Comments on: Buffalo: A Sense of Place

By: Buffalo Pundit » Blog Archive » Question

Buffalo Pundit » Blog Archive » Question — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:19:32 +0000

[…] “Bifocal intellectuals” looking at architecture and our “sense of place”? […]

By: Bill Altreuter

Bill Altreuter — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:25:28 +0000

Eliz makes a good point about the bed tax– I hadn’t picked up on the swipe at that which appears in the lead-in to the post. CVB has a tough row to hoe, and needs that money– working downtown I see the benefit to the economy that tourism, sport and convention business brings, and it is significant. The natatorium at ECC all by itself is probably responsible for several thousand visitors a year– that adds up to a lot of restaurant meals eaten and hotel beds filled. More of that, which is what the CVB is promoting is a good thing for everyone who lives and works here.

By: eliz.

eliz. — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:11:50 +0000

I have seen a ton of these Buffalo/WNY/Buffalo-Niagara videos come and go; between all of them they include everything everyone here is calling for.

The thing is, the CVB is responding to years of calls from MANY people that they focus on what is really different about Buffalo—world-famous stuff like the Wright, the Knox, and so on, and that’s what they got funding for. A lot of cities have sports teams and shopping malls, as important as those things are.

The CVB will NEVER win in this situation, well at least not on a comment forum like this one. But they are trying to respond to all the feedback they get. The answer: have someone from outside, with zero agenda, come in and do a video? I dunno.

I remember that BNE one, Eisenbart–that was at least shorter. I agree short is good for this type of thing.

Does this prove the CVB should not get bed tax money? I don’t think so. Their institutional charge includes much much more than making videos for people on blogs to critique, and they have succeeded on a lot of fronts, including getting some great out-of-town press for WNY and bringing in major conferences–i.e., convincing groups to come here instead of Vegas. Not so easy.

By: FancyWow

FancyWow — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:10:48 +0000

I know this is a dumb idea, but what if the CVB or BuffaloNiagara whatever, partnered with a local college(s) and distributed the B-roll taken from this project, and see what came from it.

Lose the paid “experts”
Engage the city’s future
Make it viral?

By: reflip

reflip — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:27:17 +0000

Steel,

Watch the Atlanta video that I posted and tell me it isn’t better than both the “corny” Pittsburgh video and the Buffalo video highlighted on this thread.

They (brand atlanta) spent millions on that. Tell me you couldn’t do that for a few grand here, and have it appeal to many different people at once (not just bifocal intellectuals.)

Sorry for offering unsolicited advice. Won’t happen again.

By: Eisenbart

Eisenbart — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:32:49 +0000

TADA!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f38ACHdIiw

By: STEEL

STEEL — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:05:43 +0000

Not really semantics Chris. You used a specific phrase with specific meaning. But, I will accept your correction in the name of focusing on the subject at hand (even though I am not convinced that the correction is true either)

As for the Pittsburgh video. Sure it shows lots of fun things to do. But it is a corny chamber of commerce video. You can find similar videos for every city in America. There is probably one just like it for Buffalo with the same type of bad background rock style music as well. Oh and don’t for get to throw in the Jazz. We all know any hip city has to have the jazz. That whole Pit video was a cliche.

Not defending the Buffalo video by the way.

By: reflip

reflip — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:47:47 +0000

I like the visuals, I dislike the speaking. It just seems like it’s trying too hard to convince the audience. As with the Pittsburgh video, the visuals should tell most of the story. (or this… http://www.brandatlanta.com/press/creative-ad.php - for Atlanta, far less corny.)

Leave the narrative interpretations up to the visitors.

Finally, the fact that someone got paid to do a market study that resulted in the terms “culturally savvy urbanists” and “bifocal intellectuals” makes me want to commit subversive acts of Fight Club violence against society. I am reflip’s bitter hatred of superficially essentializing marketing-types.

By: Bill Altreuter

Bill Altreuter — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:36:35 +0000

I hadn’t know where the funding came from. My family participated in 21st Century Fund of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo program in the first years of its existence, and in the end decided that it was crazy to throw money at things like Art on Wheels. Although well intentioned, it is a good example of the maxim, ‘the best is the enemy of the good’, and this video is a fine illustration of what we objected to. It isn’t bad, it is just not very good, and the little story Ed Healy tells about it (”Due to budget constraints and a tight production schedule at WNED actual filming time of “A Sense of Place” was limited to a handful of days last summer. This, of course, limited the scope of the subject matter that could be explored as well as the geographic locations that could be included.”) is a fine illustration of how mediocrity gets created. It is done by committee, and it is done by focusing on limitations, rather than on possibility. We bailed on the 21st Century Fund, and now spend our time and money directly on the projects and causes that we believe in. I can’t get too worked up about the video, or the people who were involved in it– they are all well intentioned. Good intentions are a useful paving material. I promise you that there are a dozen high school kids at SqueakyWheel on any given afternoon who could have done a better job at capturing Buffalo– and plenty more artists there who could have worked with the budget for this video and made something amazing.

By: Chris Smith

Chris Smith — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:15:24 +0000

Dave, you’re right; I should have said Richard Florida introduced the phrase into the popular vernacular. It’s always important to dwell in semantics and not the actual issue. I know you architects were way out in front of the “sense of place” thing decades ago, and for that, you should be continually commended.

As for the Pittsburgh video, it shows places and things that the majority of people like to, ya know, do. Call it corny but people with families on vacation like to shop, eat, engage in varying types of activities. It’s not specific to one small segment of the tourism market.

Ed says the video is intended to target these types of people, but on the whole, the thrust of our regional marketing campaign is hyperfocused on architectural tourists.