The Griffon News

Andy Warhol once said that in the future, everyone would be famous for fifteen minutes. While this may have seemed unheard of in the 1960s, with the recent popularity of YouTube, people are finding ways to make the most out of their fifteen minutes.

YouTube.com is a free video sharing and uploading Web site, which boasts 70 million videos viewed per day. YouTube has a large following among young people, both as viewers and filmmakers.

Kyle Pugh, a sophomore at Missouri Western, frequently visits YouTube while using the Internet.

“I probably visit YouTube, honestly, once a day,” Pugh said. “That’s kind of sad, but I usually go when I check my email.” Among Pugh’s favorite clips is the directors channel, which features up and coming, undiscovered directors.

“I usually watch funny clips, or I log onto the directors section and watch indie and short films,” Pugh said.

In addition to quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon, YouTube is also an outlet for aspiring filmmakers, comedians and actors. Nick Ford, a theater and video communications major, has posted clips on YouTube in the past. Ford posted a movie trailer he made for an editing class. He hoped to get feedback from the millions of YouTube users that visit the site every day. YouTube viewers can rate what they see and also leave comments.

“I put it up just to get some feedback from people about what I should work on, what they liked or didn’t like about it,” Ford said. “The general response was that everyone liked it.”

After such a positive experience with YouTube, Ford is hopeful about the impact of YouTube on the film and television industry.

“It’s great; it’s another medium,” Ford said. “The perspective of film has changed. It used to cost money to make a movie, now anyone with a digital camera can make the film they want to.”

With almost anyone having an Internet connection and access to a camera, YouTube could get a little crowded. However, Ford doesn’t see that as a negative thing.

“YouTube challenges creativity and creates more competition,” he said. “It allows you to be your own producer and director.”

The easy access and popular demand of YouTube might be considered a plus for aspiring filmmakers trying to be discovered, but for viewers, it’s a lot of weeding out the best and the worst.

“It’s an amazing freedom, but some people take it too far,” Pugh said of many of the homemade reality series and video blogs that appear on the Web site. “It’s a lot of sifting through junk. I don’t think YouTube is the most legit way to become famous.”

However, Ford has a different perspective about the availability of a wide array of videos.

“It’s definitely a decent competitor with TV and film,” Ford said. “You can watch anything on YouTube.”

With YouTube’s popularity on the rise, and the Web site gaining notoriety in the mainstream media, one has to wonder if YouTube has a chance against television or even film. As  YouTube’s popularity increases and America’s attention span decreases, could YouTube one day replace other media?

“I’m more drawn to YouTube for the lazy factor,” Pugh said. “It’s like the best of TV condensed.”