Hugh Atkin is an Australian lawyer and notable producer of Internet viral videos. Atkin began producing videos for YouTube in 2007, and his videos have appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Unleashed website.[1]

Early life and education

Atkin studied law and arts at the University of Sydney. While he was a student, he began to create and post videos on Australian and American politics, as well as current events. One popular video posted during the 2007 Australian federal election depicted Kevin Rudd in a mock propaganda film based on material produced by the Communist Party of China during the rule of Mao Zedong.[2][3] He appeared on ABC television political program Insiders on 16 March 2008 as part of the "Talking Pictures" segment.[4]

Career

Atkin has created several popular YouTube videos related to the 2008 US President election.[5] His video entitled "BarackRoll", including Barack Obama in a parody of the Rickrolling internet meme, has been watched over seven million times since it was uploaded on 9 August 2008,[6] and was also highlighted on blogs for The New York Times,[7] Politico,[8] Comedy Central,[9] Andrew Sullivan[10] and Sports Illustrated.[11]

He previously worked as a lawyer for Mallesons Stephen Jaques, an Australian commercial law firm,[12] and was subsequently employed as a Tipstaff at the Supreme Court of New South Wales.[13] Atkin is now studying for a post-graduate law degree at the University of Oxford. He took a week out from his studies to produce a new video for the 2012 US elections called "Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up" with over 4.5 million views in six months. The video now has more than 9 million views 9,742,655 to be precise. Atkin also produced a video called "U Didn't Build That" featuring President Obama.

References

  1. ↑ ABC (2008). Unleashed. Retrieved 2 March 2008.
  2. ↑ Ricketson, Matthew (12 November 2007). "Viewers click on to poll spoofs". The Age. Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  3. ↑ Coultan, Mark (26 October 2007). "YouTube revolutionaries upstage the party machine". Sydney Morning Herald.
  4. ↑ ABC Insiders (2008). Talking Pictures with Mike Bowers. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  5. ↑ Perkins, Miki (17 February 2008). "Satirist mashes US icons". Sydney Morning Herald.
  6. ↑ YouTube (2008). Barack Roll. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  7. ↑ New York Times (2008). Laugh Lines - You've Been Barack-Rolled. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  8. ↑ Politico.com (2008). Sunday reading: Barackroll. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  9. ↑ Comedy Central (2008). BREAKING NEWS: The Footage Barack Obama Doesn't Want You to See - Do the Letters "RR" Mean Anything to You?. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  10. ↑ TheAtlantic.com (2008). The Daily Dish - Barack Roll. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  11. ↑ SI.com (2008). Hot Clicks: Braun shoots commercial with Marisa Miller. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  12. ↑ The Margins of Error (2008). Last Day. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  13. ↑ The Margins of Error (2008). Last Day...again. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
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