MrBiffo
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STAY IN YOUR LANE!
🕑 Added 2020-08-21 13:20:30 +0000 UTCYears ago, I told a producer I'd worked with for a long time that I was interested in getting into directing. He told me, in no uncertain words, that the TV industry - at least, kids TV - didn't like people who didn't stick to what they were known for, and that opportunities for me to direct weren't likely to be forthcoming.
I was labelled as 'a writer', and that was what they expected to do forever. I got the message, but it irritated me nonetheless - partly, because I knew he was only stating how it is. But also because it kind of felt like I was being told "Know your place in the pecking order".
Something similar happened at Teletext, where they were forever trying to get me to stop writing, and go back to doing graphics full-time. I complained - more than once - in assessment meetings about the management viewing me as a "graphics bimbo".
Ironically, writing Digitiser meant that I became seen as a "video games bimbo", so when - years later - I tried to do different things after I left, many people wouldn't look twice.
Specifically, going waaaay back... when I published a book.
I dare say that if I'd written a book about video games - and, indeed, I have been approached more than once to do so - it would've sold bucketloads. But I didn't have any interest in that, so I wrote what I wrote, and it didn't sell bucketloads, and then the publisher went bust about two weeks after the book came out anyway.
Fact is, as I've written many times... much as I like games, they aren't a massive part of my life in the way they are for many of you. I spend far more time reading, watching telly, listening to music, and doing creative things, than I ever have done playing games. I fell into being a games journalist by accident, which is precisely why Digi was so damn weird back in the day - because I wasn't sufficiently interested in games to write straightforward games stuff.
The only reason I lasted on Digitiser as long as I did was because a) I had the humour and characters and whatnot to keep it fresh, and b) Frankly, for the last six years of it, it paid the mortgage while I was trying to start doing something new (writing scripts).
That's not to say I'm not proud of it, and don't look upon it fondly; it's precisely why I brought it back. It was a special time, and I feel it's a privilege to have been such a part of so many lives.
At the same time... it kind of forever meant that Mr Biffo would be That Video Game Guy in the eyes of the majority... when I always saw myself as just a guy who happened to be writing about video games, and the subject was merely a Trojan horse for writing weird, funny, stuff.
LUCKY BOY
I've been lucky in a lot of ways. I've managed to carve out at least two - possibly three - completely separate careers, and done alright in each, sometimes simultaneously. I've always kept Mr Biffo and Paul Rose separate as much as possible, and that has turned out to have been a wise thing, because it means both have kind of existed separately from one another.
Biffo stuff has never really impacted on my screenwriting, and vice-versa. It's like I've had two lives, in some ways. On the rare occasion they cross over - being somewhere in my day job capacity, only for somebody to bring up Digitiser - it's always jarring. I get a real pang of cognitive dissonance.
At the same time, I've often felt constrained by both, given the world doesn't like those of us who don't just stick to one thing. Or in this case, two things.
I mean, I live in my own head, I've lived my own life... so it's natural and logical to me that I'd, say, release an album and start making music, seemingly out of the blue. To me, that doesn't seem like an abrupt turn at all. It's completely right and normal. I have a restless creativity, wherein I love the discovery that comes from trying new things.
As I've discussed before, my tendency towards trying new things had a detrimental effect in terms of holding back the growth of my audience, especially when it comes to modern Digitiser - veering sharply away from retro games hit the channel's subs in a major way last year, and we've never really recovered.
Albeit only once I stated publicly that this is what we were doing. If I'd shut up about it, I'm not sure how many people would've even noticed! Which is weird, y'know.
Even weirder to me is how Found Footage was kind of embraced... whereas Lost Footage has been virtually invisible (despite, in my opinion, possibly being the stronger series) - possibly because it followed in the wake of the all-consuming Digitiser The Show, which brought in an audience that was utterly inflexible when it came to me doing anything that wasn't gaming-related.
Dunno, but it's telling that those who didn't know me from the Teletext days, whose first experience of me wasn't Digitiser The Show, who aren't retro gamers, seem much more receptive to me doing different sorts of things.
REGURGITATION
I bring this up now, because I watched a video last night about the downfall of the YouTuber Shane Dawson.
In case you're not aware... he has recently been "cancelled" over some of his past content - which was of a dubious racial and sexual nature. As the video explained, Dawson's apology was roundly criticised and rejected, despite the fact he has apologised twice before for the same content. The video was a bit nothing, ultimately, but what was interesting - and I kind of related to - is how it touched upon the mistakes Dawson made which led to this being the time the cancellation stuck.
The presenter of the videos suggested that Dawson's audience began to turn against him when he started to a) Collaborate with other YouTubers who have a negative reputation, and b) Changed the sorts of videos he was making.
Another video on the same channel looked at a second big YouTuber, Grav3yardGirl, whose own channel began to struggle once she moved away from the sort of content she was best known for. Once again, I could relate to that one.
