered that it was particularly important to include, in the Treatment experiences, the exercise and practice of continuity and the ordering of meanings, which is what finally gives coherence to a discourse, whether oral or written.

4.5 Post-test analysis

The results of the Post-Test were compared in both groups (173 students from the experimental group and 150 students from the control group) to determine differences in the development of the competencies declared in the Appendix A rubric. Figure  12 shows the performance levels obtained by the control group (average of the 3 semesters of the project) and by the experimental group (in each of the 3 semesters of the project).

Post-test skills levels measured in semesters 1, 2 and 3

The comparison between the average performance of the control group in the three semesters and the performance of the experimental group in the first semester of the project shows similar levels of competence in the skills considered in Appendix A. However, the results obtained by the group experimental in semesters 2 and 3 suggest a significant development in all the skills and an outstanding strengthening in the skills of creativity and criticality. This result is validated with the opinion surveys on the very positive perception of the students of the experimental group towards the Treatment activities (especially those related to the Video essays and the Podcasts).

Post-Test comparison of the skills levels developed in the project revealed that experimental group showed a significantly greater improvement than control group. The Post-Tests using Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) rubrics showed that the experimental group attained 37% improvement in comparison with the students of the control group in the upper “Capstone” level and a 25% decrement in the number of students who remained at the lowest “Benchmark” level of the rubric. In the Milestone 3-level the experimental group attained 65% improvement in comparison with the students of the control group, and in the Milestone 2-level the experimental group attained 34% decrement in comparison with the students of the control group. These results are shown in Table 2 .

A very interesting analysis of the Post-Test results is that of the behavior of the performance distributions in both groups of students, experimental and control. As shown in Fig.  13 , it was observed that the shapes of the Gaussian bells had an asymmetry to the right in the case of the experimental group and a bias to the left in the case of the control group. On the one hand, the left-skewed distribution of the experimental group shows a long tail in the positive direction indicating that most students achieved high performance on the AAC&U rubrics and are in the "Capstone" and "Milestone 3-level" cohorts. On the other hand, the right-skewed distribution of the control group has a long tail to the left, skewed negatively, indicating that most students performed poorly on the AAC&U rubrics and are in the "Milestone 2-level" and "Benchmark" cohorts.

AAC&U distributions of the post-test results

4.6 Treatment impact analysis

With the purpose of evaluating the impact of the different experiences of the Treatment, independent analyzes of each of the competencies investigated were carried out. The treatment impact graph, which can be seen in Fig.  14 , suggests high motivation with the use of video essays and podcasts as a means of instruction in the course, in all the competencies evaluated. Regarding the main objective of this work, which was to measure the effectiveness of the use of technological tools for the creation of Video Essays and Podcasts as a treatment for the Creativity in Criticality approach, the following results were obtained:

Regarding the strengthening of creativity and criticality skills, the results agree with those obtained in the works investigated in the literature review, specifically those of Chaikovska et al . [ 9 ], Hussein et al . [ 10 ], Nissenson et al . [ 14 ], and Becerra & Almendra [ 13 ], regarding the advantages of training in communication practices and scientific education with tools of the new digital age through podcast channels. Additionally, the data suggests a high motivation with the use of podcasts as a means of instruction in the course.

Regarding the efficacy in the use of active and experiential learning techniques related to Challenge-Based Learning, the results showed agreement with the studies by Sgambi et al . [ 7 ] and Miller et al . [ 8 ], regarding the relevance of interdisciplinary active experiences for Gen Z students to have greater achievements with the “Taking Risks” skill, enhanced metacognitive awareness and personal motivation, appropriate to their personality traits.

Regarding the relevance of training with Supervised Questioning Sessions, the results showed a greater understanding of abstract concepts and the development of greater motivation to make cognitive efforts. These results agreed with those obtained by Wu et al . [ 12 ] and Qamar et al . [ 17 ] related to the strengthening of students in their development of the competence of "Embracing Contradictions" to overcome cognitive biases related to Cognitive Fixation and Premature Closure .

Regarding the development of competencies throughout the three semesters of the project, Fig.  15 shows that not all competencies had the same level of strengthening. The competencies that were strengthened the most were, in the first place, Criticality and, in second place, Creativity. These results agreed with those reported by Torres-Gómez et al . [ 15 ] and Zúñiga-Robles & Truyol [ 77 ], since the improvements in the effectiveness of the approach were made possible by the instructional strategy, especially the discussions and interactive sessions, which were designed to include aspects of critical thinking and creative thinking, as explained in the previous sections.

Treatment Impact (in general)

Treatment Impact (in each skills level developed)

4.7 Discussion on the first RQ

Regarding which were the learning experiences that best developed in Gen Z students their ability to advance in each vector of the "Creativity in Criticality" taxonomy, the results suggest that the experiences of creating Video Essays and Podcasts (especially those that include video) achieved not only a greater strengthening of skills but also a very good acceptance by Gen Z students. Approximately 76% of students reported perceiving less cognitive effort when acquiring higher-order skills (equivalent to step 1–2 in the tiered yard of Fig.  6 ) in semesters 2 and 3. Almost 72% of the students reported perceiving greater commitment and motivation when acquiring metacognitive skills (equivalent to step 2–3 in the tiered yard of Fig.  6 ). Figure  6 ) in semesters 2 and 3. These findings suggest the efficacy in the Treatment and greatly exceeds those reported in the studies by Anas et al . [ 64 ], Persada et al. [ 22 ] and Magano et al . [ 24 ].

4.8 Discussion on the second RQ

Responding to the question of what were the most appropriate learning techniques for Gen Z students to develop skills of both creativity and criticality in the subjects of the engineering program, the results mentioned regarding Fig.  14 suggest that the activities of active, collaborative and experiential learning had a great impact on the learning process of the students of the experimental group, who achieved -in 3 semesters- up to 44% strengthening in the case of criticality and up to 31% strengthening in the case of case of creativity. These results confirm studies published by the authors in 2021 [ 27 , 53 ] and are consistent with the results obtained in recent studies from 2022, such as those by Hiğde and Aktamış [ 33 ] and Giuliano et al . [ 41 ].

4.9 Students’ opinion survey

The study on the opinions of the students at the end of the project showed a good acceptance towards the type of approach in general (with positive opinions in 77% of those surveyed), and a very good acceptance for three of the activities: Podcasts (81% of the participants); Video Essays (79% of respondents) and World Café (76% of respondents). This last result suggests the perception of benefit, in terms of improving oral and written communication, media literacy and broad perspectives, which students seek as job skills.

Qualitative opinion survey, interviews and focus groups that were carried out to interpret students' feelings of online dialogue seminars during the COVID-19 lockdown showed that learning during the pandemic raised many concerns about future adaptations of online learning, especially related to the widespread disappointment of students in their learning effectiveness experiences when the seminars were conducted online. The results were consistent with those obtained in other studies conducted by Park in 2020 [ 69 ] and Piyatamrong in 2021 [ 70 ].

5 Conclusions

One of the areas of opportunity in engineering education is the development of job skills that make students more competitive. Here we study the role that two tools, video, and podcasts, can have in the development of competencies following a systematic and quantitative study. The results show that for generation Z they can constitute a very important didactic strategy for the development of graduation competencies. The significant increase in communication skills, linguistics, as well as cognitive and emotional empathy was evident. The results show that the inclusion of these reflection spaces within the rigid scientific space of the engineering classroom allowed students to arouse their curiosity and the formation of an opinion. The main conclusion that can be drawn is that the Approach to Creativity and critical thinking (Criticality) is an effective cognitive tool to acquire creative thinking and foster the specific temperament dispositions required by Generation Z engineering students. More studies are necessary to study the role of these tools in other engineering environments, however, this study establishes a solid direction to help develop skills using podcasts and videos.

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Zhilei Zhang knocks out Deontay Wilder: Round-by-round fight analysis

If that was it for Deontay Wilder, he went out with a bang – the powerful right hand of “Big Bang’’ Zhilei Zhang.

Zhang knocked out Wilder at 1:51 of the fifth round of their heavyweight bout in Saudi Arabia, sending the American boxer to his fourth defeat in his past five fights — in what might have been his last fight.

Before the fight, Wilder called the bout a make-or-break moment and entertained the possibility of retirement. He looked broken when he got hit by two Zhang rights in the fifth round that dropped him to the canvas.

The 6-foot-6 Zhang weighed in at 282 pounds, 68 pounds heavier than Wilder did at 214.

The proof was in the punch.

When Zhang landed the knockout punch, it was with massive force.

The 6-foot-7 Wilder did land a few powerful right hands earlier in the round. But Zhang absorbed them before finishing off Wilder. 

Wilder had grazed Zhang with a right hand and appeared to be complaining to the referee before he got hit with the knockout punch. Wilder did not participate in an in-ring interview after the fight. 

Wilder, 38, fell to 43-4-1. Zhang, the 41-year-old southpaw from China, improved to 27-2-1.

Zhilei Zhang knocks out Deontay Wilder

Deontay wilder vs. zhilei zhang: round 5.

Wilder connects with a right. Follows with another. Here comes Wilder! Throwing thunder. Zhang fights back and they get tangled up. Wilder unleashes another, and he looks like a different fighter now. Well, DOWN he goes! Zhang floors Wilder with a HUGE right. Wilder does not make the count.

Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang: Round 4

Wilder scurries away from Zhang, almost falls to the canvas. These two might set a Compubox record for fewest punches per round. To do it, you won’t need all of your fingers and toes. Wilder throws a hard right, Zhang counters with a left. Zhang 40, Wilder 36.

Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang: Round 3

Zhang moves forward like a battle carrier. Lands a left and Wilder already looks to be in trouble, looking for a safe place. Wonder what happened to Wilder’s electric right hand? Did they lose it at baggage claim? Once again, Wilder in the corner. Zhang lands a couple of lefts. Zhang 30, Wilder 27. 

Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang: Round 2

Wilder lands a right, but looks scared. Zhang now unloading as he corners Wilder. Wilder trying to punch his way out. Zhang lets him free, but he’s backing him into the corner again. Wilder not looking confident at all. Wilder lands a right, but no follow-up as he drifts into the corner again and takes a hard right. Zhang 20, Wilder 18.

Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang: Round 1

Big Bang Zhang, wow, looking BIG all right. Especially as he backs Wilder into a corner. Wilder slides free. More than a minute in, waiting on the first real punch. Wilder throws a right, but nothing memorable. Boxers pawing at each other. With that 68-pound weight advantage, Zhang looks like the natural aggressor. Zhang 10, Wilder 9.

Daniel Dubois def. Filip Hrgovic by TKO

Dubois bloodied Hrgovic and won the heavyweight bout by TKO in the eighth round.

The punches were flying early, and many landed on Hrgovic’s face. The fight ended after the ringside physician inspected cuts over both of Hrgovic’s eyes with about a minute left in the eighth round and advised the referee to stop the right.

Dubois, a 26-year-old Brit, won the IBF interim world heavyweight title and improved to 21-2. Hrgovic, a 31-year-old Croatian, fell to 17-1. 

Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic: Round 8

Dubois smothering Hrgovic. Referee is calling in the ringside doctor to look at Hrgovic’s cuts above both eyes. The fight has been stopped. Dubois by stoppage!

Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic: Round 7

Dubois charges out behind that left jab. Hrgovic now bleeding over both eyes, and his bloody trunks are going to need serious Clorox. Dubois ramping up the pressure behind a series of combinations. Hrgovic’s tank looks close to empty as his bloody face is tagged again. Dubois 67, Hrgovic 66.

Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic: Round 6

Fighters tiring, but not too tired to throw effective punches. With clear KO power. Dubois 57, Hrgovic 57.

Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic: Round 5

DAZN reports the nasty cut over Hrgovic’s right eye was caused by a punch, not by a headbutt. And the punches keep coming. Hrgovic lands a big right, but he’s bleeding and this bout will not be won by fancy footwork or defense. Hrgovic bleeding badly and landing big. Dubois 48, Hrgovic 47.

Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic: Round 4

Dubois out aggressive and now both fighters settle into the center of the ring. And it’s Hrgovic landing a couple of punches as blood drips down from his right eye. Plenty of action. Dubois 39, Hrgovic 37

Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic: Round 3

Hrgovic emerges with a wound from Round 2. An accidental headbutt left him cut over the right eye. He’s still firing punches and absorbing them, too. Hrgovic’s punches now look telegraphed and it’s Dubois scoring. Dubois 29, Hrgovic 28.

Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic: Round 2

Exchanging big punches early. Might not have to worry about the scorecards here. Hrgovic landing big shots. Dubois counters with two solid stabs that stun Hrgovic. Dubois fires that jab again and hurts Hrgovic. Hrgovic 19, Dubois 19.

Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic: Round 1

Boxers swinging early. Hrgovic lands several stinging right crosses. Delivers an uppercut, too, while dominating this round. Dubois finally answers with a hard right. Hrgovic 10, Dubois 9.

