Francesca Georgiou’s channel is a wonderful mix of creativity and vulnerability. She talks to TenEighty about the people who’ve inspired her and finding her voice on YouTube.
“I was wishing for more; in friendships, in creativity, within my personality. If I didn’t pine for more, then I wouldn’t have hit Record,” Fran reflects, thinking back to what led her to start her channel FranJustFran back in 2013.
“I had a friend with a swanky camera that I fell for. Well, as much as one can fall for technology (platonically, of course) and thankfully, through my ‘charm’ or his generosity (probably the latter), I was given permission to borrow his camera. My boyfriend at the time also gave me space to film. I’d never truly had those things simultaneously before; the passion was built in, but the support excelled it beyond what it ever was.”
Over the past four years, Fran has amassed almost 100,000 views and uploaded countless videos to her channel. What’s unique about Fran’s channel, though, is that it isn’t sugar-coated – it’s an expression of who she truly is, as opposed to the sometimes cookie-cutter personas that other creators on the platform try to promote. Her videos give her viewers the opportunity to know every side of her. There are introductions into her creativity, covers of her favourite songs, and moments of vulnerability when life just isn’t going her way.
“There’s been a ton that I’ve been proud of,” says Fran, thinking over her collection of work. “For the most part though, I’m honestly just super proud of certain bits of a good few videos, rather than feeling real chuffed with a whole bit of work. And I hope that doesn’t read as boastful, it’s just… I seem to be my greatest own cheerleader or I throw the ego out of me entirely and cower in the face of betterment. Even being in support of myself feels like a thing to be proud of. Each video has been made in support of myself!”
As is the case when you’re part of any creative community, there are other creators that Fran admires and regularly watches. Although, with the nature of YouTube evolving and changing, a lot of her inspirations come from people outside the world of YouTube; individuals like John Oliver, Jon Stewart, Rachel Bloom, Amy Winehouse, and Regina Spektor.
“They have made some irreversible moves on my heart and soul,” she says. “I’ve watched or listened to each of them and had a moment of thinking ‘that’s the kind of person I want to be’ – which I think is the difference between total admiration and true, deep inspiration.”
Even so, although her sub box is down in numbers, there are still people on the platform whose work Fran keeps up with. “Leena Norms is HIGHLY excellent. Her levels of skill and passion just intrigue and excite me. Her mind is ace. Tessa Violet is wise and thoughtful in all her creations; I just really appreciate her sincerity. Steve Suptic‘s channel is a pretty weird source of joy too, right now.
“It’s so odd. If you’d asked me this question two years ago, probably even a year ago, I would have shared with you a whole host of YouTube channels. I really, really, really, like and adore some channels now; that just feels different to love. Or, I’m overanalysing.”
Even with Fran’s changing views about the content on YouTube and her relationship with it, her relationship with the people continues to be the best parts of her life. “YouTube has given me a lot; the best friendships, the most support, the most community I’ve ever had,” she admits. “My birthday in 2016 was in an apart-hotel. My platonic soulmate (jessTHEindecisive) organised a birthday party with some of my closest friends, all of which are from YouTube, and it was my favourite birthday to date.”
Recently, Fran took a six-month hiatus from YouTube, only resurfacing around May. After all of this time spent creating and all of the experiences that YouTube has given her, she admits that her goals are still pretty much the same; driven by that ambition for more that she can’t seem to shake.
“It all feels a little new again right now,” she says. “But, it’s that feeling with a 5k+ audience. It gets disheartening, especially when numbers drop. My nearest goals for the channel are just to steady the drop, find my voice, figure out who’d like to hear it and then grow from there – numerically and creatively. I do want opportunity from my channel, in most senses of the word. The idea of creating in bigger ways and making people feel that creation in a deep way would be a privilege for sure.”
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