This week we’ve taken a look at online videography, particularly in relation to Instagram. The subject I have chosen is Rachel Ryle. While she isn’t a traditional videographer in the sense that her videos are primarily animations and illustrations, it is an example of how artists and influencers are using the Instagram video function to gain audience leverage and sell their brand. Today she has 1.1 million Instagram followers, and while she uses other platforms Ryle says that Instagram is still her “main focus”.

The video I’m discussing is below.

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I love when I gain inspiration from talented people that I've met on @Instagram. Even better, I love when I find ways to collaborate with them & get the opportunity to point my spotlight their way! I've been a fan of @chrisburkard's account for years, and I created this piece out of my adoration & respect for his work. His adventurous spirit and ability to capture the places he goes is inspiring & captivating. Last year he released a stunning documentary about an Icelandic surf trip that recently got picked up by Netflix! The moment I watched it I was inspired to make this animation. Within this piece I did my best to retell his story through the world of my art. It took me nearly a month to conceptualize & complete, with a lot of attention to detail & tricky parts to figure out along the way. The whole time I thought about his dedication to his craft, and how it's always worth pushing yourself to new limits in the effort to make something new for others to enjoy. My hope with creating this piece is that it will encourage you to follow his awesome account and that you'll go watch his film, "Under An Arctic Sky" (available on Netflix & iTunes)! I promise you'll be inspired…& if you are, give it a good rating! A huge thank you to the team at @ChrisBurkardStudio for providing me with the footage & to @juliancisneros for the film's original music! Here's to supporting other creators & their creativity! #stopmotion #animation #illustration #art #instavideo #instavid #surfing #travel #iceland #UnderAnArcticSky #chrisburkard

A post shared by Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) on Mar 13, 2018 at 5:36am PDT

Who is the practitioner (what is their name and their Instagram handlebar?) and when were they practicing?
Rachel Ryle (@rachelryle) is an award-winning animator and illustrator. While she has illustrated for a long time, it was only in 2013 that she started animating. Her first attempt (which she posted to YouTube) that was made in 2013 is miles away from the quality she produces now.

With the photo you are examining when was it produced ?
The video was published in May of 2018, however she says the video took nearly a month to conceptualise and produce. She says that on average a 30 second clip will take 4 to 5 days of conceptualising, illustrating, filming and editing before completion.

How was the video authored and published?

While I’m not completely sure of the process or the camera she uses, Rachel illustrates and cuts all the objects in her videos and then animates them together in a sequence, kind of like stop-motion. I love the way she makes her videos a loop, so that the last frame of the video is the same as the starting frame, making it really aesthetically pleasing.

The video was published on her Instagram @rachelryle page.