About this interview:
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to interview a family in which the mom and three of her sons all had YouTube channels. It was great fun to talk to them, and it's a bit overwhelming to imagine the level of creative energy that must be swirling around that house! I decided to return to this family and do an in-depth interview with one of the boys, 14 year-old "Fur" (why Fur? It's in the interview!) Fur is both a YouTuber and YouTube partner, and an aspiring filmmaker. He's the modern equivalent of the young filmmakers of my generation, with lots better equipment and a much bigger audience. In the days of super-8, our audiences typically consisted of family, friends, and sometimes classmates. Fur has followers around the world.
I've believed for a long time that we're going to see some great films emerging someday from Fur's generation. Unlike any generation before him, Fur not only has the equipment to make a high quality film, but, for the first time, can learn from his audience. There's direct feedback on his videos, or course, but there's also the analytics that YouTube offers, which allow him to see where people are viewing his videos from, their ages, how people are actually finding and viewing his videos. and even whether viewers are staying through and watching each video, and when they stop. By the time he creates for a living, I believe, he'll understand what works and doesn't work with his audience.
The great filmmakers twenty years from now, learning from their earliest experiences on YouTube, may develop a unique instinct to connect with their audiences and create movies that are engaging, suspenseful, heart-wrenching and entertaining.
You can find Fur at http://youtube.com/Fur
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| Directing my first film at 11 years old |
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