YouTube Pacific Viperfish displays film-making creativity

 

Read and Watch Video by Grant Hietpas, Gabi Danielson, and Mya Lysne

Many students have edited or uploaded a video to Youtube either for school purposes or classes, as in video production, or for fun when they have down time. Seniors Miles Schindel, William Bestler and Victor Brasch have a channel called Pacific Viperfish films.

They use their channel to display their creative abilities to their viewers and subscribers. After using intricate strategies to create the foundation of their videos, they upload them for themselves to look back on.

These friends have been making videos since eighth grade.  Since then, all three want to go to college and strive to be filmmakers and in the film industry. They started their channel because they wanted to “archive and dump” their footage for them to look back on.

“It’s for like nobody that’s why we don’t really care if people see it,” Bestler said.  “We only upload it on the internet just so we can get easy access to them,” Schindel added.

These three mainly upload for personal use and to expand their knowledge and creativity into making films. Their inspiration was English teacher Andrew Smith.

 “Mr. Smith told me to, he’s such an inspirational man,” Bestler said.

They describe their channel as being dark and random stories they come up with. The trio has a unique and creative way into making their storylines for their videos.

“I think of a video idea every day, just random things in my head… sitting down and writing a script and thinking of ideas is two different things because me personally I don’t write a script until I have like an image in my head and then it kinda just comes as I go along,” Bestler explained.

“One of our videos last year we did, we really liked one part of it and the rest of it we thought was kinda garbage, so we’re gonna like take the one part and build off of that” Schindel explained.

They regularly work with actors and include some of their friends as well. They use expensive equipment to make their videos.

“I’ve spent $1,000 on the lens, $500 on a tripod, and the rig was $300,” Brasch said. 

They all use Adobe as their editing equipment for their videos.  The group does not think Pacific Viperfish will really go anywhere because there is not much progression.  The friends are just using it as a base for their video production and film career.

“We’re constantly uploading, but I just don’t see it as a platform to build off really,” Schindel said. “I don’t see it beneficial to our filming career,” Bestler added on.

I really like film because it’s such a diverse platform for media like it’s writing, it’s music, it’s visuals all in one holistic experience and I think what film does, no other medium can do.

— William Bestler

Each of them wants to go to college for filmmaking and pursue their dream for filmmaking and education there. Will wants to go to California, but says it is too expensive and the others are still deciding on other colleges.

“I don’t see myself anywhere else but film, I don’t want to go do a desk job, I don’t want to work at McDonald’s,” Bestler explained.

They are serious about their film career. Bestler and Brasch have been producers for their videos. Bestler has mostly been the main characters in all their films as well and  Schindel has been the freelance editor for the group. Over the summer, Schindel lived in New York for an internship as a video production assistant and made about $1,000 working there. They are really passionate about making videos and usually upload to Youtube whenever they finish their films. It can take up to three months to put in work to make the films.

Bestler said, “I really like film because it’s such a diverse platform for media like it’s writing, it’s music, it’s visuals all in one holistic experience and I think what film does, no other medium can do. I think it just evokes feelings on so many different levels like anybody can watch a movie and be moved by it you know, whether you’re a music person or photography or whatever, so I think that’s why I like film as an art form.”