The beauty of the YouTube generation is that a group of bored frat boys from Kentucky can shoot their own rendition of “Shake it Off” and it can be equally entertaining, artistic and even inspiring. Producers (and frat brothers) Jered Brewington and Barton Lynch came up with the idea to make the video just for fun, and what resulted was, in my opinion, one of the greatest achievements in YouTube filmmaking: a successfully executed “one shot wonder.” A one shot wonder is another word for a long tracking shot, which is when a camera follows actors or objects while physically moving with them. The longer the tracking shot the more impressive it is because it takes a ton of planning and rehearsal and a true expert behind the camera to get it just right.
Like in any production, every single person involved is integral to the success of a video or film. But Daniel Barber, the boy who shot the video, deserves to be called out for his skill in executing the entire video in a single shot–there was no editing involved–the boy literally filmed for three minutes and 47 seconds straight. We call that a “one shot wonder” because it is SO easy to mess up. Normally scenes have multiple clips spliced together which diverts our attention but this guy had to walk backward, forward, pan up, pan down, turn, and frame everyone for nearly four minutes, right on cue every time! That’s insane!
So congratulations to the boys of of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity at Transylvania University for pulling off an incredible music video and hopefully inspiring tons of young filmmakers (especially the dorky ones) to pick up their cameras–iphones, point and shoots, whatever–and start creating.
Check out our favorite kid, who NAILS Taylor Swift: