VidCon US 2019: AmazingPhil Q&A (12 July 2019)

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itasca00
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You're being beamed up by aggressive aliens and they're plugging in the anal probe
"Oh, God. Okay. I say: *shrug* [...] I'd be like, 'I don't know how this works. Put a condom on that thing. *shrug*'"
Dan Howell, 5/10/18 Try new things..?
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itasca00
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Posts: 438
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2018 12:53 pm
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For posterity, the reaction to this Q&A in the main thread starts here.
You're being beamed up by aggressive aliens and they're plugging in the anal probe
"Oh, God. Okay. I say: *shrug* [...] I'd be like, 'I don't know how this works. Put a condom on that thing. *shrug*'"
Dan Howell, 5/10/18 Try new things..?
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itasca00
moon room
Posts: 438
Joined: Tue Jul 31, 2018 12:53 pm
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Location: USA

I really liked this Q&A! Maybe it’s just my post-”Coming Out To You” perceptions playing tricks on me, but I felt like Phil seemed less inhibited than I’ve ever seen him before, both in terms of his body language and in terms of how he answered questions. Unlike others, I really wasn’t bothered by the interviewer (Taylor Lorenz). Her spelling out usernames was goofy, and some of her questions were duds, but a lot of them were also gems! Anyway, here are my timestamps:
  • [1-1:29] The first question is about Tony, Phil’s most recent pet brine shrimp that he’s grown from birth. They’re meant to live for only six weeks, but Tony is a survivor. Since Phil had to go to VidCon, he bought a fifty pound tank and a machine that feeds Tony every day.
  • [1-2:24] Phil is asked whether he’s going to sell vases. Phil says he likes a glass of water, so why go back for more when you can just drink out of a giant one?
  • [1-2:55] Phis is asked what some of his most memorable moments on YouTube have been. Phil says there’s not one memorable moment. It’s been a wonderful blur.
  • [1-3:41] Phil is asked what made him decide to come out now. Phil says it was strange because he’d already come out to most of his friends and family quite a while ago, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be out on the internet because he wasn’t sure if he wanted to share too much of his private life. On the other hand, he thought that his story might be able to help other people, so he thought why not let everyone know that he’s gay?
  • [1-4:30] Phil is asked how many VidCons he’s been to. He thinks this one might be his eighth. Thinking back to his first VidCon, he was nervous but also really excited because he had been specifically invited to attend. Phil is asked what his best VidCon was, and he says it was the first because of how novel and exciting the experience was.
  • [1-5:34] Phil is asked if he’s ever been starstruck by anyone. He says that Anthony Padilla was a big one. He thinks he probably played it too cool and came off as unfriendly when they first met, but they’re good friends now. He then says that he’s hung out with Safiya Nygaard now. They’ve met at a previous VidCon and talked online before, and he finds her videos very relaxing. He says that he and Dan have also hung out with Safiya’s significant other Tyler Williams, Cristine Rotenberg (Simply Nailogical), and Cristine’s sister Jennifer. This was nice because no one comes to London. When questioned about VidCon London, Phil says that not many Americans have tried it out yet.
  • [1-6:44] The interviewer says she likes to watch soap carving videos. Phil expresses excitement about soap carving and slime. He’s asked if he’s ever tried to make slime. Phil says he has, and it went surprisingly well. The interviewer says that slime is hard to make well.
  • [1-7:18] Phil is asked if he has any particularly memorable videos or any videos that were particularly fun to make. Phil says that “Tour Of My Brain” was fun because it was more artistic. “Coming Out To You” was also quite a big deal to him. It’s a video that he’s proud of for making but one that he was also nervous to post.

    Phil is then asked how long he spent making “Coming Out To You.” Phil says that Dan spent months making “Basically I’m Gay,” but Phil wanted to keep his video lowkey. Nevertheless, when Phil was editing the video, he spent a long time wondering if what he was saying was right or coming across right. It also took him a while to pluck up the courage to film the video and then ultimately post it.

    Phil is then asked how it felt after he posted and what was going through his mind. Phil says he got a great reaction from his audience, his peers, and also friends who he hasn’t talked to in years. It was a really good feeling, and he was happy that he posted the video.
  • [1-8:52] Phil is asked to share some British things that Americans should know. Phil says that he’s often asked if he knows other people in London, and he’s surprised that people don’t know that London is actually a pretty big place. He also says that people seem to think that England is basically the same thing as London.
  • [1-9:42] Phil is asked what he thinks the biggest difference between British and American YouTubers is. Phil doesn’t think there’s any difference.
  • [1-10:07] Phil is asked what advice he has for people who are just starting out on YouTube. Phil says that you should make something that you want to make and not look at what other people are doing and try to copy them because they’re successful. If you’re not doing something that fulfills you, he’s not sure it’s something you’re going to be able to stick with. He also says that a video receiving what may be considered a low view count shouldn’t be discouraging. Imagining ten or one hundred people in a room with you is actually quite a lot.
  • [1-11:20] Phil is asked for some examples of things that he hopes will never change about YouTube. The interviewer says that she hopes the creator community on YouTube never changes and that she hopes people still come to VidCon in twenty years. Phil agrees. He also hopes that YouTube remains a place where people can be freely creative and upload videos that they feel proud of.
  • [1-11:49] Phil is asked how he balances YouTube with the rest of his life and all the other projects he has going on. Phil says that he doesn’t upload as frequently as some other people (e.g., twice per day). He also just tries to juggle everything, does some good scheduling, and tries not to worry about nothing being uploaded to his channel for a week or two.
  • [1-12:44] Phil is asked what some projects that he’s looking forward to working on are. Phil says he’s working on some bigger things, but he doesn’t fully know what they are yet. He says that he’s written part of a script for “something” that will be really exciting if it does get made, and he has pitched it out to a couple of “things” at this point. He’s not getting too excited about it yet because there’s no guarantee that it’s actually going to happen.
  • [1-13:30] Phil is asked if he has any dream projects like starring in a space movie. Phil says that his acting is terrible, but maybe he could be a robot. He then says that a dream project might be a movie with a bigger budget where he wasn’t necessarily in it, but it was something that he’s made.
  • [1-14:16] Phil is asked how often he keeps track of his fan accounts. He responds:
    P: No. I--I mean--I--I obviously look at my @replies on Twitter, and I--I love to see especially the creative community out there. Like, some of the art that you guys make is incredible. Um, so that’s--that’s really nice. But I--I think it’s--When there is a community like that, I think it’s good to just let them do their own thing and not be, like, some kind of person looking over and checking indirects and things like that because then it becomes a thing that’s not theirs. And it’s like I’m checking on what everyone is doing, which is probably what they don’t want anyway. You know?

    T: [unintelligible]

    P: Yeah.

    T: [unintelligible]

