FHM Interview
I was recently interviewed for a future issue of FHM magazine to hit newsstands in October. This is the full interview:
When did you begin posting videos on YouTube?
For a while, I just uploaded how-to videos and a short film that I needed to be able to put on my own website. I began posting these videos on YouTube in the fall of 2006. I didn’t get actively involved with the YouTube Community until the summer of 2007, after being featured on the front page (YouTube’s highest honor for a video). Since that front-page feature, I’ve become immersed in the YouTube community and have been vlogging (video blogging) and creating collaboration videos.
Why did you start? What was you initial expectation/what reaction did you first expect?
I’ve always dabbled in various forms of art - painting, writing, music. One weekend I decided to try writing and directing my first short film. After being uploaded to YouTube, that four-minute short film, entitled “Five Stories” went on to air four times in one month on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) and I used to have it available on DVD.
When I began, I was simply interested in adding video making to my arsenal, but over the last two years, online video has become my primary creative focus, and my job.
Did that expectation come true?
Beginning with very little expectation, I’ve gotten much more enjoyment than I ever thought I’d get out of making videos. I’ve created some work that I’m very proud of, I’ve built relationships – both creative and personal – that I feel are very strong and I’ve had a blast learning a new medium.
What kind of videos do you make?
On my personal channel, I mostly produce short comedy sketches. Videos you’d typically see on Saturday Night Live. I’ve mocked commercials, products and primetime shows. My background is in graphic design, so recreating logos and lower-thirds comes very easy to me, and really helps to “sell” the parody to the viewer. I’ve also produced a few music video parodies of recent popular songs like “A Bay Bay” from Hurricane Chris and “Low” by Flo Rida.
Occasionally, I’ll work on more artistic pieces. I’ve performed spoken word poetry in two of my videos. I’ve directed both live-action and animated music videos for the band imadethismistake. And from time to time I will vlog about recent events in my life or events on YouTube.
I’m also part of a collaborative project called fiveawesomeguys. On the fiveawesomeguys channel I vlog weekly with four other friends, each of us taking one weekday to upload our video. My videos are posted on Monday, Charlie (charlieissocoollike) vlogs on Tuesday, Wednesday is Alex (nerimon), Todd (Toddly00) takes Thursdays and we end the week with Johnny (johnnydurham19) on Fridays. The fiveawesomeguys project is currently the most successful collaborative channel on YouTube, and is ranked in the top 100 Most Subscribed Director channels of All-Time on the site.
How does it feel being a well-known YT member?
Occasionally it’s awkward, but most of the time it’s just flattering. I think it’s important for YouTubers to not let their subscriber or view counts go to their heads. At the end of the day, almost all of us are amateurs making videos in our homes. Some of us may be funnier than others, or have a better eye for editing. But it should be about fun, and interacting, and developing your creative talents. It shouldn’t be about celebrity status.
How far does this YT celebrity status go? Fanmail, having people come up to you on the streets?
I have gotten fanmail, yes, mostly kind letters in my PO Box, or a drawing or portrait. Some people have drawn comic strips, which have included me as a character, and they’ve sent me those. Between YouTube and auxiliary sites like BlogTV, Facebook and Twitter, you end up spending a lot of time with the people you watch, and the viewers who watch you. This leads to a certain feeling of “knowing” someone who you’ve never even met. Most of the time this is good, but with the wrong people, it can be a bit creepy too.
What tips do you have for people who start posting videos? (Well, I guess you might be able to give a lot more tips than most users – after all you wrote a book on it – but lets keep it to two or three tips on what and maybe what not to do.)
I get asked this question a lot. I used to answer the individual emails as they came in, then I started a blog about getting seen on YouTube. That lead to a book deal with O’Reilly Media, and I’m currently co-writing the book “YouTube: An Insider’s Guide To Climbing the Charts” with independent filmmaker Michael W. Dean. For a 306-page answer to this question, you can order the book here: www.tinyurl.com/youtubebook
The best short-answer advice I can give is to get involved. Subscribe to YouTubers who you enjoy. Leave a comment on every video you watch. Be willing to make collaboration videos. Reply to as many Private Messages and comments as you can. Doing all of that will create not only important backlinks to your profile – where your videos are kept – but will also put your name on the lips of many Tubers. Sometimes all it takes is one shout-out video by someone well known to jump-start your YouTube “career”.
What – which hardware and software – do you use to make your videos?
