Hey,

So, something happened the other day that made me think quite a lot about the difference between copying someone and being inspired by someone. What started it was basically that a mexican channel, Beto Pasillas, copied Will Darbyshire's 'Distance' video word for word. I think it hit a particular thinking place with me because it's actually is one of my favourite videos produced by someone on YouTube, it was one of those videos that just made me happy. Darbyshire's channel, like JacksGap and others, is a little reminder for a communications student like me that there's a corner of the internet, a corner of YouTube, where you can create and share beautiful and cinematic content without having to be pretentious... you can just do what you want and Will has always done that. Beto Pasillas, however, makes a completely different type of video, yet somehow he posted this, changing the script to Spanish and making similar shots for every word. After this slightly rambly introduction my question was where do you draw the line between copying and being inspired?

There's nothing wrong with being inspired by someone, I'm sure most even find it flattering. Being inspired means looking at a certain style and using bits of it in your own things when it works. Usually a person is inspired by many things; from people to things to places. Creations become little bits of everything with the creator's particular view at the centre and these little bits of cleverly deconstructed content is what makes them special.

It's very different, however, to copy someone. Copying very easily stops being flattering at all, it very quickly becomes plagarism, and it's not sudden: when you copy you have to know you're copying (Pasillas literally translated the script, he knew the creation wasn't original). Not only that but you damage your own creativity, maybe if you're turning towards copying you shouldn't be in a creative job.

 Everyone's tempted to copy once in a while, especially creators, when you really love something many times you wish you'd done it, the thing is that those are the little bits you should take and save in a drawer and one day you'll come up with something new out of all those things that inspired you. Explore, see things, enjoy them, be jealous in the best of ways and love things so much that you don't need to copy them; on their own they'll help you build on your own creativity... think of it as a little catalogue of images, sounds and ideas.

At the end of the day, copying isn't creating. If you're a creator and you consider yourself one, you should push yourself and actually do it. CREATE! There's nothing more wonderful than the feeling of finishing something you thought about and developed and created! And then maybe (and this is the dream), you'll end up inspiring someone.

Here's Will's video if you want to watch it: