Creator blog.

New Post Every Month.

Blog #37 Bias in A.I. and Search Results—Where is the “World” exactly?
a.i., bias, world Dillon Cleary a.i., bias, world Dillon Cleary

Blog #37 Bias in A.I. and Search Results—Where is the “World” exactly?

Here’s a fact that people often forget: A.I. is not always correct.

Gasp.

It’s true, sometimes you ask Chat GPT a question and you give it an answer it knows not to be true.

So you tell it, and…it says: “Yes, you’re correct.“

Then you ask again, providing new information, and once more it gives you the wrong answer.

At this point, you feel like you’ve wasted your own time and find the answer yourself. So you do that, but in the back of your mind, you think: There’s something not quite right here.

That’s how I felt recently. I was doing some research on a possible video topic—The biggest shows you’ve never heard of! In the video, I was going to put together a list of shows—mostly from Asia—that people would not have heard of before. That’s when the problems began…

You see, when you search the Internet for “the world“, it doesn’t search the world. It searches through one country—the U.S. You read that correctly. When you search the world, search results come back with results from one country only. How is that not a huge problem?

Read More
Blog #38 If Cinema is Dying, What will Replace it? These 5 things.
world, cinema, replace Dillon Cleary world, cinema, replace Dillon Cleary

Blog #38 If Cinema is Dying, What will Replace it? These 5 things.

Cinema is dying, according to some, which begs the question: what/who will replace it?

First, a statistic: “Cinema ticket sales decreased by 8.8 percent globally in 2024 compared to the previous year, marking the first annual decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, as reported by the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) in Cannes on May 15.“ (seen here: https://www.torontofilmmagazine.com/post/global-cinema-attendance)

You’re reading this in 2026 or later, which means the number is going to have fallen further, given the latest trends.

Time to panic?

If you are the owner of a cinematic theatre…more than most.

Read More
Blog #36 Show, Don’t Tell
show, don't tell, lessons, the killing joke, batman Dillon Cleary show, don't tell, lessons, the killing joke, batman Dillon Cleary

Blog #36 Show, Don’t Tell

Show, don’t tell.

What does that mean?

In this week’s lesson/ramble, I want to share the importance of showing, as opposed to telling.

Hear me out.

When people say “show, don’t tell“, they are outlining the best ways to tell a story. When storytelling, one has two options:

  1. Tell - “I love my family,“ Sophie said.

    or

  2. Show - Sophie gave her family a big hug.

See the difference?

One is showing, the other is telling. Why is showing better? There are a few factors to consider, which I’ll give next.

Read More
Blog #35 5 Lessons from my Analytics
analytics, youtube, tiktok Dillon Cleary analytics, youtube, tiktok Dillon Cleary

Blog #35 5 Lessons from my Analytics

Having published 35 Tiktok videos and a similar number on Youtube Shorts, I think it’s time to share some learnings.

I’ve learned a lot from posting two videos a week for a few months and I wanted to share them with you.

Some you will already have guessed, but some may surprise you…

Here are the 5 Lessons from my Analytics.

Read More
Blog #34 The Consequences of A.I. Generative Video
ai, sora, artificial intelligence Dillon Cleary ai, sora, artificial intelligence Dillon Cleary

Blog #34 The Consequences of A.I. Generative Video

Recently, Sora 2 was announced and it got a lot of attention. According to OpenAI, Sora 2 is: “…our flagship video and audio generation model.“

These are the same guys behind ChatGPT, so you know it’s serious.

I’ve seen the demo video they posted a series of clips of their CEO, Sam Altman, in a wide range of ridiculous scenarios. One thing was striking—they all looked really good. Is realistic AI video here? Well…it’s not far.

There is still some fine tuning to do but the technology is capable of creating incredible imagery that easily passes for realistic footage.

Read More
Blog #33 How the Twilight Franchise evolved with “Eclipse” (2010)
twilight, cinematography, analysis, eclipse Dillon Cleary twilight, cinematography, analysis, eclipse Dillon Cleary

Blog #33 How the Twilight Franchise evolved with “Eclipse” (2010)

When Twilight - Eclipse released, it drew the usual reaction these films tend to do—men swearing they hated them and women pretending they weren’t enthralled by them. But…these films drew a huge silent audience, who watched with baited breath as the series evolved. With each film, there is a natural progression in scale and technical capacity; the franchise takes a step up each film. I’m going to be looking at the filmmaking techniques they used and why this franchise should serve as a template for success in the young-adult genre in the future.

