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For a very long time, life was limited by the rate at which we spoke. Although we have had writing systems for millennia, early texts were designed to be read aloud, meaning that literature unfolded at the pace of human speech. For years now, podcast and audiobook players have provided speedup options, and research shows that most people prefer listening to accelerated speech. Now Jeff Guo writes at The Washington Post that a new kind of storytelling is emerging as software has made it much easier to watch videos at 1.5x to 2x.
You can play DVDs and iTunes purchases at whatever tempo you like and a Google engineer has written a popular Chrome extension that accelerates most other Web videos, including on Netflix, Vimeo and Amazon Prime. Over 100,000 people have downloaded that plug-in, and the reviews are ecstatic. “Oh my God! I regret all the wasted time I've lived before finding this gem!!” one user wrote. According to Guo speeding up video is more than an efficiency hack. "I quickly discovered that acceleration makes viewing more pleasurable. "Modern Family" played at twice the speed is far funnier — the jokes come faster and they seem to hit harder. I get less frustrated at shows that want to waste my time with filler plots or gratuitous violence. The faster pace makes it easier to appreciate the flow of the plot and the structure of the scenes."
"So here we are," concludes Guo, "spending three hours a day on average, scrambling to keep up with the Kardashians, the Starks, the Underwoods, and the dozens of others on the roster of must-watch TV, which has exploded in the age of fragmented audiences. "Nowadays, to stay on the same wavelength with your different groups of friends — the ones hating on “Meat Chad” and the ones cooing over Khaleesi — you have to watch in bulk."
(Score: 2) by gznork26 on Sunday June 26 2016, @06:04PM
And then there's the extreme case, which was used in Max Headroom: Blipverts, ads that were time-compressed so much that you didn't realize that you'd seen one, but which your subconscious knew all about. One of many techniques of unconscious control that have been explored in fiction over the years. Another was in a movie called Agency, in which an ad agency layered horrific images over the opposing candidate's face so lightly that the subliminal message was undetectable, but still had the desired emotional impact. You can also use carefully chosen words and phrases to manipulate people's reactions, and other techniques as well.
Is this sort of thing another 'slippery slope'? What could you accomplish by layering something into the video stream that is only activated when viewed at increased speed? Does the new standard for incorporating multiple version of a move (for different ratings or venues, for example) into an envelope format support tricks that take advantage of sped-up viewing?
Subverted minds want to know...
(Score: 2) by Max Hyre on Sunday June 26 2016, @10:03PM
So I don't worry about it, nor do I worry about our fine new masters.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 27 2016, @12:49AM
Max Headroom should come back.
(Score: 1) by UncleSlacky on Monday June 27 2016, @08:05AM
Of course, nowadays they could make it entirely digitally, without having to cover a real person in a rubber mask and upper body suit. I'm sure Matt Frewer is still available for voiceover work.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 27 2016, @02:22PM
fnord