    P: Yeah. So if they @reply me, then I’ll see it, but if they don’t, then I won’t. I think there are places that you can go on the internet where you can see people talking about you and things like that, but that’s never been of interest to me because I just like people that are interacting with me directly. You know?
  • [1-15:20] Phil is asked what his most recent favorite meme is. Phil says that anything involving a dog is his go-to meme. Phil talks about his love for corgis. He is then asked if he would ever get a corgi, and he says that he would love to get a dog. However, it’s a huge commitment, and he wants to wait until he’s in a place where he’s definitely ready. He needs to see if Tony is still alive first. If so, he says that the dog and Tony can breed and make some kind of horrifying shrimp dog.
  • [1-16:59] The interviewer switches to fan questions. The first question just asks for an update on Tony. Phil says that there’s a concierge person who sits at a desk at his and Dan’s apartment, and Phil told him that there is a shrimp in their apartment that should be saved in the event of an emergency.
  • [1-17:38] Phil is asked what socks he has on right now. His socks have waffles with butter on them, which Phil thinks is very appropriate for America. Phil says he’ll make his own waffle stand if YouTube shuts down in a few years.
  • [1-18:36] Phil is asked if there are any awkward encounters he’s had that still give him flashback to this day. Phil tells the story of how he sat down in the only open seat on a train next to a woman who looked like she was sleeping. The woman started rubbing his leg, and she screamed when she opened her eyes. It turns out her boyfriend had gone to the bathroom, and she thought Phil was him. As the woman screamed, the boyfriend came out of the bathroom and started aggressively questioning Phil about what was going on. It was all a big misunderstanding.
  • [1-20:10] Phil is asked how he feels about the third season of Stranger Things. He says he’s only on the third episode, but he likes it. He says he’s not someone that binges shows because he feels sad when they’re over. Phil is then asked if he’s one of those people who takes one bite of their Halloween candy at a time, and he says that that is definitely not him. The interviewer says that he would be a good guest star on Stranger Things. Phil says he wouldn’t want to ruin it with his bad acting, but maybe he could play an alien.
  • [1-21:16] Phil is asked whether there’s something from the new era of YouTubers that he wishes he would have had when he started out. Phil says he would have liked to have faster internet, and he would take his knowledge and wisdom of not being a 17 year-old.
  • [1-22:09] Phil is asked what he does during a creative block. Phil says that it helps him to talk to someone. He says that he can talk to Dan. He also likes to go out for a walk to clear his head. If he’s really stuck, he tries to stop forcing it. He’ll try to think about something else or sleep on it.
  • [1-23:22] Phil is asked what it was like performing in front of so many people so many times in a row during Interactive Introverts. Phil says that it was made easier because he was performing in front of people who already like him and his videos.
  • [1-24:24] Phil is asked if there were any people who followed him and Dan around on tour to multiple cities or countries. Phil says that there were some familiar faces at multiple shows, especially in America. He then spons the DVD in the cutest way possible
  • [1-25:10] Phil is asked if there’s ever been a point where he wanted to quit YouTube. He says no, but there was a point where he wanted to quit the internet because he was in an embarrassing car insurance commercial. It was on British TV all the time, and he started being recognized by strangers in the street, which started to make him nervous to go outside. Since he wasn’t enjoying that attention, it made him wonder whether a career as an entertainer on the internet was the right path for him. He says he didn’t realize that there’s a difference between being recognized as a YouTube creator and a random meme from a TV commercial.
  • [1-26:52] Phil is asked if he has any advice for someone with social anxiety. Phil says that he’s not qualified to give proper advice on social anxiety, but he does suffer from anxiety. For him, he’s always worried about what other people are thinking about him. It helps him to realize that other people have their whole lives going on in their own heads, and their interactions with him are a completely insignificant fraction of the things that they’re thinking about.
  • [1-28:19] Phil is asked whether he thinks people are going to storm Area 51 and whether he’s going to join in. He says no because he doesn’t want to get shot. However, he would totally look after an alien, and he talks about a new alien meme that he likes. This reminds the interviewer about a meme involving the FBI being in people’s laptops, which prompts Phil to talk about a new sticker that he’s just gotten that allows him to slide a cover over his webcam when he wants to.
  • [1-29:16] Phil is asked if the gaming channel is coming back. He responds:
    P: Oh, yes! The gaming channel! I think that was one of the most popular questions that were asked, uh, aside from Tony.

    T: [unintelligible] There are a lot of gamers here. [unintelligible]

    P: Gamers. And I’m so happy that people enjoy the gaming channel. Uh, we did--We took a pause from the gaming channel using the word “hiatus,” which always seems like a bit of a dramatic word. But the thing is, Dan wanted to obviously take a break because he didn’t want to do any YouTube videos for a while because he was planning this video about his sexuality, and that was such a big deal for him. So I was like: Okay, well, if that’s the case, we should pause everything for a bit.

    P: But also I think when you’re making something, even if it’s really great and people love it, you should always have a pause and think about: What do we wanna do with this? Is this gonna last forever? How is it gonna work? So the truth is we haven’t sat down and had a full chat about what the gaming channel is going to be now. But it is something that we’re really happy people enjoyed and also in the future--

    P: ’Cause the thing is with gaming, people come to the gaming channel because they like watching me and Dan do things, and I feel like the gaming part of it is less important than the funny bants. Uh, I know some people like the video games, but if you think about it, it’s more about being a comedy channel than it is necessarily about serious gaming. “We’re doing level seven of this game.” So I don’t--If it--It might come back as gaming, or it might even come back as something else where me and Dan try something new. Uh, but we haven’t spoken about it properly yet, so that might not be anything that happens.

