A gamer friend introduced me to Sabaton, a heavy metal band on Youtube, but it was not Sabaton’s music that made my jaw drop. No, it was the combination of music, animation and history in their videos that has me gobsmacked.
In the first video I watched – First Soldier – I learned about a short, farm boy who became one of the most decorated heroes in France. In this video, I learned about a Serbian woman who became the most decorated woman in history.
Watch for yourself and tell me this is not storytelling for a new age?
cheers,
Meeks
Meeka's Mind 
February 27th, 2023 at 6:14 am
That was very cool, Andrea. What an interesting combination of history, animation, and music. The whole was greater than the parts, I think It made me wonder when audiobooks will have a built-in soundtrack running in the background.
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 27th, 2023 at 8:00 am
I agree, it was the combination of elements that captivated me. As for an audio book soundtrack…I’d love to be able to show people what I listen to when I write, but as I find it hard to distinguish voice when there’s a lot of sound in the background, I probably wouldn’t listen myself. Then again, I don’t enjoy audio at the best of times, simply because it’s too slow.
Maybe if you could turn the soundtrack on or off?
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 27th, 2023 at 8:42 am
Oh, good idea. π I figured the sound would be modulated like at the movies, but being able to turn it off would be a good option. I’ll be we see this in our lifetimes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 27th, 2023 at 9:49 am
I suspect we will, and long before our 90th birthdays. π
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 27th, 2023 at 1:44 am
That really is outstanding animation!
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 27th, 2023 at 8:07 am
I’ve played with apps that have pre-set animations – laugh, cry etc etc – to illustrate a story but they’re too generic and too limited to really work. The animations in the video show what can be done, with the right tools and the right skills. π
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 26th, 2023 at 10:03 am
That is so well done, you wonder if it’s true.
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 27th, 2023 at 8:13 am
It is!!!! Apparently they have an historian on-call to ensure that the details are accurate. Matthew is an historian himself and he said its accurate too. π
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 25th, 2023 at 9:25 am
Can’t do things that wiggle and make sounds – give me plain print, please. I positively hate most video (except good TV shows or movies which are usually fairly easy to process).
I hate having to find and listen to over and over the one little piece on some stupid podcast that I really need – because of the rest of the ‘show’. If something is moving on a website I visit, I get out of there asap.
Video requires higher processing speeds and capabilities than I have, and rarely is it cleaned up and edited for efficiency.
The producers need to remember we exist: people for whom the gathering of information is impeded by such content-less formats as two giggling preening self-centered ‘influencers’ talking at each other. (‘Get off my lawn.’) Gak, I’m getting old.
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 25th, 2023 at 10:36 am
lmao!!!!! I don’t have that particular problem, but I do find podcasts/audio books tiresome because a) my hearing is not what it once was and b) it’s so sloooooooow! I’d far rather read so I do empathize.
LikeLike
February 25th, 2023 at 11:03 am
SLOW – and too fast. Slow information delivery, too fast noise. My hearing is fine – but my brain gets tired of having to remove 95% or more of the fluff coming in, to get a small amount of content.
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 26th, 2023 at 8:12 am
So true. π
LikeLike
February 25th, 2023 at 4:43 am
Hi Meeks, this is the world of story telling my sons inhabit. You are right, it is just something new and innovative. I always tell them it is still scripted by a writer π
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 25th, 2023 at 8:38 am
Oh absolutely! Matthew posted a link to the making of the Bismark video. In it they talk about how they’ve got an historian there to make sure it’s all /real/. Heaps of work goes into every second.
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 26th, 2023 at 5:08 am
It’s brilliant.
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 26th, 2023 at 8:03 am
Isn’t it? π
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 24th, 2023 at 6:31 pm
Itβs a whole different world out there! Fascinating stuff. π
LikeLiked by 2 people
February 25th, 2023 at 8:29 am
Matthew provided a link to a ‘making of’ video and I was delighted to see that they actually stick to the history. I’m not a fan of wars, historical or otherwise, but I was fascinated to learn about some of the /people/ who went to war.
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 25th, 2023 at 2:22 pm
Agreed! I sent the link to my 13-year-old grandson. I think he’ll love it, and perhaps not realize he’s getting a history lesson as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 26th, 2023 at 8:10 am
Yes!!!! -giggles- Sometimes you have to be sneaky. π
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 27th, 2023 at 6:49 am
MOST times!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 24th, 2023 at 2:17 pm
As you said, a very appealing way to learn about history, especially with the gaming influence. I also watched their video about the Christmas truce in 1914. It wasn’t animated (and a bit weird seeing WW1 soldiers with flowing hair!) but very powerful. Their music is well suited to strong battle scenes.
LikeLiked by 2 people
February 25th, 2023 at 8:27 am
Hi Anne! I’m thrilled you went down that rabbit hole. π I haven’t watched that one yet but I will. And I agree about the music.
LikeLike
February 24th, 2023 at 9:40 am
Sabaton are an extraordinary band – I think the only one in the world whose schtik is military history. They did a quite impressive video on the Bismarck story too, which had a LOT of subtle factual detail woven into a metaphorical take on the story. I spotted (a) Bismarck down at the bows after damage during the battle of the Denmark Strait, (b) the correct location of the torpedo hit that crippled her rudder, (c) correctly showing that ship names were removed from the crew hat bands during wartime, among other bits and pieces. Here’s the video on how they made the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grtfiIIeS5o
LikeLiked by 2 people
February 24th, 2023 at 12:13 pm
hah! I was actually wondering what you would think, Matthew. lol Should have known you’d be way ahead of me on this one. π High Five!
LikeLiked by 2 people
February 24th, 2023 at 12:20 pm
p.s. Just watched the ‘Making of’ video and I’m stunned by how brilliant the whole concept is. lol And not at all ‘Hollywood’. π
LikeLiked by 2 people
February 24th, 2023 at 9:32 am
It’s taking over from the dances and shows around the fireplace – hi-tech style!
LikeLiked by 2 people
February 24th, 2023 at 12:12 pm
Yes! I have to say, I rather like it. I bet school kids would prefer to learn their history this way too. π
LikeLiked by 2 people
February 25th, 2023 at 12:01 am
Agreed. It would have been a much more interesting way of teaching a veeeeeeeery boring lesson π
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 25th, 2023 at 8:30 am
-grin- yes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
February 24th, 2023 at 9:21 am
excellent Meeks! β€
LikeLiked by 2 people
February 24th, 2023 at 9:30 am
Thanks, Carol anne!
LikeLiked by 1 person