It showed clips of a very distraught Grav3yardGirl, who was clearly torn between making the sort of content she was drawn to making instinctively, but which didn't grow her channel... and the sort of stuff that her audience expected and demanded, and tuned in for. I mean, when we say she's struggling... she still has over 8 million subscribers, and her videos still get views in the hundreds of thousands. So... first-world problems and all that...!
My big issue with it all is, of course, the notion that a failing YouTube channel is literally the worst thing in the world. And in some respects it is... if that's your career. I've kind of gone through the ennui I felt after Digitiser The Show, and now that I know most of the negativity on the channel was/is coming from one cretinous troll... I'm kind of at peace with it all. 1 dislike or a 1,000... what's the difference if they all come from the same individual?
Nevertheless, I know full well that if I was making the same sort of repetitive, gaming-related, stuff as Mr Biffo... the knock-on effect would only be positive. If I continued to collaborate with other retro gaming YouTubers, if I quite literally played the game, I know I could grow the channel.
However... it's not why I do it. At least, I can't bring myself to do it.
One last point that was raised in the videos I watched yesterday was that the typical advice that new YouTubers get is "Be yourself, and make what you love" - except that advice doesn't actually work. Making what you love is no guarantee, because audiences - like kids TV producers - expect us to stay in our lane. Give people what they expect. Be predictable. Don't try new things.
I had hoped that, perhaps, who I am, and the kind of varied thing I do would be enough to grow the Biffo "brand" (shudder), but I'm okay now that it won't. Even putting aside the inevitable negative connotations of my well-seasoned vintage, I'm always going to be impossible to pigeonhole... and with my day job career - the thing which really pays my bills - not allowing me to flex different muscles, I'm grateful to have an outlet (supported by all of you at least) where I can do that, which I'm not relying upon to keep a roof over my head (though... the Patreon income does make a huge difference).
It might not cover all my bills, but being Mr Biffo is as important - if not more so - than the day job.
I've come to accept that it is unlikely to ever be much bigger than it currently is; it'll never replace my other career, in terms of income, because I'm just not wired to do the same thing over and over and over, for years. That's what's required for growth. It was a miracle I kept the Digitiser2000 website going as long as I did, because, for the last year or so, writing it was really starting to feel like a chore. I'm not ruling out resurrecting it, and I'm sure I'll still write the occasional piece on there - as I did recently - but I kind of feel I've done that now.
It's the same reason I needed an abrupt turn after Found Footage - into Digitiser The Show - and why I started getting bored last year talking about retro gaming on the channel. And why I've been writing songs and releasing albums now. I need variety, I need new challenges, I need to push myself, and learn new skills - and I love not knowing what the next left-turn will be, even though I know that continuing on my wayward creative journey is only going to limit my potential audience growth.
Anyhow. There you go. A few Friday musings. New Live Quiz on Tuesday, hopefully, and a brand new video at some point next week, featuring a carnivorous Cabbage Patch Kid.
Have a good weekend, and thank you as ever for embracing the variety.
Paul
Comments
Paul Rose (Mr Biffo)
Yeah, I've sort of ditched the second channel idea, mainly because the stuff I want to do is the stuff I do on the channel already. I know that's definitely, without question, a barrier to growth, because it jumps around in terms of tone and format... and I see it all as part of my output, regardless of what it is. That said, if I was going to do something radically different, I probably would start a new channel... but then there's always the risk that it becomes popular, and I kind of feel obliged to just make that sort of content, if you see what I mean, because it's growing. I like the idea of freeing myself of feeling I have to grow as big an audience as possible.
Paul Rose (Mr Biffo)
Interesting stuff. Thanks for that, John.
Paul Rose (Mr Biffo)
Ah, cheers, mister. Thank you for being so supportive and trusting for all this time.
Tyronne Mann
Funnily enough I have noticed that I am getting bored by watching certain youtubers but for the opposite reason, in that all they are doing is variations of a theme in their particular category. I can fully understand why they do it as this is what their audience wants and it brings the money in yet I dunno if it is just me but in many cases you can tell they are even getting bored by it or at least appear to be. Everyone has more than one string to their bow and this is why I like where some youtubers have a second channel for different things that their main channel could not care less about BUT I do not think enough of them do and I feel it would help them releases their frustration by doing *shock horror* something else - if anything to recharge their creative batteries. I really enjoy games but they are not my only source of enjoyment, I would be lost without my kindle, I discovered the joys of photoshop almost 20 years ago now and love the unlimited capabilities of it and the creations from my own mind and lately I have started messing about with premier pro as well, I do not have a musical bone in my body but I have both an Akai MPK mini mark 2 and a Novation launchpad to mess around with - to say the results are bloody awful would be an understatement but what the hell you only live once and also I love writing with my wife - she gets annoyed of course as she keeps asking me why I do not use a pen instead but joking aside we are thinking of writing a book together. What you are doing Paul is certainly a lot more healthier than what a good many other creators are doing and it may seem at times that you are at odds with the audience but at the end of the day this is for yourself and if others like it then all the better but there is nothing worse than creativity restrained - that is not healthy both mentality and physically.