Next fight on Deontay Wilder card

Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic in a heavyweight bout.

Dmitry Bivol def. Malik Zinad by TKO

Bivol looked to be in no hurry before scoring a sixth-round TKO against Zinad and defending his IBO World Light Heavyweight title and WBA Super World Light Heavyweight title.

Best known for his victory over Canelo Alvarez in 2022, Bivol knocked down Zinad in the first round. But his performance looked more methodical than spectacular before he unleashed a flurry of punches that prompted the referee to stop the fight in the sixth round.

Bivol, the 33-year-old Russian, improved to 23-0. Zinad, a 30-year-old Libyan, fell to 22-1.

Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad: Round 6

Zinad firing that left jab almost the instant the round begins. But Bivol finds his range, and the barrage begins! And now the fight is over! Referee waves off the contest with Zinad helpless under a flurry of punches. It’s Bivol by TKO!

Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad: Round 5

Zinad delivers a big right to Bivol’s kisser. No lingering fear from that first-round knockdown that I can see. Bivol patiently moving forward and looking for openings. But it’s Zinad who’s landing punches. Bivol 48, Zinad 46.

Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad: Round 4

Zinad firing the jab repeatedly but without force. Bivol somewhere between patient and passive. Bivol lands a couple of body blows and Zinad’s bleeding from the nose again. But Zinad throwing more punches and then baits Bivol into a mini-headbutt as the round ends. Bivol 39, Zinad 36.

Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad: Round 3

Bivol comes out looking very controlled. No expectation of any brawl breaking out here before he finds an opening. And he finds them, scoring to the head and defending well. Bivol 30, Zinad 26.

Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad: Round 2

Zinad not shirking away, still firing jabs. But Bivol is finding his range with the left jab, too. He’s also drawn blood from Zinad’s nose. Bivol 20, Zinad 17.

Dmitry Bivol vs Malik Zinad: Round 1

Zinad comes out surprisingly aggressive. Anybody let this guy know he’s a 30-to-1 underdog? They’re mixing it up, and Zinad looks like he belongs. Well, not so fast because DOWN goes Zinad. Caught by a three-punch combo, but he’s up and fighting again. Bivol 10, Zinad 8. 

• Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad, for Bivol’s WBA light heavyweight title

Hamzah Sheeraz def. Austin Williams by TKO

Hamzah Sheeraz took control of the middleweight fight after competitive early rounds and stopped Austin Williams by TKO in the 11th.

Sheeraz knocked down Williams at the end of the 10th round and finished him off in the 11th round with a flurry on punches that prompted the referee to call the fight.

Sheeraz, a 25-year-old Brit, improved to 20-0 with his 14th consecutive knockout. Williams, a 28-year-old American, fell to 16-1.

Round-by-round analysis:

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, middleweight, round 10

Now it’s a slugfest, and then comes the finishing slug. Sheeraz rocks Williams with a flurry of punches and the referee waves off the fight! 

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, middleweight, round 9

Williams again comes out strong, charged up with energy and unleashing body blows. Williams now following what appeared to be the original game plan: muscle his way inside. And just like that, Sheeraz stuns Williams with a right. Sheeraz 87, Williams 84.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, middleweight, round 8

Williams asserts himself early, throwing lefts and moving forward. Pins Sheeraz on the ropes, and Sheeraz rewards him with two uppercuts. Some brawling ensues, and now Williams is bleeding from the mouth as Sheeraz attacks. Sheeraz 78, Williams 74. 

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, middleweight, round 7

Williams comes out swinging to the body and the head, desperate to regain some momentum. But Sheeraz responds, landing an assortment of punches as Williams’ right eye swells. Sheeraz 68, Williams 65.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, middleweight, round 6

Sheeraz in stride now, connecting frequently with that left. Williams’ right eye swelling fast. Sheeraz looks in control as he’s now landing lefts and rights. Sheeraz 58, Williams 56.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, middleweight, round 5

Head-snapping exchanges on display. But Williams looking like the easier target. Stumbles to his right after taking a sharp jab to the head. Sheeraz 48, Williams 47.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, middleweight, round 4

Now Williams closes the gap between the two fighters and lands some punishing blows. Without distance, Sheeraz is unable to exploit his reach advantage. The contrast in styles continues, with Sheeraz squeaking out the edge in that round. Williams 38, Sheeraz 38.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, middleweight, round 3

Sheeraz snaps back Williams’ head with a right. Lands another and suddenly Williams looks shaken. Shareez capitalizing on his reach advantage and connects with a sweet left during an assault. Williams 29, Shareez 28.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, middleweight, round 2

Williams delivers another big hand early in the round. Now he’s stalking, but there’s no wobble in Sheeraz’s legs. In fact, Sheeraz connects with a nice uppercut before eating another left punch. Williams 20, Sheeraz 18.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams, middleweight, round 1

Both fighters opening up, and it’s Williams who lands the biggest punch early and stays active. Sheeraz responds with a combo. Thin pickings for the judges. Williams 10, Sheerez 9. 

Nick Ball def. Raymond Ford by split decision

Ball, bloodied but relentless, won the WBA featherweight title with a split-decision victory over Ford in their 12-round fight.

It ended with a spectacular 12th round that featured electric exchanges.

The judges scored it 113-115, 115-113, 115-113 in Ball’s favor.

Ball, the 27-year-old Brit, improved to 20-0-1. Ford, the 25-year-old American, fell to 15-1-1.

Round by round:

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 12

Ford comes out strong. But Ball unleashes a flurry of punches. Ford emerges intact and the fierce exchanges ensue. Leaving it all in the ring. Ford 115, Ball 113. 

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 11

Ball still charging, but Ford landing cleaner punches. Blood flowing again from Ball’s nose, and yet it only seems to energize him. Ford 106, Ball 103.

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 10

Less brawling and more boxing here. Ford doing damage with his left hand. Ford 96, Ball 94.

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 9

Ball back to his best self – charging forward, firing punches and chewing up the distance Ford needs to be at his best. But it’s Ford with the strong finish. Ford 86, Ball 85.

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 8

The bloody nose has not slowed Ball. But Ford countering, delivers a brutal left. Ball’s face, body and trunks are splattered with blood. Ball 76, Ford 76.

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 7

More of the same, Ball on the attack and now landing body punches. Ford not cowering. But he can’t match Ball’s pace or power. Wow. Ford bloodies Ball’s nose on the move. Ball 67, Ford 66.

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 6

Ford comes out more aggressively, but Ball will not be denied. Ford scoring, and Ball roughens things up before the ref intervenes and the punching quickly commences again. Ball 58, Ford 56.

