Staff Picks Are Back!

From time to time, we YouTube editors stumble upon videos that speak to us on an intensely personal level – we’re not sure everyone will love these clips as much as we do, but we nevertheless want to make our affections known and give you a glimpse into our personal tastes. With that, we anoint Tuesday "Staff Pick of the Week" Day and vow to share our highly subjective favorite videos here in this blog and on our individual YouTube channels.

Big Joe:
One of my first homepage features was "Piece of Mind" by VancouverFilmSchool. It was a perfectly blended mix of CG animation and live action. Ori's film became a runaway success and really helped me gain confidence in my feature selections. To me, the message of the film was to break free from your confines, though I'm sure it resonated differently with everyone. No matter how the film made you feel, it certainly made you wonder, "How did they pull this off?!" VFS just released "The Making of Piece of Mind" - now we all can know!

I am a sucker for all things Scottish. That brogue always brings me to my knees, and when it's combined with semi-sad folk music it's all over for me (calling periurban!). Folk singer James Yorkston doesn’t so much sing here as a craft a wistful, existential video poem. I mean, how gorgeous is this? “Now I’ll be leaning over and waking you up/And you’ll squint at me through the cracks between your eyelids/Woozy with cider/As if you’re asking just exactly where we are and exactly what I wanted/And I’ll be happy, as we won’t be taking anything too seriously.” Swoon.

Every once in a while you come across a video that seems to know all of your hidden desires. For me, that's food, blue eye shadow, and doublewide trailers. I know it sounds crazy that there are two people that have those passions, but it's true and my other half is Jolene Sugarbaker: The Trailer Park Queen. If you've never had the pleasure of watching her cooking show, you are missing out on some true entertainment. She pushes the boundaries of American cuisine. Rachel Ray is not inventive enough to come up with "Oatmeal Raisin Asparagus Cookies." And I don't think you'll ever see Martha Stewart making "Circus Peanut Salad." Although I have not tried one of her recipes at home (to be honest, I'm a little afraid to), I regularly check her channel to find out what new cooking adventures are in store.

A bientot,
The YouTube Programming Team