Platforms such as Film Annex and YouTube have opened up a whole new world to film makers, writers, animators and all creatives! Not just because we can now distribute our work quickly and easily, but because we can also interact with our audience... Opening many doors and opportunities and allowing the world to get to know us that little bit better.

A decade ago, when most media would have been watched in cinemas and on TV, the directors, writers, etc., were unknown. You may have seen their name in the credits if you hung around long enough to notice... but that would be it! Big names such as Steven Spielberg were, of course, talked about... But unless they were interviewed on TV, you got no insight into their thoughts or the process and progression of their work.

And in the last decade, this has completely changed. On YouTube, there are hundreds, thousands of 'vloggers'; people giving their opinion on the latest trends, sharing advice, playing pranks on others, or maybe just dressing as a giant snowman and scaring people. There are then those who create little films and also blog about them. Channels such as TomSka, which has funny sketches with up to 13,000,000 views... (!!!), are made so popular not only because they are well made and put together, but because the creator makes his presence known, and shares his thoughts and processes through his vlogs! On his latest film, he even released a "making of" which explained his entire process, and told the audience each step of his journey to completing the project.

Film Annex, of course, is a big part of this phenomenon. All the filmmakers on this platform really have the chance to interact with our audience through blogs such as these. I really like the fact that I can let people have an insight into exactly why I am creating and even try and get some feedback from people. This is something I want to utilize a lot more. I may even look into doing some vlogs at some point! If I ever pluck up the courage to get in front of the camera!

With audiences being able to meet the face or the voice behind the filmmaker, this brings a new dimension to the whole process. Therefore, in my next film, I really want to experiment with audience participation and try and be as interactive as possible, so that when I am ready to release the film, it would have been a collaborative process spreading far wider than just my crew... but also, the Film Annex community :)