I can remember a time not too long ago when YouTube felt like a wasteland of teen pranks-

(Not that teen pranks aren’t funny, they sure are… for teens).

I will never forget all those tribute videos that used the exact same title of the video you were actually looking for-

I was hoping to see ‘John Candy stand-up’.  Huh, what’s this? ‘John Candy stand-up’, wait a second, it’s actually a guy named mike doing a 10-minute-long acoustic guitar tribute to John Candy’s stand-up! Dang!

Actually, come to think of it, all of the above are strong reasons to love YouTube, let’s face it, sometimes the tribute videos are more interesting than the original thing;

(except when it comes to John Candy, of course)

(and teen humour can be funny for everyone, especially when it involves a skateboard).

YouTube has also been a playground for academics, DIY-hipsters, instruction manuals on how to fix your car, your bike, your sink, your life, historical archives, great speeches, Ellen’s bathroom series, important lectures, and a haven for artists and Dolly Parton fans (I’m one of them).

Artists taking living room remixes and basement remixes and remixes of remixes and making something Marvin Gaye may have swung his stylish hips to.

But although I have a fond spot for the vast, vast world of YouTube and what all the artists are up to, I’d like to zero in on one part of it that seems to be growing quicker than I can type.

Films.

People are making movies on YouTube and it’s as smart as the kid using a pogo stick on the backyard trampoline,

no wait a minute, it’s way smarter (and more enticing to watch).

cover shot of Danielle French's 2007 album, Shadows

Singer/songwriter/artist/director/producer/ Danielle French has made a short film I can’t get enough of.

It’s called A Time to Kill, and scored with the same-title track  from her album Shadows.

This was the first video I ever watched on an iPod Touch and a whole world opened up for me.

One full of dreams and costumes and fairs on a little screen I can carry into bed with me no matter what time the lights go out.

I also feel like I have a secret world I can carry around in my pocket during the day and it brings me back to some of the magic of being a kid.

So, I want to share that secret world with you.

(Well, it’s really not-so-secret, seeing that I may be one of the last people to use an iPod Touch and Danielle French’s film is an award-winner, not to mention she is a long-time successful Calgarian/Canadian performer and artist, as well as her video is posted on YouTube and has lots of hits, but en tous cas, you know what I mean…)

From my pocket to yours:

Here’s Danielle French’s short film, A Time to Kill

Congratulations, Danielle!

(and god bless you, YouTube).