(Mitch) Over the past year we've shown you the ins and outs of some crazy science
but have you ever wondered whose hands these are?
Or how these videos are made?
You're about to find out!
(Snazzy music)
(Greg) Hi I'm Greg (Mitch) And I'm Mitch, and we are the creators of AsapScience
And we thought it would be cool to give you guys a behind the sences look
at how we create the episodes, who we are, and what we do.
(Greg) So instead of doing a "Draw my Life", cause we are always drawing our science videos
We are doing a "Real Life my Life"
We put out a video asking you guys to ask us questions
So we are going to answer some questions
We are going to give you a little behind the scenes on how our videos are made
And that's what we are going to do today
(Mitch) So the first question is "which country do you live in?"
(Greg) 1, 2, 3 (Both) Canada!
(Mitch) "What is your educational background?"
(Greg) So I went to the University of Guelph
Where I took Biological Science and minored in Studio Art
And then, after that, I went to teacher's college, where I learned to become a teacher
at UFT at the University of Toronto
And for the last year I've actually been in the UK teaching the folks in academy. Shout out!
(Mitch) I also went to the University of Guelph and had a Biological Science degree
And I'm clearly less educated because that's where it ended for me
But then I worked in some labs and
(Greg) Simple mind (Mitch) Yes, simple mind
(Greg) Next question "What made you start the channel?"
(Mitch) Well, we just thought YouTube was pretty cool
and we had seen some other, you know, educational channels out there that we thought were really effective
And we just sorta thought We love science. We love explaining science to people.
Why don't we start up this channel that's sort of like 'quick accessible science'
more specifically for people who didn't think they like science
We thought it would be awesome to reach out to people who think science is boring
Or think science sucks or didn't get to go as far as we did to find those really awesome things
Cause when you are in high school sometimes science can seem boring
They don't teach you the really awesome things.
(Greg) I think one of the first thoughts we had was
We had lots of friends around us, and what we would do when we were hanging out was
explain to them specific science concepts that we knew in a simple way
that we thought would engage them
That was one of our first light bulbs, when we thought
'We should probably do this in a medium where more people can access it'
So the next question is "How did you think of and make up the AsapScience logo?"
(Mitch) So we had a big chart with, like, names related to science
and, you know, there was, like, a couple of them that we wanted and the YouTube channel was already taken
(Greg) Some are so bad!
'But how?' (Mitch) It was like 'Ever Wonder?'
'Quick Science' (Greg) No, 'Ever Wonder' was good
(Mitch) yeah (Greg) We almost did 'Ever Wonder'
(Mitch) So then eventually we were like, AsapScience.
And we are fans of A$AP Rocky and we were like
Thats a pretty sweet name and like
'As Soon As Possible Science' and that was cool.
That kinda conveyed the message we were trying to get across
(Greg) But the 's' is not a dollar sign in ours
(Mitch Muffin) Yeah, unfortunately we are not making as much money as him.
In terms of logo, if you watch our very very first video
We didn't even have a logo, we just drew it out, the AsapScience name.
And in my mind I was like 'every time we are going to change it up'
So the secound video we ended up making this AsapScience logo
But then after that we got a little bit lazy and then decided to just use that footage
Over and over and then this ended up becoming our logo forever
(Greg) How do you choose your topics?
(Mitch) Well, when we first started, we had a list of stuff
That we had come up with before even starting the channel
Stuff that we thought was cool from university or friends had asked before
So we just compiled a big list
(Greg) You are all aprouching us through Facebook and Twitter
and actually in the YouTube comments
So I do spend a lot of time reading all your Facebook comments and YouTube comments
I have a list on my phone of 275 topics that are really really genius
That have been thought of by you, so that's something we really appriciate
"What is the process of making a video?"
(Mitch) Why don't we just go show you?
(very ebullient music)
So this our office space
Our new office space
(Greg) Im tired
So the first step is figuring out an idea
So, sometimes its based on breakthroughs in science that we find intresting
Or books we read. Or, what happens is, a lot of time is, we don't know everything
So we get a lot of great ideas from you, and we have to figure out what the answers are
and how we are actually going to create a video from the infomation
and that involves research. So the second step is doing research
Books, a lot of the time online using peer-reviewed journals and articals
We like to use PubMed, Google Scholar, and websites that can get us to those types of infomation
(Mitch) We've got lots of markers
We are in the business of markers.
Sadly, I should have kept all the ones originally, I started chucking them out after they started going dry
I usually just kinda set them up here. and I've got everything ready to go
Millions of white board markers.
Ill make a graveyard for them one day.
Generally once we have the script, I just come over here.
We dont actually finalize the script until we're drawing
So, we've got the camera pointing down on the white board.
