Fighting the loneliness epidemic with online video.
As connected as we are through technology, we are lonelier than we’ve ever been. In fact, Fortune called loneliness a “modern-day epidemic.” To help people regain a sense of connection four filmmakers came together to create a video experience called Yule Log With Friends. Using the long-form style of the YouTube Yule log video trend, they introduced characters throughout the three-hour video to give viewers an atmosphere of company.
The creator of Yule Log With Friends, Lauren LoGiudice, hatched this idea when dealing with a situation many modern workers face — working from home.
“There was a stretch of time that I had a remote gig, so I was working from home, alone, on my computer for 8 to 10 hours a day. In the wintertime, it was especially hard and to help cope with the isolation I would beam Yule Log videos onto my television. These are simply single-shot videos of a holiday fireplace and often feature cats or dogs milling about. I had to admit playing the vids on my screen while I worked made me feel less lonely. So I thought: what if I created a video with my characters that did the same thing,” said LoGiudice.
LoGiudice brings 10 of her original sketch comedy characters to Yule Log With Friends. Each character has 20 minutes in which to do the normal weird things that people do when they’re alone. There are no cuts, only a single shot of each character and the camera does not move; the filmmakers took a page from contemplative cinema by allowing viewers to be the principal observer.
“The line between connection through technology and connection through present humans is thin, and I wanted to see how far I could push it within this genre. Could I make viewers feel like they are having an experience with another person who was on a screen? Could I make them feel a little bit less lonely in a world that is very lonely,” LoGiudice said.
While you watch the characters go about their lives you’ll see the influences from Sacha Baron Cohen and Tracey Ullman, with a taste of Marina Abramovic in The Artist is Present.
LoGiudice is joined by Philadelphia filmmaker Kelly Burkhardt as director of photography, line producer Sherry Leszkowicz, and makeup artist Susan Carabello.