    P: But it’s just--We always wanna be evolving and trying different things, and so the answer is: I don’t know! It’s still on a hiatus, but I’m very glad that you enjoyed what we made so far on it.
  • [1-31:01] Phil is asked what games he likes to play. Phil says that he’s been playing a lot of Apex Legends, and he’s also recently finished playing Hollow Knight on the Switch.
  • [1-31:34] Phil is asked if he’s seen any celebrity dogs yet. He says he’s seen some dogs. He’s also seen the celebrity pig, and he references the photo Grace Helbig took with it:
  • [1-32:28] Phil is asked what the Starbucks Tie-Dye frappuccino tastes like. He says it tasted like Skittles and bananas, but the cream is very vanilla-y.
  • [1-32:49] Phil is asked what his usual Starbucks drink is. He says that anything with a lot of sugar is good for him.
  • [1-32:58] Phil is asked what he wishes he knew as a teenager. Phil says he wishes he knew not to stress out about really small things that were in his head on that day. He wishes he could have tried to imagine himself two months or two years from that moment to give himself perspective on what’s actually important.
  • [2-0:46] Phil is asked what he was like as a teenager. Phil says that he was very shy but, if he was people that he knew really well, he was pretty much the same as he is now. He would just say weird things that came into his head.
  • [2-1:01] Phil is asked what his YouTube guilty pleasure is. Phil says he really likes watching cooking videos, which he thinks is odd because he doesn’t cook very well. He then shouts out the YouTube channel JunsKitchen, which he enjoys because there are cats that watch Jun make his intricate dishes.
  • [2-2:11] Phil is asked if he has a go-to thing that he cooks at home. He says he’s moved beyond microwavable foods to putting a jar of something on something else. However, he really does like take-away food. Phil says it’s okay that the interviewer was confused by what “take-away” is. :lol:
  • [2-2:44] Phil is asked what his favorite piece of merch is. Phil says it’s the candle that he just released. He chose the glass, the wax, the scent, and the box. The candle doesn’t smell like him literally, but it does smell like the essence of him.
  • [2-4:13] Phil is asked what some of his favorite tour moments were. He says he liked going to Mumbai and especially New Zealand. The crew he was touring with became his friends, and it was like he was living with them for a year. Phil is asked if they have reunions with the crew. He says that they’ve had a reunion with a few of them, but they might do a one-year reunion with more of them later on.
  • [2-5:34] Phil is asked if there was anywhere that was booked on the tour simply because he and Dan wanted to visit there. Phil says he wanted to go back to Las Vegas, and he wanted to go to New Zealand. There were also a lot of people who wanted him to come to Manila. He’s asked if he went to Brazil, and he confirms that, yes, he went to Brazil.
  • [2-6:17] Phil is asked if there’s anywhere that he didn’t get to go that he definitely wants to get to on the next tour. Phil says he and Dan would have loved to get to Mexico.
  • [2-6:32] Phil is asked what inspires him the most. Phil says that other people inspire him the most. He likes seeing the creative things that other people are putting out into the world. He specifically calls out PJ Liguori for putting out creative videos.
  • [2-7:03] Phil is asked if there’s anywhere that he goes to seek inspiration. Phil says that he doesn’t go to an art gallery to cry while looking at a blank wall. He tries to watch other people’s videos or TV. He then singles out JennaMarbles in particular.
  • [2-7:59] Phil is asked what TV shows he’s watching. He says he’s always watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and he’s on Brooklyn Nine-Nine right now.
  • [2-8:21] Phil is asked if he’s a Netflix person. He says that he only watches TV shows on streaming services, not on “real TV” anymore. He says he likes house decorating shows, and he singles out Selling Sunset (which he calls kind of trash but also amazing). He says he watched it with his parents while on vacation.
  • [2-9:41] Phil is asked how he looks after his mental health in regards to social media. He says that he tries not to consume too much, and he tries to consume things that he knows will make him happy. He doesn’t want to be on Instagram all the time where he’s only seeing the most beautiful people, and he doesn’t want to read indirects. He says that he has intentionally curated who he follows on Twitter because he doesn’t want to be waking up and seeing political drama and anger on his feed.
  • [2-10:44] Phil is asked which social media platform besides YouTube he would choose to use exclusively for the rest of his life if he could only choose one. Phil chooses Twitter because that’s where he interacts the most with his audience.
  • [2-11:19] Phil is asked if he has any bedtime rituals for his phone at night. He says he tried to use the Screen Time app on his phone when it first came out, but it didn’t work for him. He stares at his phone until he falls asleep.
  • [2-12:14] The interviewer remarks that there should be a mode on your phone that you can turn on that says that you’re away to the people that are trying to reach you. Phil agrees and remarks that he doesn’t like phone calls.
