An amateur (French amateur "lover of", from Old French and ultimately from Latin amatorem nom. amator, "lover") is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training. Amateurism can be seen in both a negative and positive light. Since amateurs often do not have formal training, some amateur work may be considered sub-par. For example, amateur athletes in sports such as basketball, baseball or football are regarded as having a lower level of ability than professional athletes. On the other hand, an amateur may be in a position to approach a subject with an open mind (as a result of the lack of formal training) and in a financially disinterested manner. An amateur who dabbles in a field out of casual interest rather than as a profession or serious interest, or who possesses a general but superficial interest in any art or a branch of knowledge, is often referred to as a dilettante.

The lack of financial benefit can also be seen as a sign of commitment to an activity; and until the 1970s the Olympic rules required that competitors be amateurs. Receiving payment to participate in an event disqualified an athlete from that event, as in the case of Jim Thorpe. In the Olympics, this rule remains in place for boxing.

Many amateurs make valuable contributions in the field of computer programming through the open source movement^{[citation needed]} (not to say that all contributors to open source are amateurs). Amateur dramatics is the performance of plays or musical theater, often to high standards, but lacking the budgets of professional West End or Broadway performances. Astronomy, history, linguistics, and the natural sciences are among the myriad fields that have benefited from the activities of amateurs. Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel were amateur scientists who never held a position in their field of study.

The stigmatization of amateurs as fools for contributing to society simply for the love of it can be explained by the amateur’s non-conformity to the ideological structure of consumption (Goffman, 1963; Stebbins, 1992). Amateurs are serious about the work they do, providing outstanding examples of contributions to society (Stebbins, 1992). But whereas professionals obtain licenses as their “measurability of the excellence of service provided” (Stebbins, 1992, p. 21), amateurs break taboos by loving their work and not passing standardized tests. From here, it can be argued that, to the extent amateurs threaten the professional industry by providing free services, the professional industry has an interest in making its counterpart amateur activity shameful.

See also[link]

• Amateur astronomy
• Amateur football
• Amateur photography
• Amateur radio
• Amateur sports
• Hobby
• Home movies
• Political economy
• Volunteer

References[link]

• Bourdieu, P. (1996). Photography: A Middle-Brow Art. Stanford University Press.
• Fine, G.A. (1998) Morel Tales:. The. Culture. of. Mushrooming. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

• Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

• Haring, Kristen , (March, 2008). Ham Radio's Technical Culture,. The MIT Press,. ISBN 0-262-58276-7,. 

• Jenkins, Henry (1992). Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture. Studies in culture and communication. New York: Routledge. p. 343. ISBN 0-415-90571-0. 

• Stebbins, R. A. (1992). Amateurs, professionals, and serious leisure. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.

This job-, occupation-, or vocation-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Lasse Gjertsen
Lasse Gjertsen in 2005
Born	(1984-07-19) 19 July 1984 (age 27) Norway
Occupation	animator, musician, and videographer
Known for	"Hyperactive" and "Amateur" videos on YouTube

Lasse Gjertsen (born 19 July 1984) is a Norwegian animator, musician, and videographer known on YouTube as lassegg.^[1] He is best known for his short pieces "Hyperactive" and "Amateur", which string together short clips of video to create a unique form of video akin to stop-motion animation. His "Hyperactive" video has over 7 million views and his "Amateur" video has over 13 million views.

Biography[link]

Gjertsen was born in Larvik, Norway. He studied animation at Kent Institute of Art & Design in England, and at Volda University College in Norway.^[2] His time at Kent Institute ended with his teachers failing to appreciate his work, specifically Hyperactive.^[3]

YouTube[link]

Lasse originally submitted Hyperactive to YouTube after seeing a copy uploaded by another user with poor sound quality.^[4] Over the next six months Lasse uploaded 16 more videos, many created during his animation course. As of May 12, 2007 he has the 31st most subscribed channel, and four videos have been featured on the YouTube front page, Hyperactive, What The Fuck?, Amateur, and Sogno ad Occhi Aperti. While Hyperactive has been the most popular,^[2] Amateur was featured in an article in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal.^[3]

Another video by Gjertsen has also been featured on YouTube; "Hva faen, Speil?" in which he is looking into a mirror while some of the effects of LSD become apparent through very clever video and audio editing.^[5]

Lasse Gjertsen's video Hyperactive was nominated in the category Most Creative video in YouTube's 2006 Video Awards.^[6] The video achieved third place.^[7]

Hyperactive was copied ^[3] by Cartoon Network in an advert for the show Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Lasse initially considered legal action but after talking to a lawyer decided it would be too arduous.^[4]

It was also spoofed in an advertisement for the 3rd season of the FX TV show It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Whether this was done with or without Gjertsen's permission is unclear.

Lasse Gjertsen is also the creator of the soundtrack of the Chaplin Snakker videos on YouTube. Chaplin Snakker is one of his electronic songs, in which the freedom- and awe-inspiring speech of Charlie Chaplin from his movie The Great Dictator (1940) is elevated by the use of music.

Beyond YouTube[link]

The YouTube success has resulted in offers from international companies like Chevrolet and MTV.^[8] However, Gjertsen publicly denounces the concept of advertising, considering it below prostitution, and has refused all such offers.^[9]

In addition to his video work, Lasse has a self-produced album of electronica music.^[3][10]

In 2007 Lasse worked on a two-part music video collaboration, named Sogno ad Occhi Aperti, with the Italian Cellist Giovanni Sollima.^[11] This was presented at the 8th International Fringe Film Festival in Marzamemi, Italy.^[12] In the same year he directed the music video for the Swedish rapper Timbuktu's song "Get Fizzy".^[11]

Software[link]

Lasse has stated he uses the following software in the creation of his videos:^[1]

• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Adobe After Effects
• Debugmode WinMorph
• FL Studio

Music[link]

Lasse uses FL Studio to create original compositions in his videos. Although he claims not to have much skill with instruments, he has sampled himself using Drums, Piano, Guitar, Harmonica, and singing.

The only videos without original compositions are the two music videos, Home Sweet Home by Norwegian Rapper Sirius, and Sogno ad Occhi Aperti by Italian Cellist Giovanni Sollima.

YouTube video chronology[link]

2006[link]

2007[link]

2008[link]

2009[link]

2010[link]

See also[link]

• YouTube celebrities

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lasse Gjertsen on YouTube
• Lasse Gjertsen on Myspace
• Lasse Gjertsen Exclusive content created for E4