YouTube videos from the past year that I thought were pretty cool:
31st December 2022
So, I guess I haven't really done much here for a little while. Recently, I've been caught up with uni assignments (I'm midway through the final year so things are especially ramping up now), and I've also been in a bit of a writer's/artist's block, and I haven't really got my mind set on something in particular for the time being. So, I figured I might as well try something to keep this place interesting for now.

Anyway, recently I've checked out JacksFilms and Dylan the Night Owl's videos on their personal favourite YouTube videos of the past 12 months (give or take). Many of these videos definitely earned their spots on those lists, and there were a few I hadn't heard of that would also pique my interests (like the Steamed Hams animation style video mentioned on JacksFilms' list). This led me to considering my personal top picks for videos of the year, especially since I've been listening to quite a lot of them when drawing or exercising, so while much of my focus was on the audio rather than the visual-side of things, there were still quite a few videos I took time out to see which seemed worth celebrating nonetheless. This list won't be in any particular order, especially since it's kinda difficult for me to rank these things in any particular list from least good to most good, but I'll try and string them together in a way that sort of works, starting with the some fairly obvious/popular choices for the best videos of the year:

"That Zone Between Area 50 and 52" by Internet Historian

Internet Historian is someone you must have heard of at least once. His extravagant editing, writing and speaking style can make any subject an absolute blast to listen to, whether it concerns internet culture (like with his classic RainFurrest video) or not (like with "Going Camping at the End of the World" and of course "The Cost of Concordia"). This video falls more so in the former category, discussing the story of the "raid" on Area 51, and it's my personal favourite out of the two big videos he's released this past year. Everything just comes super thick and fast, and the editing throughout is absolutely slick and high-octane (I mean, this is Internet Historian we're talking about here), especially in the battle scene towards the end, which honestly feels like a movie at certain points. The video is a spectacular demonstration of IH's talent with editing, as he constructs a full-blown epic through just moving a few pictures and video clips around, which in turn is helped by the absolutely hilarious writing which makes the story a thrill throughout.

Now personally, I consider this video to be my favourite out of IH's two major videos, particularly since I was familiar with the classic tale of the Area 51 Raid that never was, and the video also offered a few additional threads to the story I wasn't aware of. But, I'd say the best video of the two, in an "objective" sense would be his later release: Man in Cave, concerning the tale of a man from 1920s Kentucky, who gets trapped while spelunking in a cave, and the national effort to get him out. I'd consider this video to be the stronger of the two due to how it stands out compared to many of IH's previous videos, particularly by being a much more grounded experience, as while it does carry his classic brand of humour here and there, it can also be quite moving at times. The editing is also in full force here, with the video essentially needing IH's trademark photo-puppetry all the way through, considering that there isn't really much in the way of archival footage from the time. He also offered each major figure in this story their own guest voice actor (including Wendigoon as the eponymous man in the cave), to really tie into that feeling of watching a movie (or at least a slightly more dramatic version of his fanfiction retellings). Internet Historian's videos are absolutely incredible to sit down and watch, and whilst they obviously take a lot of time to make, if they continue in this direction in the future, then they'll certainly be worth the wait every time!

"The Haunting Mystery of the Brown Mountain Lights" by Wendigoon

At the start of the decade, Wendigoon was but a small channel run by a guy with about a few hundred subscribers to his name. But, as more and more eyes came upon him through his gargantuan conspiracy theory iceberg series, as well as his iceberg videos on subjects such as cults, disturbing films and serial killers, this newfound audience would stick around through the engaging subjects he would go on to explore in future videos, as well as his signature deadpan delivery which made every video of his a treat from start to finish, and it's no surprise that he managed to gain such a widespread following in so little time.

