Kid Safe Online Videos!

Link to the video: Her Morning Elegance – Oren Lavie

Lyrics

Oh my! What an absolutely stunning music video. Sheer brilliance in its execution. I loved this, if you couldn’t tell already. The whole video is stop-motion and visually portrays a… daydream/dream for want of a better word. The creativity that put this together is, well, if I had the money, I’d so hire everyone involved, just to keep them on staff to cater to my whims .

Possible concerns: Overall, it’s a really cute, sweet video, but there may be a few things parents may want to consider. For those who are sensitive to the issue, the whole video shows a woman in her bed; she is fully clothed in pyjamas at all times. Several times, a man does join her, and there is a very sweet moment of cuddling – but there isn’t anything sexual about the video at all. Just wanted to point out that there is a woman in a bed, the covers come off, she is clothed, a man joins her, and she’s not wearing a wedding ring. Not an issue for me… but could be for some. There are two situations that might concern  sensitive children: at one point she looks like she’s falling, and then she finds herself “underwater.” My step-son when he saw this asked “But she can still breathe, right?” – a testiment to how you get pulled in to the illusion. In the lyrics, there is a line that is repeated: “And she fights for her life” – admittedly, I was too taken by the video itself and didn’t know what the song said until I looked up the lyrics.

As always, remember this is a Youtube site. Since most of the videos seem to come from Youtube, I decided to make a Youtube page to point to how you can make the video full-screen.

At the end of the video, there is the normal rotation of suggested videos, but noticed that on this one in particular there was one with the title ‘Hey Everyone She S**t Her Pants!” which is also found down the right hand side under “Related Videos.”

Length: 3:36

Would I let my son watch? Already have.

Extra info: Oren Lavie has a Myspace page and has a blog post about the making of this video

Link to the video: Verdi Traviata

This is a very cute little video done in claymation. The scene is a table laid out with sweets and desserts for a wedding, and all the gooey fillings make their way to the Wedding Cake Palace, get past the huffy “queen” (she gets a hand full of goo to boot), then once the fillings make it up the cake, there is a nice finale as they add their own flair.

Possible concerns: Remember it’s a YouTube site, so heed the advice in the Light Painting post. Also, the main desserts are red, and when they shake hands with the king and queen, they get their jelly goodness all over, making the royalty messy. Since it’s red, it could be seen as blood, but other than the queen getting mad a the king for letting these colourful, messy guys through, there isn’t anything that would otherwise suggest violence in any way. Possible talking points: what desserts have fillings you’d like to see on a cake? How do you think they got the little creatures to move (i.e., how do you think the video was made)? What flavours do you think all the different colours were?

Length: 3:01

Would I let my son watch?: Yes!

Thanks to Cake Wrecks for the heads up.

Link to the video: Laughing Squid Stickers being made.

John Fischer over at Sticker Giant has put together a great video showing how his two-color stickers are made. This is great for any kid (or kid at heart) who has a curiosity about the things around them. Good talking points: how would you make sure the colors overlap properly? What safety issues to the people working there need to think about? If you could make stickers, what would they be?

Length: 4:05

Possible concerns: One of the workers at the cutting station has a tool with a skull and flames sticker on it. The appearance is brief, but repeated several times, so if your little one has issues with skulls, you may wish to avoid the video. Also, some of the stock stickers offered may not be appropriate for everyone – but they do have a Kids’ Stickers area you can, well… stick to.

Would I let my son watch? Absolutely!

Link to the video: Slowed down camera!

Amazing things happen in a blink of an eye and thanks to technology we can capture all the minute details that happen, slow them down and take an instant-by-instant look. Talking points: how fast do you think a balloon actually pops? If you had a slow-motion camera, what would you take video of to see slowed down?

Length: 1:34

Possible concerns: These videos are on YouTube, so please refer to the Light Painting post on how to make it “safer” for your child. Might be scary for younger children because it’d be strange to see someone moving so slowly – blinking so slowly and all of a sudden (or not…) the water doesn’t fall like it usually does. Water falls on a man’s head (from popped balloon) so if they have issues with water in their eyes, it could seem scary.

Would I let my own son watch? Yes!

Other videos along the same lines that may or may not be suitable:

The Ultra Slow Show.  Another YouTube video. To be honest, I found this video to be fascinating. It’s a compilation of various “happenings” – both normal life and manufactured – slowed down so that we can see every single movement and reaction.  However, some of the subject matter because of the mediums they use, you may find quite objectionable. The opening scene shows the lighting of a lighter – nothing huge in and of itself, but because it’s so linked with the practice of smoking, it might be too much.  The second scene shows a man looking straight into the camera, then he is slapped. Third scene shows a water balloon breaking over someone’s head. Fourth scene is a hanging water balloon being punched and subsequently popping. Fifth scene is a small “rocket” being shot out of a cannon, then pieces flying off of it (no explosions or anything getting blown up). From 1:50 there is a montage showing various things (apple, banana, playing card, can of pop, egg and a water bottle) being hit by a bullet. The very last scene shows a pidgeon taking off from a fence.

When I was typing the above, my thoughts were “Oh my… this sounds really violent! In a way, it is, since most of the video centres around forces being applied and the outward effects and ripples they cause. I would say that this particular video would be suitable for older children with whom you can discuss destructive forces and spin it into a “Physics is cool!” talk. As with all the videos, watch them first, then decide.

Length: 3:08

Would I let my own son watch? Now that he is getting older, yes.

Red Drop of Water. This one is pretty neat. The videographer set up the camera so that when he/she dropped a single drop of coloured water into clear water, the splash and ripples were caught on film. Concerns are that the drop is red and could look like blood – in fact, in the description, they use “blood red” – so careful if there are issues there and/or your child can read. (YouTube)

Length: 0:31

Would I let my own son watch? You bet!

One more for now!

Ladybug at 7000 frames per second. Very cool – really interesting how the wings fold out. Now, if you have a child who is afraid of bugs, this wouldn’t be good to show them because this is an up-close shot of a ladybug and you can see everything in all its glory. Great topic starter about how the wings’ motion carries it up – and in only 3 strokes! (YouTube)

Length: 1:45

Would I let my own son watch? Yup!