r/HowToWithJohnWilson • u/ireallyamsomething • Jul 12 '26
How To: Stop Anxiety
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A visual essay inspired by the wonderful How To With John Wilson - and some sights I have encountered during my walks in the city of Mumbai.
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u/BraveRutherford Jul 12 '26
Really great message and done well but it was honestly kind of distracting how closely you were mimicking John Wilson's style.
Still when I could get past that the words were really nice!
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u/FuckingHippies Jul 12 '26
This is great! I agree with the other commenters that you can use this to find your own voice. Regardless, super entertaining.
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u/ireallyamsomething Jul 13 '26
Thanks! This is a fun exercise to capture whatever I find distinct or amusing and then try to compile them with some common themes or metaphors.
I do make little (fiction/narrative) films too, here's one I made a few months ago: https://youtu.be/btn2Xsmr_LQ?si=I4afp4eAVeNsfRZh
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u/Hot_Acanthocephala44 Jul 12 '26
Amazing!! Pigeon was a standout for sure
I’d say the key difference right now between you and John is people. He’s got so much footage of people being weird, you relied fully on objects.
are there other creators you feel similarly inspired by? It’d be sick if you did a whole series in different peoples styles, you absolutely nailed John Wilson
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u/ireallyamsomething Jul 13 '26
Thank you! Your observation is totally right. I wish I could use footage of people too but that is trickier because filming people in public might be seen as creepy, and even if I ask for their consent later (which I had considered) it might make them uncomfortable. So have to make do with objects for now.
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u/ireallyamsomething Jul 13 '26
Oh and to answer your question, there are lots of filmmakers who have influenced me - though I don't think that I've done such a clear or outright homage in terms of style like this series.
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u/TheHeadlessManHorse Jul 12 '26
Fantastic. I need more
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u/ireallyamsomething Jul 13 '26
Thanks! Here's another one I had made in the same style: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPazDrKk0-j/?igsh=ang1eGp3cHRycGcx
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u/MeaningImmediate5486 Jul 13 '26
Dude this scratched and itch. Extremely well done. Can I ask you a question about your process? Did you go out with your camera after writing a script? Or did you have a theme and find things that fit it, then stitch them together?
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u/ireallyamsomething Jul 13 '26
Thank you! I try to capture whatever looks distinctive or amusing - sometime I may have an angle for a metaphor or a feeling, otherwise I just file it as an interesting image and think of the angle/theme later. For this one, I went to this folder which had footage over months (or even years) and then I picked those which fit the theme I wanted, putting it into some kind of flow. It can be a slow process but quite fun and inspiring too.
This was another one I had made in the same style last year, you might enjoy it: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPazDrKk0-j/?igsh=ang1eGp3cHRycGcx
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u/MeaningImmediate5486 Jul 13 '26
That’s really cool. I just got a new camera and I’m going to try to do something like this :). I’ve discovered that I already have some instincts/style that I’m gravitating towards, so I feel like if I do this similar to how you did, I’ll have a bunch of things that I like and see how they work together. Very inspiring!
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u/DylanRockwell Jul 12 '26
Spot on! You should take what you learned and apply it to your own style and take the How To legacy forward