The video “Lincoln Drive” is interesting in many aspects. I believe that the purpose of the video is to wet the appetite of both tourists and native Lincoln residents to explore the city. However, he virtual tour is somewhat cursory and only scratches the surface of the major attributes the city of Lincoln has to offer. One apparent flaw of the video is the laps of some 20 seconds at the beginning of the video before the actual footage begins. I was curious that the creator of this video chose to leave out some of the attractions that he did, such as the various museums and the zoo. However, the flybys of the major landmarks of Lincoln show the viewer not only an image of the places, but gives them life by letting the viewer see them in a live setting rather than just picture form. Also, the life feed provides a great visual of the streets and flow of Lincoln. This flow gives the viewer a feeling of action and movement in the city rather than the stale feelings left by mere photographs. The music, as well as some of the aspects of the video (such as the American flag at one point in the video) conveys that Lincoln provides a very homey, welcoming feel linked directly to the images the viewer sees. The speed of the video gives some aspect of symbolizing the speed of the city, and serves as a way to keep the viewers attention, while when the video passes something it views as important the slower speed adequately designates the focus as noteworthy. To the native Lincoln resident viewing the video from somewhere other than the city itself the video no doubt provides a channel for the melancholy of home. The end clip of the video, depicting the billboard reading “Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown” provides a great last reminder as to the purpose of the video.
