Growing-Up Plugged In

BlueOrthodox
Mar 8, 2019
3 min read

I was recently tasked with undertaking a remix assignment where I had to compile established media together and create something new out of it. It couldn't be some amalgamation of random junk for the the sake of finishing the project though. There had to be substance beneath the remixing of ideas. I decided to do a video where I picked snippets of a video games, films, and music videos during an impressionable age as a time machine back to a young Max.

^The video in question. WARNING: It does contain some mature content.^

I got the inspiration to do this project from the handful of times I've gone back through my extensive Favorites list on YouTube. In it, I realized just how much of my progression as a person is tracked through the activity on my feed. I distinctly remember my attitude towards the world around me through clusters of videos. This is both a good and bad thing as it depends on what was going on in my life around those times. In the video, I try to convey that sense of changing throughout the stages in the video.

During the course of the project we had a couple of parameters to follow and one we had to break. I decided to break the "3 sources from at least 2 media types," as I wanted to delve deep into my past likes, dislikes and rabbits holes I went down as I grew up. It's a comment on how technology molded me as a person, for better or worse, which I'm still trying to determine. This meant diving into the meany mediums I frequent, so instead of 2 media types, I opted for 3.

This was by no means a cake walk. I stayed up a few late nights hammering out just the right pacing and tone for each stage, as each should convey a particular mindset I was in at the time. The video is structured from ages 8 to different intervals all the way up to 20. This is deliberate because I had a conflicted upbringing during many of my teenage years and so the content I consumed around 15, 17 and 19 aren't exactly feel-good-hits of the summer.

I always knew YouTube was going to be the platform I released this to. I've grown up the platform, having had my account since 2011, and still use it actively today for content and consumer purposes. Plus, I wanted to challenge myself with this format. I had never done a formal montage before. Structuring it and finding the right content were the hardest obstacles to overcome. It took some soul-searching, too. Some trips down memory-lane found some good feelings and not-so-good ones. If I didn't undergo that process, however, It wouldn't have made for quality content. This acts as a living slice of when I was young and is imprinted in these videos. I can see myself returning to this project just for the memories!

Sources to all materials used in the video. I suggest giving them a click to support them or for a discovery of something new:

Age 8, Father’s Son:

UT Footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vHZcZJTegQ

Snatch (Movie) Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGodlHtdZ0U

Fatboy Slim Music/Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7jSp2xmmEE

Age 12, Obsessions:

CoD 4 Multiplayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb1qRgSrz34

Dark Knight Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ChPTKPzB4I

Beck’s Missing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-mUIWqIn6o

Age 15, Choices Made:

Fallout 3 Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10ulC3-4O28&t=327s

Clash of the Titans Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIZlw1Ou77Y