Ye Olde Channel Update

(this is the script to a video I don't have the heart/energy to make)

Introduction

Hi, welcome to Logan Tyler Smith, it’s a YouTube channel started in 2011, although it didn’t have any original content until 2016 or so. 

This channel has had its name changed many times over the years, for a while it was called Black-Smith Productions, there was a brief period where it was called Alaska’s Autistic Auteur (also Alaska’s Autistic Artist), and another period where it was named after my podcast LoganLand Rants. 

But for now it’s called Logan Tyler Smith, my full name of course. 

And this channel, like it’s name, has evolved many times reflecting different phases I went through in my late teens and early twenties. 

I’m 24 now, and I honestly can’t say I’ve learned much in almost six years of posting content to my channel. 

In fact, if you’ve seen my subscriber count, you know I haven’t really learned anything. 

But I’d still like to give a little history lesson for those who didn’t watch my channel, who never watched my channel, and if you have seen my channel, you might need a recap anyway. 

Strap in. 

Part 1: The First Video

The first video I ever posted to my channel was an experimental film I made called On the Edge of the Frontier. It is experimental, which is a word I used to mean it’s not very good. But surprisingly, it was the most viewed video on my channel for a while. It was also the only video I had made for a while, and that bled into my next phase. 

Part 2: The Vlog-Experimenter Phase

I made a few vlogs early on, working off the exact framework as vlogs I obviously only half-remember. I had also made a few experimental films, using certain visual tricks I learned in my early days as an amateur filmmaker. I didn’t let the vlog phase entirely go to waste either, I made a few livestreams for my Patreon at the time I thought my Patreon could be successful. One of my more recent vlogs happened when I was writing screenplays and documented my procrastinating progress over the course of one week. It was a rough time, but I think vlogs are things I could do again once I have something more interesting to do. 

Part 3: My Venture into Nonfiction

My first “nonfiction” video, if you could call it that, was my dissection of certain character arcs, just called a character arc video. I made a few other videos about Stan Lee, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Daredevil on Netflix, but they obviously lack the resources and even passable competence I would inevitably have when it came time to make my video essays. More on that later. 

Part 4: My “Real” Short Films

I mentioned I made a few visual experiments a few phases ago, but one of my earlier self-made “short films” was Alaska Noir. It was...weird...by current standards I have of myself. But it did show a love for old films that I was starting to develop a passion for. Obviously I had already loved movies, but this was a time where my taste was evolving, even if my technical competence wasn’t necessarily following suit.

Part 5: Festival Shorts

Eventually I would start working with actual friends and later actual theatre actors for my local 5Day Film Challenge. I really didn’t like my first one to go to the 5 Day due to sound issues, but after fixing the audio problem more-or-less I managed to come back with my next two shorts. Then I made a technical step back again due to Covid and lacking the access to theater actors I usually have, but I picked back up again and hope to make better shorts by myself or otherwise in the future. 

Part 6: My First Video Essays/Copyright Issues

My first video essay was, surprise surprise, about Quentin Tarantino. I made a few video essays on other topics, but my first few got a few unfortunate copyright strikes. Because I was new to the form, I didn’t know how long the clips needed to be to designate fair use. Regardless, I kinda know now and am continuing to make the best video essays I can at this point. More of those are of course coming. 

Part 7: LoganLand Rants

Okay this is a hard one. LoganLand Rants was a podcast where I started to monologue about movies in an unfiltered way beyond the video essays. Some of them are pretty poorly mixed, but some are better than others. I was skeptical of whether or not I wanted to go back to these, but part of me thinks I will. 

The Future of the Channel

I honestly do not know what the future of this channel is. I acknowledge that I’ll never be a big success on YouTube...so what do I do now. 

The truth is I don’t know. Normally it’s satisfying for even unsuccessful youtubers to give real answers but the truth is...I don’t know. And I am really scared about what the future holds. 

Thanks for listening to one scared young man. I’d give a call to action, but I doubt you’ll heed it. I’ll see you when I see you either way. 

Logan Tyler Smith - YouTube