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 5

Ford’s five-inch height advantage over Ball seems to be shrinking as Ball continues his relentless attack.  And more of Ball’s punches are getting through now. Ford cut over both eyes. Ball 48, Ford 47.

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 4

Ball fighting like a brawler and lands a solid left. Ford’s patience not paying off as he tries to fend off the relentless Ball. Ford 38, Ball 38.

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 3

Ford not giving away control. He responds to Ball’s aggression with his own – capped by accurate punches. Ball unleashing punches, but not many landing flush. Ford defending, then landing. Ford 29, Ball 28.

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 2

Ball muscles inside and scores with a variety of punches. More rock ‘em, sock ‘em boxing. But the 5-foot-2 Ball does the most sockin’ and rockin’ in that round. Ford 19, Ball 19.

Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball, featherweight, round 1

Ball charges out, swinging early. A composed Ford stands his ground. Plenty of speed inside this ring. Ball showing his signature pressure, but Ford landing more and cleaner punches. Ford 10, Ball 9.

Deontay Wilder on Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight

Based on recent comments, Deontay Wilder couldn’t have been disappointed to hear that the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul has been postponed .

"I don’t want the last thing I remember of him is him getting knocked out by a YouTuber,’’ Wilder told Sportsbook Review last month. “The last thing you do, that’s what people remember you by."

Wilder directed frustration at the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which oversees combat sports in Texas and sanctioned the Tyson-Paul fight as a professional bout.

"I think it’s bad the commission has licensed Mike Tyson because he hasn’t been active in 20 years, so they should not just license him because of who he is, that’s how people get hurt – God forbid he gets hurt," Wilder said. "People can get hit in the wrong place and at the wrong time, there’s lots of examples where guys have been hit into a coma. It’s easy to do. He’s too old for this.

• Raymond Ford vs. Nick Ball, for Ford’s WBA featherweight title

Willy Hutchinson def. Craig Richards by unanimous decision

Willy Hutchinson dominated Craig Richards with deft footwork, flair and a barrage of stinging punches in their 12-round light heavyweight fight.

The judges scored it 116-112, 117-111, 119-109.

Hutchinson, a 25-year-old Scotsman, improved his record to 18-1. Richards, a 34-year-old Brit, fell to 18-4-1.

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 12

Hutchinson stays aggressive even though he clearly leads on the scorecards. More clever footwork and head movement, opening up angles to throw, and land, his punches. Richards looks flatfooted. Hutchinson 117, Richards 111.

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 11

Fierce exchange a minute into the round. Hutchinson looks fatigued, and Richards could use recharged batteries, too. But the punches continue to fly. Hutchinson 107, Richards 102.

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 10

Richards lands two powerful punches, and Hutchinson answers. It’s now rock ‘em, sock ‘em! Hutchinson, bleeding from the nose, pummels Richards. But Richards cracks back before the bell rings. Hutchinson 98, Richards 92.

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 9

Hutchinson lands a leaping right – and keeps the punches coming. Hutchinson active, theatrical and dangerous. Richards looks flustered, but finishes the round strong. Hutchinson 88, Richards 83. 

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 8

Richards attacks early and back comes Hutchinson. Voltage in the ring spikes. Hutchinson cleverly picking his spots but tiring. Hutchinson 78, Richards 74.

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 7

Richards scoring with his jab early. Hutchinson fires back, and it leads to a nice exchange in a fight that suddenly looks competitive. Richards coming alive. Hutchinson 68, Richards 65.

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 6

Hutchinson comes out swingiRound 7:  Richards scoring with his jab early. Hutchinson fires back, and it leads a nice exchange in a fight that suddenly looks competitive. Richards coming alive. Hutchinson 68, Richards 65.ng again. Richards now the aggressor, and Hutchinson counterpunches effectively. But Richards landing effective punches, too, in what’s his best round so far. Hutchinson 59, Richards 55.

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 5

Crisp punches, nimble footwork, flair -- Hutchinson showing it all. Now repeatedly tagging Richards, who backpedals as Hutchinson gives chase. Hutchinson 50, Richards 45.

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 4

Richards comes out showing a little more energy and assertiveness. In return, Hutchinson moves head with some theatrics. Showmanship? He delivers a flurry of big punches. Hutchinson 40, Richards 36. 

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 3

Hutchinson connects with an early combination and reasserts his role as aggressor. Richards is increasing his activity, but Hutchinson still in control. Hutchinson 30, Richards 27.

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 2

Hutchinson switches stances – southpaw to orthodox -- then delivers a notable right. He catches Richards with a strong right cross while establishing control. Hutchinson 20, Richards 18.

Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards, light heavyweight, round 1

Hutchinson the aggressor. No serious damage inflicted, but Hutchinson still on the attack. Shows a willingness to throw combos while Richards looks more conservative. Hutchinson 10, Richards 9.

Deontay Wilder fight predictions 

George Flood, The Evening Standard: It is a bout between two massive punchers set up for fireworks, with both men carrying serious power capable of knocking out any heavyweight on the planet and changing any given fight in an instant. Prediction: Wilder by KO. 

Lee Groves, The Ring: If Zhang lands his lethal left cross on Wilder’s chin, especially early, there will be no opportunity for Wilder to exploit Zhang’s biggest weakness, stamina. Prediction:  Zhang by KO, Round 7. 

Tom Gray, The Sporting News: The former champ needs to watch what's coming back at him because Zhang is a murderous hitter himself. Prediction: Wilder KO, Round 4. 

John Hansen, SBNation:  I just don’t see Wilder magically finding his spark again against a bigger, stronger opponent than the one who froze his hands.  Prediction: Zhang, unanimous decision. 

What time is Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang fight?

• The undercard starts at 2 p.m. The time for the main event has not been confirmed.

How to watch Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang fight

DAZN. The pay-per-view fee is $69.99 plus a subscription.

Who did Deontay Wilder lose to? 

He lost twice to Tyson Fury and once to Joseph Parker. 

Deontay Wilder net worth 

Forbes estimated his net worth was $46.5 million in 2020. 

Deontay Wilder record 

43-3-1 with 42 knockouts 

Zhilei Zhang record 

26-2-1 with 21 knockouts 

How much do Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang weigh?

Weigh-in results had Wilder at 214.6 pounds and Zhang at 282.8 pounds. That puts Zhang at 68.2 pounds heavier.

Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang undercard

• Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgovic, heavyweight
• Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Austin Williams, middleweight
• Willy Hutchinson vs. Craig Richards, light heavyweight

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A.r. shaw talks kendrick lamar vs. drake; trump vs. biden; and diddy’s social demise: podcast video, atlanta daily world.

• June 2, 2024

In an interview with 3 Milli Podcast, ADW’s Executive Editor A.R. Shaw shared thoughts on several key news items. 

Some of the highlights include discussions on Atlanta’s cultural dominance; the racial undertones and significance behind the high-profile rap beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar; Diddy’s social demise; and the political landscape surrounding  President Biden and Donald Trump. 

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Where to watch Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund: Live stream Champions League final online, time, TV channel

Here's the best of the best from this season's ucl when it comes to statistical output.

It only took 124 games to get from the group stage of the competition which began in Milan and Bern, to the UEFA Champions League's last match with the Champions League final taking place on Saturday at Wembley Stadium . This year has seen a wild 374 goals scored and just 53 clean sheets kept, so there's a real chance the biggest match of the year will be a departure from previous editions, with the last four title games ending with a 1-0 scoreline. The 2023-24 season has been one replete with drama, plot twists and, surely best of all, stats. Even with only Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund left standing, there are still individual accolades to be claimed, history to be made and curios to be uncovered. 

Viewing information

• Date : Saturday, June 1 |  Time : 3 p.m. ET
• Location : Wembley Stadium -- London, England
• TV:  CBS  |  Live stream:  Paramount+
• Odds:  Borussia Dortmund +420; Draw +330; Real Madrid -165

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All times U.S./Eastern

• Morning Footy, 11 a.m. ( CBS Sports Golazo Network )
• We Need To Talk, 12:30 p.m. (CBS,  Paramount+ )
• UEFA Champions League Today, 1 p.m. ( CBS Sports Golazo Network ,  Paramount+ )
• UEFA Champions League Today pre-match, 1:30 p.m. (CBS,  Paramount+ )
• CBS Sports Golazo Matchday, 1:30 p.m. ( CBS Sports Golazo Network )
• Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid, 3 p.m. (CBS,  Paramount+ )
• UEFA Champions League Today post-match, 5:30 p.m. ( CBS Sports Network ,  Paramount+ )
• Scoreline, 5:30 p.m. ( CBS Sports Golazo Network )
• The Champions Club, 6:30 p.m. ( CBS Sports Golazo Network )

Here's a look at the competition's individual leaders:

Golden Boot

One day to doubtless be named the Cristiano Ronaldo award, this one looks to be done and dusted even before the competition itself is concluded. Two players occupy top spot, Bayern Munich's Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain, with eight goals to their name. You may remember that the semifinals did not go to plan for either superstar and even a player of Mbappe's swiftness can't bring his move to Madrid that far forward. Unlike FIFA's curious insistence that the player with the most assists should win the World Cup's prize for its best scorer, UEFA does not apply tiebreakers to the Champions League scoring race. It'll just have to be half a trophy for Kane.

With their nearest rivals, Antoine Griezmann and Erling Haaland , having reached the Champions League club house with tallies of six to their name, it looks like this will be a prize shared by Kane and Mbappe. Their eight goals will be the first time the Golden Boot has been won by a player who hasn't hit double figures since 2009-10, when Lionel Messi hit a high watermark of eight, back in the less-than-illustrious days of Jose Mourinho's sufferball.

Then again this is the Champions League and there are honors to be handed out. Using words like "done and dusted" tends to have a remarkably restorative impact on Real Madrid. Three of their players -- Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and semifinal hero Joselu -- have five goals to their name so far. Three of the four players to score hat tricks in European Cup finals did so in Madrid colors. I'm just saying.

Oh as for Dortmund? Niklas Fullkrug's on three. Probably not then...

Assist leader

Now we've got a tussle on our hands! The man with his digits on the prize right now rather typifies Borussia Dortmund's well-timed heater in the spring. Marcel Sabitzer has completed 213 passes, created 13 chances and provided 1.32 expected assists (xA) to the cause. That has resulted in five assists, more than anyone else in the competition so far. Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi must be wondering what they have to do to get finishers like that on the end of the opportunities they create.

It's still all to play for at Wembley though with Vinicius and Bellingham only one assist away from drawing level with Sabitzer. The former in particular has been on a creative tear in the New Year, one to rival David Bowie in Berlin. Eleven of the 19 chances he has created have come at the high-stakes knockout stage moments, as has 1.61 of his 2.58 xA. Whether he tops the scoring or assist charts, who knows, but keep this form running through to Wembley and into the Copa America and you might just be reading about the next Ballon d'Or winner.

Don't miss CBS Sports Golazo Network's Morning Footy, now in podcast form! Our crew brings you all the news, views, highlights and laughs you need to follow the Beautiful Game in every corner of the globe, every Monday-Friday all year long.

Golden glove

The footballing community is for the most part now sufficiently well-versed to know that clean sheets is far from the best measure of a goalkeeper's qualities. But look, what else would you have me use? Saves? That just favors busy players on bad teams. Goals prevented? Too nerdy. Possession value? What did I just say? It might not be perfect, it might reward the defense as a whole rather than goalkeepers individually but clean sheets will do.

Fortunately, on this occasion it also spotlights a player who is quite clearly the best goalkeeper in the 2023-24 Champions League. Gregor Kobel has this in the bag anyway with six clean sheets to his name, though as Chuck Booth notes, having the best goalkeeper in the tournament is something of a double-edged sword . All credit to Alex Remiro, David Raya, Manuel Neuer and Yann Sommer, but it's the Borussia Dortmund man who takes this prize. He would by plenty of other statistical measures you might like to name.

Kobel's 42 saves are four more than anyone else in the competition, his 7.09 goals prevented almost double the second-best mark set by Anatoliy Trubin. Sommer has his compatriot Kobel beaten on save percentage and goals conceded per 90 minutes but look, Inter came through a fairly pat-a-cake group before exiting to Atletico Madrid. Half of Dortmund's 12 games were against oil state soft power vehicles masquerading as football clubs. They beat both of them to top spot in a group that also contained AC Milan ... then they knocked out PSV Eindhoven, Atletico Madrid before running into one of those sovereign wealth concerns again. There could hardly be a tougher test for a team and in particular for a goalkeeper. Kobel aced it.

