Film started as an experiment, it was “hey look at what we can do with these machines!”- in the 2010’s it’s seen a new light; Nowadays everyone’s a creator.

It’s natural that with new days comes new trends, rises and falls, new ideas. With the rise of the YouTube creator, everyday people can now wow just like the forefathers of film. Casey Neistat played the fuel, he ignited a fire in the YouTube community that pictured a world where the creator doesn’t need a Manfrotto Tripod, or a Tascam; all they need is an idea and some time.

The problem with this is that with his motivation and inspiration, there wasn’t wasn’t an ignition in places for these people to start create; sure YouTube is free and welcome to everyone except Kim Jong, but when all 6 million of his disciples have this sporadic idea of making a YouTube channel about their daily lives the work quickly dries up – the last person to get their creative work to the beady eye of the audience is the person that follows. It’s Jules, a student from Edinburgh, she’s just bought a new DSLR camera and a Gorrillapod and she’s so ready for her fame and fortune selling entertainment – but somehow she doesn’t realise that an audience watching her is like a consumer choosing store brand Frosted Flakes over Kellogg’s Frosties when they both cost the same.

While I can’t help but cringe at these mimics, I agree this creative preaching is healthy for the industry. The people that become creators, create – the disheartened dreamers become audiences, its a life cycle. And at the minute, with the skeptics discussing the “death of film” – Scorsese or “the decay of cinema” – NY Press – we can’t help but welcome this life cycle.

‘DO WHAT YOU CAN’T’ is a call to convention-breaking, AKA do whatever you want. Creating isn’t governed until you get big – get big breaking the rules then it’ll be expected and you can carry on breaking the rules. it’s that simple. As time goes by, censors are getting weaker and weaker – I think the best ways to “break the rules” are to take advantage of this dwindling power to control what you make; swear before 9, skydive naked, wear no makeup – do anything to make people shocked, shit works.

Perhaps this post should be just as motivational then; Create. if you can’t create then view. If you can’t create independently then stop – rethink, get away. Don’t recreate, re-create. Maybe you live in Hawaii? show the world your world, or maybe you have 19 dogs, show the world your dogs. don’t show the world what the world has already seen.

This was an argument with myself

Reece Needham