And you can just draw
(Greg) So even though Mitch has been drawing on a white board a lot this year
originally we had the idea of sort of animations and explaining science through art
Because, actually, I'm an artist. And a lot of the time I would like to blend science and art together
So these are paintings that I created of proteins
The are visual depictions of proteins through a software called PIMAL
They are very delicate, intricate images, so Ive used them
And then I painted them on a canvas using oil paint
And lastly this is Björk who is a huge inspiration for us. She blends art and science in a very special way
That we really look up to
(Mitch) So here is our fancy, state of the art, recording studio.
As you can see, all the things you need. Clothes on the left.
Towels and blankets on the right.
I basicly set it up with blankets and stuff, just to pad the noise, right?
Because you want to have a room where there's not a lot of echo, so you can just get dry vocals
"Dreams are an amazing phenomenon. And considering you spend roughly 6 years of your life dreaming
Its quite curious that we often brush them aside to be quickly forgotten.
But, what are dreams?
And like the many science-fiction stories or movies, could we ever record
and figure out what we are seeing while we're dreaming?"
So basically, you bring the footage- so we have tons of different clips from the video
And we have different audio that I've now edited
And so I have to match up the video footage with the recorded audio.
So its not the other way around. Some people think I talk to the video footage.
But instead, we record one audio track and I come and
take the video and sort of stream it all together with the different clips.
To add up to the timing of the video
(Exuberant, ultra-cool AsapScience Background music)
So the last step is to add the music. Usually we use the original song that I wrote
But every now and then I feel like writing a new song or adding a new jingle that suits that video perfectly.
So, Im a musician and I have a music background.
You can check out my own stuff at mitchellmoffit.com
to listen to my own music there. It was just a nice way to incorporate my own interests to the videos
And have music and science kind of collaborate on the AsapScience channel.
(upbeat techno-rad)
"So, what are your jobs outside of AsapScience? Ive always wanted to know."
(Greg) Well I just completed a year of teaching abroad in the UK.
In a place called Folkestone where I taught science.
It was a really amazing experience. I got to actually do practicals and experiments
and engage with the classroom really well.
As well as on the side I would go home and I would help with this YouTube channel
and engage millions of people.
(Mitch) A year ago, we didn't really know that could be a job
Like, you just kind of start for fun and then it picks up.
Now it's both of our full time jobs. (Greg) both of our full time jobs, yeah.
"Are you planning on collaborating with SciShow, Vsauce, MinutePhysics or any other
science related channels?"
(Mitch) Yeah, we'd love to, totally. I mean we had the chance to sort of collaborate with Vsauce3, Jake.
And hopfully we can do that again. And we also just got to collaborate with Bill Nye!
Our dream come true, which is really cool.
"Did you fight over who got to narrate the videos?"
(Greg) No. His voice is a lot better than mine.
I narrated two of them, and its true, I sound like a honey badger.
"Ever wonder why both coffee and alcohol have the unfortunate tendency to make you pee?"
(Mitch) "Reveal one of your biggest secrets"
(Greg) um...
Oh my god, I cant think of any that are appropriate.
(Mitch) yeah, you dont have to answer
(Greg) "Please sing for us in that voice, Mitchell. That would be so damn awesome"
(Mitch) um... what? The Periodic Table song?
(Greg) or like Whitney Houston
(Mitch) no
(Greg) "Where did you learn how to draw?"
(Mitch) I didn't, really. Like, I just, Greg actually has an art degree.
But he was in a different country so I had to start drawing, and was like drawing
So i would just, kind of, look up different images of cartoons and try to figure it out
And try to make it as simple as possible, which added to our aesthetic
(Greg) Everyone says "oh, I cant do art". Anyone can do art.
Its about practice. And its about teaching yourself. And its about just making sure you figure out the craft.
(Mitch) "What is your favorite movie?"
(Greg) 2001 "The Space Odyssey" by Stanley Cooper
For reasons that we all know
"What is your favorite video game?"
(Mitch) Zelda! Its the best video game ever made. Im obsessed with it.
I've played every Zelda game, and its awesome.
so "Does the research for your videos ever change your lives?"
(Greg) Yes, I think it does. For example: after we did the scientific power of naps
we are power nap gurus now
In fact, I have power naps every day, and I always make sure they are less than 20 minutes
And I honestly do think it does help.
Coffee and alcohol, consume those a lot. (Mitch) Yeah
Hangover cure (Greg) Pee a lot... Hangover cure!
(Mitch) And stuff like productivity. You learn about it and then you're like, or procrastination
You're like, "I cant procrastinate now, I just told like a million people to stop procrastinating"
(Greg) And then there's tips. In a lot of our videos we have tips and give examples of things you should do
And it's a lot easier to follow now. I mean, we are learning as we are making these videos
just the same as you're learning when you watch them and it definitely effects our lives.
Hopfully in the same way it effects yours.
(Mitch) Thanks for watching this special episode of AsapScience!
(Greg) And if you want to follow us on Instagram or Twitter personally
the links will be in the description below
(Mitch) As always, Got a burning question? Ask it in the comments, or on Facebook and Twitter
And subscribe for more weekly science videos!
(Did you click them yet?)
(We're waiting...)