Other statistics we like

• The problem with defensive stats is that some of the best work done out of possession involves stopping any meaningful action from taking place. How often does the opposition not hit a long ball into the channel because they know that Virgil van Dijk or William Saliba are going to bully their center forward? Still, there is a world for celebrating the active side of defending: hitting your opponent firmly but fairly, booting the ball, reading the pass before it comes. Enter Mats Hummels, who leads the Champions League in tackles, interceptions and clearances with the second-most ball recoveries. Aaah, you say, but that's just because he has logged the most minutes in the tournament. Adjust your numbers to per 90, however, and the Borussia Dortmund center back still leads the way for tackles, ranks third for interceptions and sixth for clearances. His season has been a masterclass in busy defending.
• Shooting goals added (SGA) is one of those curious metrics. Assessing the pre and post-shot xG values, it does not necessarily tell you all that much more meaningfully over a long timescale than xG itself might. The best strikers are not necessarily the ones who hit the corners every time -- Heung-min Son might say otherwise though -- but the ones who keep getting themselves in shooting positions. Still over the relatively brief lifecycle of a Champions League campaign, SGA does serve a different purpose, highlighting the men whose yikes games had an outsized impact on the tournament. Oh Lautaro Martinez (34 shots, two goals, 5.13 xG, -1.83 SGA), if only you'd kept your Serie A form up in the big leagues, there might have been another Champions League final on the cards. Fabian Ruiz, we really need to get you some heading practice.
• Are we seeing a new post-pressing approach at the top of the European game? Even Borussia Dortmund are no longer the practitioners of Jurgen Klopp's heavy metal, returning to the Wembley promised land thanks to tight defensive lines and immaculate off-ball shape. Manchester City's 92.4% pass completion is the highest in five years of Champions League football. Real Madrid's 90.1% ranks third while PSG, Bayern Munich and Feyenoord were among those to be notably more accurate than in previous years. For the competition as a whole pass completion was at 83.6%, in pre-COVID 2019-20 it was somewhat lower at 82.1%. Similarly, this year sides have won the ball in the middle third on 22.6 occasions per game. Five years ago that was 24.3.
• Perhaps that is partly explained by just how long everyone is hanging about. Twenty players have made more than 150 appearances in the history of UEFA club competitions. Four of them -- Sergio Ramos , Luka Modric, Thomas Muller and Ivan Rakitic -- joined that club this season. With all those games coming in the Champions League, Muller now ranks level with the ageless Xavi Hernandez on 151 Champions League appearances, just one ahead of his compatriot Toni Kroos, who will retire from club football after Saturday's final. For now, at least that means that of the 15 players with the most Champions League games ever, 10 are currently still active. Eight of the top 15 have been managed by Carlo Ancelotti. This era of football has gone on!
• The Champions League final, by the numbers
• Champions League superlatives
• How Real Madrid's stadium allows them to compete financially with Europe's top teams
• Why Gregor Kobel is key to Borussia Dortmund's success in the Champions League final
• Ranking Real Madird's top 10 Galactico signings

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• Match preview and players to watch in the Champions League final
• The legends taking part in the Champions League final
• Dortmund's Mats Hummels on his team's journey to the Champions League final
• Jude Bellingham's impact during his first season for Real Madrid
• A look at Jadon Sancho's resurgence at Dortmund
• What role will Brahim Diaz play for Real Madrid?

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How Timberwolves, led by Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, defeated Mavericks in Game 4 to extend West finals

Behind Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns , the Minnesota Timberwolves salvaged their season with a 105-100 Game 4 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.

Edwards nearly had a triple-double, leading the Timberwolves with a game-high 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Towns topped the 20-point mark for the first time this series, adding 25 points and five boards before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

Luka Dončić posted his sixth triple-double of this postseason in the loss, with 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 rebounds. Kyrie Irving fell to 14-1 in closeout games, scoring just 16 points and dishing out four assists on 6-of-18 shooting.

Dallas still holds a 3-1 series lead entering Game 5 on Thursday in Minnesota.

Postgame reading

• Jon Krawczynski: Karl-Anthony Towns ‘came through big time’ to help Timberwolves stave off elimination
• Key takeaways: How Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves forced the series to a Game 5

Find the best deals on tickets to see your favorite teams.

How Anthony Edwards led Timberwolves to Game 4 win over Mavericks to extend series

Dončić, Irving both take ownership for loss

(Photo: Tim Heitman / Getty Images)

DALLAS — There aren’t gimmes in the conference finals.

The Dallas Mavericks, a professional basketball team, knew that. What happened in Tuesday’s 105-100 Game 4 defeat to the Timberwolves was just a reminder with a hefty consequence, given that its chance at a series sweep has now been exchanged for another trip north to Minnesota. The team’s margin for error, always slim at this point of the postseason, had grown slimmer still due to center Dereck Lively II’s absence with a neck sprain. Without the rookie, the team had no real chance to overcome an abnormally poor evening from its superstar duo, Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, who both took blame for the defeat.

“I think that game’s on me,” Dončić said. “I just didn’t give enough energy.”

Dončić still managed 28 points while tallying up a 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, but he was inefficient (7-of-21 shooting) and occasionally looked bothered by Minnesota’s team-defining defensive physicality in a manner he hadn’t in the prior three games. (While Minnesota’s most notable adjustment was tasking Anthony Edwards as Dončić’s primary defender, reserve Kyle Anderson seemed to get under Dončić’s skin most often. Anderson has been the most effective defender on the star for most of the series.) Typical of his night, even when he hit a magical shot — a 30-foot and-one 3-pointer that could’ve cut the lead to two points with 12 seconds remaining — Dončić missed the ensuing free throw.

Irving was affected more by the ramifications of Minnesota’s defensive switch-up, which turned Jaden McDaniels into his primary defender.

“It has a huge impact,” Irving said. “He’s a 6-9 wing defender who I’m seeing now from the first time from the start of the game, but I love it. I relish in these types of battles.”

With McDaniels guarding him more frequently, Irving finished with 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting. He seized some of the blame that Dončić had claimed for himself.

“A lot of this is on me,” said Irving, specifically indicating he needed to start the game better. “I had spurts, we had spurts, but I’ve got to put a full 48 minutes of a game together.”

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Mavericks can’t quite overcome Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving finally having off games

Kyrie Irving's perfect closeout record ends

Tuesday's Minnesota Timberwolves win meant that, for the first time, Kyrie Irving lost a game with the opportunity to advance to the next round of the playoffs.

Irving was an incredible 14-0 in closeout games before the Wolves staved off elimination in Game 4. And he was typically pretty good in those games, too.

