Autobotography Intent – TateY

Title: Create to Connect and Collaborate

Summary/Abstract (1 sentence) By using YouTube to tell my story and ambitions to make films, create music, and collaborate with like minded and creative people, I plan to create “vlog-like” videos where I show and share my process of creating a space for such collaboration to occur, and in doing so, connect with others, first in a digital sense and then in a physical, tangible sense.

Description (2 paragraphs)

Increasingly throughout the past few years, my identity has dramatically revolved around cameras. My interest in visual media in both viewing and watching, as well as capturing photos and creating videos has brought me opportunities to travel Maine time-lapsing landscapes, work for non-profits to tell their story, and has even gotten me here to University of Maine, majoring in New Media. When someone creates something, they inherently express some aspect of themselves. It can, however, be abstract and without context, be hard to judge exactly what the artist was trying to express. On the flip side, you can express yourself quite well with speech. You can say exactly how you are feeling, and what you are trying to convey. It is not visual, but it is effective. With video however, it can be both. Someone can quite literally speak directly to their audience about their thoughts and beliefs, but create, capture, or show visuals to match their thoughts. In my opinion, it’s the best way I can express myself. However, even though I can create a video, this doesn’t mean that people will be able to see this form of expression. It is because of the internet and platforms like YouTube and Vimeo that anyone can see, share, like or dislike, or comment on my video. Before this, I could only reach an audience through film festivals, showings, or distributing the video or film on a DVD.

Vlogging has taken YouTube by storm in recent years, with thousands of people taking a stab at trying to create interesting, mainly dialog-based videos for their audience to enjoy. Many have been quite successful and now have millions of followers as an audience. All someone needs is a camera and some cheap editing software to begin. The initial cost to start vlogging is low, making it an accessible and affordable way to express oneself and create an online presence. Something that is quite common throughout however, is that vlogging is not just merely setting up the camera and talking to it. It’s about bringing a camera along to tell a raw, first-hand account of something you are experiencing. In doing so, it gives the vlogger the ability to talk about what they are doing with interesting and matching visuals.

For the past several years, I have dreamed about having a space for collaborating with like minded and creative people in a multi-functional space that could meet the needs of my interests in photography, video, music, and carpentry/crafts. I live in a rural area in Maine where I very rarely get the chance to interact with any of the many talented artists, musicians, photographers, boatbuilders, etc. around me, let along work together and collaborate on projects. The space I’m dreaming about would be large enough to have various areas for certain work, i.e. video and photo editing, recording studio, small wood working shop, and still have room for larger events where I could do live “studio sessions” with musicians, show films and other works, and host parties which inevitably creates conversations and sparks creativity.

Images: 

To condense this:

Problem: Where I live makes it extremely hard to collaborate with other talented, creative people.

Solution: Vlog and share my journey to create a multi-functional space for my main interests in photography, video making, and music that is large and accessible enough where it fosters and allows for creative work with others within the general vicinity of Maine. Essentially, I will use my camera and YouTube to capture my ambitions in an authentic “real-time” way and create an online presence that matches and helps my dreams become a reality.

Even though there are some things you have no control over how your “online-self” is seen as, there are a number of things that can still be managed. Showing my motivation and ambition to work with others and have a place for this to happen is hard regardless, but I believe that vlogging about my journey and sharing this on YouTube is the best way to make this dream a reality. I will be using YouTube to show myself and my ideas to a larger audience, put content out that I’m proud of, such as documentaries and live music sessions, and ultimately take control over how my “online-self” is shown.

Obviously this kind of space doesn’t just magically appear, and this undertaking is not small. However I thankfully have a space that is already partially completed at parent’s house where I frequently go back to on the weekends. There is a structure adjacent to the main house, 26×26 with a lowest ceiling height of 9 ft and a tallest height of 15 ft. The floor is concrete, and the walls and roof are in place, and most of the insulation is in already in the walls. However, there are no windows, insulation still needs to be put up, shingles on the outside walls, and there is several days worth of cleaning inside. Obviously I wont be able to complete the entire space within the first vlog – in fact this entire process will take several months, but to get started, I will be mainly talking about my very first vlog: introducing myself, my problem I want to address, how I will address it, and then begin cleaning.

Inspirations: Casey Neistat, Foster Huntington, Levi Allen, NPR Tiny Desk Concert Series

Budget 

*To complete first vlog, which is about introducing myself and the problem I hope to address, and begin cleaning the space*

As I addressed earlier, to create a simple vlog, you merely need a camera and some basic editing software, however this gear list is for gear I already have and will use, so the price is much higher than it needs to be if one was to start completely fresh.

Camera (Lens, SD Card, Battery included) – $750

Tripod – $100

Timelapsing Set Up – $850

Macbook Pro – $1,200

Final Cut Pro X – $300

Total: $3,200

Time

*To complete first vlog, which is about introducing myself and the problem I hope to address, and begin cleaning the space*

10 days @8hrs per day