Noiseless Chatter Archive

With our other two films this year, the YouTube personalities behind them had clear areas of expertise. For James Rolfe, it was video games. For Red Letter Media, it was films. In each case (in different ways), the films they made used that expertise as their creative focus. That made sense, however successful or not the end results might have been. Now we have Ashens, and…what is Ashens? I suppose I could also ask “Who is Ashens?” There’s an easy answer to that, though: Ashens is Stuart Ashen, a Norwich-based…humorist? Technology buff? Author? Okay, I take it back; that answer is not much easier. Let’s start at the beginning. In my review of Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie , I laid out a hypothetical pitch for a television version of the YouTube show Technology Connections. It was, of course, hilarious. My point was that it would have been impossible to get a show with such a loose format made. Ashens is even looser. The most universal description of Ashens videos I ...

My intention with this year’s Rule of Three, as you might have guessed last week, was to spend some time up front discussing context, discussing the creators, discussing what the YouTube channel behind the film is known for. My reason for this is that the films we’re covering are labors of love first and commercial products second. (Or third. Or fourth…) I went into this series not knowing if I’d enjoy any of the films. If I did, great. If I didn’t, however, the last thing I wanted to do was launch directly into a tirade against something that someone I respect put a lot of work into. I’d be honest, of course, but the least I could do was celebrate their achievements up front. Their appeal. Their ability to amass an audience in the first place. But I’m not sure if I can do that with Space Cop , so allow me to put my opinion up front. Ready? Thanks to Space Cop , I think I finally, truly understand the term “guilty pleasure.” I’ve long known that term, of course. I’ve pro...