YouTube sets sail a sea of opportunities

*I wrote this in the September of last year as part of my media production coursework, which is why it is very outdated. I'm posting it now because it won't look like copyright infringement and I am very proud of it!*

YouTube is becoming an ever-growing community. It allows people of all ages to express themselves in a variety of ways, giving them a voice which may not have been possible without YouTube. Carrie Hope Fletcher, a 20 year old from London, first used her YouTube channel  ‘ItsWayPastMyBedtime’ to upload song covers. It was later suggested she start video blogging. This started off a number of opportunities which Carrie later grabbed.

“It was my friend Alex Day (fellow YouTuber) that got me into Vlogging” she said. “At the time I had a manager who liked the idea of me doing web chats every week for an hour. I was talking to Alex about it and saying I didn’t have enough content for an hour every week, so Alex suggested doing a short video every week instead. I gave it a go, 8 months and 70 Vlogs later… Here I am!”

Today, Carrie makes videos about blue ribbons and how she wants to be a Disney Princess, all thanks to Alex.

Expressing her thoughts and opinions in a creative and interesting way, Carrie was given opportunities she may not have had otherwise. These included a visit to Scotland to see the premier of Disney Film ‘Brave’.

In Edinburgh, Carrie took part in Scottish activities such as caber tossing and highland dancing. But the highlight of her recent career was a trip to Belfast where she was given the opportunity to interview the Hollywood director of Titanic, James Cameron. This was an experience she isn’t likely to forget for the rest of her life.

“Being asked to interview James Cameron was really surreal. I had to keep making sure it was MY name on the list and not… Kerry Flatcher.” She said, “There are some steps in my life that have taken such hard work and gruelling effort to make happen, but then there are some that just fall into place with me not expecting it.” And interviewing James Cameron was one of those things. Carrie tells us “An e-mail came through from the YouTube company I’m with, ChannelFlip, saying ‘We’ve got 20^th Century Fox looking for a YouTuber to work with them on something to do with Titanic and James Cameron. We think its right up your street!” Suddenly, she found herself on a flight to Belfast to visit the Titanic Museum, watch the movie on a ship and then meet Mr Cameron himself. All whilst making a video for YouTube!

What Carrie likes about the opportunities she is given is that she knows she is helping them by making her videos. With her videos about Titanic, she helped spread the word to her age group who may have not seen the film before.

Carrie was also given the job of being the female vocalist for the London 2012 Olympic Mascot song, On a Rainbow, with her older brother, lead vocalist and guitarist of band McFly, Tom Fletcher. “Getting to sing the song was a total accident for me. My brother wrote the song and needed a female voice on the demo because the idea was to have a big group sing it, of both genders and all ages. The Olympic Committee loved having a boy and girl sing it, so all of a sudden I’m recording!

You’d think Carrie would be excited about the new found fame from being such a big part of the Olympics, but she states: “It was never about the fame. For me, it was being a part of history. The fact I got to be involved in such a cool way is pretty awesome! It’s just a shame it wasn’t played more.” To listen to the song, click here.

YouTube changed Carrie’s life in a huge way. Not only has it given her opportunities like interviewing James Cameron and Julie Fowliss (Gaelic singer for Brave), she now has a new group of friends. Carrie said “They’re the most open, honest and loving lot I’ve ever known, I couldn’t be more grateful to Alex for getting me started on Vlogging, because if he hadn’t, I wouldn’t be surrounded by these amazing people today.”

If you’re thinking of a career in music, TV or theatre, maybe making YouTube videos is the way to kick-start it. It certainly worked for Carrie!

So what are you waiting for? Make a video about that book you read last week and you might get lucky. 

To check out Carrie’s channel, please click the link here.

*It's AMAZING how far Carrie is come since this interview last September. She is now playing Eponine in Les Miserablés at the West End, and will be playing Beth in the 2014 arena tour of The War of the Worlds. I really do wish her all the luck and success in the future.*