Two young Bermudians are using the Internet to move their careers into high gear.

Ilona Perry and Bayard Outerbridge have released a documentary film about the work of Bermudian 'Fraggle Rock' creator Michael Frith on the Internet website YouTube.

Mr. Outerbridge is currently a film production student at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Miss Perry works as an electrician for New York-based lighting and staging company Bently Meeker.

"YouTube definitely has its limitations," said Mr. Outerbridge. "Its obvious value lies in the presentation of your work to a potentially huge audience."

He said this was the reason for posting the Frith piece online.

"I had tried communicating with the local television stations about broadcasting there, but after a lack of response I decided to forego that option and broadcast myself through YouTube," said Mr. Outerbridge. "As well as relaying Michael's impressive career and showing off a Bermudian artist with far-reaching creativity, posting the pieces online has already helped me get some commercial work here in Montreal, so it definitely has proved a valuable resource as far as exposure goes."

Mr. Outerbridge said that with continually advancing technology, we're seeing the democratisation of independent filmmaking take form.

He said the democratisation is happening on at least two fronts: production and broadcast.

"In terms of production, digital video cameras have been succeeding in getting closer and closer to yielding a film-quality image, and for a lot cheaper," said Mr. Outerbridge. "The fact is that most independent filmmakers starting out simply can't afford to shoot on film.

"So that side of it becomes less a matter of choice than necessity."

But he said the downside was image quality, which could be extremely poor.

"The Michael Frith pieces, for example, were shot on an HD camera, so the deterioration of the image once I uploaded to YouTube was huge," he said. "That is something that will continue to get better, again with technological advancements."

The two made a good team on the project because Mr. Outerbridge is primarily interested in directing, while Miss Perry is more interested in screenwriting.

Miss Perry said meeting Mr. Frith was a great encouragement and inspiration.

"All human beings are creative beings," she said.

"One only has to look to children to see that. Michael based his entire career on that and on fostering understanding between communities, to celebrate our differences.

"Each and every one of us has a unique voice and contribution to the world, and we should be given the opportunity to express ourselves.

"This is the pathway to peace in the world, through freedom and tolerance. We just have to be mindful of communicating in a positive context."

The couple previously worked together on a film called 'Wawatesi' this year in Montreal.

Wawatesi is a short about a young girl's search for identity in an environment that threatens to homogenise and inform her sense of self.

Miss Perry decided to take up filmmaking after ten years in the insurance industry.

"It is something I was always interested in," said Miss Perry. "I wanted to use my life to pursue more creative endeavours. In college I was basically a pre-med student. I have been trying to find my way."

Mr. Outerbridge decided to study filmmaking after taking a year off from high school.

"I was working in construction and bartending," said Mr. Outerbridge. "In 2006, I decided to go off on this filmmaking course. It was the first time I decided what my career was going to be."

He said his parents were supportive but cautious.

"They warned me how hard it would be," he said. "It certainly is. I am getting all sorts of freelance work in the summer but it has proven hard."

Miss Perry is currently working on a longer film project, but could not talk about it. However, she did talk about a film short she is also working on.

"It is a feminist piece called 'But I Am Not A Feminist'," she said. "It is about young women who live in this modern age and don't want to ascribe to themselves that term. They still experience sexism and are still discriminated against."

Miss Perry said one of her mentors has been famed women's activist Gloria Steinem.

"I do a little activism," said Miss Perry. "There is quite a bit in New York and Montreal. I go to groups. They have rallies, and all kinds of stuff."

Mr. Outerbridge said he would like to do a film about Bermuda.

"I have a lot of national pride and I can see myself sharing more about our culture both in documentary and fiction form," he said.

He urged other Bermudians, passionate about film to follow their dreams, cautiously.

"It is not an easy world to work in," he said. "There is going to be a huge amount of competition if you work abroad where most of the experience is now and even more competition as filmmakers become larger in number in Bermuda.

"Even in the last festival you see a lot of Bermudian filmmakers popping up. I see that continuing to grow, especially as digital video gets better and better and cheaper.

"It is a real democratisation of the media which is great but it does cause more competition."

But Mr. Outerbridge said be sure it is what you really want.

"It is the opposite to the job security that a career like insurance would bring you as a Bermudian," he said. "And the most important advice I can give would be, 'help each other'.

"Filmmaking is a collaborative process that is seldom done alone, so if you have some ideas, find other creative people and make it happen yourselves."