What is it with video getting such a bad knock?

When the story broke that a Rapid City Central student had been critically injured in some kind of altercation after school and that he very well could be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life, there was certainly outrage in the community of readers.

But when they found out that the incident had been recorded on video via cell phone, the real outrage began. To think that such a tragic event could be captured on video turned readers' stomaches, as well it should.

Still, there is the odd habit we have developed as news consumers that draw us to the immediacy and the visual element of video.

From week to week, we track statistics showing us what are the most popular videos at www.rapidcityjournal.com, and unfailingly, the most base and least produced video - which are generally defined in the business as "raw" - are viewed the most.

But raw video need not be so base. There are plenty of videos out there on the Internet that have been produced by the citizenry and journalists alike that lack in pure production value but don't rely on appealing to the viewers lowest common denominator.

Today, The Fives takes a look at a few videos taken by folks in the Hills that may lack the dramatic or grotesque appeal of fights captured on cell phones or sudden plane crashes. Instead, we celebrate the things that make the Hills unique, through the lens of video camera.

One hail of a storm

It's been more than a year since a series of powerful thunderstorms moved through the Black Hills region, pummeling the Piedmont area with baseball size hail and nearly washing away parts of Hermosa with flash flooding.

There was some decent video taken of the storm by motorists stranded in their vehicles as the enormous hail stones destroyed their windshields, their cars stranded along Interstate 90 in the middle of Mother Nature's fury.

But my favorite video of the vent was taken by a Piedmont area resident who recorded the destructive white balls of ice as they fell out of the sky and into their back yard.

It was simply something I always wondered: How does hail so big fall out of the sky. Obviously, it doesn't come in the mass smaller hail does, or everything would be destroyed. Or does it?

This video helped clear up that question of mine.

Bear fight at Bear Country USA

If you have ever been to Bear Country USA outside of Rapid City, you know that the most popular attraction is the area where the cubs are. Crowds flock to see the little critters roll around on the ground, peak up at the crowd of visitors and do whatever baby bears do.

What they often do, though, is play. And this video catches them doing just that.

Wild times at the Sturgis motorcycle rally

When I first saw this video, I could hardly believe my eyes.

Not that it was done. I know deer can jump, but I never could have imagined that someone could actually catch such a feat on video.

The background music is all fine and dandy, but what would have really been fascinating is to know the thoughts of the person who shot the video as the deer jump unfolded in front of him.

Better yet, it might have been even better if we could have known the thoughts of the biker as he headed the other way on the highway and the deer leaped by his helmet by a few inches.

Regardless, this is what makes video great.

A little fun on the base

This little piece of imagination is served up by our good folks out at Ellsworth Air Force Base.

Whoever shot it really caught some great reactions, and the camera effects of slowing it down so we can see the horror literally spread across their face, only to be replaced by embarrassment a few moments later is better than most of the Punk'd episodes.

Fireworks at Rushmore

We, too, will shoot raw video at times. For some events, it simply makes more sense to strip away the narrative and let viewers simply take in the view.

One such instance is the annual July 3 Mont Rushmore Fireworks display. This year, videographer Tim Appel shot the event and limited the effects to an occasional filter or two to slow down the action.

Of course, it remains one of the most popular videos we have ever shot.