• Cavaliers 101, Celtics 93, 2015 first round: 24 points, 11 rebounds
• Cavaliers 94, Bulls 73, 2015 conference semifinals: 6 points
• Cavaliers 118, Hawks 88, 2015 conference finals: 16 points, 5 assists
• Cavaliers 100, Pistons 98, 2016 first round: 31 points, 5 assists
• Cavaliers 100, Hawks 99, 2016 conference semifinals: 21 points, 8 assists
• Cavaliers 113, Raptors 87, 2016 conference finals: 30 points, 9 assists
• Cavaliers 93, Warriors 89, 2016 NBA Finals: 26 points, 6 rebounds
• Cavaliers 106, Pacers 102, 2017 first round: 28 points, 3 blocks
• Cavaliers 109, Raptors 102, 2017 conference semifinals: 27 points, 9 assists
• Cavaliers 135, Celtics 102, 2017 conference finals: 24 points, 7 assists
• Celtics 110, Pacers 106, 2019 first round: 14 points, 7 assists
• Nets 123, Celtics 109, 2021 first round: 25 points
• Mavericks 114, Clippers 101, 2024 first round: 30 points, 6 rebounds
• Mavericks 117, Thunder 116, 2024 conference semifinals: 22 points

Karl-Anthony Towns shakes off difficult stretch to extend series

DALLAS — Here the Minnesota Timberwolves were again, holding a small lead in the fourth quarter of these Western Conference finals, just like they had in each of the first three games against the Dallas Mavericks. The score was 92-90 with a little more than five minutes to play. With the way this series had played out in the first three games, the Timberwolves might as well have been down 10.

The Wolves had the ball in the frontcourt as the shot clock ticked down, and that’s when Kyle Anderson started to orchestrate. The ball was in Anthony Edwards’ hands, and Anderson motioned for Karl-Anthony Towns, the Wolves All-Star whose jumper has been broken this series, to get to the corner.

As Edwards drove to the paint, he rose and could have easily taken a tough, but makeable, pull-up jumper. But Anderson pointed emphatically at Towns in the corner, and Edwards obliged. It did not matter that Towns had struggled so mightily shooting the ball in the first three games, including going 0 of 8 from 3-point range in Game 3. Anderson trusted him and so did Edwards, who zipped a pass to him.

Towns was in foul trouble all game, and much of that was his doing with some ill-advised reach-in fouls. He had just five points in the first half, not helping his cause after going 15 of 54 from the field and 3 of 22 from 3 in the first three games. But he had started to catch a rhythm in the third quarter, and the show of faith from his teammates in the fourth seemed to embolden him. He rose and drilled the 3, his second of the quarter, for a 95-90 lead.

He added another 3 a few minutes later to help the Timberwolves avoid a sweep with a 105-100 victory over the Mavericks. Towns finished with 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including four 3s, and five rebounds before fouling out. There were still some head-scratching decisions and ill-advised fouls, but this is the shotmaking form Towns the Wolves have been missing in three very close losses to start this series.

“Everything came together for him,” said Edwards, who had 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. “He was super confident. He wasn’t worried about any of the shots previous to the shots he hit tonight. He played exceptionally well, and he came through big time. He was the reason we won tonight.”

Karl-Anthony Towns ‘came through big time’ to help Timberwolves stave off elimination

When is Game 5?

The next game in the Timberwolves-Mavericks series will tip at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.

The game will be broadcast on TNT.

This early play stood out to me in this game. Some real "We're not ready for Cancun yet" vibes from the Timberwolves.

Jaden McDaniels arm-wrestles Derrick Jones Jr. to deny the wing entry pass. Meanwhile, Mike Conley switches onto Kyrie Irving, Rudy Gobert switches onto Jones on the dribble handoff, Conley denies the pass to Kyrie and then deflects it for a turnover.

Winning relaxes these Timberwolves

These Timberwolves are loose after getting a win.

To end his postgame news conference, Anthony Edwards mentioned how he complimented Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons' wardrobe ... and told him he'd bring him a pair of shoes when he returns for Game 6.

Edwards also welcomed backcourt mate Mike Conley to the interview room while reminding reporters Conley is his "OG" and "old as f---."

All in jest, of course. Edwards exited with a "Thank you, Mike Conley."

"They're keeping me young, honestly," Conley said of his younger teammates. "I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else."

Funny exchange after the game between Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns during their joint news conference:

"What'd I tell you about fouling?" Edwards asked with Towns sitting to his right.

" You had five! " Towns replied.

"I didn't foul out, " Edwards countered.

Good points all around. Edwards had a ton of praise for his teammate too.

"He was the reason we won tonight."

Without Dereck Lively II, Dallas didn't get quite enough from its stars

Glenn James / NBAE via Getty Images

Dereck Lively II, even as a 20-year-old rookie, is the Dallas Mavericks' third-most important player. (I'm comfortable saying that definitively even if there are reasonable arguments others could make for the team's starting wings.) With the youngster wearing street clothes on the team’s bench after a brutal head collision last game , Dallas’ closeout effort in Game 4 was always going to require other players stepping up from unexpected places.

Maxi Kleber, cleared to play for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury in the final game of the first round, was the first one. With a backup center void needing to be filled, Kleber stepped in quietly but capably . Dallas needed a player with more size than Dwight Powell who could be trusted to properly make rotations, which Kleber did.

There were bench guards who stepped up, too. Jaden Hardy, a second-year guard who hadn't been in the team’s rotation until Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, contributed 13 points off the bench . Dante Exum scored five more in a four-minute stint, his first points in the series.

These were the type of contributions Dallas needed to make up for Lively's crucial absence — if, alongside it, Dallas received the type of luxury shotmaking from its superstar duo that it's come to expect throughout this series.

Heading into the fourth quarter down five, it sure felt like that familiar formula was ready to be repeated.

But Luka Dončić (28 points) and Kyrie Irving (16 points) weren't as brilliant as they had been all series, combining to shoot 13-of-40 from the field. Dončić briefly restored that potential feeling of magic, nailing a 30-foot jumper with a foul with 13 seconds remaining. Typical of the duo's night, however, Dončić missed the free throw that would've cut the lead to two.

Dallas now heads back to Minnesota with an atypical chance to close out this series in a gentleman's sweep in a road arena. Dallas can win without Lively, but his return would surely make it easier.

For once, the Wolves were the team thriving down the stretch

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. So naturally, the Wolves found themselves in a one-possession game against the Mavericks with Minnesota's season on the line.

This time, however, the Wolves did something unfathomable in comparison to the other games of this series: They protected a lead in the final minutes and matched Dallas point-for-point in the clutch.

