By Niki Cruz 

Whether it’s seeing your friend put mentos in an explosive soda bottle or blog watching of your favorite user, we have all been guilty of spending hours behind our computers watching youtube videos. Youtube, which was started in 2006 by three paypal employees, has become the epicenter for getting a foot in the entertainment industry. Justin Timberlake discovered popular amateur singer, Esmee Denters on the site and instead of singing in her bedroom Esmee is now signed to Timberlake’s record company. It doesn’t just stop with Esmee – comedians and other aspiring entertainers have received the attention and fuss that us Five Town students strive for. As a school that prides itself in being a supportive arts community it’s a no brainier that students are taking advantage of this phenomenon. I recently caught up with FTC third year professional filmmaker and current Youtube uploader Randy Sobel to see his take on the five minutes of fame via youtube.

THE RECORD: When you search on youtube, what do you usually look for?

Randy Sobel: I always search for episodes of old television shows that don’t air anymore or music videos I haven’t seen since I was young. I’m not into seeing other peoples work unless I know them personally.

TR: Would you say that youtube is opening up for filmmakers, actors and other aspiring artists?

RS: Absolutely. It’s an easy access to getting your name out there and I think if you’re serious about it, you can get some important people to see your work. If you were to apply for a film job or an acting role, would the producer rather watch a demo reel sent to them to clutter the piles upon piles on his table? Or just click a link on a website? You will get much more attention that way.

 

TR: Why did you pick to remake clerks? Was it for an FTC assignment?

RS: Yes, it was for directing class. I always thought Clerks was the best example of a director having absolutely no budget and going for broke just out of shear love for what he’s doing. It gave me hope for being a filmmaker. Since he was able to make that much of an impact, I felt he was well deserving of a tribute.

TR: So because of Kevin Smith’s initial impact with Clerks were you looking to make an impact by putting it on youtube? What was the purpose of putting your scene on youtube?

RS: This scene was made in my first semester working hands on with shooting. At the time I felt very proud that I was able to accomplish enough to make a small empty theatre look like a grocery store. I like using YouTube as a reference for my projects because it’s simple if anyone ever shows interest in watching it.

TR: Alright, now for the hard question - What the hell is Manbearpig and what were you thinking when you created that masterpiece?

RS: Wow this is a tough question. It was originally created after the South Park Episode with Al Gore as a quick project for Basic Television class. I thought it was a nice little inside joke between the group who shot it at first, but it was thrown on YouTube without my knowledge of how much a phenomenon it would be. Every time someone starts the sentence “So I was searching on YouTube for Five Towns College…” I know what’s coming. I guess it’s nice that freshmen can at least recognize me before coming to the school. Hey if I’m famous for that, then at least I’m famous for something.

TR: So you’ve gotten the freshmen’s attention for the infamous manbearpig?

RS: Well not just the freshmen, but also everyone. Everyone knows it’s out there and I’m sure behind my back they’ll tease me a bit for it. It’s just funny seeing these kids that have no idea who I am follow me around asking if I’m that guy. It’s kinda nice having a small fanbase, and I guess being the number one search result has something to do with it.

TR: Last question since you were such a sport - if you had to take away or add to youtube what would it be and why?

RS: I’d like to see a sub-division of YouTube that you can find current events, movie trailers, and all professional work on. The fan made stuff is nice and all but I’d rather not be bothered by most of it.

Well there you have it kids! From obscurity to notoriety Randy Sobel’s story is just one scene in a coming of age motion picture about a filmmaker just looking to shoot.

 

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 15th, 2007 at 6:07 pm and is filed under Blog, Five Towns College Report. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.