Undone is done

[Andrew - EOSHD]

"Talking about products I don’t actually care about but that I think will draw more views or earn me a bunch of money. I don’t want a portion of my house to be essentially be a shrine to cameras.”

Turns out he didn't give a shit.

[eatstoomuchjam]

Nice Storyblocks ad read in the middle of a video where he claims to be retiring, but then says he's just not going to make (as much) camera content as before.  And then claims that the brands never paid him for reviews - guess he bought all those fancy Aputure lights himself and reviews calling the Amaran Halo series "UNBEATABLE" had no gear or money changing hands, 'cuz, y'know Amaran Halos are the pinnacle of video lighting technology...  (Saw a couple used on set, they were fine - didn't seem bad or anything, but "unbeatable?"  Yeaahhhhh Ooooookaaaayyyy)

Also, the part where he says that he will now feel free to take gear given to him by camera brands because he's "retiring" from reviews.  🤣🤣🤣

Ohhh, and then he says he will make paid "showcase" videos for brands, but will limit it to short form content.  Wow.  What a "retirement."  

 

[Andrew - EOSHD]

I half expected him to retire into YouTube Apple product reviews, as that would bring in much more dollars than pixel peeping Sonys.

[fuzzynormal]

I vacillate between being a cynic and a nihilist, so where on the spectrum would "F these kinds of dudes in this BS society" fall?

[newfoundmass]

It's always strange how these folks always end up hating the box they put themselves into when they never had to put themselves in that box to begin with. The only thing stopping people like Gerald from CREATING fulfilling art is themselves. 

Having been a viewer of his since the start, he DID start out being passionate about cameras. But his transition from a guy who clearly loved cameras into a soulless content creator who acted as a promotional arm of the camera manufacturers wasn't something that happened overnight, nor was it something that his viewers didn't voice in the comments. It was a choice that he made, and inevitably it was going to end like this. 

There are so many people who started out around the same time who didn't put themselves into that box. Whether it was young Simon Cade/DSLRGuide or the Film Riot guys, just the first two to come to mind from the OLD days who are still around, they all started out with a similar trajectory but used their YouTube channels as a launch pad into creating art that they wanted. That isn't to say you can't criticize what they ARE creating today, but they are out there creating and, from the looks of things, enjoying it. Their work with cameras didn't just stay within the four walls of an apartment or house, but out in the real world, where they could express and create. 

I genuinely hope that Gerald finds something that he is passionate about and creates stuff that makes him feel good. Everyone deserves to be happy and fulfilled by what they are doing.

[EduPortas]

1 hour ago, newfoundmass said:

It's always strange how these folks always end up hating the box they put themselves into when they never had to put themselves in that box to begin with. The only thing stopping people like Gerald from CREATING fulfilling art is themselves. 

[...] 

I genuinely hope that Gerald finds something that he is passionate about and creates stuff that makes him feel good. Everyone deserves to be happy and fulfilled by what they are doing.

That's bc the man is not an artist nor a journo.

He's just some dude who speaks English (this is relevant) and got really passionate about cameras during The Great MILC Video Expansion of 2014-2024.

Since this is a hobby for him and not a job, the passion just ran out.

 

 

[newfoundmass]

2 hours ago, EduPortas said:

That's bc the man is not an artist nor a journo.

He's just some dude who speaks English (this is relevant) and got really passionate about cameras during The Great MILC Video Expansion of 2014-2024.

Since this is a hobby for him and not a job, the passion just ran out.

 

 

I mean, to the extent he creates videos he's an "artist" even if it's not art that you enjoy. It's not the most creative, but it is what it is. He COULD have explored more creative artistic expression, especially as he had the means to do it given the access to equipment (both owned and loaned) he had, but he chose not to. 

[kye]

I think it's a loss for us, as he was doing independent testing of things that no-one else was, like DR, and commenting on various combinations of modes and features, especially which combinations of modes and features couldn't work together.  This is all information that the other people don't bother with because their 'reviews' are really just product showcases or first-looks.

As much as the camera journalism and independent review ecosystem is in a sorry state, it just got worse.

[EduPortas]

42 minutes ago, newfoundmass said:

I mean, to the extent he creates videos he's an "artist" even if it's not art that you enjoy. It's not the most creative, but it is what it is. He COULD have explored more creative artistic expression, especially as he had the means to do it given the access to equipment (both owned and loaned) he had, but he chose not to. 

 

I'm sure the owner of this site would object to that statement LOL

Camera reviews are not art. They are content.

There's a huge gap that exemplifies why this sort of youtuber just fades away. At no time during the past 10 years did I see one of his reviews and said "wow, now that's art right there". There's no soul, just data. Clicked on a video, saw it, and 5 minutos later forgot all about it.

It's NOT his fault, it's just he's made from a different material than artists. I repeat, it's NOT a deficiency, it's just his way of presenting his videos: cold, clinical, analytical, operational.

Curiously enough, his pal from Camera Conspiracies has had some very artistic videos where he actually shows some soul. His technique is dreadful, but you can see HIM and his EMOTIONS through the video.

Cheers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[newfoundmass]

23 minutes ago, EduPortas said:

 

I'm sure the owner of this site would object to that statement LOL

Camera reviews are not art. They are content.

There's a huge gap that exemplifies why this sort of youtuber just fades away. At no time during the past 10 years did I see one of his reviews and said "wow, now that's art right there". There's no soul, just data. Clicked on a video, saw it, and 5 minutos later forgot all about it.

It's NOT his fault, it's just he's made from a different material than artists. I repeat, it's NOT a deficiency, it's just his way of presenting his videos: cold, clinical, analytical, operational.

