Indeed, if there is one takeaway from the success of “Talk to Me,” it isn’t that all YouTubers are bad filmmakers, and it’s certainly not that they are all great filmmakers. To quote “Ratatouille” food critic Anton Ego, “Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” As Michael Philippou tells it, “Directors from the past generations, if YouTube was a thing, they’d be uploading to it. It’s a way to access and interact with an international audience.”
This is the reason why Guillermo del Toro has been championing stop-motion animation, because it is the easiest form of animation for young people to get into and potentially compete with the biggest productions. YouTube, social media, and increasingly better phone cameras have helped democratize filmmaking and make it so new talent can come from anywhere. “If you’re a storyteller, you’re a storyteller. It doesn’t matter what medium you come from,” added Michael.
As for Danny Philippou, the co-director and co-writer advises YouTubers to “constantly [be] experimenting with their craft online and not letting low views or anything make you feel sad or whatever,” and to “just constantly make stuff, ’cause you constantly keep improving.”
Granted, not every vlogger has had experience with stuntwork or crafting horror stories as the filmmakers of “Talk to Me,” who are already tapped to direct their own franchise starter in a new adaptation of “Street Fighter.” Still, you never know where the next filmmaking sensation will come from.