I shoot everything with a $300 Sony Handycam. No one needs a $5,000 miniDV cam to make YouTube videos, and YouTube compresses the quality anyway so that the videos load faster on slower connections. However, the more you spend the better potential image you can get. You’ll need to know about lighting and framing; no camera will do that for you. Knowing how to utilize options like depth of field, and other features found only on high-end equipment, will drive you nuts if your cheap camera doesn’t offer it. All of my audio is recorded through an external mic – a $60 Samson C01 Studio Condenser. I highly recommend using an external mic to record your audio; the built-in camera mics are usually very sub-par.
I use Sony Vegas 8 and Adobe AfterEffects 7 for editing. Vegas handles most of the actual video editing, while AfterEffects works wonders for motion graphic work and any “special effects” I might add into my videos. Vegas has a much cheaper, cut-down version called Sony Movie Studio 8. Movie Studio still includes everything you would need to make stellar YouTube videos, and really only limits advanced production features.
Relating to YT, what are your plans and/or expectations for the future?
My videos typically parody pop culture, and more specifically, YouTube pop culture. I really don’t think much beyond a month on YouTube; it’s difficult to. The features and atmosphere change too rapidly on the Tube to make any long-term plans. I will of course continue with the fiveawesomeguys project, we see no nearing end to that. And I will continue working with other creative people to develop my video production skills and hopefully have some fun along the way.
How would you describe or rate blogtv, compared to YouTube?
BlogTV is a live streaming video service. YouTube only plays back pre-recorded, uploaded videos. I’ve been having a lot of fun over the last few months broadcasting a live show on BlogTV (you can find my live show here: www.tinyurl.com/blogtv). I was apprehensive at first. Despite my very public demeanor on YouTube, I am extremely shy and quiet in person. YouTube videos allow for editing and re-takes. BlogTV is live, and every mess-up, slip of the tongue and “umm” are broadcast to your audience. Lately, I’ve become more comfortable with broadcasting live.
BlogTV is a wonderful way to interact with viewers and the people you watch on YouTube. Broadcasting a live show really breaks down any pretenses of subscriber or view counts because it’s just you hanging out with other YouTubers, much like a virtual YouTube Gathering. I consistently recommend the service to other video makers.
BlogTV can also be a great collaborative tool. Live streaming video can be a powerful way to remotely direct a collaboration video. Last winter I remote directed YouTube user LisaNova via live streaming video. Lisa and I were working on a parody of the popular iPhone from Apple, our video was entitled “iPwn”. I had written the script and emailed it to Lisa, who then suggested we try producing the video together via streaming video. It was a wonderful experience.
In your opinion, is it possible to gain a notable standing on blogtv alone or would you say it is a good addition for when you have reached a certain level of fame (for example) on YouTube?
Starting on any new site is difficult. Unless your background is in marketing, you’re going to need help along the way to send viewer’s eyes to your show. Having an established presence on YouTube first helps, as you are able to send a percentage of your viewers over to your show on BlogTV. That said, nothing is impossible, and if you have good content – the most important factor in becoming popular in any medium – word will spread and your show will grow. You can help by promoting your show on related forums, or holding special events, contests and giveaways to attract viewers.
What would be your tip specifically on how to choose collaboration partners?
If you’re looking to collaborate on a single video, the only thing that will matter is that they get you the clip on time. Some users like to collaborate with their viewers, while others prefer collaborating with users higher up on the charts than them, hoping for some exposure.
If you’re looking to collaborate on a long-term project, such as the fiveawesomeguys channel I’m involved with, or perhaps an online short film production crew, make sure you find people whose workflow is compatible with yours. Some creators work night and day on their projects, and would expect others to do the same. Others are the slow-and-steady type. Cross matching these two personality types rarely works. It is also important to find people who you enjoy spending your e-time with. If you’re collaborating with someone because of their view count, or subscriber count, and that person ends up being a nightmare to work with, you’re not going to enjoy your project, regardless of the views or response it receives. And when things go rough, it can show in the video.
Work on being happy with yourself and your videos first. Once you’ve accomplished that, the views, subscribers and comments are all just yummy gravy.
4 Responses to “FHM Interview”
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Viral Video Wannabe...
…is written by Alan “fallofautumndistro” Lastufka, co-author of the book, “YouTube: An Insider’s Guide
to Climbing the Charts“. This site offers resources
for readers of my book and new tips and techniques expanding upon what is in my book. Visit the Purchase page above to order your own copy today!
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Meta
August 19th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Excellent stuff. Informative. Mew!
Cool new site too,
MWD
August 19th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
This is so true. I may only be nearing 1,000 subs, but this has applied to me (the part with contacts, blogTV, etc).
Nice article.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Horray for new sites and the comment feature being back!
August 26th, 2008 at 9:14 am
You are one awesome guy =P