Curiously enough, his pal from Camera Conspiracies has had some very artistic videos where he actually shows some soul. His technique is dreadful, but you can see HIM and his EMOTIONS through the video.

Cheers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Content is art. Not all art is equal, but it's still art. 

It's like arguing that the people who write instruction manuals or textbooks aren't writers. They are, but that doesn't mean they're Stephen King. 

[MurtlandPhoto]

1 hour ago, newfoundmass said:

Content is art. Not all art is equal, but it's still art. 

It's like arguing that the people who write instruction manuals or textbooks aren't writers. They are, but that doesn't mean they're Stephen King. 

A close relative illustrates user manuals for a high end audio equipment company. Not my cup of tea but it certainly qualifies as art.

 

[Aussie Ash]

well what do you think of these sorts of reviews  ?

Runs for 13 minutes and no examples of photos or video taken with the lens

 

 

[newfoundmass]

1 hour ago, MurtlandPhoto said:

A close relative illustrates user manuals for a high end audio equipment company. Not my cup of tea but it certainly qualifies as art.

 

Another good example. I'm think we are all guilty of minimizing things because they don't appeal to us. To a certain audience Gerald's reviews were incredibly engaging. 

1 hour ago, Aussie Ash said:

well what do you think of these sorts of reviews  ?

Runs for 13 minutes and no examples of photos or video taken with the lens

 

 

It's not what I want out of a review, but I'm sure someone enjoyed it. 

[Andrew - EOSHD]

16 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

But his transition from a guy who clearly loved cameras into a soulless content creator who acted as a promotional arm of the camera manufacturers wasn't something that happened overnight, nor was it something that his viewers didn't voice in the comments. It was a choice that he made, and inevitably it was going to end like this. 

His choice... It's always a choice.

Needless to say there's only so long you can go on liking cameras but never shooting anything with them.

And the social media skit can make one thin skinned and insecure - people look up to you like a God, which is ridiculous, or tear you down - not much in-between.

So while part of me understands The Gerald Dilemma, the main part of me thinks, well, he chose to milk it for all it was worth didn't he? And it was a very privileged position that many would kill to be in, he could have used it as a springboard into an artistic career, but there wasn't an artist inside, nothing on the springy board.

16 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

I genuinely hope that Gerald finds something that he is passionate about and creates stuff that makes him feel good. Everyone deserves to be happy and fulfilled by what they are doing.

The problem is the system.

YouTube / Alphabet is a billion dollar industry based off the hard work of content creators, who get a very small share of the overall pie and Google's Ad Business the lion's share. The internet has pivoted from a place where the artist owned the platform themselves (own website, own server) thus able to keep the benefits of 100% of their labour, to big tech owning the platforms and us becoming mere commodities as consumers/creators in a hive mind, whereas before we were founders, builders and owners as well as artists.

The shift is noticeable in the language too. In 2012 we were all saying 'filmmakers' or 'musicians', but now everybody is lumped in together as a 'content creator', which got shortened even further to simply 'creator'.

It's really dystopian shit.

This is at the heart of what created The Gerald Dilemma - being a little pawn in a PR machine and ad industry rather than an individual. Being on a treadmill of content creation for the benefit mainly of big tech platforms.

I don't see how anyone can take any personal satisfaction from it other than the money.

[Andrew - EOSHD]

12 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

I mean, to the extent he creates videos he's an "artist" even if it's not art that you enjoy. It's not the most creative, but it is what it is. He COULD have explored more creative artistic expression, especially as he had the means to do it given the access to equipment (both owned and loaned) he had, but he chose not to. 

Exactly, he chose to play the PR game instead with Sony and a few others, chose to focus 100% of his enthusiasm on YouTube studio tours and YouTube gear setups, there was never any interest evident in filmmaking or photography, which is strange as these are usually the thing people get most excited about!

Even more strange was even after so many years of using the gear, he couldn't seem to shoot decent footage - which for me, shows that he never practiced it. Even if you're not naturally talented you can still become pretty proficient at aiming a lens.

What also kills passion is having no immediate community to engage over it with (in real life) and it all being online. It might be that he's boxed into a clinical suburban environment with his wife and doesn't have that environment of fellow camera nerd enthusiasts around him where he lives, it only exists online.

[fuzzynormal]

2 hours ago, Andrew - EOSHD said:

internet has pivoted from a place where the artist owned the platform themselves (own website, own server) thus able to keep the benefits of 100% of their labour, to big tech owning the platforms and us becoming mere commodities as consumers/creators in a hive mind, whereas before we were founders, builders and owners as well as artists.

Yeah, it does make me wish that an "old-fashioned-internet" niche' might be vitalized, retro-like.  Can personal video online ever get boutique, avoid the corporate sadness of '"scale", and yet be worthwhile to those scurrying away to quieter internet corners?

Seems like if one reflects on what happened at Vimeo, there would be a "no" to that, but perhaps the publc-corp culture of that entity made their downfall inevitable.  A different mindset and private ownership might have kept it simple enough to thrive? 

Could some sort of modest market like that emerge from the current shit somehow?  Is there a group of investors that are enthusiasts for a certain thing, like video hosting, that keep their service humming for austerity not avarice?

Beats me.  I'm pretty naive.  If I had to guess all this is probably starting and failing in numerous places.

[Andrew - EOSHD]

As far as mainstream content goes, it's up to the audience to change their habits, and I can't see them all squirrelling off to a dozen internet bookmarks everyday when they can just get served all in one place by an algorithm.

Half of them probably don't even own a computer and just use their phone for everything.

[fuzzynormal]

2 hours ago, Andrew - EOSHD said:

I can't see them all squirrelling off to a dozen internet bookmarks

Nor I, but I do wonder if there's even a slim chance that enough people would search out alternatives as things keep getting worse.