Cedric Vella first grabbed attention when he sunbathed on a deckchair in Republic Street for a video prank. One year later, his short film Youtube, My Facebook went viral and won an award at the Palo Alto International Film Festival. What’s next for the man behind the camera?

I prefer seeing these different types of media as part of a spectrum where each medium can mix with another

Tech Sunday: In your videos, you show a streetwise wit – is this a quality youwere born with or a result of personal experiences?

Cedric Vella: I think streetwise wit is just like creativity and many other traits. Genetically we have broad traits and as we grow older, personal experiences mould these traits into more specific ones. I think the old adage ‘practice makes perfect’ still holds and I am a firm believer that it is a mixture of both nature and nurture.

TS: Your infamous deckchair prank is what artist Guy Debord would see as a perfect Situationist moment – a precious interruption of routine. What did it teach you?

CV: The opportunity to watch people’s reaction when presenting them with something they are not accustomed to was a bit of an eye-opener. It was evident there was a difference in attitude between foreigners and locals towards the sunbathing prank. Also, there was a more positive – or rather a more oblivious – reaction coming from young people than older people. One cannot generalise, but that was the general vibe I got.

I think Debord’s words still resonate 50 years later. A change is needed and art can definitely act as a catalyst to achieve this goal. We have to examine why we do things because it is logical to do so, or whether because we are brought up that way and are accustomed to it by now.

TS: Youtube, My Facebook – what inspired you to do this short film, and did you ever imagine it would be so successful?

CV: My inspiration for Youtube, My Facebook was a video by Destorm on Youtube. He used the comments people left on his videos and turned them into lyrics for a song. At the time I was looking for new ways to promote the audiovisual work I do. Iremember Facebook had just changed the layout profile and introduced a lot of small boxes for pictures along the profile page. I thought it would be a great idea if every box was actually a video of a person making a particular sound and all together they would make up a song.

I definitely did not expect to be flown to Palo Alto for winning a short film festival competition, that’s for sure. I was not looking for success – I was just trying to get as much exposure as possible. I wanted to get my name out in the professional audiovisual world and I felt this idea would help me achieve that.

TS: What was the first computer you bought and what are your memories of it?

CV: My first computer was an IBM 486. I remember the graphics of most games were really basic. The gameplay though was amazing – it fascinates me how somegames remain timeless classics even though lacking aesthetically.

TS: Apart from blurring geographical boundaries, what are the opportunities social media presents?

CV: Social media is changing how we do business. I noticed this when the band I play with started considering different ways to promote material. Usually the way to do this is to get a record label to promote the band at the cost of taking a substantial cut from the band’s sales.

With the introduction of file-sharing, MP3s and the internet, this business model is slowly deteriorating within the music industry. More and more bands are doing publicity for themselves without having the label telling them how they should sound or how they should market themselves.

Bands are using Myspace, Facebook, Youtube and other sites to cut out the middleman and sell their material and merchandise directly to their fans. The exposure may be much less but the income goes straight into their pockets.

Social media also offers a level-playing field for big and small businesses. In an age where market transparency is highly sought after, engaging the customer is crucial for company expansion. Social media is giving brands extra tools for them to connect to customers – it’s creating a mutual relationship between seller and buyer instead of a one-way market-driven relationship.

TS: Music, design, photography, film – do you see these forms of media as different disciplines or one medium?

CV: I’m not too keen on categories. I prefer seeing these different types of media as part of a spectrum where each medium can mix with another. For me that’s the fun part – combining stuff you did not imagine would blend together and creating something new. I learned this mostly while playing Lucasarts adventure games on my PC at an early age. Most of the puzzles hadto be solved by combining two different objects.

TS: If you had to invent a form of technology, what would it be?

CV: Wireless technology. And I am sure someone’s working on it and they do not need my help. Sorry for the plugs-and-socket industry.

TS: What projects are you working on at the moment?

CV: I’m currently working on some ­animation for a foreigndocumentary about web entrepreneurs called The Startup Kids.

My involvement in this project was the result of meeting some really awesome people when I was at the Palo Alto International Film Festival.

I am also directing and producing local projects such as Mathematikal’s music video and a funny Youtube series called Pigsty in the Kitchen.

I have other side projects on the back burner but I am waiting for an appropriate time to execute them