His video on the Brown Mountain Lights phenomenon in the Appalachian Mountains in many ways feels like a culmination of his growing following, confidence and skill in making educational, informative and entertaining content in these past 2-3 years. No-longer confined to the safe environment of his bedroom corner, Wendigoon has now branched out into chasing these legendary phenomena himself, discussing the history of the lights, possible explanations behind their appearance, and the legendary folk tales passed down by generations of locals, all while surrounded by the awesome grandeur of the mountains themselves. This results in the video offering an almost cinematic (or at the very least, TV-quality) experience which is complemented by the oftentimes personal and touching statements offered by him, as he discusses how legendary folk tales like those of the Brown Mountain Lights have influenced him, and people like him, for many centuries.

Whilst paranormal phenomena and cryptozoology is definitely Wendigoon's forte, his large catalogue of videos from the past year demonstrate his expertise on several other subjects, with some of my other personal favourites being his recounting of the Waco Siege, which definitely explains why many Americans are super-protective about guns, and his summary of All Quiet on the Western Front, and how it managed to clearly portray the myth and futility of war. Wendigoon is one of the shining stars of the new YouTube landscape, and as he's continued to branch out with his work on a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan film among several other projects, I certainly can't wait to see what else he'll explore in the coming year.

"YMS: The Lion King (Part 1)" by YourMovieSucksDOTorg

Like Internet Historian, Adum from YourMovieSucks' major videos take a long time to come around, but when they do, they're definitely worth the wait every time, thanks to their complex editing, hilarious and insightful writing, and the incredibly detailed analysis filling the entirety of each video's long runtime. His most recent video, discussing the 2019 remake of the animated masterpiece The Lion King, is arguably one of, if not the most ambitious of these videos yet, clocking in at a little under two and a half hours in length, describing in detail every fault present in just the first half (if that) of one of Disney's many soulless, half-baked and expensive remakes which have "graced" our cinema screens these past few years. And whilst that opinion isn't really that much of a controversial one in this day and age, Adum's taken a while to throw his hat in the ring because he spent almost three years working on this one video, even going on a tangent by making a two hour-long video dissecting the film's Kimba the White Lion controversy two years ago.

This new video definitely shows the three years-worth of analysis that Adum has compiled for the film, talking in-depth about how the 2019 remake barely introduces anything new to justify a remake, and how the things that do change completely miss the point as to why certain choices were made in the original. The review also briefly discusses more general issues, like how traditional animation is generally overlooked in favour of a chase for CGI and "realism" above everything else, as well as Disney's half-hearted and two-faced attempts to appear socially conscious and (for a lack of better words) "woke". I've personally never gotten around to seeing The Lion King myself, unfortunately, but Adum definitely makes it clear as to why the original film was so important to him as a young lad, and it made me realise that I've really got to check the film out for myself before the next part of this mammoth of a review comes out (probably in about a year or so). I've heard Adum came down with a few health issues whilst making this review, and he's taken a bit of a break until the start of next year to spend his time on other projects, so while I'm not expecting a part 2 in the near future, I've still got plenty of time to look over his huge back catalogue for now, as well as an animation masterpiece to catch up on!

So, with those recommendations out of the way, let's get into some other, perhaps lesser-known choices that I thought were pretty cool:

"Fun Facts About The US Presidents Educational Cartoon" by Huggbees

Huggbees' style of humour comes from the art of the bait-and-switch. One minute, you think you're watching an informative video detailing the history of Dairy Queen, when suddenly a true/false quiz throws up the phrase "Dairy Queen's founder fucked a horse". This has been the basis of his classic series, "Fully Unwrapped" and "How it's Actually Made", and the charade managed to be kept up so well that even CNN fell for the bit one time. This more recent video, which masquerades as a fun educational video for kids, goes a step further by throwing in some original animation to complement the joke dialogue, and in that sense it enhances the humour of the whole thing, whilst also sometimes sticking to the Huggbees rule of "two truths and a lie" (or at least "two lies and a truth"), to keep up the illusion as much as possible.

