When it comes to other forms of video making, the aims of the studio reminds me of when my friends and I made videos for our high school. There is usually not a lot of preparation time for shooting and editing, and there would constantly be restraints in both lengthwise and style of the final video. Of course, these videos were less critiqued by peers and teachers, but are limited by our abilities. Looking back at these videos, I am constantly reminded of the joy video making brings to people when they view them. Seeing my school joying my videos is a great feeling, this effect is something that I wish to replicate in my future filmmaking. In a similar way, Yoko Taro, a Japanese video game director and writer, views the emotion elicited by his games to be the most important aspect. The strong emotions one feels after playing his games is the reason why he is one of my favourite icons in the gaming industry right now.

I am really interested in creating videos on YouTube but more specifically gaining an audience. While it is said that anyone can upload on YouTube, not everyone can gain an audience whilst doing so. Recently, more and more YouTubers are becoming mainstream in the real world through their efforts online. When it comes to short-form video production like what we are experimenting in this studio, I am reminded of sketch comedy channels. Last year, Superwog, an Australian comedy channel, released their first TV series on both YouTube and ABC. It is interesting to see how they moved from short 3-4 minutes comedy sketch videos to today with full TV-length episodes while maintaining the same style of comedy they are known for.

Another creator I’m constantly inspired by is Anthony Fantano, the host of TheNeedleDrop channel. He mainly does music reviews and shorter discussion pieces on music industry news. Whilst the production value of his videos are often similar, usually featuring him sitting against a wall with a green screen used to insert album covers, it is his work ethic I am inspired by. He posts reviews daily on his main channel and also discussion videos on his personal channel, all the while engaging with fans on social media and highlighting fan creations. Fantano often makes fun of himself through the memes he shares on social media, such as his decision to give a popular album a 6 out of 10. I believe that online videos are the future and learning how to manage an online presence through video creation is a valuable asset to have today.

One of my favourite films I watched in 2018 was Whiplash, which to my surprise was based on a short film of the same name. The 18-minute short film won an award at Sundance 2013, which attracted investors to produce a full-length movie. The short film had a smaller scope; set in a medium-sized music room and the corridor outside and the cast is reduced. The way a short film executed well could lead to a full-length movie inspires me as it demonstrates how smaller efforts can eventually become something greater.