Life after virality
Reflecting on one year of A View, from a bridge with artist Joe Bloom
Joe Bloom has had nothing short of an amazing year. Winning over the internet with A View, from a bridge’s heartfelt telephone interview series, with each and every conversation hosted, filmed, and edited by Joe himself.
Sitting down to chat about his personal learnings one year on, it’s clear that Joe cares deeply — about creating genuinely resilient art in an increasingly treacherous digital climate, but also to remind us that culture and creativity is derived from looking up, outwards and not being scared to connect with others (more on this from A View, from a bridge interviewee Ethan here). The success of this project comes as part of a wave of expertly curated yet perfectly unfiltered content series, such as Kareem Rahma’s Subway Takes, queer fashion and nightlife collective Opia, or Tokyo rapper Miyachi’s Konbini Confessions. As city life becomes eerily more transactional and our algorithms swell in might, this collection of artists are taking the time to capture what many of us might feel, but haven’t quite managed to put into words. On A View, from a bridge, no story is the same and no clip is simply a hot take.
Sui Donovan: To start off, where do you find home online?
Joe Bloom: Weird YouTube documentaries from independent filmmakers that yes make amazing films, but post them with no knowledge of how you should release etc. Just a labor of love that got like 25,000 views and was uploaded in 2016. That's where.
SD: Can you tell us more about the gap you saw to create more ‘early internet era’ style content?
It was really curiosity more than anything. You see so many things that were born on the internet, and you think, how did that happen? But all it is is just someone with an idea, good or bad, that decided to really commit. There’s something to be said for just having an idea and sticking with it.
SD: You’re an artist and painter. However, Instagram has become the primary vessel for this project. Has social media ever been a source of inspiration for you?
JB: Honestly, no. I’m not often inspired by social media. It’s not naturally a place I go to seek inspiration. It’s a place I go to watch dumb shit and then feel generally regretful that I didn’t spend my time better. My real inspiration comes from stuff that I don’t see on my phone. For example, the series ‘How to with John Wilson’. I think it's phenomenal. The storytelling and level of emotion is exquisite - it feels completely human and real. I think it’s largely due to the fact that he writes, directs and edits all his own stuff. Often, simply by leaving his house, he meets people and finds conversations that lead him into a web of different angles on an overarching story that he ingeniously edits into beautiful, funny, and thought-provoking episodes on a subject. It’s flipping great and so inspiring for filmmakers stuck for ideas. It's a testament to just getting out of your house and finding a story in anything - because there truly is a story in anything if you're creative enough to either figure it out or kind of just make it up yourself. Why not eh?
SD: AVFAB has hosted some of the most talented musicians of our time, from Craig Charles to Nilüfer Yanya and Grian from Fontaines D.C., what learnings have you personally drawn from talking with these artists and trying to help your audience to better understand them?
I've learned that musicians and artists in the sphere of celebrity are people too and not always on a hardcore PR mission. I was initially reluctant to open up AVFAB to musicians and more known faces, as I thought they would be much more annoying in terms of trying to plug their music and bring everything back to promoting. I said no to loads of people before an offer to feature Grian came through, and in the end the episode gave me the confidence that if managed and curated correctly, AVFAB can be a place for both recognisable faces and the non-recognisable ones, as long as the playing field of process and editing is kept even for all guests.
Find me an internet series which will feature (spoiler alert) Max Richter and a complete stranger in the same week! I think it’s so cool that A View, from a bridge is able to do that. The focus remains on what’s being discussed, from an individual’s perspective as opposed to the fandom which might usually be associated with celebrities interacting in online spaces. It turns out that it’s also what the guests want too. I think it’s tiring having to tell people what’s in your handbag or what your ten favourite songs are all the time..and so on!
SD: It really is hard to pinpoint the most memorable videos on AVFAB, from deeper life lessons like Jason Williamson’s to lighthearted musings on ‘annoying boys’ from Kiara. You capture a range of personal monologues in such a beautiful, time-stopping way that stirs genuine emotion in your audience. Which stories managed to surprise you and why?
A recent video featuring a young man called Dmytro really surprised me and my producer. He’s a young man from Ukraine who we found at about 9pm in a very student-y area of Birmingham. He was just walking about by himself and something about him caught our eye. It transpired that he fled the war in Ukraine before turning 18, and spoke to us at length about this choice, and how it's been affecting his life. His story surprised me mainly due to the fact that on first glance, he was just a young unassuming student walking about in Birmingham, but it transpired that he was carrying this insanely heavy and invisible weight around with him that he then very graciously and openly shared with us, all while in the noise and chaos of pissed students passing him on and under the bridge. It reaffirmed that you just never know what someone is carrying around with them.
SD: Do you think about longevity versus virality a lot when translating these conversations into content?
At the beginning I wanted AVFAB to do really well, thinking that meant being really big. But I learned early on that ‘performing well’ isn’t predictable. Some videos sit on a lower number of views or aren’t super trendy or zeitgeisty topics, but I know this is a really great person, it's made an impact on people and it's part of the bigger picture of why I do it.
SD: What's your indication of positive effect or impact on people, is it offline success?
Yeah, I think you do have to measure it offline because what do these numbers even mean? Like what’s the real meaning of 50,000 views? I don't know, and I think it's a dangerous hole to start going down.
SD: Do you ever think about hot take culture and how that might inform people's reception of your work?
Definitely, I try to include some because they’re fun and it's a good form of people expressing themselves. But not everything has to be a hot take; things can just be like a brain wave or a nice conversation. But I do love a hot take.
SD: Any favourite hot takers?
JB: My guy Kareem from Subway Takes. He’s a guy who commits to a bit. I prefer his show ‘keep the meter running’ though, it’s really great. He asked me what hot take I had when we were in NYC together recently, and I can confirm it has lead to me being banned from ever featuring on Subway Takes. I think it’s for the best.
SD: Agree. Metrics are dead, and virality tells you everything and nothing. It feels wise to ignore them both.
Can we peep into your process a bit? Your largely hidden role as the voice on the end of the line obviously plays a huge part in the success of the videos. How do you spot an emotional monologue from a brain wave or nice conversation?
JB: simply put: Lots of listening.
SD: Is there anything you’ve found challenging growing the series over the last year?
Constantly talking to so many people, a lot of it can be quite heavy stuff and these things do sit on my brain for a long time. Over the last year, I've probably had maybe 200 conversations where people let me into their lives, and we discuss things you might not even talk about with your closest friends. So when they do, they remember it. It's a real responsibility on my side to honor that trust and to be responsible with it. I still chat to some people from like six months ago. It's not often that a stranger tells someone these things, let alone just a voice on the end of a phone. It's a challenge but I’m grateful for it.
SD: Yeah, and it's funny because when you watch the videos, you can't really feel your presence at all, but there’s this deep intimacy.
How do you plan to keep building community on AVFAB?
JB: Through a podcast. I'm in the process of creating a few pilot episodes and I'm so excited about it. Also might start a Substack. Lots of people are telling me to, but honestly it's all a bit long!!
That’s all for this week readers.
This conversation has been condensed and edited.
Words by Joe Bloom and Sui Donovan. Cover image via Joe Bloom. Brought to you by @morning.fyi.
Brilliant interview, loved it! ❤️🙌
thanks for bringing this project in your substack outlet, a joy to read a bit of a background and behind the scenes 💙