The Youtube Takeover

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years you will know that YouTube and ‘YouTube Talent’ have absolutely taken over the world of social media!

Slowly but surely, Youtube stars are infiltrating all kinds of traditional media from books, to television and even film, whilst also dominating on their respective online platforms. Who knew that recording yourself talking about your favourite lipstick could lead to an online empire…

I for one am fascinated by Youtube and the fact that you can now make a full time living from making videos in your bedroom. Yes the content and the professionalism of Youtube videos has improved greatly over the past few years and it’s harder to get noticed, but ultimately anyone who has access to the internet and a camera can put their work online – a concept which is very exciting and interesting. And to think up until last year I only used Youtube for Catwalk Fails and Beyonce getting her hair stuck in a fan (still my all time favourite video, sorry Bae).

I have yet to tread the waters of video making, except for a few clips of holidays and concerts though I would love to try it one day, but for now I’ll leave it to the professionals and give you a list of my top 5 Youtubers:

(in no particular order)

1. Casey Neistat – I’ve mentioned him before but Casey Neistat’s daily vlogs about film making, his company, his sunglasses, his family and his life are so different to your average vlog. They are creative and original and constantly remind me that I need to start coming up with better ideas. He also inspires me to go for a run, which I then immediately regret, return home and reward myself with a donut for at least trying. 

2. Todrick Hall. A collection of musical parodies, skits and Disney re-enactments. Beauty and the Beat still gets me every time.

3. Grace Helbig. She’s sarcastic, funny and has a giant pig coffee table. Not to mention the 2 books, online tv show, live comedy show and various awards (talk about over achiever). What more could you want?

4. Paint – After ever after, it’s everything.

5. FunForLouis – Although I don’t always agree with everything he does, the guy is in a new country almost every week, basically on one giant holiday funded by his YouTube channel. I mean I’m mostly just jealous.

There are hundreds more super successful youtuber’s out there that I love (I didn’t even touch on Beauty Guru’s.. that’s a whole scary online industry on it’s own, and no I still can’t do winged eyeliner no matter how many tutorials I watch) but the ones above are the ones I tend to watch almost every day. Let me know who your favourite Youtubers are or if you have a channel of your own, I’d love to check it out!

Making a Murderer

So my Twitter and Facebook is covered, as I imagine yours is, with people's thoughts on Netflix' new documentary series 'Making a Murderer'.

To cut a long story short, it's about a guy in America called Steven Avery who was jailed for 18 years for a crime he didn't commit, on his release he subsequently sued the police department only to be arrested for murder 2 years later, a crime which he categorically denies. I won't go into too much detail as it's pretty intense but I am assuming if you are reading this you have watched at least some part of the documentary!

Now normally I love jumping on a bandwagon, sharing my opinions/theories and seeing what other people think. Normally this is about a fictional programme which doesn't really affect anyones lives (shout out to Pretty Little Liars) but this time it feels different and I almost don't want to share my opinions as this is a true story, with a real victim and no script writers to clarify what happened.

It's for this reason that I I think people are so intrigued by a real life documentary. No on really knows what happened, no one can write a script and everyone wants to know the truth. It's as infuriating as it is interesting to watch and I can't remember the last time this type of documentary had so many people my age talking. It's also unleashed an army of wannabe lawyers which is comical to watch but also rather annoying (yes you've seen Legally Blonde but this does not make you an expert in the Federal Justice System of America!!) 

I'm still trying to work out if this documentary is a good thing or a bad thing and with a petition to the White House to re-open the case I am interested to see what will happen next. 

I am not going to offer my opinions as there is no way of telling if we know the whole story, I haven't seen all the evidence and I am not qualified to make a decision. To be honest I don't even know what I think! All I do know is that the police investigation surrounding the case is sketchy, Steven Avery is sketchy and this was definitely worth re-starting my Netflix subscription even though Orange is the New Black doesn't start again for months!

Let me know your thoughts on this Documentary, I am genuinely interested to hear what people think! 

Movies, Movies, Movies!

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I love a good movie. I’m a fan of most genre’s (with the exception of horror.. I do not enjoy paying to be terrified!) and I try to go to the cinema as much as I possibly can. The excitement surrounding Star Wars at the end of 2015 has proven that cinema can still be amazing and magical for all ages all across the world.

