Richard is an aspiring Soundcloud rapper (robloxdeathsound) who needs someone to make his music videos for him. He meets garth, a nervous teenager who claims to know how to film and edit. Richard allows him to make his videos, telling him he will earn £50 per video, though this seems less likely each time they meet. Both characters are facing uncertain futures, garth is a dropout without direction, and Richard is coming to terms with his music career not taking off and never reaching his dreams of getting famous.

The film documents the tenuous relationship between Roblox and garth, who captures their candid interactions with his DSLR in the style of awkward vlogs. These interactions reveal Richard’s true nature, the way he  manipulates garth and takes advantage of his naive and trusting nature in order to get him closer to his dreams.

Richard feels resentful towards garth because the videos are not to the standard he is expecting and they are not being edited fast enough, despite withholding garth’s wages. Richard is so wrapped up in the idea of himself and what he could one day become, that he finds it easy to exploit garth.

Throughout this period, Richard starts having dreams that he is being chased by a masked figure in the rain. This character tries to communicate with Richard but he can never understand what he is saying. This character’s appearance in Richard’s dreams becomes more threatening each time Richard mistreats his videographer.

It’s Only Up From Here is about pipe dreams, delusions, ego and exploitation. It’s a portrait of someone who is willing to do anything to make it, even if it means pushing other people down.