by KELLI FONTENOT
Published Nov. 5, 2008 by The Current Sauce
Some NSU students and on-campus groups are realizing the possibilities provided by technology and YouTube.com.
YouTube is home to millions of videos - from episodes of beloved '90s cartoons to up-to-the-minute election coverage - posted from locations all over the world, including Natchitoches.
While many NSU students use YouTube as a tool for finding music videos and episodes of their favorite TV shows, some students have uploaded their own videos of silly skits to the site.
Others use the site as a way of communicating with their friends and family members or sharing clever parodies of YouTube classics.
The addictive site attracts millions of people every day, and some of these videos are viewed by hundreds of Internet users.
YouTube isn't reserved for social networking and shows like "Ask A Ninja," though.
Student Government Association president Cody Bourque and vice president Mark Daniels posted a campaign slideshow to YouTube last semester while vying for their current positions.
NSU Exposed, the popular video series on Facebook highlighting on-campus events and fashion flaws, now makes its episodes available on YouTube.
Tyran Cosey, a senior business administration and CIS major, co-hosts the program along with graphic communications major Rickey Henry and NSU alumnus Kamal Dorsey.
The show, which comes equipped with a new theme song this semester, has attracted more than 1,600 fans on Facebook and has spread to other social networking Web sites.
A few organizations at Northwestern have recognized the impact YouTube can have as well.
One channel, Mcnsu, provides Internet users with footage of the Spirit of Northwestern Marching band performances.
Other YouTube directors have followed suit, posting videos of their favorite NSU marching shows, drumline cadences and symphony performances.
Some students use the site to promote on-campus organizations.
Sarah Sutton, 21, came to NSU to study journalism, but ended up being one step closer to her dream career.
Sutton films videos in her spare time and serves as the video director for the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at NSU, using YouTube to share the BCM's message with the world.
Sutton plans to go to film school after she graduates next year.
In high school, she watched her best friends turn their hobby - making silly short movies - into a filming business.
Sutton soon acquired a camera and started filming videos of her own.
Her YouTube channel, Misayhara, shows several examples of her work, including a real-life version of the Nintendo game MarioKart and interpretations of "Lord of the Rings" and "The Wizard of Oz" with a religious twist.
Sutton said a "Dr. Who" spin-off is the only non-BCM video on her YouTube channel thus far, but she has plans to include more of her personal work in the future.
"Eventually, there are going to be trailers and full movies for my 'College Students Fighting Pure Evil' trilogy," Sutton said.
Sutton filmed the action-packed trilogy with a few friends and is currently working on the post-production editing.
The team used a high quality video camera to record the scenes. Sutton pointed out that she thinks proper software, microphone and editing programs matter more than the camera.
Some YouTube video bloggers post their videos without making any edits, but most use some form of software. Sutton said she uses iMovie when she's on a Mac and combines Windows Movie Maker and Pinnacle when she uses a PC.
She said she thinks iMovie is easier to work with, but that all three programs produce similar results.
Sutton's aspirations go beyond her YouTube experience. She said she hopes to write screenplays and start up a Christian film company of her own someday.
Like the BCM, the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training located on campus also uses YouTube to share its message.
The NCPTT posts short video clips of a newscast, "Preservation Today," to raise awareness of environmental preservation practices and educate professionals in the industry.
Nationally, YouTube has been a means of informing the public about many different aspects of this year's presidential election.
YouTube launched a "Video Your Vote" feature in honor of the presidential election, encouraging videographers to upload footage of their voting experiences.
Viewers can watch the debates and wash them down with a comedic green-screen representation of Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain competing against each other in a heavily edited "dance-off."
In the end, it doesn't really matter whether a user logs on to watch a video of a panda sneezing. A link in the sidebar may lead to a more insightful video. YouTube has crossed boundaries, linking the serious with the silly in a way few other Web sites could.
