Here are a few questions I get asked pretty often. I welcome anyone to reach out with questions, but I don’t always have time to respond to everything, so you might find what you’re looking for here.

You can also check out the Q&A video I did on my channel. I that video I talk about my favorite films and TV shows, the equipment I use, my background in film, my process for making videos, and more.

I made a short film/feature/video essay/wrote a script, can you watch/read it and give me feedback?

Anyone is welcome to send me anything they’ve made! However, I get asked this quite a lot and I don’t have time to watch everything I’m sent or give feedback (it would be a whole part-time job if I did). So most likely I won’t be able to.

Will you do a review of my film/TV show on your channel?

I don’t really do typical reviews. I watch things that I’m interested in and I make a video when I feel inspired to talk about a specific topic and piece of media. Anyone is welcome to send me something to watch (screeners are welcome), but no reviews or videos talking about the film or show are guaranteed. 

What Equipment do you use?

Here is a list of the gear I use to make my video essays.

How can you use copyrighted material in your videos?

I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice. It’s not really appropriate for me to advise you on what’s legally acceptable since copyright law is complicated and varies greatly depending on where you live. I recommend doing your own research and consulting a professional if possible if you are unsure if what you are doing falls with the boundaries of legal use.

To understand how you can use copyrighted material legally without needing to license it, you’ll want to research “Fair Use” laws in the United States, or your countries’ equivalent.

The best place to start is YouTube's own page about Fair Use. I recommend any video essayist or YouTuber who wants to use copyrighted material in their videos read through this and educate themselves, at a minimum.

But obeying your country’s copyright laws is not your only concern.

While YouTube’s copyright claim system is informed by the legal boundaries of copyright, it’s different from the actual legal copyright system and runs in part through a system of automatic detection that doesn’t take fair use into account. Copyright owners will sometimes claim a video and demonetize or block it even if the video is technically fair use. In these cases, you have two options- re-edit and re-upload the video to remove the claimed portion of the video or dispute the claim. And just because a video doesn’t get a copyright claim on YouTube- that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re legally within the bounds of fair use. The system is imperfect- so don’t assume that just because a video wasn’t claimed, your use of the material would be considered Fair Use in court.

My primary advice is to always upload a video essay unlisted before you publish it publicly that way you have a chance to resolve any copyright claims before the video is live.

My question isn’t answered here…

If your question isn’t answered here, you’re welcome to contact me. I don’t always have time to respond to everything, but I read every email I receive and make an effort to respond! I don’t always check FB, Twitter, or other social media DMs, so email is the best way to get in touch.