This segment, like the previous entries, can also be a general recommendation for the channel itself. Since his most viewed "How it's Actually Made" videos have been seen millions of times, it's likely you've seen one of his videos at some point, but he's also done a few more casual and genuinely informative videos which also make use of a similarly deadpan style of humour, like his "Waffle House Index" video on hurricane severity, or even just a video where he roasts a bunch of state flags. Be sure to stick around for his other stuff, if the humour takes your fancy.

"CNX replaces Cartoon Network+1, 14/02/2022" by Cypher.Sonic

While I guess this can vaguely link into the whole "pretending to be something else"-style of video Huggbees would normally make, regardless this next pick might be a bit less conventional than the previous choices, and whilst maybe it might not have a grand narrative or a particularly ground-breaking message behind it, this is one of those videos that fall in the category of "I just think they're neat". The kind of video that activates those particular neurons in my 'tism brain, and gets me thinking "Man, what if this was actually a thing?". This was mainly thanks to the slick editing style and incredibly ambitious length (a bit under an hour), going over what's supposed to be seven hours-worth of content for this channel: A revival of Cartoon Network's short-lived adult animation channel from the UK, CNX. It's all visualised in the best way a one-person team can, and it made me think that maybe this simple, albeit fairly effortful idea, might have some potential to it in real life.

Of course, there's the whole idea going around that the chiefs over at Warner Bros Discovery don't care about animation, and how they're never gonna bring back shows like Infinity Train or whatever, but maybe thanks to something like this, the higher-ups won't need to worry about things like a "child entry point", and can just focus on marketing stuff to people who are too old for CN, but not really into the whole "what if cartoons but they say fuck?" genre of adult animation which the industry is restricted to, especially since the concept of "young adult animation" is starting to be thrown around by producers. Plus, if the kids prefer anime or the more completely adult offerings, like Rick and Morty, then they'll have that in droves. I get that satellite TV is dying and the audience might be too niche, but I guess if you wanna get younger people on board for linear TV (or at least get the older people to stick around), then I guess you gotta take a few risks and grab a couple new audiences.

Anyway, autistic rambling aside, Cypher.Sonic's other work, whilst maybe not as insanely-detailed as this video, might still be worth checking out if you're part of that simple niche of fake TV stuff. That isn't to say they've done anything else particularly intriguing; for one thing, they recently had this full pseudo-channel where they got together a bunch of shows they liked and even offered some continuity announcements in between them. Of course, they've decided to pull the plug on the whole thing, probably because of how convoluted it must've been, and while the archived streams were up on their website not too long ago, they've unfortunately since been taken down. But then again, they've made a post on Twitter recently hinting at doing something with the idea again soon, so we'll see what happens there. Cypher.Sonic might not have the flashiest effects or the most grandiose video concepts, but at the end of the day, they don't need to. They offer a few simple videos to entertain a few like-minded people, and make them go "Huh. Neat!", and at the end of the day, wasn't that the spirit YouTube was built on?

Update (16/01/23): The site's back up and they've done two more streams on the 7th and 15th of January. Be sure to go ahead and check out the stream archives if this whole thing has caught your interest.

"The Timeline Where Sonic Succeeds" by JebTube

Speaking of "What if?" scenarios (and I guess you could link in the previous person having "Sonic" in their name), this video by JebTube, a YouTuber notable for his long-form video retrospectives on games such as those from both the Ratchet and Clank series, and of course the Sonic series, as well as his video "Farewell, Sonic... Forever?", where he airs his grievances with the state of the franchise following the release of Sonic Forces, such as its tonal problems, and the uninspiring direction the gameplay has gone in. That was probably one of the first times I heard someone really express their disinterest in the "Meta Era" of the series, both in terms of games and the franchise's online presence, and there were quite a few other YouTubers who followed suit, such as L.S. Mark.

