I think it's safe to say that a common trait amongst storytellers is their ability to pull inspiration from a variety of sources. This is hugely the case with me, almost to a detriment, for, as with most things, there are pros and cons to be dealt with.
I consume a lot of media; books, TV, film, music, video games, you name it! Consuming media I enjoy naturally boosts my serotonin levels, and often has the added benefit of stimulating my creative side, thereby encouraging me to 'get cooking', as it were. The downside here is that the desire to cook doesn't always see me in the correct kitchen. What I mean by this is that I have an increased desire to express myself, but it isn't always in writing.
Case in point, I have been high-key obsessed with Arcane as of late. My brain rot is severe (just look at my Threads posts to get a general idea). The show's art style, storytelling, and characters have captured my heart in a way that doesn't happen to me often. I have managed to turn some of this excitement into productivity, adding some 5,000 words and counting to Book 2 since the final episode dropped last month. However, I have also been inspired in a different way.
Since I was a kid, I have loved watching fan videos on YouTube. I even reached the point where I'd watch the latest Harry Potter movie and go "I can't wait to see how people will put these scenes to music." When we got our first family Mac desktop computer when I was 12ish, I started to dabble in video creation. My first project was oddly a fan video of Draco Malfoy (he's never been a favourite character of mine) set to "Move Along" by the All American Rejects (that one Bionicle commercial got me hooked on the song). I never finished the video as I had to source clips from the DVDs in my possession and it took FOREVER. I went on to make a lot of sub-par slideshows featuring promo stills and fan art I'd sourced from the internet. Eventually, I learned how to download movie trailers and videos of clip compilations from YouTube, allowing me to edit videos for the first time.
Over the years, I made videos related to various fandoms. Whether these were slideshows or video, videos, I loved theming visuals to song lyrics and having clips and transitions switch on the beat. They were never fancy like most of the content I idolized, but I had so much fun making them that I didn't really care. Nowadays, most fan edits are short videos posted to places like TikTok, but longer form ones do still exist. The last video I posted was over 8 years ago. That changed this past week.
My obsession with Arcane has focused a lot on a character I fell in love with back in season 1 and who ended up having a major impact on the second and final season; my beloved sickly and sassy scientist: Viktor. I was greatly inspired by his character arc and thus decided to make a fan edit.
iMovie is my wheelhouse, but my Macbook is full to the brim with writing stuff, so I had to remove it a few years back. I tried to re-download it, but now my computer isn't new enough to sync up with the updated app. I tried using Canva, but even my boyfriend's faster internet couldn't keep up with my precise clip changes. It was then that I remembered that I have a Windows gaming laptop. My boyfriend discovered that it includes video software in its operating system and I nearly jumped for joy. Clipchamp is not a fancy program, but it did the trick just nicely. Thus, I spent much of my creative time on the weekend making a video instead of writing...
Anywho! You can watch my creation below, but please, DO NOT watch it if you haven't watched all of Arcane yet: it is HEAVY with spoilers.
My next project? Probably a fluffy video about Vik because I have more clips I can use and I want to balance out the depression of the above video. Stay tuned!
UPDATE: it happened.
Do you ever find yourself 'cooking in the wrong kitchen'?
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