A while back I made a video, and there's something funny about it: a lot of people don't seem to realize it's actually not real...
I found this video online of a drone racing really fast toward a powerline. I can't find the original anymore. If you do, please leave a comment so I can credit the creator. Anyway in the original video, the drone didn’t even come close to crashing, but my brain instantly thought, "What if it did?" So, after some quick editing (I spent maybe around one hour), I made an edit where the drone crashes into the powerline with a big flash.
At first, the video didn't do well on TikTok. But now, a few years later, it has exploded to 2 million views and 100,000 likes.
https://www.tiktok.com/@blacklightzone/video/7144397186107952389
The funny thing is, I also uploaded the video to Instagram where it barely got 1,000 views.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CidPEy5pTvb/
Instagram is a strange place. Somehow, someone else reposted my video and it blew up. It got 22 million views and over 800,000 likes... It’s kind of insane.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_oDiHro0zv/
Unfortunately, it was reposted without any credit, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. I try to take the repost as a compliment. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
So I forgot about it and later I was watching one of my favorite YouTube channels, Unusual Videos, and suddenly my edit appeared on screen. *insert Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme* https://youtu.be/-0hrJMtf7Ik?si=CiSVWHS2Rno9AeGU&t=66 It was pretty awesome seeing my video there and realizing it had taken on a life of its own.
Curious, I reached out to both uploaders to find out where they picked up the video. After some nice conversations, both of them credited me for the edit, which was great.
Also both didn't seem to have noticed it was actually not real... which I kinda understand. Looking at the comment section most people didn't even question it. Some people thought the physics and speed might be weird, but that was about it. So basically I edited myself out of being credited... If editing is done right, nobody notices. Because if people don't notice and that's the point, then good job? For example, when there is bad VFX in a film, who gets blamed? The VFX artist. But when it’s good and not noticeable, nobody bothers to tell them. At least the average person doesn’t.
Anyway long story short, I think this whole story is pretty funny and that why I post this. No matter how small or silly your idea seems, if you have the time, just make it and put it out there. It reminds me of something Ben Affleck supposedly said to Matt Damon (bear with me, I promise this isn’t some cheesy motivational post): "Judge me for how good my good ideas are, not how bad my bad ideas are." Okay, it's a little cheesy but kinda true.
Honestly, when I make content I try to visualize it as throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Don’t act like you absolutely know what will work, because. I have some idea because I am doing it a long time. But most of the time I just throw spaghetti where the previous was stuck on the wall, that's about it. This though? There wasn't any previous spaghetti on the wall here. Did I think that spending one hour making a 10-second video would end up being the most efficient time I ever spent, leading to over 20 million views and a million likes? Of course not. I still wouldn’t expect that. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are random. The exact same video can flop with 1,000 views once and then blow up to 20 million views the next time.
So yeah, funny story if you ask me, and a new record for my most-watched video. If you would like to see behind the scenes on how I did this little edit, let me know with a comment or send me a message.