If you recall from my last post, I’ve started putting some of my old films up on the Tube of You. The latest addition is the animation Nose Runner, submitted to Tropfest in 2007, starring Space Girl and a robot who looks suspiciously like a Volvo:
The voice of Space Girl was provided by the delightful Lisa Cougle, also the character’s co-creator (see one of Space Girl’s comic strip adventures). The robot was played by me (ahem). And the whole thing was put together in about 5 days when I suddenly realised the entry due date was earlier than I thought (and I nearly crippled myself by hunching over the computer non-stop; apparently an occupational hazard of disorganised animators).
The Tropfest theme ingredient for that year, in case you were wondering, was sneeze. Yes, sometimes you incorporate it discreetly simply to prove you shot the film that year, other times you write the whole script around it for a lack of any better ideas.
But the interesting thing here is that since Nose Runner has been on YouTube it’s garnered 174 views and a 4.5 star rating. Whereas the previous one, Psycho Killer: Qu’est-que-c’est, has been on quite a bit longer but only has 35 views and no stars.
Why is this? The current theory is that anyone searching for serial killers or Talking Heads songs isn’t really expecting a mockumentary about some guy’s failed lovelife. But those looking for cartoons about girls and robots in bars… well, they’re pretty much going to get what they expect.
It makes sense, but I’m not totally convinced. What do you think?
How do people find random videos on YouTube anyway?
Astrocave 
Oh is that what you were doing… 🙂
God that’s hard to hear. Maybe it’s just my computer but I can barely hear any of the dialogue in it at all.