Last Wednesday at five in the morning, I sat on the floor of JFK airport with my head resting haphazardly on the softest part of my tripod. I blinked furiously as I looked at my phone, trying to make out the blurry letters of iMessages from my night owl friends on the West Coast.
“Why r u at the airport? Are you coming home!??!”
“Haha kinda but not really. Going to Vidcon for Odyssey.”
I met up with Sergio, an Odyssey video intern, and we both joined the crowds of passengers in the dreaded laptop-removing, liquid-consolidating, shoe-removing ritual. After a connecting flight in Phoenix, we landed in Long Beach Airport with the sun in our eyes and endless rows of palm trees dotting the southern California skyline.
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About a month ago, my editor, Zach, gave me a call and told me that Odyssey wanted to fly out a select group of video producers to VidCon, all expenses paid for. Barely able to believe what I was hearing, I took the offer without hesitation. So fast-forward a couple of weeks and there I was, in an Uber heading to our hotel beside the Anaheim convention center. I would be spending three days at VidCon producing, filming, and editing videos.
VidCon is basically a gathering of YouTubers, Vine stars, fans, and industry professionals. It has happened annually since 2010 and it continues to thrive as we move as a digital media-centered society.
I’m an avid YouTube watcher and videographer; however, I was undoubtedly surprised by the demographic that showed up at this convention. I felt old being there and I’m only 20. Hoards of preteens ran around in packs, their red VidCon knapsacks bouncing up and down as they sprinted to catch a selfie with their favorite video stars.
Sure, I would also probably run to snag a picture with Casey Neistat or Louis Cole, but there was something very underwhelming about seeing YouTube stars in person. Panel after panel and sighting after sighting left me feeling indifferent to the hype.
However, don’t get me wrong. VidCon was an incredible experience. I met some really smart, creative, funny creators from other schools and we all teamed up to produce some great videos. I think I just realized that for me, interacting and appreciating the video creators that I love is really best experienced through their online content.
Maybe it’s just a matter of time before I’m left looking up slang on Urban Dictionary because I’m too old to keep up with the younger generation. Either way, I’m still happy to know that the creative world is moving at such a great speed. VidCon confirmed the notion that anyone can make it. Whether you’re armed with a DSLR, 360 camera, or an iPhone, there’s content to be made and there’s an audience to be cultivated.
Yes, I still find it crazy that some 13-year-olds can garner millions of video views and thousands of Instagram followers, but there’s also something refreshing about the playing field being leveled. Photos, videos, and even written work can now be pursued by people of all ages and backgrounds. Better yet, that creative work can get people an unprecedented amount of exposure and support that would’ve been impossible just a decade ago. With that exposure, there’s most definitely an unspoken responsibility to spread positivity and love over hate and negativity. It’s a complicated world to navigate, this digital media explosion that is still erupting into the 21st century, but it has made being a content creator so much more exciting. There’s something beautiful in knowing that individual creativity is celebrated and as I saw at VidCon, respected as well.Check out the videos we made at VidCon here.
