[Weekly Update] Intentional shoddiness in film (and YouTube)

Been on a bit of a history binge lately. I guess it's the aftermath of finishing a 4 part series.

It's not a good idea to do multi-part series on YouTube, just because how the viewerships always dwindles, but it's so satisfying when it is finished.

Maybe I should do one about various Chinese myths, or Jin Yong novels.

CHANNEL UPDATE

Hope you all enjoy our last video on Deshdrohi. This has to be the most fun I had watching a bad movie in a while. I've said it multiple times: This movie is bad but not frustrating, which is perfect for a party watch. If only it's easier to find.

I don't have a lot to add about the movie. A few comments pointed out that Bollywood, the Mumbai film industry, actually favours North Indian and is fairly xenophobic to outsiders, which makes KRK's frustration with racism in Mumbai rather hypocritical. I do know that factoid, but I didn't include it in the video because I don't know how much KRK is actually welcomed by Bollywood... Let's be honest.

We are still trying to catch up with our delayed schedule, so our next few videos will be short and simple ones. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll be making a video on Steven Seagal again, but this time, I'm defending the man... against fat jokes. Oh boy...

Meanwhile, we have slightly expanded our Discord with themed channels, so we can have more focused discussions. I've also added a watch along channel. Hopefully we'll be able to sync and watch movies together, while riffing them to shreds.

No idea for bonus video yet. Maybe Predator? Been a while since we last Arnold'ed

MEDIA TALK

It was a pure coincident that I have my mind filled with bad movies lately. After watching the admittedly disappointing Neil Breen 6 (that's what I'm calling the new film), I got news that James Nguyen is making yet another Birdemic movie. And then I watched Deshdrohi.

In a way, Neil Breen 6 and Deshdrohi, to me, is like two sides of the same coin. They are both ambitious projects that lacks quality. But they give me polar opposite feelings. It's a perception that's hard to put into words. But let me try anyway.

I have preciously said that Neil Breen's new film was likely an ambitious project. If you are familiar with his work, it's not hard to see a trend: He's using more and more special effects; the stories are also more and more fantastical. Naturally, his 6th film is entirely filmed in front of a green screen, with fight scenes, dances, and a 3D animated tiger turned busty woman. While to some, this seems like a lazy way to make a film, I think Breen sees this as a step forward in terms of production value. He had always wanted to make VFX movies, and Breen 6 is the closest thing to his dream yet.

The reason the film isn't as enjoyable, then, may be because the film actually has production value. It no longer feels like an inexperienced filmmaker doing their best. It feels like an experience filmmaker failing at achieving what they set out to do.

This is where Deshdrohi wins. First of all, I do think Deshdrohi is somewhat purposefully made to be funny. A lot of aspects involving KRK are certainly unintentional and stupid, but the film's sense of timing, staging, and editing are so close to the feel of Bollywood comedy, it's rather sus. Added with the fact that the film isn't directed by KRK, there's a good chance the director was fully self-aware,

Either way, though, Deshdrohi feels like a shoddy filmmaker pulling way more weight that he could. And the result is a rather sincere attempt at making a film. And we adore that.

This is where I begin to wonder: Is this also why we prefer less produced YouTube videos and TikTok reels? Instead of movie reviews with full animations and transitions, do you prefer if our video feels more like just one dude in his basement, sharing his views?

Intentional shoddiness is certainly a thing on YouTube, especially outside of our familiar film-tuber circle, where audience demographic trend towards younger. It may fulfill a need for para-social dynamic. It may just be because it feels more personal and intimate. But videos that clearly looked like it was edited by a hobbyist is often more engaging than those by a professional. Even I feel that a lot of the times.

Is it because I see these videos the same way as Deshdrohi, and see that the person behind the video is doing more than they could?

Of course, being a film-tuber, such intentional shoddiness might as well be career suicide. Our ability to edit our video directly reflects our knowledge on film production. So we may be the one exceptions... Except KRK, who clearly doesn't know how to edit his reviews, have 1.2 million subscribes. So, I don't know what to think anymore.

I hope I managed to explain it clearly. As I said, this feeling is hard to put into words. Anyway, this is my rambling of the week. Do you prefer well produced video, or do you find DIY style videos more charming?

I'll see you soon with a new video. Hopefully.