Freeze and shoot

What do you call the technology to freeze a moment? Photography? So far, this answer was fine. Since a month, the definition has been undergoing a change the world over. #Mannequin Challenge, the internet video is trending like anything, where people ‘frozen in action’ are captured in short videographs and circulated on social media accompanied by a hashtag.

Of late, the trend has been catching up in Kerala, albeit in a slow paced manner. Going by the #MannequinChallenge history, the frontrunners in taking this trend belongs to sports world, and the template is no different here too. The challenging is mainly trending on Facebook.

Of the ‘oldest’ #Mannequin Challenge video we came across on internet dates back to November 8 — that of the Kerala Blasters FC celebrating their mighty 2-1 win against FC Goa. The men in yellow are captured in a 26 second video.

“When we did the video and still, the concept is new. The plan was like this, to shoot a dramatic moment as the team moves towards the bus. So unexpectedly on the scheduled time, the team made a win in the tourney. Set in the dressing room, the digital team soon captured the moment in an iPhone camera,” says a Kerala Blasters official.

The video is self-explanatory about the eleventh hour planning. In a less ostentatious affair, the players and officials are seen sharing the ‘sweet moments’ in platters of ripe banana and bottles of energy drinks. How could the soccer fans sit back? Almost a week later, another video popped up on YouTube. Taking inspiration from the team, a young brigade, calling themselves ‘Kerala Blasters Fans’ have posted an inside the room video to express their sporting spirit.

The makers of off-beat videos, WowMakers, based in Kochi, took up the #Mannequin Challenge picturing a potbelly stove kind of day inside the office, where all are busy to the brim but no less in fun. “Everyone was doing the video and it was like why don’t we? The ideation was spontaneous and our people got excited,” the height of excitement evident in the words of Midhun Krishna, vice-president, sales of WowMakers.  

The video absorbs the heat, dust, fun and frolic in an office. And finally the entire team burst into laughter towards the end of the video. Everyone, including the company CEO is actively participating in this one-minute video.

The tech community is always, the trendsetters of any social media campaign. Even if Malayalis still need a Google search and Wikipedia capsule to know what #MannequinChallenge is, tech companies have gone an extra mile even conducting a competition for it! A tech MNC in Technopark was ‘far ahead of times’ who made the most liked ‘video’ the winner. Competition demands anyway certain brain-wracking. The ‘location’ though was restricted to the office space, they did not let creativity be backseated at any cost.

So ‘standstill’ needs no better explanation that the current scenario where people are in a mad-rush to get old currency notes of bigger denomination exchanged for newer ones and wait in long queues before ATM centres and bank counters to get things done.

“The theme of our competition itself was how to utilise the office space. This idea came up at our collective discussion. And thus we planned what all should be included in the video to make it appealing. Usually, we do indulge in interesting activities towards weekend and this was one such,’ says Ajith V.S., technical analyst with the company, who was part of one team that came up with the video.

On awareness level, it looks like we are still far behind compared to how other states perform, where celebrities are actively involving in the challenge. “Maybe #Mannequin Challenge has not really caught people’s attention like the ice bucket challenge or black and white photo challenge. Probably, the busyness after the demonetisation drive has taken their attention on other matters,” reasons Midhun.

“Only when the company announced the competition that I really came to know about what the challenge really is,” says Ajith. The challenge is attributed to have started among the students in Jacksonville, Florida on October 12.