(upbeat music)
- In this video,
I wanna talk about how to vlog and also how to tell story.
And you're gonna see that these two things
go hand in hand.
And to give you a little backstory,
if you don't know the history of this channel,
I started out by doing travel vlogging.
First year on YouTube, I think I did like 200 vlogs.
I did the daily for awhile, and then over time,
this channel has changed and evolved,
but I still like to do some different vlog style content
and YouTube as a whole has been changing.
If we haven't met before, my name is Jeven Dovey,
I'm an adventure filmmaker.
And on this channel,
I'm gonna teach you how to make better videos.
So if that's something you're into,
make sure you hit that Subscribe button.
So when I first started,
Casey Neistat was huge on the platform.
His style of vlogging was so popular at that time,
but I definitely think that YouTube has changed.
And I think audience has changed
and people have developed different styles of vlogging,
and I think there's different ways to do it.
So this video is broken down into two sections.
Section one, I wanna go through three types of vlogging
and then section two,
I wanna go through how you tell a story.
And I really wanna simplify this
and make this an easy concept to grasp,
because I know there's a lot of creators out there
that say to make better videos, you have to tell a story,
but that's easy to say and not as easy to do.
So I have a way to tell stories
that's gonna make the whole process a lot easier.
And once you see this framework,
you're gonna see it again and again,
when you're watching other creators' content.
It got cold.
I'm gonna move this to the outside
and I'm gonna zip up.
So I wanna talk about three different types of vlogs
that I see here on the platform.
And also, I just want to talk about the concept
of vlogging as a style.
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I think vlogs are a genre of video to create,
but I also think there's been a whole style
that's born out of that.
And what I mean is, the whole way that we film
this kind of content.
So putting a camera on a tripod and talking directly to it
or walking around with it in her hand
or these different tricks that we do
to be able to craft these videos,
this has become an entire style.
And I believe this whole style has been born out of this
need to be able to self-produce content
and do it in a way that's efficient
because making videos here on the platform,
you don't have six months, a year to make a video.
You have maybe a few days, maybe a day,
it has this kind of documentary feel to it,
but it is something a little bit different.
And a lot of it has to do with the way
that the creators are on camera,
talking directly to the viewers at home.
It's this whole breaking that fourth wall.
We are here together, we're in this location together.
You're hanging out with me.
And I think that has created an entirely different style,
that's brought the viewer into the video.
But when it comes to the actual vlog types,
I find that there's three distinct types
that are pretty common.
And I'm sure there's others that you can find
when you're watching videos.
But when I show you what these three types are,
you'll start noticing it
when you're watching different creators.
And one type of vlog is not better than the other.
I think it all depends on the creator
and the kind of connection they have with their audience
and what they're trying to do with their content.
And so, the first type that I see is the type of vlog
that doesn't really have necessarily a major purpose.
Like it's more about hanging out with that creator
and kind of seeing what happens throughout the video.
And these are kind of like the day in the life,
the kind of vlogs that you see
where a bunch of stuff happens,
but it's not necessarily going to a singular goal
or objective at the end.
It's like that whole idea of like turning on the camera,
pressing record,
and then just seeing what happens and kind of seeing
how the day progresses and seeing how the creator interacts
with the different people in their lives
or the different situations they get into.
So a good example of these might be a travel vlog
where someone is experienced in a new place,
and you're going along for the ride with them.
Now, this first type of content,
I think there is a lot of engagement
between the audience and the viewer.
There's a major connection there.
And I think that if you're a new person
coming into these vlogs,
you're not necessarily gonna be as engaged
because you don't really know who the creator is.
You don't really know what's going on,
but for those people who've been along for the ride,
they're really invested in these types of videos.
Now, the second type of vlog that I often see
is the one where there's something specific in that vlog
that draws the viewer in.
So for example,
if I was to do a review around the camera I'm shooting on,
Sony A7S Mark III.
Well, I could do that in the form of a vlog
where I have these components of showing you my day
of like going on a mountain biking trip
and kind of everything that happens.
But in the context of that video,
I end up doing a review around the A7S Mark III.
