Rarely is there a Youtuber who just really “gets it.”
By that I mean, has an understanding that the site’s users have an established standard for quality that they would like content creators to adhere to, while also being able to provide enough uniqueness to make the videos that they make special, or, worth watching.
So many Youtubers fall down the derivative path, where their whole career is just about them getting to a topic before the other, better, channels hit it. Some are able to break through, like Super Bunny Hop, which started out as a gaming version of Red Letter Media. However others just rely on the same old tired techniques: from the intro that cites the Webster’s definition of a word, to the VHS stoppage as the narrator gets ready to debunk whatever held-line-of-thought about The Brave Little Toaster that’s really been vexing them, never mind the hours of lo-fi hip-hop-24/7-beats-to-study-and-relax-to putting their viewer to sleep.
Maybe next they’ll feign an Irish brogue to be more like SuperEyepatchWolf.
Griffiti breaks through the pack simply by being really good at what he does. His best asset is his own execution.
Griffiti had started out as a Detroit based sports Youtuber, chronicling the falls, but mostly rises of certain NHL teams, almost like a positive version of UrinatingTree that also doesn’t bother with making increasingly esoteric historical references to drive home their point, like a certain other comedian that came out of Pittsburgh. His videos had a certain smoothness about him, almost like he was working off of a joke-per-minute pace to keep the viewer entertained as he went on with the information. His reading voice is perfect without excessive embellishment or sounding like his words are coming off a script. For a while it genuinely seemed like the sports-side of Youtube had a much needed golden-boy to represent hockey fans. Then though, he just made the decision to stop covering hockey. Given the abysmal play of the Red Wings though, who can really blame him?
Instead Griffiti pivoted on over into other projects, veering into the direction of reviews, criticism, and analysis, an area of Youtube with a remarkably high ceiling, with EntertainTheElk, SuperEyepatchWolf, and Eddy Burback, and a floor that is totally crawling with roaches, mostly AP English students who have WAY too much confidence in their video editing, oral reading ability, and actual sense of humor.
This is a field where videos in the 30-minute mark are normal, where being bloated is somehow rewarded by the algorithm, and where SAT words are tossed about like it’s actually test day.
Griffiti though, has something that most video essayists desperately need, conciseness. Since making the switch, his videos have only flirted with 20-minute mark, but never actually gone through. Even if he does decide to cross that threshold however his standard for editing, sketches, and effects is so high that he won’t meander once. It’s like a synthesis of NakeyJakey’s greenscreen’d reference-driven ramblings, and the eloquence of EntertainTheElk’s writing.
He has a way of making everything he talks about a point of interest to the viewer. Mean Creek might have only been known for its swear-ridden rant from Josh Peck, but he gave it the respect it deserves as a touching coming-of-age movie from the early-2000s. He did the same for The Mighty Ducks, making sure that everyone understood this was a cinematic franchise that actually changed the landscape of the NHL, and Disney. Not even Miracle did that, and Miracle kicked serious ass.
Most of all though, this is a dude that is clearly having fun with what he’s doing. It’s evident in the way he just runs with his imagination with all the effects, cutaways, and jokes he throws in his videos.
If you want to see some truly unique critique videos, check out his channel here. Whichever direction he decides to take his channel in the future, his writing and editing skills will carry the quality of every project he works on.
Give Griffiti a follow on twitter and insta and go subscribe to his channel!!