As I write this, I have already saw 2 movies in 2016 at my local cinema. Daddy’s Home was the first - with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg and it was as stupid and funny as you could hope for. I love this kind of movie because you can watch it without having to think or analyse too much, have a few laughs and always leave feeling happy! The second was Joy with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro. I have to say I was very much looking forward to seeing this film, as I loved Silver Linings Playbook, but I left feeling slightly underwhelmed and disappointed. The story was meant to be inspiring and the message was to never give up, however it was all a bit bland and didn’t quite have the big hallelujah moment I was hoping for. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad movie, I just think my expectations were a little too high. Having said this Jennifer Lawrence, aka J Law, aka Queen of the screen, was -  as always - the best thing about the whole movie, the girl can do no wrong in my opinion and I want her to be my best friend.  (J Law if you’re reading this let’s hang out.. no? ok..)

I should mention that I have never studied film nor do I know anything at all about how to make a film…all I know is I love watching them and they make me happy! With so many amazing films coming out in 2016 I will keep you updated on my favourites and I would love to hear what you think of this year’s releases.

The reason I can see so many films without losing a fortune is because I have a Cineworld Unlimited card. It’s just under £17 a month but you can see as many films as you want – I would highly recommend getting one of these cards if you go to a lot of movies, it really is worth it. Even if you only go twice you’ve already made your money back. This of course is only handy if your local cinema is a Cineworld like mine! (I wasn't paid to say this at all, I just think it's really good value for money for movie lovers)

There are also loyalty cards and similar schemes with other cinemas and there is of course the Meerkat Movie code which you can use if you buy insurance from Compare The Market -  this gives you 2 for 1 tickets on a Tuesday or Wednesday at most UK cinemas (and coincidentally can be used with a Cineworld Unlimited Card meaning your guest can actually get in for free!). A good tip is to buy something cheap like holiday insurance for a one off trip – then you still qualify for the 2 for 1 code for the whole year! (www.cineworld.com / http://www.comparethemarket.com/meerkat/movies/how-to/) 

 

As you can see it's well used!

Like I said I am looking forward to all the movies I will see in 2016 and would love to hear your suggestions and reviews of which were your favourites. What I will try to do this year (which I didn’t do last year and am very annoyed at myself!) is to keep a list of every film I saw in 2016 so at the end of the year I can make a list of my top 10.

Happy 2016!

Well, happy 2016 everyone.. we made it!

I recently saw the above picture on Instagram – I’m not one for inspirational posts and quotes – however this one struck a chord because it’s very true! Therefore in 2016 I plan to try new things, travel to new places, whilst hopefully documenting it on this blog.

I recently discovered film maker and daily vlogger Casey Neistat (https://www.youtube.com/user/caseyneistat) who has said that since starting his daily vlogs it has allowed him to develop a strict routine and structure to his day and it has given him goals and targets to work towards which ultimately forces him to be creative and constantly find new ideas. Now I am not promising to blog 365 days a year, mostly because I have a full time job but also because I’m not sure I have that much to say, but I will try to blog as much as possible – for my own sake more than anyone else’s!

Things I am looking forward to are all the excellent movies coming out this year (will Leo win the Oscar, only time will tell!), the travels I have booked and the 2016 Olympics in Rio to name a few. However I am most exited about the unknowns, the new people I will meet and the new adventures I will have.

So without further a due … Day 1 of 365 people, let’s make this happen!

Looking towards 2016!

2015 has been a great year for me. Work wise I have again focused on sporting events with my roles at the Rugby World Cup and my return to Race Of Champions, both of which I am very lucky and privileged to have worked on and have led to some of the best moments of the year. I have also had the chance to go to many great music and theatre events, have a few fun holidays and meet some amazing people.   

Looking forward to 2016 I hope to have more time to blog and to attend/work on different types of events. I still want to focus on Sport but am also keen to write about other events I am interested in including film, theatre and music… plus there is the small matter of finding a new job in the event world! 

I hope to travel more, with a trip to NYC already booked for February (ahh!!!), my Glastonbury tickets purchased (help me) and with a few other exciting events also in the pipeline next year is already looking to be a good one.

Another activity to add to the pile is learning Spanish, which I have started to take more seriously in the last few weeks. As I have mentioned before, a second language in the events industry can often be the decider between candidates and opens up many more opportunities. At the moment I am learning through online courses and the iPhone app DuoLingo (www.duolingo.com) which I am finding very helpful and have heard great things about. If anyone knows of any good online courses or apps etc for learning a second language please let me know. This also means I should definitely plan a trip to Spain next year to practice, right!?

There are plenty of other goals I have for 2016 which I won’t bore you with but for now I am going to enjoy the holidays and get excited about Christmas! Let me know what your goals are for 2016, I would love to hear them!