2013 - In Retrospect

Farewell 2013…

In a slightly different, more reflective post, I want to take a little look back on this year and all the super great things it has held.

This has truly been my best year for video making and releasing. I mean 17 videos! That’s right you can count it, 17! Whilst some of them aren't exactly epics it’s been absolutely fantastic to ramp up the whole production process. In previous years I think I was only putting out about 3 videos… which was… yeh not that great. And while my initial plan to stick to a strict video a month schedule did fall by the wayside in the latter half of the year, I still think I’ve done pretty well.

Right here at the start I would like to thank you, yes YOU! I would like to thank you and anyone else who has watched my videos or read this blog. Whilst it’s true the videos are made because we love making them, they are also made for other people, for the audience… for YOU. And to find out that the audience is liking our stuff his just the biggest reward I could think of. Every time someone says they liked one of my videos I feel just a bit giddy, cause that means I did it. Somebody liked it.

So thank you, really truly thank you for sticking with me and watching my stuff.

Let’s wind back those clocks…

We kicked the year of with ‘Monkey in the Snow’, ‘Phoenix Draws’, and a handful of Vlogs.

The quite large positive response to both ‘Monkey in the Snow’ and the first ‘Phoenix Draws’, was actually very surprising.

Both of them were relatively low effort videos, not to say they were easy, but compared to a bigger video like ‘Squid and the Daleks’ they certainly had more gentle productions. They were also both experiments, really me just messing around with the camera, one to flex my artistic muscles, and the other because the snow outside was delightful and I thought it would be a shame not to use it for some sort of video.

So I think if there’s one bit of advice I would give it would be to experiment. Make weird videos that don’t make much sense, and use the things you have around you; seize the moment. I got a video out of my ability to draw, and another out of the snowy weather, so always look out for skills or environments you have.

The Vlogs… hmm those Vlogs… Well they got a very low view count and don’t draw many comments, but I like them, and I’m proud that they’re up there. I never wanted my channel to be this slick professional thing modeled after a TV network. I want it to be almost a video scrapbook, like the whole thing is just a representation of me and my head, put on YouTube. A bit weird and personal I know… but I’m having fun with it. It almost seems therapeutic at this point, like I’m taking out my heavy emotions on YouTube! Sorry about that YouTube…

A Couple of Kubrick’s started a sequence of videos made with my good friend Aaron. I like to call this the “Aaron Sequence. Maybe the “Chronicles of Aaron”. “The Aaron Saga”? What I think is pretty cool about these videos in retrospect, is that they quite evidently get better and better; Filming, acting, music, everything. We really developed a style and a flow and a way of working, which shows the best way to get better is to just get on and make things.

Over the videos we’ve been working out the best way of writing, and structuring our videos, somewhere between scripted and improvisation. If the whole thing is very improvised then I think we really lose structure. The video becomes a bit less defined and punchy and the jokes can get lost, as I think happened a bit with “Kubricks”.

Then we have the big one, the blockbuster, ‘Squid and the Daleks’. This is definitely my favourite video I’ve done this year, maybe even of all time. In my own humble opinion I think the timing is great, the jokes really hit (the throwing of the rock still kills me), and the effects look lovely and quirky. Everything meshes together to create a single and brilliant whole. Add to all of that… peeps like it! Not only have I had great online comments, but guys in my college have actually come up to me and said they liked it. Some of Aaron’s friends only really know me as “The Doctor in that Squid thing” which is pretty cool. I think pretty much all of my teachers have seen it at this point as well, and some have talked to me and said some pretty nice stuff about it. Hurray!

Making the “Aaron Sequence” has also put me in a really good place sort of mentally, and is one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed this year so much. The person I’ve felt like for a lot of my like prior to 2013 is this frustrated filmmaker with no friends, desperate to film something, ANYTHING, but lacking the lift-off to get out of this weird head space and get on with it. I’ve also never really had a lot of close friends, and it’s been pretty awesome to have a film making partner and form a kinda double act.

It’s been totally thrilling not just on a professional level, but on quite a personal level, to be able to make these films.

The end half of 2013 has been quite frustrating and tense. We've had a boat load of video ideas, but they've just been sitting and stewing in my head for months. Life is getting tricky, with pressure to think about University as well as trying to nail it on my Media diploma. Whilst obviously all that comes first, I also feel a need to make these videos and comics in order to preserve my sanity. So I’ve been struggling along with this balancing act, working on creative projects here and there.

I’ve really always defined myself as someone struggling or failing. I’ve spent a lot of time trapped in my head and honestly most of the time I’ve been my own jailer. I have a boat load of insecurities and stresses and flaws… But this year… This year I really feel like I’m stepping out of my shell, taking more risks, and coming closer to who I want to be. I’ve done some actually legit funny and well-made videos, I’ve carried on with my College course; something I honestly didn’t think I could do and considered giving up on a few times, and last but not least, I got a new best pal. Thanks Aaron, you’re a righteous dude.

It’s all balanced out in a weird way, with each of those three things helping me push forward in the others. My friendship and film-making makes me more confident in College, College makes me get in a hardworking mind-set which encourages me to make videos… It’s all kind of… circular.

And that’s why this year has been exciting. It’s not the end of a journey; it’s just the beginning, the start of an adventure I’ve wanted to have my whole life. So let’s see where this goes… Come on 2014, bring it on! The journey continues…

Coming soon… I will post up a post about what’s coming up in 2014. It’s going to be both personal and project based, just like this one, talking about both the struggles I’ll be facing and the super cool videos to come.

Again, really the warmest thanks to anyone who has watched my videos, subscribed, or read this blog. You guys are awesome. And I hope that I’ll be able to keep you all coming back for more next year.

Thank you, and goodnight.