# Moment of Astonishment – Peter McKinnon [The Moment of Astonishment](https://youtube.com/watch?v=oRc4sndVaWo) by Peter McKinnon I saw this recommended and watched because Casey Neistat was in it. No doubt his presence was why it was recommended in the first place. It's a well done video that features a *dope* panorama camera. First up, I can't be the only person who found the irony in the lads gushing over shooting in film and then digitizing said film for the video. I'm not bashing film or physical media. You should [[Preserving and Rediscovering My Game Collection|know me]] by this point. I am a staunch defender and lover of the physical. Shooting on film is different. I think that's why I have been fascinated in the Fuji X100VI, which I just [learned](https://youtube.com/watch?v=jNb4hPvLWYQ) about a couple months ago. It chases that look. Peter closes the video with this half call-to-action, half inspirational quote; > [!quote] > I would encourage anyone out there to continue trying to seek that moment of astonishment, being whatever industry that you're in. Because it's rare, but when you find it it's like nothing else. Peter's moment of astonishment in the video was the [Widelux F8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widelux). It kicked off some creative gears and got him buying and making stuff. It sparked the video, right? That moment of astonishment is neat, but it comes and goes. What sticks is what they *actually* found, but didn't name. They found creative joy and, ironically, freedom in limitations. The limitation in this particular case was film and analog cameras. When a resource is limited, then creativity flourishes. Look at hardware limitations in video game design. *Crash Bandicoot* on the PlayStation was limited by 900 polygons being visible on screen; and Crash was 532 of them. So Naughty Dog [used](https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/02/04/making-crash-bandicoot-part-3/) "trees, cliffs, walls, and twists and turns in the environment to hide a lot of the landscape from view." Or in film (the Hollywood kind). *Jaws* is a good example. The infamous stories of the mechanical shark not working resulted in the shark not being seen throughout the movie as much. That left the fear to the imagination of the audience. When you have every possibility at your fingertips, sometimes you can fail to see the creative solution that'd make the creation better. You might fail to find that joy and freedom and stick to the status quo, the path of least resistance. Sometimes, restrictions are good for you and your creativity. Lean into it. And remember, that moment of astonishment is fleeting. What sticks is finding creative joy in what you do and how you do it. --- A completely unrelated complaint: Why are popular YouTube video descriptions so useless? Peter mentions a book by "Jeff Bridges" multiple times. I don't recall him mentioning the title (it's been a bit since I watched all the way through). He doesn't flash a picture of the cover on screen. Why is there no link to said book? Why no link to the panorama camera (like I did)? My gut says because there is no affiliate link capabilities. They can't make money off the reference, so don't bother. The other option is they just don't care. Both are lame.