Film Styles & Movie Supercuts - The Week's Best Viral Videos & Marketing Lessons

One of my favorite things about the world of online video, particularly viral video, is the unpredictability of it all. From one day to the next, you never know what kind of clip will be the next to show up and capture viewers' attention. It could be another cute cat video, or it could be CNN anchor Anderson Cooper laughing uncontrollably while on the air. Every day is a new adventure.

This week, we get a little bit of standard fair, with a healthy dose of the unexpected.

Movie Supercuts

Supercuts are still a very popular variety of video. Typically they involve stitching together similar scenes or lines from one or more other works. For whatever reason, this was the week of the Hollywood supercut, as no less than five found some viral traction among the viewers.

ScreenWerks released a new video called "Movie Line Rhymes," which takes lines from several films and cuts them together, side-by-side, like rhyming couplets. The result is... fascinating:

Maybe you'd be more interested in seeing a bunch of celebrity actors in the early movie roles they landed long before they were famous? If so, you're in luck:

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you strung together a ton of movie scenes involving characters walking away from the camera? Me neither. But at least one person did wonder that... and now that I've seen the end result, I'm glad he did:

Not everything you see in the movies is part of the script. Very often actors will improvise things on the spur of the moment, and when those improvisations are entertaining they can find their way into the final cut of the movie. And thanks to YouTube user "mewlists," we now have a supercut of some of the best and most classic improvised movie lines in history:

Believe it or not, there was one more movie supercut that had some viral success this week. In fact, our last example was created by the same user as the improvisation one above, "mewlists." This second one, however, is a little less noble in purpose... it's the 50 Trippiest Drug Hallucinations On Film:

Film Styles

It seems like nearly every week I have a category in this viral video round up for the various popular camera techniques like slow-motion or tilt-shift. And there's a good reason for that: viewers can't get enough of these videos. Using a film style other than live-action or employing a new camera technique can give the viewer a unique perspective on a familiar topic or theme.

This week is no exception, as another batch of cool camera techniques took the viral world by storm.

Starting with Chicago In Miniature, which uses the awesome tilt-shift effect to make the Windy City seem like a toy version of itself:

Or maybe you prefer New York to Chicago... and maybe instead of tilt-shift, you're more of a super-high-speed camera and mesmerizing slow motion:

Of course, the major cities of the U.S. are far from the only video-worthy locations on Earth. There's Cameroon, for instance. Which is a place I've never been, but now that I've seen this incredible footage shot by a camera mounted on a hexacopter (six propeller remote controlled helicopter), I really want to go:

And I have to give props to davewallace4, the YouTube user behind Stop Motion Photographer. It's kind of like several small stop-motion films inside of one larger stop-motion film. And it's insanely clever:

Branded Viral Hits

Brands are finding viral success with video more and more every week, and this week is no exception.

State Farm put out a funny ad this week of a robot destroying a neighborhood (well, actually... mostly just one guy's house). Check it out:

Big brands aren't the only ones finding viral success; even the smaller businesses of the world can reach a global audience. Like Sky Zone in Rocklin, California. Sky Zone is an indoor trampoline facility, which is something I was not aware existed prior to this week. But it does. And even better... they play dodgeball on trampolines. Sound like the recipe for a viral hit? Because it is:

Another "brand" that had a hit this week was presidential hopeful Ron Paul. His brand new campaign ad, which highlights his anti-tax beliefs, has about 200,000 views in just three days. Whatever your politics may be, that's an impressive view count considering the election is still more than a year away. Check it out:

Wow Factor

Some videos just can't be explained beyond the "wow" factor... they make viewers say "wow." Sometimes it's because the video is particularly daring, like the man who does drifting tricks inside an apartment:

Sometimes the "wow" is supplied by an individual with exceptional or rare talent:

Every once in a while, the talent in the video isn't as impressive as the age of the person performing:

This first-person view of slope-flying is incredible, and supplies more than its fair share of "wow":

Finally, sometimes the "wow" factor comes in the form of a video creator's hard work and effort. Like the man in our final example, who did an exceptional amount of work in planning and pulling off a surprise wedding--yeah, you read that right... a surprise wedding:

Honorable Mention

If you're still enjoying the videos and aren't ready to start your Friday work day just yet, here are a few more:

• If you click on a link that says "video of a man on the subway combing his beard with a fork," well... you shouldn't be surprised with what you get.
• The crew at How It Should Have Ended takes on Harry Potter.
• Want to see a CNN anchor lose control in a fit of giggles? Sure you do.
• This music video from bluegrass band Whiskey Shivers is inappropriate, weird, disturbing, and wrong. And also pretty funny. Probably rated R-ish... you have been warned.
• I think you can guess what happens if you fall asleep at a stand up comedy show, but it's still entertaining to watch.
• This is the second time this month a video has gone viral featuring a cat do this insane walking move... what does it mean?