The Wolves held a five-point game with five minutes left. Multiple times, Dallas knocked it down to a one-possession game, but the Wolves attacked intelligently to win Game 4. Anthony Edwards made great decisions on offense, setting up Karl-Anthony Towns for a big 3-pointer. He made his own pivoting whirlwind of moves in the paint to knock down a short shot. He pulled up for a long 2-point jumper to keep the Mavs at bay. The Wolves may have held their lead together with band-aids and thread, but it held it together nonetheless.

This was the Edwards we've been waiting to see in the clutch. Intentional. Calm. Cool. Collected (outside of fouling Luka Dončić on a 3-pointer while up six). While he still works on convincing the refs to give him the star calls, he closed like the star player he is and the one he's projected to become.

Now... can they do it again in Game 5? Or better yet... avoid a clutch game altogether with a big win? Sounds insane, but ...

'We gotta win again'

The Timberwolves "played well right out of the gate" en route to their Game 4 win against the Mavs, Wolves coach Chris Finch said in his postgame news conference.

"We weathered a lot of foul trouble out there, which was frustrating to say the least, but all credit to our guys," Finch said.

Karl-Anthony Towns fouled out late against the Mavs, while Rudy Gobert collected five fouls of his own. They combined for 38 points and 15 rebounds.

Minnesota still trails the series 3-1. When asked out the Game 4 win changed the complexion of the series, Finch was direct.

"It doesn't; we gotta win again."

Chris Finch gambled his team's season on his two bigs, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, in the fourth quarter of Game 4, rather than playing Naz Reid, who’s been Minnesota's best player throughout the series. It worked. Gobert and Towns played most of the last nine minutes Tuesday, while Reid only played the last 13 seconds. If Jason Kidd had the edge for most of the first three games in rotation and substitution decisions, Finch made the right calls in Game 4. And his team lives to play at least one more day.

Timberwolves survive as only they can

Tim Heitman / Getty Images

The Timberwolves are on the board, in the most Timberwolves way possible. Nothing is easy for them, and this one wasn't either. They fought foul trouble all game and seemed to have the game iced with a six-point lead with 15 seconds to play. But they got some luck when Luka Dončić missed the free throw on a potential four-point play, allowing the Wolves to extend the series.

It was a redemption game of sorts for Karl-Anthony Towns. He has had a nightmare series, but hit 9 of 13 shots, including 4 of 5 3s, on his way to 25 points before fouling out.

This is the Towns the Wolves need in this series, minus the fouls. If they got shooting like that from him in the first three games (he was 3 for 22 from 3), this series would look entirely different.

Anthony Edwards was terrific as well, attacking the paint relentlessly and putting up 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

The Wolves now head back home for Game 5. They are still in a deep hole, but they fought like crazy to get this one, and may have revived Towns in the process. They have a chance, and that's all they wanted.

And that'll do it — once this pointless review of a clock malfunction is complete. The Minnesota Timberwolves have defeated the Dallas Mavericks 105-100 to force a Game 5 back in Minnesota on Thursday. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns made the big plays late to give Minnesota its first West finals win in 20 years.

OK, now it really might be over. The Timberwolves nearly broke their fans' hearts by taking forever to get the ball inbounds, but Kyle Anderson eventually found Naz Reid with a risky over-the-top pass that the Sixth Man of the Year put down with a (possibly ill-advised) layup to extend Minnesota's lead to five. Good thing Naz made it!

Belay that! Just when it looked like this thing was over, Luka Dončić just hit a pull-up 3 with 13.2 seconds left ... and got fouled by Anthony Edwards!

But Dončić missed the free throw, and Minnesota called timeout while clinging to a 103-100 lead.

And that might do it. The Wolves surprise Dallas by trapping Kyrie Irving with Rudy Gobert, and it leads to a turnover and a foul. Barring a miracle, the Timberwolves are going to force a Game 5.

With Karl-Anthony Towns out, Anthony Edwards needs to take over. And that's exactly what he did, hitting a pull-up midrange jumper to put Minnesota back up five with 38.8 seconds left after Dallas cut the Wolves' lead to 3.

And ... there's Karl-Anthony Towns' sixth foul trying to go for a Luka Dončić pump fake. The Timberwolves have no challenges left, so they're stuck. No more KAT tonight.

Can you have a redemptive arc when your team is down 3-0 in a series? Karl-Anthony Towns is having the closest thing to one in this game. Another 3, plus an Anthony Edwards layup, has Minnesota up eight with 1:38 left.

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Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State: A Brief History of Black Friday Egg Bowls

Jackson harris | may 31, 2024.

• Ole Miss Rebels

With six of the last seven Egg Bowls having been played on Thanksgiving, it had to be somewhat of a surprise at the SEC Spring Meetings when it was revealed that the annual meeting between Ole Miss and Mississippi State was flexed to the afternoon of Black Friday .

Last year, the NFL played a game on Black Friday on Prime that got surprisingly good ratings, so the SEC doubleheader of the Egg Bowl and Clean Old Fashioned Hate (Georgia vs. Georgia Tech) on ABC should do very well.

Lets take a look at some other Egg Bowl matchups played on Black Friday.

1999 -- Mississippi State 23, Ole Miss 20

One of the crazier Egg Bowls that saw Ole Miss blow a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. Junior QB Romaro Miller threw a fourth-down interception to end the game and solidify one of the biggest comebacks in Bulldog history.

Ole Miss went on to the Independence Bowl, beating future SEC foe Oklahoma 27-25.

2007 -- Mississippi State 17, Ole Miss 14

Another loss for the Rebels on Black Friday in 2007 as the Bulldogs found life in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 unanswered to take the Golden Egg back to Starkville. BenJarvus Green-Ellis had a monster game on the ground for Ole Miss, however, going for 117 yards on 29 carries and a score.

The Rebels ended up going 3-9 in 2007, and that was the nail in the coffin for the Ed Orgeron era of Ole Miss football.

2008 -- Ole Miss 45, Mississippi State 0

This was one of the more lopsided victories in the storied rivalry and one of the few games the two teams have played in the afternoon. Houston Nutt made a statement in his first Egg Bowl game with big contribution in the air and on the ground.

Dexter McCluster had 62 yards on the ground, but Mike Wallace had a huge impact with four receptions for 105 yards and two trips to the end zone.

The Rebels ended the regular season 8-4 and notched their ninth win in Dallas with an upset win over Mike Leach and the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl.

With the Egg Bowl being moved, it will be interesting to see if this trend will continue in the future. The game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT, leaving plenty of time to get your shopping done after the game.

JACKSON HARRIS

Harris, a native of Dallas, Texas, is a staff writer at The Grove Report, specializing in football and baseball coverage of the Ole Miss Rebels.