One of the most popular television programs at my previous employer, (Mountain Lake PBS) was called the Yule Log Fire. It was a simple static wide shot of a burning fire, that aired for 60 minutes on Christmas Eve. I never understood why the program was such a big hit, until the station’s Senior Producer told me that it was popular with residents in Montreal, Canada. Most people within the city did not have a fireplace in their apartment or home, and they used this as the next best option to enjoy time by a fireplace. This was in 2006, before YouTube was in existence, and where today you can find a Yule Log Fire in dozens of formats and music beds.
At SUNY Oneonta, we have a facility called College Camp, which happens to have a beautiful fireplace. I made it my goal to create a Yule Log video that could be sent to College Alumni. The College ended up using this as a
I ended up shooting a 30 minute segment of the Yule Log, and played it as an “as live” through Facebook Live the following night. I also had the opportunity to use Facebook Live’s interactive poll tool, which was fun to try.
Jared Stanley 