[Weekly Update] April 17, 2022

I'm sitting here, prepping a shot list for a martial arts short film. It took me around 3 hours to finish one page...

I think I shoot faster than I prep.

CHANNEL UPDATE

Our next video on Drive My Car is pretty much complete and ready to go. It's just waiting for it to go through sponsorship. It should be out in a few days. Sorry for the delay! If you still haven't finished watching the film, give it a shot! I'm curious to know what everyone thinks of the film.

No other changes are made to the schedule. Up next is a video on Malaysian cinema, and then Gallant, a Hong Kong indie love letter to kung fu films of yesteryears.

I'm also designing new channel assets. Mainly, I'm thinking of removing the video title screen and simplifying the chapter screens. The title screen feels like it slows down the pace just a tad too much, and the finely detailed red color just never looks that great with YouTube compression.

I'm happy with the pacing of our videos in general (my narration limits us to a slower pace in any case). But some tightening up may be helpful.

MEDIA TALK

Let's talk about Turning Red, again. Because I wasn't very happy with the review video we made. Take this as my backpedaling due to some backlash ;)

In the video, I have to remain very objective and analyze the film as a critique. In hindsight, it may have been better if I just share my unscripted, personal thought instead. While I approached the film with a critical eye, judging from the comments, it's clear most people approach this film with some level of emotional resonance.

Even when watching the film, I know that I'm not in a position to talk about it. The film did an excellent job of letting me know what puberty is like for a teenage girl. For the first half of the film, I can feel the underlying anxiety and overwhelmingness.

But, being a dude, that is the limit of my experience. I find myself relating to the character and her emotion. But without personal experience, there really isn't much for me to share. This is why I really only talk about the film's formal aspects, writing techniques, visual styles, etc.

That said, just because I don't share a personal experience, doesn't mean the film is unrelatable. In fact, it is precise that I can feel the emotion despite the lack of personal connection which makes me realize just how relatable the film really is.

No doubt, many of us have seen reviews that claim this film is for girls, it's not relatable, or worse, it's inappropriate for kids. I thought about addressing these talking points in my video, too. But in the end, I don't think these claims merit your time.

If there is one thing I truly regret not bringing up, or rather, didn't get into enough, is how grateful I'm for seeing this film. It is rare to see a film that offers a wholly feminine perspective. It was a learning experience, to see life from a perspective outside of my own. It's never a good idea to be too complacent with your media consumption. Turning Red may not be a big challenge to your worldview, but what it has to offer is nevertheless valuable for many of us.

Anyway, that is the update for today. I'll see you in a few days with a new video, in which I go back to talk about film study stuff. See you then!