Now though, he's back for a two hour-long epic exploring an alternative timeline where Sonic isn't just the joke of a franchise that it is now. Most of the differences can simply boil down to having a few games spend more time in the oven, or have them passed over to other studios to stop crunch time from getting people down at Sonic Team, but some of the additional suggestions, like adding a team-mixing feature as a 100% completion prize for Sonic Heroes, or a few more RPGs and a much longer-running Sonic Riders series because Sega's now more comfortable with taking risks and spending more time perfecting their games, just make the whole alternative timeline such an exciting idea, and really makes you think about what could've been. Not to mention, there's also plenty of insight into how Sonic Team may have rationalised the choices they made in our timeline, and what could be done differently without sacrificing revenue. With Sonic Frontiers being released at a later point this past year, it seems possible that the Sonic series may no-longer be afraid to be itself nowadays, and while reactions to the game are rather varied (from what I've played, I think it's an all right game that just might need a couple patches to iron it out), it seems possible that this game might start a new more confident era for the Sonic franchise, though it's still nice to think about how some of Sega's past blunders could've gone better.

(Oh, and his post-Sonic Frontiers video on the state of the fandom is also worth a watch too!)

"The Strange Tale of Richard Kuta: A Sonic Filmmaker & Internet Fool - IF EP2" by Dylan the Night Owl

Dylan the Night Owl is another YouTuber who's really starting to make his mark on the online landscape. While not being as big a breakout success as Wendigoon, his videos have also stood out in their own right, whether it would be his six hour-long YouTube iceberg series, or his 5 hour Angry Video Game Nerd retrospective. You'll quickly come to find that long-form videos (and I mean really long-from videos) are Dylan's strong point, and so they've been ideal for those especially long 20-mile bike rides or just those train journeys on days out, and one of my most favourite videos from him during this year, would be his five hour documentary on the legendary and infamous internet person: Richard Kuta, as part of his "Internet Fables" series of videos.

For much of my earlier life, I just saw Richard (a.k.a. "A Knothole Resident", "Sonmanic", "Isidetape", "Richmunk", or one of his other 1000 usernames) as that guy who got worked up over Sonic having green eyes in Sonic 4, as well as a weirdo who wore diapers. But ever since I heard his personal story as a guest on Dillin Thomas' podcast (before that guy fell off the face of the Earth), I've been captivated by what he managed to achieve (or at least tried to achieve) with his plans for a Sonic movie or a revival of the "SatAM" series, something that especially resonated with me considering much of the content on my DA account and website is about a fan series intended to be a series revival. It's amazing to hear about the life of a guy that managed to achieve something that most other Sonic fans (and even industry professionals like Ken Penders) wished they could do, and although his side of the story may not be completely accurate, and he's probably burned a fair few bridges in the past, he's still someone I'm fascinated by, and Dylan's in-depth exploration of Richard's life certainly fuelled that fascination.

A couple other videos from Dylan that are also worth checking out would probably be his video on the Captain S webseries, which demonstrates the creativity that many early YouTubers exuded at the time, as well as his incredible 17-hour Creepypasta iceberg series, imbued with Dylan's combined skills of sarcastic humour, and chilling narration throughout. I know what I'm listening to on my next flight out to America!

"Everything is Television" by SolarSands

Dylan the Night Owl's Richard Kuta video discussed the life of a man who many could consider socially inept, and may have struggled to fit in with other groups of people online. Conversely, this video recounts the first-hand experience of someone who has dealt with these social problems for much of their life. SolarSands has greatly evolved from where he was five/six years ago, going from someone who used to humorously critique low-quality fan art on DeviantArt, to someone who has been consistently making some of the most thought-provoking and meaningful videos on the platform, with this one in particular concerning his experience with loneliness and seclusion in much of his early life, something which he mentions was worsened by the effects of the Covid pandemic, as that aim to make new connections in college was trashed through the imposition of lockdowns.

This video means so much to me personally because I, for the most part have been in the same boat. Like how SolarSands explains, I've spent the vast majority of my childhood doing my own thing, mainly because I preferred my own company and liked doing things my way (which in retrospect sounds like a very dictator-ish trait, but I digress). I thought that university was around the time I should change that and get to meet some new people, and do the things people did in Animal House or whatever. However, while maybe I might be avoiding responsibility for my shortcomings in this case, I feel the lockdowns really screwed up those plans; whilst it stopped my Sixth-Form experience before I got to experience a prom night, the continued isolation made it extremely difficult to meet new people, not helped by how, like SolarSands, I never managed to launch, especially since many friend groups in university had already been established by the time I did manage to join some societies after a while.

