You’ve probably heard of Doctors Without Borders, but have you heard of Clowns Without Borders? I hadn’t, until my first afternoon in Paris in October, 2023, when I was just looking at the Seine and spotted a colourful parade on the other side. It turned out to be La Marche des Nez (Parade or March of the Noses), by Clowns Sans Frontieres, as I found out later. Immediately, I sprang into action to run to the other side to document some of it on my phone. However, something switched in me after I got some pictures, reviewed them with the parade past me, and saw that my pictures didn’t really capture the uniqueness of the experience. As a result, I ran back to the other side with intent to get videos of this parade rather than pictures, with capturing things on video being something I had rarely done before despite having had smart phones for a decade. That might have been the day when I became more of a videographer than a photographer.
Something else switched in me after that, though. Instead of putting it on YouTube or Instagram, I thought I would give TikTok a try to post it there. YouTube didn’t like the vertical video format, of which some footage I got was best shot in, while Instagram had the one minute Reels limitation that didn’t let me fully show more of the experience I was wanting to share. And that, was the moment, I got on TikTok. I wouldn’t grow to like it at the level I do today for a few more months, not being agile to think about capturing moments with video rather than photos, thinking I’d use up all my phone space quickly. However, once I realized I would not, especially if I mostly uploaded and deleted the videos rather than holding on to them like I do with photos, and saw how easy and powerful the TikTok video editing suite was compared to those on every other social media platform I had tried, it was game over for most of those other platforms where I only use them for general communications and a few short posts here or there. That’s even though most people I know on social media are there. It’s not how I build connections and I wasn’t going to let those platforms’ tech limit my creativity, so I just went elsewhere to play, even if just by myself… and I haven’t regretted it, nor do I expect to ever do so. Aside from a few who have earned the respect and privilege, I don’t keep people around who will slow me down. There are tons of people in this world. Find the ones who will help you be your best self, not the self they judge you to be allowed to be.
Digital Citizen 