  • [2-12:41] Phil is asked if he has any airport fail stories. Phil says that he does have one from the most recent flight to LA. He says that they were ready to take off when the captain announced that they were delayed because there was a wash (toiletry) bag on the wing of the plane, which was something he had not encountered in twenty years of being a captain. They ended up being delayed two hours while they got a crane to hoist someone on top of the wing to retrieve the bag. Some people were panicked, but Dan and Phil thought it was funny. The interviewer says that they should have just taken off, and it would have fallen off the wing. Phil says that that would have been a fun game, but they wouldn’t want it to fall on a cat or something because the cat would explode. He says that there was also a lizard on the car when they were driving around LA that just wanted to have an adventure.
  • [2-15:09] Phil is asked if he’s had any memorable LA adventures. Phil says that he went on a hike with Dan. The hike was hard because the path was really steep, and he’s very susceptible to sunburn because of his pale skin. Thankfully, there were lots of tiny dogs along the way that provided an emotional boost.
  • [2-16:07] Phil is asked what so far in his career he is most proud of. Phil says that the two tours that he and Dan have done are what he’s most proud of, especially the most recent one. He was really happy with the footage of Interactive Introverts when they were editing it for the DVD, and his mom cried a bit when he showed it to her.
  • [2-16:44] Phil is asked if he’s planning another tour. Phil responds:
    P: Uh, not at the moment, no. I think that--That was--That was the one for a while, but I would never say never. I mean I--It’s just one of those things that it’ll feel ready to do it when it--when it’s ready. So I don’t--I’m not thinking I need to go do it now, but maybe in the future.
  • [2-17:03] The interviewer turns back to questions from Twitter, and she says that Phil has a lot of amazing fans because a lot of the questions were things like, “Why are you so awesome?”
  • [2-17:37] Phil is asked how much money he has in his wallet right now. He says he thinks he has about $42. He’s not really a cash person, and he loses his wallet a lot.
  • [2-17:55] Phil is asked to rate a dog. He gives it a strong 11/10. Phil is asked to rate a second dog. It is also an 11/10.
  • [2-19:02] Phil is asked whether he has TikTok. He says that his friend Bryony Matthewman made him install and experience TikTok once. As such, he does have it, but he doesn’t use it. He thinks its closest cousin is Vine, which he loved, and he’s watched a few TikTok compilations that he thinks are good.
  • [2-19:53] Phil is asked if his mother is ever going to get on YouTube. Phil explains that he once did a video with his mother, and she was afterwards recognized in a shop. He says that she didn’t realize that this was a thing that could happen, and he thinks she had enough after that.
  • [2-20:23] Phil is asked what it takes to be a good YouTuber. Phil thinks it’s being genuine and having something to say.
  • [2-20:44] Phil is asked what collab he would like to do that he hasn’t had the opportunity to do yet. He says he’d love to do one with Safiya and one with JennaMarbles. He also had a lot of fun collabing with Anthony Padilla last VidCon.
  • [2-21:13] Phil is asked if he’s ever filmed a video but not uploaded it. Phil says that the only time that might have happened is when he’s filmed and then the memory card has crashed or something. Also, he once did a video where he did the Myers-Briggs personality test. He filmed for about two hours before he realized that it was super boring.
  • [2-22:01] Phil is asked what he thinks his fanbase would be called if they hadn’t already named themselves. Phil says there’s a lot of names out there. However, the Phandom is the main one, and he likes it because it’s a play on words. The interviewer suggests the name the Phanatics, and she says she hears some boos from the audience.
  • [2-22:45] The interviewer remarks that a lot of the tweets that she’s getting are just pictures of dogs, and she says that she would like Twitter too if this is what her timeline looked like.
  • [2-23:01] Phil is asked who would play him in a movie. He suggests Benedict Cumberpatch.
  • [2-23:39] Phil is asked to pick a quote for his senior yearbook. He chooses, “There is never too much candy.”
  • [2-23:59] Phil is asked if there are any kinds of fun dances that he’s into. He says no. Then he talks about learning a whole dance routine for TATINOF.
  • [2-25:00] Phil is asked if he’s ever been rejected for a collab or anything that he’s wanted to do. He’s also asked what advice he would give to kids. For the advice, he says that he wouldn’t take being rejected to heart because everyone is busy, and everyone has their own things going on. Phil says he still gets rejections now. He submitted a pitch for a “thing” he was working on last year. He’d spent weeks working on ideas for a show that he wanted to make. Then “we” got the email back saying that whoever he pitched the show to wasn’t interested. He then put that idea in the bin and started working on something else. Rejection might lead to something else, so it might be the right thing even if you don’t realize it at the time.
  • [2-26:20] Phis is asked if he has any parting words. Phil thanks everyone for coming and for watching his videos.
You're being beamed up by aggressive aliens and they're plugging in the anal probe
"Oh, God. Okay. I say: *shrug* [...] I'd be like, 'I don't know how this works. Put a condom on that thing. *shrug*'"
Dan Howell, 5/10/18 Try new things..?
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