SolarSands explains what's fuelling the state of loneliness people like me appear to be facing in the modern age; the rise of online anger and partisanship, the growth of parasocial relationships between content creators and fans, and the feeling that we know a lot about a person, but never manage to understand them. In the end, everything we see feels like television, like we're just watching something that feels like an intimate connection, but never feels concrete, paralleling well with how it can even sometimes feel conversing with people in real life; just listening, but rarely feeling like you've got anything to contribute in any way. But the take-away message SolarSands offers in this video, is that while things can often feel like they're just different forms of television, there are sometimes moments where this isn't the case, where you've finally broke through and made a connection. Those moments are the things that are really worth treasuring, and that's what you've got to look for in your quest for a social circle. You can't solely rely on your parents or your family, because they're not gonna be around forever, if you're lucky enough for them to not kick you out the house once you're at a certain age. Friends and relationships are really valuable things, and they're things you've got to search for, if you want to break the cycle of loneliness. In SolarSands' words, "It's time to turn off the TV".

The "Ongezellig" series by Studio Massa

Sticking with the topic of being a recluse, this series of videos is a more light-hearted take on the subject. Whilst this may be kinda cheating, since the series includes a lot of videos from before this year, it's finally concluded a few months ago, and I think it's worth mentioning due to how obscure it is in this part of the world. Ongezellig is an animated webseries from The Netherlands, something it really makes known through its nods to Dutch history, which is probably why it became so popular among 4channers and soyjak enthusiasts. But anyway, that isn't really the main focus of the series; rather, this series concerns the daily life of Maya, an unsociable high schooler who struggles to connect with those around her (hence the show's title), including her adoptive sisters, the pure, naive and athletic overachiever Coco, and the loud, chaotic and potentially jingoistic Mymy.

The series makes a really nice use of surreal humour and buttery-smooth animation, giving the show its own identity, whilst also taking time out to explore Maya's mental state, such as her occasional use of fantasies to imagine a world where she has friends. The series concerns her and her sisters making a history presentation after their individual projects go horribly, giving us time to explore the characters' relationships with one-another. Though these can get a bit rough sometimes, they eventually pull through in the end. Still, at the end of the last part, when Coco invites Maya to play a board game, she declines the offer, returning to her reclusive life though still with a desire to connect someday.

This ending shows us that the cracking of Maya's shell will have to be a gradual process, which not only is a more accurate note to leave on, but also hints at the series' status of being a pilot episode of sorts before it gets shopped around to producers. Regardless, it seems unlikely that we'll see much else from the series in the near future, seeing how Massa is looking to finally spend some time on other projects. But, if you're not completely satisfied with just the series, then there's also a few comics you can find on Massa's Petje.af (Dutch Patreon) page, including at least one that's actually been translated into English, so you don't need to painstakingly apply Google Translate or get off your ass to learn a new language, if you want to get a kick out of the series' bonus content. Wish you the best, Massa!

"Need for Speed - A Brief History" by Noodle

Since we're now on to animation, I wanna give a quick mention to one that really has no reason to be as good as it is. While Noodle originally started out doing short-form animations, his transition into video essays has seen his craft grow exponentially, especially since he's got a whole team of animators working on his content now. The retrospective on (the first ten years of) the Need for Speed franchise, employs an incredible amount of off-the-wall animated scenes in-between points discussing how certain mechanics in the games (such as the "nitro/boost" feature which the series popularised) made the games pop, and influenced games like it in the future. The best example of this fantastic animation would be the smooth combination of 2D and cel-shaded 3D animation for the car that Noodle's persona crashes into a house, perhaps the biggest upgrade from his already-stellar animation work beforehand.

