Here on YourEverydayNerd, I have a neurological issue that forces me to rank everything I have ever consumed in a nonarbitrary list. Without this kind of organization, my sense of reality would eventually crumble, and all pieces of media would live in an equal state of “yeah, i think i rember, but i may have forgor”.
So to combat this madness, every time I buy a video game, movie, book, tv show, or album, I write its name on an inventory spreadsheet.
Then after I play, read, or watch that thing, I’ll review it on the internet (on platforms like Letterboxd and ggapp.io) and rank them on a list. These lists vary, but for the most part – I rank things based on release year, franchise/studio, director, artist, etc.
I’m sure some of this has to do with untreated ADHD, but I promise, there is a method to my madness.
For starters, I’m self-employed.
Sure, only a fraction of my income comes from things like YourEverydayNerd, but as a video editor, I consider all forms of media to be research materials. When I watch a film, I’m looking for new and creative ways to edit my own videos. When playing a game, I take note of visual design elements, when I read a book, I’m looking for new ways to say things. The same goes for TV shows and music.
I’ll always be an advocate for lifetime learning and I truly believe that humanity’s greatest lessons are hidden inside our greatest works of art. I could spend hours watching YouTube tutorials or taking online classes to learn more about writing, editing, and audio production – or – I could just obsess over the media that I already planned to consume and pick apart those techniques through immersion.
(Side note: I’m not a fan of reducing all artistic expression to the word “media”. I also hate saying that I “consumed” a book or an album. Unfortunately, I can’t come up with a better, more succinct phrasing for these things. All books, video games, movies, tv shows, and albums are vehicles for storytelling. Separating them from each other has never made sense to me. Filmmakers could learn a lot from video games, video games could learn a lot from books, and books could learn a lot from albums. It’s all the same really, so I refer to it all as “media” and say that I have “consumed” it.)
Anyways, by constituting media as research materials, I get to claim video games and movies on my taxes. Self-employment has its downsides, but boy do I love the idea that one day I’ll buy Gex: Enter the Gecko for Playstation 1, Nintendo 64, and Gameboy Color, and all three versions will be tax-deductible.
The other reason I do reviews and keep lists is because of YourEverydayNerd. There are so many videos, and side projects, that I would like to make one day, but my daily creative output is spent primarily on client work. This leaves me with two options:
- I can dedicate a specific amount of time to a specific piece of media with the intention of creating a YourEverydayNerd video on it. I am then not allowed to consume any other kind of media in the process until that video is finished. This would force me to prioritize things in a timely manner and get more content out.
- I can ignore time constraints and media prioritization by throwing caution to the wind. I will consume any, and all, pieces of media that interest me when I have the free time to do so. The next YourEverydayNerd episode will come out when it’s ready.
If you’re a dedicated viewer of the channel, then you’ve probably realized that I have opted for Option #2. I must now apologize that you are receiving this information in the form of an article. I do very much appreciate your viewership and I promise that even though I “throw caution to the wind”, I do constantly feel guilty about not uploading videos as often as I could.
Even so, I really do think Option #2 is better for me as a creator and a human being.
As humans, our brains are built to draw connections between things. When you watch a film, you’re not just watching that film. You’re also watching everything that ever inspired that filmmaker. We all have our influences, and the more literate you are about those influences, the more you’ll get out of any piece of media.
This is called Media Literacy.
And it’s the thing that separates the greatest creators from the weakest.
You see this all the time in other fields. Science, Mathematics, Medicine, Philosophy, Technology – it’s all layers of research built on top of each other. This is why public education starts with a strong foundation in all subjects. If you’ve never read Plato’s The Republic, then how could you understand the other hundreds of philosophers who are constantly in debate with Plato’s arguments.
I think the same can be said about art. This is why I don’t discriminate against any certain type of media. Your favorite musicians are inspired by films, books, and video games. Your favorite writers are equally inspired by music, video games, and films. Every creative ever has more than likely devoured a long list of compelling and interesting media that has inspired them to create.
This idea of Media Literacy also makes the enjoyment of consuming media much more rewarding. When you can read one book and be reminded of another book, it’s a pretty good feeling. But when you can play a video game and be reminded of a film or an album – it’s a magical experience.
I should also say… I’m not talking about nostalgia bait, reboots, remakes, or adaptations. These connections are deeper than “I saw Rick and Morty in Space Jam 2”. These are allusions, ideals, themes, and character traits. These are references filled with subtext, pastiches filled with admiration, and unique ideas that come from conflicting viewpoints.
You’ll notice these connections most often in school. A Shakespeare class helps build the connections of multiple plays and sonnets through the guise of one writer. A Japanese Cinema class helps build the connections between filmmakers from the same homeland. High school literature classes usually pick a handful of books with similar themes from different writers and different time periods. It’s all an attempt to help you gain Media Literacy.
So I refer back to Option #2, when I realized a couple of years ago, that I never wanted to make another YouTube video where I feel inadequately qualified to talk on its subject. Part of this is the overachiever and perfectionist in me, though more of it has to do with the fact that — “I don’t wanna come across as an idiot on the internet anymore”.
