If you subscribe to the YouTube channel, you may have noticed a slew of new videos uploaded recently. They’re part of an initiative called “YouTube 101,” a series that explains basic features to new users. With hundreds of thousands of people creating new YouTube channels every day, there are a lot of folks out there who may not know that they can share a video privately, customize their channel or even how to upload a video — in full HD, no less.
I just got back from Haiti a few days ago. I was acting as a filmmaker for Mission MANNA, a non-profit based in Asheville, NC that sends two medical teams to Haiti each year. MM also just started a year-round feeding program for 30 of the most malnourished kids in the region. The program could serve more malnourished kids with your help. See MissionManna.org
It was a great trip. We saw over 1100 kids, treating most of them for intestinal worms, and many for the effects of malnutrition.
I added an image player on this site to play images I send via email on my phone. You can see it at the link called “webstream”. Hey, maybe I will post it to the front page here.
If you can’t see the player, go see them on FLICKR.
Once again, I am reminded that STORY is king in my business. If you want to see what I mean, go watch OCTOCAT ADVENTURE, a funny, sick, loud, but ultimately deeply moving animation. It was mostly made in MS Paint, which is a very basic image editor.
I’ve made a few comments below the video, (with spoilers, so don’t read it yet - watch first).
So…
When I first saw, Octocat Adventure, I already knew that it was created under a the guise that the creator was a 14 year old in Chicago named, Randy Peters. Visually and thematically, it does look like a 14 year old could have made it. It certainly resonates with my 8th grade sense of humor which, much to my wife’s chagrin, has stuck with me.
So why do I think this is a big deal? Because, I think we all need to be reminded that high production values don’t matter as much as story, in the end. In my business, I put a lot of emphasis on making good visuals, and good sound. Don’t get me wrong - these matter. A lot. But story and the characters that create them matter more.
In the case of Octocat Adventure, a very talented person (David OReilly) made something that LOOKS pretty bad but IS very good. Why do I think it’s so good? Well, like I said, it’s funny, sad, annoying, cute, gross and touching - all at the same time. I also like it because of the extremes between the bad visuals and the good story. But OReilly has a real talent that shines though the rough of this piece.
The synopsis of the work is that a weird looking cat has lost his parents. He looks in doors and boxes which make odd things happen. He jumps fences and bludgeons a giant worm. When he sees his parents, they get carried away by a big, black monster.
So far it sounds like the imaginings of a 14 year old mind, but it still hits me in a deep place: a kid loses his parents. We have all been there, and on many levels we will be there again and again.
In the end, the creator of Octocat Adventure reminds me that a good story uses deep psychology and myth to make a mark on us. And that’s something I wish I could do in every project.
Go see more of David OReilly’s work, as most of it is equally mythic AND very cool looking to boot.
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