The writing is also top notch. The use of running gags, as well as slightly deadpan and self-deprecating humour really add to the unique style of the videos, which has only gotten better with his video on the aspect ratio, which like this video is even more interesting than it sounds. While it's a bit less high-octane (like with cars) compared to the Need for Speed video, it's even more innovative through the use of 180-degree VR to fit in all the example ratios in a way that feels effective, all while focusing entirely on 3D animation to fit with the format (and also because I imagine it would be a real pain in the ass to make all that animation in such a wide area). They're both absolutely incredible videos, and I'm sure that his next big project, a video discussing Halo, will probably be even more impressive, especially since he's been talking about his plans for it for over a year at this point!

"Gex but it's a 90s Saturday Morning Cartoon" by FlippinDingDong

Yet another animation, this one's a bit of a shorter affair compared to the other two, but it remains equally as impressive. This video shows off a hypothetical Saturday morning cartoon series based around the classic pop culture-referencing 3D platformer protagonist, Gex the Gecko, using just a few voice clips, a VHS filter, and some really sleek and authentic-feeling animation, harkening back to those days when the kids of the 90s woke up super-early to catch a glimpse of Batman or the Animaniacs on that screen in the living-room corner, which makes sense since that was also around the time the games in the Gex series were coming out.

The scenarios set up for this video really make the voice clips work in the context of a quirky cartoon show (even if some of the jokes there might not be what you would consider "child friendly"), and even though you can't really work with a lot, since these are mostly self-contained voice clips, the video makes it all work together by having each segment feel like a bunch of clips spliced together on a single VHS tape, with a couple seconds of realistic idents featuring the gecko's name to really bring home the feeling that this was a real show. FlippinDingDong has been making quite a few other brilliant videos over the years, the most famous of which including "Trailer Annie", and "It's All in the Name", which demonstrate his prowess with various styles of the animation art form, and I'm sure he's got plenty more to show of his skills in the future, especially considering how much he's improved from his humble beginnings.

April Fool's Day is probably my favourite holiday on the site, because of all the ways users try unique things and get creative, with these either being twists of their popular work or, for less-established creators, these can involve creating a hoax for the ages, using their overlooked creative skills. This particular video is a prime example of the latter. While this video's even shorter than the previous entry, it still manages to appear just as, if not more impressive with how accurate it is to its source material. The video presents itself as a leaked promo for a Chowder comeback-episode/series, in which Chowder and Mung discover that a massive leek has fallen into the kitchen.

The video pulls off this illusion so well through its use of show-accurate animation and dialogue, and most impressively, the use of dynamic AI speech synthesising technology, which involves taking an input voice, and placing it through a machine-learning programme, allowing for this audio to be presented through a sort-of Chowder or Mung-styled "voice font". If my explanation sounded a bit too all over the place, then this video can explain how it's done here better than I can. Anyway, while the output voice may sound compressed and at certain points difficult to decipher, the video itself minimises these imperfections by having the whole thing recorded on a camera to reflect the illusion that this video is a covert leak, featuring an unlisted video on Cartoon Network's channel, which is also revealed to just be part of the animation as Chowder looms out beyond the frame of the video to discover the video's upload date is April 1st. AngeloJFurfaro's additional work and online presence demonstrate his immense talent and career aspirations, with his most recent work, "Stosta Celebrate", showcasing his expertise with 3D animation as well. His newer videos don't get nearly as much views as they truly deserve, so go over and check him out, especially since he's got some more work coming down the pipeline.

"Doctor Who Series Three but it's Poorly Animated" by Kane Unable

Now for our penultimate video is something that might be considered a bit more of an acquired taste. This video (and the series as a whole) might be a bit more crass and hyperactive compared to much of the other entries on this list, but like the CNX video, I just think it's really neat, and pretty impressive to boot. A bunch of jokes passing through you at 100 miles an hour, including plenty of nods to British Zoomer culture, as you journey through a retelling of Series 3 of Doctor Who (as well as the first episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, which was completely improvised too). The whole thing just flows really well throughout, and the amount of editing and picture-puppetry on display throughout the video's 46-minute run time is absolutely top-notch, enough to fill a Doctor Who episode you might say. The musical numbers here and there are a pretty nice romp too.