Read More
Blog #32 The Changing Landscape of Media (2025)
media, c-dramas, streaming, outlets Dillon Cleary media, c-dramas, streaming, outlets Dillon Cleary

Blog #32 The Changing Landscape of Media (2025)

Media is changing. It has always been evolving and will continue to do so forevermore.

While I was writing the previous post about women’s viewing habits, I noticed some changes and began to think more critically. Not just about streaming vs. television, but about the ways in which we consume content. People are leaning towards different outlets and styles today, much more than they have been in even the near past. I wanted to share my thoughts on the matter, some backed up with statistics, some more meandering thought-experiments. Along the way, we’ll find out the truth about media and how people consume it.

Read More
Blog #31 What Women Want - Lessons from a 2023 Nielsen report
streaming, women, trends Dillon Cleary streaming, women, trends Dillon Cleary

Blog #31 What Women Want - Lessons from a 2023 Nielsen report

Here is the key to understanding women: the answer you’ve been looking for.

In this post, I’m going to dissect a report from Nielsen, released in 2023. The report is titled:

With almost 1 million video choices, women 18-34 turn to classic TV

Here is the link, if you want to read it yourself: https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2023/with-almost-1-million-video-choices-women-18-34-turn-to-classic-tv/

The report breaks down women’s streaming viewing habits, according to their in-house research. The results were mostly predictable, with a few surprises. Some of the answers require a bit of explanation.

Read More
Blog #30 Cinematography Analysis - V For Vendetta (2005)
Dillon Cleary Dillon Cleary

Blog #30 Cinematography Analysis - V For Vendetta (2005)

V for Vendetta is the topic of this post. It is a film similar to the first Matrix film -evocative and has a unique way of telling its story. The film has dated quickly compared to other films that came out from the time. I couldn’t find any information on the camera system but it seems that they didn’t have a big budget for future-proofing (given I streamed it on a 55 inch television and it looked muddier than other films shot around that time).

Read More
Blog #29 Cinematography Analysis - Moneyball (2011)
Dillon Cleary Dillon Cleary

Blog #29 Cinematography Analysis - Moneyball (2011)

I watched this film for the first time recently. It’s an eerie film—a slow burner that chips away at your pre-conceived notions until it sucks you in.

It could be easily renamed The Brad Pitt film because it’s mostly him being macho around other macho men.

It’s a nice looking film. It’s simple and it doesn’t try too hard, like a lot of other films in its genre. It creates a mood and it sticks to it.

The cinematographer was Wally Pfister, who has feaured in other blog posts on this site. I like his work. It has a safe, yet unique style that sucks you into the cinema experience, even if you’re watching at home.

Read More
Blog #28 Is off-screen romance the key to captivating on-screen romance?
Dillon Cleary Dillon Cleary

Blog #28 Is off-screen romance the key to captivating on-screen romance?

As the title says, “Is off-screen romance the key to captivating on-screen romance?“

What do you think?

I’m going to argue for the point and if you want to argue against, the more the merrier.

Every now and then, while watching a show, we notice two characters together in the show that we know to be dating off-screen also. Why do we know this? Because of the culture we live in…and a secret part of us wants to know. We crave it.

Read More
Blog #27 The Best Books I’ve Read in the Last Year
Dillon Cleary Dillon Cleary

Blog #27 The Best Books I’ve Read in the Last Year

Books make you a better storyteller, that’s a fact. They inspire, enthrall and delight in equal measure.

By the time you read this, we will be near the end of the year, 2025. What better time to share the best books I’ve read and nearly finished this year, so you can take away some recommendations for your TBR list.

Read More
Blog #26 South Park Season 28 is…something
Dillon Cleary Dillon Cleary

Blog #26 South Park Season 28 is…something

The title says it all. Season 28 of the adult animated show South Park was just released and it is…something.