The time of my life when I played Ocarina of Time (for the first time ever) in a casual Let’s Play series, and I didn’t know what the f*** I’m doing – it’s over. If I ever talk about Ocarina of Time again, in any amount of depth, I would like to have completed the game, played every other Zelda leading up to it, and if possible, delve into OOT’s influences.
The pieces of art that we consume took a lot of time and effort to create, so why should I not also attempt to put a considerable amount of time and effort into understanding said art?
We’ve probably reached our quota of “pretentious Zach” for the day, so I’ll take the time now to say,
If you are a modern online critic, (whether you make reviews, videos, TikToks, podcasts, etc.) I have no qualms with the way you consume media.
My process is my process. I value the way I consume media and it took a long time to get here.
Plus, it comes with its drawbacks.
I can’t make as many videos as I used to. I try to make shorter, “filler” content and I’m always disappointed in the final product. In many ways, I’m envious of my past self. That guy used to put out 5 videos a day! He was a nut case!!
At the end of the day though, I also play video games and watch films because it’s fun. And I don’t wanna take that away from anyone.
This idea of Media Literacy came form the creation, and evolution, of YourEverydayNerd.
In 2018, I created YourEverydayNerd, a comedy review YouTube show, where I would talk about a piece of media every day.
My creative process was usually like this:
- Watch movie, play game, listen to album, etc.
- Spend two hours writing a script
- Record five videos in one sitting
- Edit those videos within a week
- Upload them and move on to the next thing
Now inevitably, a bit of research was always required, but that usually just meant that I looked at a Wikipedia page for 10 minutes.
These videos were nothing more than glorified vlogs.
By 2019, I realized that I wanted to do more with each video. As a professional video editor, that meant spending more time on the edit. Flashy visuals, more reference clips, etc. I wanted the video to look good.
At this point, each video started to take longer to create. What was usually a 5-hour process, became a 20-hour process.
For a brief amount of time, I was happy with these videos. I could still spend a minimum amount of time consuming a piece of media and at least I was getting a video out every couple of weeks.
The video editing was good, so I knew it had to be a good video, right?
Well, then I started focusing on the audio… then the camera quality… then the on-screen presence… and then…
the writing.
In 2022, I think the one thing that separates good videos from bad videos… is writing. Or preparation. (whatever you wanna call it)
You can get the most charismatic dude in the world, throw him in front of an 8k Red Cinema camera, have a luxurious set, other actors to fill out comedic skits, an original music score, and the best editors in the world and you know what?
If this dude is not knowledgeable of the video’s subject – it’s gonna be a bad video.
The cool thing about this is, that I can get an 8k Red Cinema camera and a luxurious set one day. I just have to have to save that money. I can also have a better on-screen presence. That just comes wth practice. Media Literacy though? That takes a ton of time and hard work.
So for this very reason, I prioritize Media Literacy in 2022. My video output may be lacking, but when I do put out a video, I know I’ll be mostly happy with it. Again, I’ll always wish the video looked better or sounded better. But as long as the words I say out of my mouth are not STUPID. I think I’ll be aight.
As you can imagine, this has made my process a bit more difficult. I don’t just create videos on anything and everything anymore. I’m constantly consuming interesting and engaging media so that when I do sit down to write a YourEverydayNerd script, I’ll have a plethora of sources to pull from.
This means I have to organize that information.
In other words, writing reviews and making lists.
I personally try to review every piece of media that I consume.
It doesn’t always work out for everything. I find it difficult to review every piece of TV I watch. Most albums that I listen to are for the vibes only, so I haven’t taken the time to look at them critically enough. Basically, while I try to be active in my consumption of all media, there are times when I engage in complete passive escapism.
But when I do review a piece of media, I tend to put them on a list. (Again, some forms of media are easier to rank, than others.)
At this point, you’re probably wondering, “yo Zach, where do you put these lists?”
I’m glad you asked!
Here is a list(!) of all the platforms where I rank and review media (all links lead to my profiles):
- Films – Letterboxd This is currently my favorite platform on this list. Highly recommend it if you’re into watching movies. Literally perfect.
- Video Games – ggapp I’m not the biggest fan of this one. It needs a better UI and better tools in general, but I have a few reviews and a couple of lists.
- TV Shows – Serializd Very similar to Letterboxd, except for TV shows. Still fairly new, but the dev seems to have big plans for it. (Plus, it’s better than IMDB🤮)
- Music – Musicboard Also similar to Letterboxd, but still needs more improvement. Overall though, it’s more usable than ggapp.
- Books – Goodreads A good place to read and write reviews about books, but…
GOODREADS DOESN’T LET YOU MAKE LISTS.
As you probably can tell, this is highly annoying to me.
How in the hell am I able to know my opinions about books, if I can’t rank them on a list?
Fine. I’ll do it myself.
We finna rank books on YourEverydayNerd.com.
So go check it out: Here’s my list of every book I’ve read since 2019 RANKED!
Leave a comment