This video series worked pretty well for me since I planned on watching through the revived series at around the same pace as when these videos got released, so the episodes are all pretty fresh in my mind once I get around to seeing them here. Kane's recently done a stand-alone video for "Voyage of the Damned", so I imagine he's looking to do something for Series 4, where we might see Rose finally give the Doctor his 5 quid! Besides that, Kane's got a few other pretty nice videos which make use of his skills in animation and music, like his "Interview with a Serial Killer" video, as well as a video where he writes a song about British nostalgia, among a bunch of other videos that have been fairly overlooked. Go check them out if his style of humour is more your thing, or if you'd like to start the poorly animated Doctor Who series, then you can check out Series 1's video right here.

But, since we've got one Kane mentioned on our list, let's pass over to another; creator of one of, if not my favourite video series on the platform from this year:

The entire "Backrooms" series by Kane Pixels

Kane Parsons/Kane Pixels' series combines the two biggest things in online paranormal fiction right about now: The Backrooms, and analogue horror, and the result is probably one of the most technologically and narratively impressive marvels to ever grace the YouTube platform. The video that started it all was posted around the start of January, and has since amassed over 40 million views at the time of writing, and it's easy to see why. Not only does the video offer some of the most realistic computer animation I've ever seen, with the VHS effect and natural camera movements making it at many points practically indistinguishable from reality, but it also offers the viewer a vivid impression of how the Backrooms experience may be, with the landscapes being fittingly surreal and dreamlike to match the style of the "liminal space" which most images of the Backrooms derive from, and the narrative managing to successfully convey a sense of paranoia, which crescendos into the appearance of one the Backrooms' many hostile creatures, known sometimes simply as "Bacteria", which inhumanly chases the audience surrogate character to an uncertain demise.

But that was only the start. From here on out, the series begins to expand and develop the story of the Backrooms in this universe, with the main focus being on the Async Research Institute, who opened a portal to this parallel world to solve problems such as overcrowding and pollution. But as the series goes along, it's revealed that this radical solution to a global problem has inadvertently resulted in their home world falling out of balance, as thousands seem to go missing as a result of accidentally "noclipping" out of reality. Stories like this have been told before in a fairly similar manner in the past; series like Local58, The Monument Mythos and The Mandela Catalogue come to mind. But, while much of this information is delivered through video cameras and the occasional presentation video, the manner in which this narrative is conveyed is far more ambitious in its execution, presenting first-hand the experiences of individuals within the story itself, as opposed to faceless and silent video presentations. Now whilst this isn't meant to downplay the qualities of those previously-mentioned series, this narrative decision makes the Backrooms feel like a much more personal and human experience, even if the characters are really just CGI (most of the time at least), which in turn ends up avoiding the common pitfall of Backrooms-related fan works, in which the mystique and horror of the backrooms ends up being diluted because the work isn't able to cultivate the right atmosphere.

The Backrooms, like all the other videos mentioned here, is a prime example of the many ways creativity continues to take form on YouTube today. In an age of algorithms and the need to produce safe content and follow trends, there still remain examples where not only are creative home-grown endeavours picked up by the algorithm (on occasion at least), but also celebrated by a large sum of the viewing public. For a lone 16/17 year-old to create an experimental and phenomenal short film and get recognised by millions for their work, it's a truly inspiring thing to see, and I'm sure that the amazing work by everyone mentioned here will continue to inspire thousands of aspiring creators, and encourage them to create thought-provoking, moving or just uniquely-entertaining content for years to come.

Well, that took much longer than I expected. If you've stuck around through all this text then thanks for reading, and I hope you've found a couple new videos that have taken your interest. Have a happy new year, and always remember to stay creative!