[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXYIEEq-v0VC5HYoezYiWdQRYEiJXj2zx[/youtube]

Youtube for me has always been about community and art. It has often worked for me as a way to discover different forms of cinema, rather than what I was just finding during television advertisements. By delving into Youtube I was able to explore different parts of both movie making, and the general entertainment factor of watching movies as I could look at what trailers I wanted to watch, rather than what the different channels wanted me to watch during designated advertisement slots.

By watching things like “[the films of] David Fincher” and “Quentin Tarantino – The Works” I was able to better understand what made these director’s films so good. Youtube has allowed me to join a community of like minded movie buffs and fanatics, as well as acting as a learning tool for what makes cinema aesthetically pleasing, beautiful, and great. This was expanded by channels such as “Every Frame A Painting” which is dedicated to the analysis of film form, which allowed a great way of understanding how film works as an art form. Access to director’s commentaries and interviews has granted me the possibility to better understand my favorite director’s art styles, and some of the more intricate details of my favorite movies. Youtube has become equivalent with understanding and exploring film as an art form, and truly allowed my experience with movies to truly blossom.  Another part of Youtube that increased my love with film was the discovery that short movies could be uploaded to Youtube, increasing the platform’s ability to host artistic content related to cinema. The discovery of short film’s such as “I’m Here” and “In a City” on Youtube led to the discovery of boundless cinematic content. With the ability to freely upload any creative content at any point has created a door through which artists can stick their foot and force their art through.  The discovery of these various takes on cinema as an art form created a community I could silently be a part of, while also expanding my knowledge and appreciation of film.

However the other side of Youtube for me, lies in the small hobby of fingerboarding. Starting in early middle school I discovered a small toy that emulated a skateboard, known as a Tech Deck otherwise known as a fingerboard. The hobby surrounds the recreation of skateboard tricks with the use of a small skateboard and fingers. While at first seemingly a dumb plastic toy it soon gets a lot more detailed. Without Youtube, I would have never discovered the massive group of people that follow and are dedicated to fingerboarding. After watching a bunch of videos from so called ‘pro riders’ I got an actual wooden fingerboard, bearing wheels, and actual metal trucks, all parts required of a real skateboard on a miniature scale. The fingerboard community relies on youtube to share full length fingerboard parts or ‘minis’ which are short videos of fingerboarding sessions. The discovery of this community through Youtube led me to make a bunch of new friends, and discover a talent I didn’t know I had. While insignificant and kind of childish, fingerboarding is truly a community that would not exist without Youtube, to advertise for upcoming meet ups, montage videos, and other things of the sort. Just as with skateboarding it has a community of riders that like to session together, however with a much smaller community, which is where Youtube played such a vital role. With the ability for riders to upload videos they’re able to receive feedback on how to improve their tricks and technique, thus allowing for the betterment of the community as a whole. Fingerboarding would hardly have the community it has today if not for Youtube.

Youtube is truly a website that has inspired within me a sense of community and artistic expression, as I have been able to find a community of people that share interests in things such as film and fingerboarding. With these specific examples showing how a small toy can evolve into a full scale community, and how an artistic form can be accessed, critiqued, and practiced, by millions for free.