I’ve watched this show from the humble beginnings of the Jesus vs. Santa clip that was shared around, to what it is now: a global franchise. Over the course of the show, there have been ups and downs. One thing is clear though: the show is now on an up. It’s back to its best.

Why? Simple. South Park is at its best when it’s crazy and offensive. At the moment, it is definitely both of those. From P.C. (Power Christ) Principal throwing down with Jesus in a Cheesecake Factory bathroom to the tweezer thing, South Park is holding no shots back. They’re all in. They even dropped two f bombs in the episode. By f bomb, I don’t mean fat.

Read More
Blog #25 Cinematography Analysis - Twilight Saga, New Moon (2009)
twilight, new moon Dillon Cleary twilight, new moon Dillon Cleary

Blog #25 Cinematography Analysis - Twilight Saga, New Moon (2009)

New Moon is the second installment in the Twilight franchise. The film changed cinematographers for this one, going from Elliot Davis to Javier Aguirresarobe. The two films have two very different styles but are both consistent in their approaches. This film is more typical of a drama film shot in the late 2000’s era. It consists of techniques commonly used in the era and feels more mature than the previous film.

Read More
Blog #24 Cinematography Analysis - The Batman (2022)
batman, the batman Dillon Cleary batman, the batman Dillon Cleary

Blog #24 Cinematography Analysis - The Batman (2022)

I couldn’t not examine this film in depth, given I just did the Christopher Nolan trilogy. The Batman is an effective film but the shots are really strange. This film was very “artistic“. They used modern techniques to create an old looking film. I'm going to be breaking them down here so we can gain a deeper insight into the film. Technically speaking, it was delivered in 2.39 to 1 and shot in anamorphic—much like the previous trilogy.

Here are five points on the shooting style.

Read More
Blog #23 My favourite fonts
Dillon Cleary Dillon Cleary

Blog #23 My favourite fonts

Fonts. Those things that change how curly the letters in your text are. In this post, I’m going to share my favourites, which scenarios I use them in and a few tips on getting the most out of them.

Choosing the right font can be a make or break decision in your designs; transforming an average piece of text to a neat and stylish design choice, if you use the right font.

Read More
Blog #22 Getting low views on your content? It might be a technical issue.
Dillon Cleary Dillon Cleary

Blog #22 Getting low views on your content? It might be a technical issue.

As someone who has been posting short vertical content regularly on Tiktok and Youtube Shorts, there are a few key obstacles you want to avoid when sharing your content. If you have had these issues, it can be frustrating because there are no clear guidelines on navigating these problems but they will sink your view count tremendously. Dealing with them can feel confusing, frustrating and disheartening.

Read More
Blog #21 Cinematography Analysis: The Dark Knight
batman, the dark knight Dillon Cleary batman, the dark knight Dillon Cleary

Blog #21 Cinematography Analysis: The Dark Knight

Continuing on with my analysis of the Christopher Nolan trilogy, this week we’re looking at The Dark Knight, the second film in the trilogy and by far the most quoted and popular. If I had to use one word to describe this film, I would use this: explosive. The film gets the pacing spot on and it does this by starting slow… then exploding into action.

Read More
Blog #20 Cinematography Analysis: Batman Begins (2005)
batman, begins Dillon Cleary batman, begins Dillon Cleary

Blog #20 Cinematography Analysis: Batman Begins (2005)

Having just recently rewatched Batman Begins, I thought it worth of a deeper dive into the cinematography and the elements that made it so special. If I was to describe the cinematography of this film I would use one word: cinematic.

I say cinematic because it doesn’t stray too far from the path of cinematic in the traditional sense. The film uses tried and tested techniques to create an engrossing film. I won’t be talking too much about the writing of the film in this post but it has to be said, the writing is great.

So let’s dive into the film and look closer at all the elements that made this film so cinematic.

Read More
Blog #19 Predicting the Future of Filmmaking
Dillon Cleary Dillon Cleary

Blog #19 Predicting the Future of Filmmaking

As a fun thought experiment, I’d like to predict the future of filmmaking. In the last few years, we’ve seen shifts in filmmaking like never before, with different formats and workflows popping up and taking over. I’m going to attempt to do the impossible (unless you’re a Simpsons writer) and predict how things will continue to change in the future.

Read More