“Cutback”
has always been a very dirty word, usually associated with the cessation or
downgrading of a particular action or thing to cut costs. It’s not a
word I particularly like either, having been a victim of a cutback myself.
However, in this case, what I’m doing with my Youtube channel is cutting back,
and I’m making no attempt to hide that.
SOV1: Sydney Trains 15/4/14 - The first film I uploaded to Youtube (barring my first channel trailer). I've certainly come along a bit since I put this one up.
Since 2016,
I have been uploading railway videos to Youtube, taking in the history,
locations and trains which work the Sydney & NSW railway systems. Starting
as SydneyOverground1191T5, then becoming TheBritFromOz Rail and now 158 Films,
making railway videos for Youtube is something I have hugely enjoyed doing for
the most part. I’ve captured some rare things, had an excuse to visit some
beautiful locations and developed a respect for those who get up incredibly
early to do their work with all those 3am wakeups to go filming.
Compare my first upload to Wingello: The Return, filmed & uploaded April this year.
So if I’m
enjoying it so much, why am I cutting back I hear you ask?
I’ve been
uploading a film weekly (sometimes even more frequently than that) since July 2019 (apart from a couple of hiatuses whilst I was on holiday and so I could do the HSC), however on September 21st
this year, that will come to a close. I should stress that I will NOT be
ceasing uploads completely, however, they will become much more infrequent. My
reasons for this are as follows.
1. Cost
No surprises for guessing this one considering I used the word “cutback”
earlier. However, this is the first and foremost reason for my cessation of
weekly uploads: It’s getting unsustainably pricey. The cost of making these
films, almost all of which is in petrol for driving to my locations (as many
have very little, if any, public transport or are long distances away, e.g.
Carrick) was getting to be more than I could sustainably afford on my income
(which whilst a fair amount, isn't enough to sustain both this and saving for the holiday I'm about to mention), especially seeing as I’m trying to save for a holiday at
the same time. Although cost is by no means the only reason for me ceasing to
upload weekly, it’s one of the biggest.
2. Green Day - American Idiot Track 3 (Holiday)
I will be going on an extended holiday to Scotland, Wales and England
from early October until early January 2019, which will mean I cannot do any
filming or much uploading whilst away (obviously). Once home, I will be off to
university in March, which also reduces my chances of being able to film a
weekly release. This unavailability is another reason for the end of weekly
uploads, and alongside cost, is one of the biggest two.
For those wondering, I will be doing some filming whilst in
The UK, as I will be spending a lot of my time travelling on trains and
volunteering on heritage railways, plus the trains in the United Kingdom are
varied and interesting. I have plans to edit these together in a video blog
style of film similar to what Geoff Marshall does and what I have attempted
with the Behind The Rails vlogs on my second channel.
Image by Hugh Llewelyn on Flickr
The reason I'm going to Scotland (or one of them) - to see 828, the last of the Caledonian Railways 812 Class locomotives. If it looks similar to Donald & Douglas from Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends and The Railway Series, it is because they are, in the Sodor universe, members of this class.
3. I no longer have access to a vehicle
I will not discuss the circumstances which lead to my loss of access to a
set of wheels, however, it has happened and as a result, I’ve lost my means of
transport which is necessary to film at locations such as Carrick, Wingello and
others which have limited/no public transport and are long distances away.
Plus, a car has flexibility, which public transport sometimes lacks
(particularly where all my favourite locations are, or ones I want to try out).
On its own, this would not be enough to make me scale back 158 Films, however
combined with the next point, it is.
4. Doing Quality AND Quantity is taking
its toll on my wellbeing
I’ve been doing a lot of filming in recent months and editing along with
it, and as a result of this and trying to keep to my standard of production,
I’m starting to feel burned out. Whilst up until now I’ve ignored this, the
time has come for me to take a step back and focus mainly on the quality rather
than the quantity of what I produce. Doing both, as I’ve said, was starting to
become financially unsustainable as to keep my fairly consistent formula
interesting, I had to spice it up with far-away locations and rare trains. As a
result of having to put so much time and money into the productions to the
point where it was becoming unsustainable, I was beginning to less and less
happy with what I was producing, even if there weren’t any overtly bad films
produced in that time. So to stop myself from burning out and becoming totally
unhappy with what I’m doing, the best way forward is to scale back the amount
of films being produced and only make one every now and then, thus maintaining
my standard of quality but not burning me out as I pour time and money into
consistent shooting.
