Did you catch the item in the New York Times about Canadian Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion, who’s video presentation to the nation drew more attention for its amateur quality than for its content?  It’s called “Bad Video Overshadows Politician’s Message”, and it contains a cautionary tale for everyone who’s been trying to equate authenticity and folksy-ness with amateur production values.

The scene was the night before the recent crisis in the Canadian Parliament, in which Prime Minister Stephen Harper shut down Parliament to avoid being defeated by a coalition led by Dion.  Both Harper and Dion had the opportunity to address the Canadian people on national television.

According to the Times description, PM Harper’s message was professionally packaged, offering viewers “a slick presentation complete with elaborate opening graphics”.  Here’s what they saw when it came to Dion’s chance to make his case to the nation:

 Mr. Dion’s face was out of focus.  A cluttered bookshelf in the background, which was in sharp focus, contained a book titled “Hot Air”.

…

The production was of such poor quality that many political writers focused as much on its shortcomings as on Mr. Dion’s remarks. In addition to suggestions that it had been made by children using a mobile phone camera or an inexpensive webcam, some compared it to a video of a hostage released by kidnappers.

What’s more, the tape was delayed getting on the air by 20 minutes, due to the fact that it was delivered to the networks in an amateur format that the networks couldn’t play.  (See the video here.)

Remarkably, the amateur video may prove to be Dion’s undoing in Canada, as the Financial Post reported yesterday that “Liberal Party Infighting Explodes over Dion’s Video ‘Mess’; Botched statement brings divisions between staff, advisors to the forefront”.

In a world where amateur YouTube videos, shot with handheld consumer camcorders, are seen increasingly on national television, it’s tempting to try to attribute qualities of “casual” and “authentic” to videos with amateur production values.  We’re starting to see product demonstrations on commercial websites shot with amateur camcorders, with no thought to lighting, composition, sound, or sometimes even focus.  Even in a presidential campaign we were deeply involved with, our candidate would sometimes, on impulse, have a staffer grab a camcorder to tape a quick Christmas message out on the patio behind the building.

Authentic?  Maybe on some level.  But more often than not, the quality of the “casual” production gets in the way of the message.  When someone presents important messages in a form that’s obviously below-par in format, it sends a different kind of message: that the speaker cares so little about the audience that they’re unwilling to take the little bit of time, effort, and expense to put forth a production that lives up to the expectations build through years of watching professional television.

Thanks to our friend Janice Brown for bringing this to our attention.