What I Learned From Creating A Weekly Web Series

My co-worker Braden and I were right in the middle of yet another spirited debate about some element of video production, cracking ourselves up in the process, when one of us blurted out, “We seriously need to have our own show! I would watch that!”

It wasn’t the first time that one of us had suggested it. The idea of creating a show that would invite others to join in on an energetic discussion of our industry was really appealing to us, and so “Crossing the Vector Line” began to take shape.

It would take several months of brainstorming, refining the concept, and preparing material before we would even shoot for the first episode. Even then, it would take several more weeks before we were finally ready to push that bird out of the nest. Our first episode went live on April 7th.

Here are a few of our takeaways since this journey began.

1. Don’t Resent The Void, Fill It

Anyone can complain about the fact that something isn’t available to them. It would have been easy for Braden and I to bemoan the fact that weren’t enough interesting and entertaining, how-to style videos about video, we decided to make one ourselves. Too many people whine about the void, not enough choose instead to fill it

2. Never Stop Learning

I don’t care what industry you’re in – the minute you stop learning, the quicker you become irrelevant. It’s understood that you always learn more when you teach. So in order for Braden and I to create shows that remain meaningful, we need to do the research. It’s going to become painfully obviously to our viewers when we’ve stopped learning ourselves.

3. No One Likes A Yes Man

Braden and I don’t always see eye to eye, even in the same industry, and that’s what I think makes our perspective so helpful. We have created a segment in each of our episodes called “I’m No Videologist” where we debate (mostly friendly) some element of video production. We provide several answers to the same problem and let the viewer make up their own minds! I’ve heard from many viewers that this is their favorite part of the show!

4. Showing Is Always Better Than Telling

We have learned that just because something is clear in our own minds, we can’t assume that others see it as clearly as we do just because I tell them about it. We have to show them, and then explain it, and then give an example of it…and show them again. It’s video for crying out loud, not radio. We need to be showing our viewers and not just telling!

5. Listen To The Viewers

It is something that I have to remind myself of from time to time: our viewers know better than we do what they want to see. We may make an episode that we really think is amazing, but if it’s not what our viewers are interested in, they won’t watch it. We need to be genuinely considering our viewer feedback, implementing their ideas when we can, and actively engaging with them! Otherwise, we’re just talking to ourselves and YouTube can be a lonely place.

To say that this has been a learning process would be an understatement. We’re still tweaking. We’re still refining. We’re still trashing ideas and brainstorming until we get it right. And we’re still learning and that’s what has made this endeavor so worthwhile!