Chris Bell
I don’t believe I’ve told you how much I like Sound Footage yet, have I? Well I do. Like, a whole damn lot. I love instrumental music, I’m a big post rock fan, which I guess has a fair degree of overlap with prog, so it’s right up my street. If I’d heard Are You A Baby? on the radio I’d have Shazamed it! The way I approach your work - your art, because let’s not minimise it, it is, and you’re an artist - is in the same way as to a favourite band who’s produced a series of albums you’ve loved. You allow them a degree of trust that they know what they’re doing and will produce something you’ll love, however different it might be to what’s gone before. That’s how I see your renaissance man output. I trust your creative judgement, you have great instincts, and a stupid amount of imagination. In a way I feel sorry for the people who won’t even try to like the various strings to your bow that aren’t what they immediately want from you. They’re losing out, and their horizons are narrower than they need to be. Keep hopping across media all you like, I’ll be along for the ride!
John Whyte
I agree with you in general but, for the purposes of discussion, surely audiences have no obligation to like something that an artist does simply because they have enjoyed previous work? Also, very few people are equally good at more than one creative field because of the amount of work that goes into it. Many people can sing and play and instrument for example, but few excel at both. Obviously abuse/condemnation and so on are totally unacceptable and I agree that it is a shame that more people don't give artist's own diversity a chance. To be slightly provocative though - let's say David Bowie (while still alive) had decide to make glassware and was reasonably good at it, but nothing special. He'd probably receive a few million views but many, many less than for his music. This is in some ways unfair but he's receiving those views not due to proficiency at glassware but because he's Bowie, which also takes away (through no fault of his own) attention away from those who are known primarily because of their skill in glassware. Don't get me wrong, I agree with you 99% and I think the example of your friend is clearly a case of not receiving a fair crack of the whip from his audience but also, I don't think we 'owe' any artist any more than we owe the bank manager for what they do that we like.
John Veness
Thanks for this Paul. I imagine you hammering Cmd+S all the time while writing it! Interesting about that cognitive dissonance thing. I've had that, e.g. when my sister visited me at work. Kinda freaked me out, even though I knew she was coming! I wonder if it goes with a certain type of brain, one that likes to compartmentalise.
Dave Graves
I do dislike how audiences can malign the artist for trying something different. It's so unfair, and once again contributes a general feeling of apathy and malaise towards the rest of the human race. They're idiots. That's the mild ADHD talking...but it's based on something. A couple of people I watch are stuck in the same pigeon hole. BigMooney06 on Youtube, hilarious hitman videos. Blue, sweary and funny, with excellent comic timing and an eye for visuals and storytelling. Gets a good 50k+viewers for his Hitman content...into the 100k+ for his Kill Everyone challenges. But, look at the viewing figures for his other games. below 20k in most cases. He mentions it in his Hitman videos. If you'd be so good as to check out some of my other games? But seems nobody does. Gareth Waugh on Twitch, trying to grow his channel. Very funny chap, comedian...hit hard by COVID obvs. Establish's an initial audience through playing scary games and reacting to them strongly. All tickety boo. The other day, playing something different and his viewership plummets. Saddens me tbh. I have a few ideas about creating a channel that deals with classic ghost stories. M.R. James, Lovecraft, et al. Pull together some nice visuals, audiobooks. But, I know I'd freak out and ADHD it if any audience I built put me in a box. Ho hum, keep fighting the fight as you do Paul. Your output is inspirational.
John Whyte
Thanks for this thoughtful post, Paul; I found this very interesting and probably a microcosm of showbusiness, or existing within it, in all of its forms. It's clear how much you benefit from the perspective gained from the different strands of your creative output. It is easy and life-affirming to tell people to do what they love etc. but in all other industries, products are tuned, if not explicitly aimed at a target market so why wouldn't entertainment be the same or even more extreme? In theory, I am a research scientist. As nice as it would be to research what I want without any restrictions, the reality is that nobody is likely to fund it and, brutally, why should they? It is appalling the abuse or even just apathy met by many creators receive when they try to diversify. To play Devil's advocate, I will point out that viewers have no obligation to like something just because their favourite creator does it - otherwise that is blind fandom. If my favourite musician, BT started becoming a sculptor, I'll give it a chance, but I hope he would understand if I didn't like it as much as his music and wasn't interested. If it makes any difference, it is only the quality of your previous work and your integrity as a human being that keeps me interested in your various projects so please keep up the creative energy. PS I pressed return without shift so I have edited the initial premature post
