Talk To Me's Directors Have Great Advice For YouTubers Who Want To Make Movies [Exclusive]

There is a big stigma around filmmakers on YouTube. There have been several movies centered on or about YouTubers, and the vast majority have been comedies — following the success of 2008's "Ryan and Sean's Not So Excellent Adventure" — and yet, none of them had the level of acclaim or attention from filmmakers like Jordan Peele and Steven Spielberg until "Talk to Me" made its world premiere at Sundance earlier this year. The movie is directed and co-written by Australian filmmakers Danny & Michael Philippou, known from their YouTube channel RackaRacka, where the two make wild action and horror-centric videos with tons of rather impressive visual effects and stunts.

Ahead of the theatrical release of "Talk to Me," our own Jacob Hall talked to the Philippou brothers about how YouTube helped their filmmaking career. As Danny Philippou described it, they made videos to try out new things, like a sinking film set, "It was a way to create while also learn at the same time."

"You learn with every single video, so it was a film school," Michael added, saying they learned things like "finesse editing techniques and pacing."

Indeed, if there is one takeaway from the success of "Talk to Me," it isn't that all YouTubers are bad filmmakers, and it's certainly not that they are all great filmmakers. To quote "Ratatouille" food critic Anton Ego, "Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere." As Michael Philippou tells it, "Directors from the past generations, if YouTube was a thing, they'd be uploading to it. It's a way to access and interact with an international audience." 

This is the reason why Guillermo del Toro has been championing stop-motion animation, because it is the easiest form of animation for young people to get into and potentially compete with the biggest productions. YouTube, social media, and increasingly better phone cameras have helped democratize filmmaking and make it so new talent can come from anywhere. "If you're a storyteller, you're a storyteller. It doesn't matter what medium you come from," added Michael.

As for Danny Philippou, the co-director and co-writer advises YouTubers to "constantly [be] experimenting with their craft online and not letting low views or anything make you feel sad or whatever," and to "just constantly make stuff, 'cause you constantly keep improving." 

Granted, not every vlogger has had experience with stuntwork or crafting horror stories as the filmmakers of "Talk to Me," who are already tapped to direct their own franchise starter in a new adaptation of "Street Fighter." Still, you never know where the next filmmaking sensation will come from.