Inspired Singles: Detroit '67

Issue 20: Detroit '67 by Sam Roberts

Take a bit of history, some classic vintage footage, throw in some jaunty piano with a carefree bar crowd, and you've got Detroit '67 by Sam Roberts.  This isn't the first time that Sam has popped up in my Inspired Singles or on this blog - I saw him in Regina a few times, and he performed at the university for welcome week one year. 

With his signature folk rock sound, Roberts tells a story of Detroit in its heyday with almost care-free poetics that make you revel in both the history of Motown and the song itself.  Love at the End of the World is the third studio album from Roberts, and quickly became one of my favorites when it came out in 2008.  With Detroit having faced such a dramatic economic shift, more on that here, I just love the nostalgia and optimism of this track - that, and the music video is a work of editing art.

Waterworld Universal Studios Singapore Edit

Realizing that I hadn't edited anything just for the joy of it lately, I decided to revisit some of the footage that I shot at Universal Studios Singapore last year.  The Waterworld show in particular, offered a lot of variety for a fast paced and energetic edit.
  

The travel footage I shoot in general is always a great editing standby.  After a few months, or a full year in this case, I've forgotten most of what I shot which gives me a fresh outlook to try something new.  There's nothing that complicated about this edit, but I'm sure it's a lot more entertaining to watch than any of the other Waterworld videos that are just straightforward home videos.  If YouTube has proven anything, it's that it's all about the highlights.

Top Posts of 2007

In 2007 I entered my final year of film school, took part in the Sasktel cell phone video competition, and went on a lengthy road trip to Mount Rushmore.  It was also the year that Editing Luke debuted.  

I was fairly new to sharing my videos online and was still just trying to find my own writing style, but in the 7 months of 2007 that Editing Luke existed my blog actually received over 8,000 hits. I worked hard to get them, but I also knew from the start that the success of my site was resting on how original and unique I could make it from what else was already out there.  In retrospect those first 7 months were all trial and error, but the concept of my online film journal seemed to stick.  Here were the most popular posts from my site in its first year:

1.  Buick to the Future: Episode One  

Originally posted June 15, 2007

This post shouldn't come as much of a surprise.  Buick to the Future was a campy comedy short that I came up with entirely because I wanted brand new content to promote my blog with.  It also became a big deal when for the first time I was able to share a new video with family and friends minutes after posting it.

2. Sad Little Snowman  

Originally posted December 16, 2007

Similarly to Buick, this post became popular when I sent out Christmas messages with this video linked to it.  I suppose you also can't underestimate the willingness of people to share a cheesy snowman video with each other around the holidays.

3. Dorm Xmas Tree  

Originally posted November 4, 2007

An entertaining time lapse concept made this post popular as I kicked off my ambitiously early dorm room Christmas.

4. Film Student?  

Originally posted June 5, 2007

One of the main reasons I wanted to start a blog in the first place was to share my film school experiences.  This post marked the beginning of my film school rants, and readers seemed to embrace my candid thoughts.  It was a good thing too, because there were a lot more on the way.