Video Essays: A New Type Of Documentary

 Whether it is on late-night television hosts, an amusement park attraction or company that is no longer with us, or perhaps every episode of a sitcom from your childhood, the impact of video essays online has been on the rise and now even rivals the relevancy and presence of podcasts. I watch plenty myself, from restaurants to musical history, entertainment, or even perhaps deep diving into a show from my childhood. I do love wandering the beaten path and watching different topics such as food, modern trends, fashion, and such sometimes to perhaps learn something new and talk about something with my friends when the other day a thought struck me, that video essays are now, not replacing, but are on the quality and can stand alongside documentaries as a form of entertainment that also gives you fun facts to share next time you are out to dinner with friends. 

Video essays are everywhere and the topics vary from travel to food to one of my personal favorites the giant LCD sphere in  Las Vegas. I was introduced to Eddie Burback videos recently and absolutely adore them, from the sphere to eating at every rainforest cafe, but I have watched plenty on the topics of musicals, history, and entertainment, and I feel they are on the levels of documentaries. Whether it is editing or collecting facts with the purpose of entertaining while informing. Interviews can be used, facts and research collected and presented, and both personal and outside opinions presented. The more I have been watching the more it not only feels like I am learning things, but also on topics that would never get a big screen chance. 

There are some documentaries I like on topics such as music, a TV series, an actor, or even the recently released "Movie Pass Movie Crash". Thus why I say that video essays and documentaries coexist rather than replace. There may never be a documentary on the musical version of Groundhog Day but the Youtube channel Wait In The Wings covered that, and I am so grateful. One of my personal favorites of theirs is the video on the King Kong puppet as well as the musical it roamed around in. Giving me things to want to explore more such as more videos, a documentary, a podcast, or even a book. Even if the topics are loosely connected just by a common theme like food, music, or the creative works of the same person. Some videos even end by calling themselves documentaries, and I think they are not out of line at all

Video essays are something I also find myself watching multiple times, or just listening to in order to pick the facts up or refresh myself on them. Also, some of them are so entertaining and have a good balance of humor whether from the topic being presented or the one presenting it that I find myself laughing at it and enjoying it like I do with a good movie. Video essays are great for information, the people presenting them can collect facts and interviews with cited sources, and the length also proves that the topic being presented was well looked into. Some weave narratives while others give fun points of trivia on what seems to be an endless amount of topics. From current online drama to an amusement park ride that is just a memory, video essays are amazing, and deserve respect. A new type of documentary meant to entertain, inform, and give us something to walk away with... even if that something is a new need to go to Las Vegas and ponder the orb.