Jul

2

The Elements of a Successful Vlog (Video Blog): Dancing Around the World Video

Filed Under What is a Vlog?, Vloggers & Vlogs

It seems that not only professional dancers or “stars” get famous for dancing. Your average Joe can too - or make that your average Matt. Matt Harding got so famous for his, well, very average to (as he says) bad dancing, that a chewing gum company (yes, chewing gum) is now paying for his way around the world. Sound like a load? Well, it’s not.

Matt was on a round the world trip when a friend gave him the idea that he should video himself dancing in all the places he went to. And so he did. The result was a video montage of Matt doing his little, happy traveler’s dance for about five seconds a piece in thirty-six of some of the most famous places on Earth.


Why This Vlog is Successful

But here’s the thing - although the idea for this video is “simple,” what makes it viral is that it’s a perfect mixture of a number of different elements coming together in just the right way. It’s kind of perfectly quirky. It’s upbeat. It’s interesting. It’s entertaining. And, in it’s own way, it’s even “deep.” It uses the strength of what video has to offer (as opposed to just text or just audio).

There seem to be five different elements that come together just right to make it what it is:

1. The dance itself (and, by extension, the dancer)
2. The music
3. The exoticism of the places
4. The number of different places
5. The “suspense” and “surprise” of what will come next

1. The dance itself is, well, a little goofy. But that’s what makes it perfect. It isn’t some great, choreographed, well-rehearsed performance. It’s funny. It’s joyful. It’s FUN. It’s the dance of a goofball being a goofball. It’s a real-life, average person. It’s the heart and soul of a good vlog.

2. The music - a song called “Sweet Lullaby” by Deep Forest, Eric Mouquet, and Michel Sanchez (Published by EMI Music, Sony ATV) - is also the perfect choice. It’s also upbeat, but it’s also suitably mystical and even haunting. It has a very “world music” vibe to it, and of course that makes it just the right choice for all the different exotic locations. Paired with the quirky dance, it’s also FUN. It doesn’t come off as too serious or demanding. And yet it could be those things in its own way.

3. The exoticism of the places is, first and foremost, simply interesting. To see one of them would be interesting. To see more than one starts to add a dimension of something global going on. To set these exotic places one after another in juxtaposition with each other, the quirky dance, and the haunting, yet upbeat music, it shoots the whole experience into another realm.

4. The number of different places also seems to add to the power of the clip. There are thirty six in all (you’ll find a complete list below, however you may want to watch the video first - read the next point for the reason why). We see Matt dancing his quirky little dance all over the world. The video itself runs 3:42. Take out the credits, and you get about 3:30 of actual dancing around the world. Most places get in the neighborhood of five to six seconds of air time - just enough time to take the local atmosphere in, and then it’s on to another completely different spot before you have time to get bored.

5. The last element of the video that seems to help make it work is that it has its own form of suspense and surprise to it. By about the third location, you find yourself wondering what will come next. To increase this curiosity, there is no geographical “logic” to help you guess. In other words, he doesn’t simply move around the globe in the way a traveler might - going from the U.S., down into Mexico, into Central America, then to South America, etc. You have no idea if the next little scene is coming from a country next door or across the world.

So, in short, the video was able to incorporate a lot of different elements that took advantage of the strength of video, the strength of a vlog.

1. It had a “real-life” person.
2. It incorporated and meshed nice music for mood.
3. It SHOWED us things (the exotic locales). Video should “show,” after all.
4. It gave us a lot (36 locations).
5. And it kept it interesting and moving by providing a type of suspense and surprise about how it presented its content.

In the end, it adds up to pure entertainment - and even more.

VLOG FACTS

The places in the video and the order in which they appear:

1. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
2. Petra, Jordan
3. Machu Piccu, Peru
4. Venice, Italy
5. Tokyo, Japan
6. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
7. Brisbane, Australia
8. Luang Prabang, Laos
9. Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
10. Area 51, Nevada
11. Tikal, Guatemala
12. Half Moon Caye, Belize
13. Sossusvlei, Namibia
14. Routeburn Valley, New Zealand
15. Monument Valley, Arizona
16. South Shetland Islands
17. Chuuk, Micronesia
18. London, England
19. Very Large Array, New Mexico
20. Abu Simbel, Egypt
21. Easter Island, Chile
22. Haute-Picardie, France
23. Mutianyu, China
24. New York, New York
25. Ephesus, Turkey
26. Guam
27. Mokolodi, Botswana
28. Berlin, Germany
29. Sydney, Australia
30. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
31. Rock Islands, Palau
32. Mulindi, Rwanda
33. Neko Harbor, Antarctica
34. Kjeragbolten, Norway
35. San Francisco, California
36. Seattle, Washington

Vlogger: Matt Harding - See his blog

Original Song “Sweet Lullaby” by Deep Forest, Eric Mouquet, and Michel Sanchez (Published by EMI Music, Sony ATV)

3:42 in total, about 3:30 of actual dancing

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