Beginning of Gonzo Video Journalism
A unique program on the ABC 10 years ago, John Safran ruled.
“Race Around the World” pitted amateur videographers against each other, as they traveled around the world getting stories.
Handicams, simple editing and excellent stories pre-dated the intraweb pseudo-stars doing long-form interviews or strapping a camera to their head.
Go have a look at John Safran’s work:
In 1997, the ABC gave John Safran, “Australia’s most exciting guerilla filmmaker”, his big break on Race Around The World. Although he came last in the competition, it’s not too hard to fathom why he won the popular vote, with these submissions: Don’t screw with the rules in Japan, The ambulance chaser (Mumbai), Anarchy in the Renault family hatchback (Bristol), The right to bare grudges (Cote d’Ivoire), Mum I’m not Jewish any more (Cote d’Ivoire), Father Pino vs the Devil (Sicily), Mohammad’s guide to busting a move (Lebanon), Football’s my religion (Jerusalem), The series of unfortunate events and The happiest place on earth, my butt (Disneyland).
via: Metafilter