5. My relationships have taken a
backseat
I may be introverted (nothing wrong with that at all), but I’m still a
human, and humans are social creatures who value their relationships highly. I
have many great friends, both in and out of the railway community, but as a
result of me putting 158 Films at the top of my agenda, I feel as if I’ve let
these connections with people whom I hold dear wither through my constant
desire to be out filming or planning the next shoot. This is perhaps on-par
with the cost as to the biggest reasons why I’m stopping my weekly uploads: My
constant prioritising of film production over people has really taken its toll
on my mental wellbeing, which I really should not have let happen.
6. The hobby’s community
*Commence Rant - You have been warned*
I’m the first to say that this hobby is full of lovely people who always
encourage you and want to help you along in your enjoyment and understanding of
the railway hobby. However for every one of those brilliant people for whom I
am incredibly grateful, there is an egotistical sod who wants the hobby for
themselves, and about those he doesn’t like will do nothing but complain and
berate for the slightest thing. What’s more, these people often band together
to make an “in-group” and an “out-group” to maintain exclusivity for a hobby
they want for themselves, to the point where the hobby becomes more about impressing
those who put themselves on top rather than actually doing the activity. Every
hobby suffers from this, but it’s rather prevalent in the railfan community and
it’s definitely not something I see myself coming to terms with. It’s one of
the smaller reasons for me ceasing my regular uploading, but it definitely
contributed.
*End Rant*
That was a bit cathartic actually...
7. I’m missing the point
And on that point of missing the point, I am too. I’ve admitted several
times that I don’t make my films from the point of view of a railway enthusiast,
but from that of a film producer. Now this may help to keep my standards up, but
if I’m more interested in making a top-notch film (something not helped by that
fact that I’m a bit of a perfectionist) than I am in my subject, then that’s
missing the point of being a railway enthusiast, which is (as per the name)
someone who is enthusiastic about railways. Strive to make a good film sure,
but don’t let that get in the way of enjoying your hobby of enjoying trains and
railways for what they are. That’s where I went wrong, and as a result, became
unsatisfied with what I was doing.
So those are my reasons for cutting back on my uploads for 158 Films.
However, it’s not the end of the channel, not by a long shot.
The Future
1. 158 Films will be renamed to
TheBritFromOz – 158 Films, combining my two internet pseudonyms into one.
My original intention was to rename the channel back to TheBritFromOz,
but I do like the 158 Films name and it’s a good brand for railway
uploads, so it’s staying.
2. There will be my aforementioned UK
trip videos. I’m not sure what form these will take at the moment, but I’m
looking forward to making them.
3. Following a final Saturday 11:00
upload on 21/09/19, I will continue to release railway films, but at a much
slower rate than previously, down to one/two per month instead of one/two
weekly. I may sometimes be unable to upload anything, it’s dependent on my
university schedule.
4. My little-used second channel TheBritFromOz
Extra (or TheBritFromOz Two
as it was originally christened) will more or less cease uploads. This channel
has not been getting many views or many uploads at all, and with the scaling
back of my main channel, will essentially become redundant. The channel will
remain, and *very occasionally* it might get another video, although for the
most part TheBritFromOz Extra will not see much more action.
5. There may be some things other than
railway films being uploaded. I don’t know what may emerge from my
Communications course at university, though occasionally I may upload projects
I make. Also, some other stuff too. I’m not sure what but we’ll see where time
takes us.
6. And of course, all the films I’ve
produced until now will remain viewable.
And that
brings me to the conclusion of this article. I do hope you now understand my
reasons for my sudden drop in productivity on 158 Films, and that you’ve
enjoyed the films I’ve produced up until now, and will continue to enjoy those
that I upload in future.
Thank you
for reading and see you soon!
-TheBritFromOz
Creative Commons License for 828 Image
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