And so, I can title and thumbnail that video
specifically for the A7S Mark III,
but it's in the world of doing a vlog,
but you'll have that feeling of going along with the creator
and actually experiencing what they're experiencing.
Now, these types of vlogs, I think have this bridge
between being able to capture a new audience,
but also being a super engaging
like community building style video.
If you have those vlog elements where the audience
is just hanging out with the creator,
but also you have that component that draws new people in.
But also with these styles of videos,
it could potentially frustrate new viewers
because if they're coming for an A7S Mark III review
and then they get a vlog for like five minutes
before I start talking about this camera,
well they might get super frustrated.
So it's kind of this weird cross
between like adding elements that bring in new people,
but also being a vlog, being an experiential video.
Now the third type of vlog that I see
is one that has a story baked into it
that uses storytelling principles
and can basically be a standalone video.
And what I mean by that
is that if a new person watches this video,
they don't have to watch any of the video
on that creator's channel.
And they know exactly what's going on in this video
and they get invested in it.
And by the end of the video, there's a complete story.
And you don't have to be super invested in that creator
to wanna watch one of these videos.
One of the issues of this style of video
is you have to craft a story.
It does take more planning and it takes more crafting
to be able to make this engaging story
that anybody can watch.
It's not just following the creator along for the day
and just filming everything that happens.
If you wanna see some videos that are really crafted
in the storytelling style, look at Yes Theory,
all of their videos are like standalone stories
and anybody could watch those videos.
And even though they feel like a vlog
in the way that they're filming,
they have these storytelling elements that really keep
the viewer engaged and keep them along for the ride.
Even if they've never seen the channel before.
Now, like I said earlier,
one type of vlog is not necessarily better than the other.
There are some creators that do super well
in crafting these types of vlogs,
where it's just hanging out with the creator.
A lot of family channels will do this
where you're just a part of the family
and you're just able to experience things with them.
And the first type of vlog
is very good at building community,
but it doesn't necessarily draw in a lot of new people
unless you are someone who is super charismatic on camera
and someone that people just wanna hang out with.
We all have to find what style of content
we wanna produce.
And if you're someone who wants to create vlogs,
you have to find what works for you.
You might be very good at creating vlogs
around like tech product.
You're interested in the new phones,
the new iPads, whatever's coming out.
And you like to create vlogs around that content.
That could be something that you could get really into
and have this mix of vlog and tech,
instead of doing the really common,
like just sitting at a desk and talking about a product,
or you might be more interested in telling stories,
and it might make more sense for you to craft a story
around something specific that you're doing
and to craft a good story,
there's a few key components that you need.
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One of the common things that I hear over and over
is to tell a story,
you just need a beginning, middle, and end.
And it's actually a lot more than that,
but it's not super difficult.
So there's actually an easy way to think
about how you craft a story and it's using the 5Cs
and this follows your typical three act structure,
but it's broken down in a way where if you write out
each one of these components,
you'll be able to put together a story
that's actually engaging and people are gonna wanna watch,
and they'll wanna know what happens at the end.
So, the first C is context.
So you wanna put your viewer into the story,
what's going on, who are the people involved?
What kind of backstory do you need to tell
to get someone up to speed?
So they know where the story's gonna go.
Now let's just use an example from a story
that I actually haven't finished yet,
but maybe in the process of doing this video,
I'll finish up that video.
But in 2019, I went down to Ecuador to climb Cotopaxi.
It's a pretty famous volcano.
It's actually an active volcano.
And I shot a video of the entire experience.
Now, if I was to write out what my context was
for this story,
I would tell my backstory of how every year I meet up
with the same group of friends to climb mountains.
And every year, we set our eyes on a new objective.
And this year we really wanted
to try high altitude climbing.
We're gonna try a peak at 20,000 feet.
And so in this introduction,
you get backstory on what's going on.
You get who's involved and you basically are set up ready
for something to happen.
And that's where the second C comes in,
which is the complication or the conflict.
What is in your way of actually achieving your goal?
So, our goal for this climb
was to get to the summit of Cotopaxi.
So the challenge or the complication
would be that this is high altitude climbing.
It's not something that you can just go out to and walk up
and you're at the summit.
Something has to stand in your way to be able
to get from point A to point B in the story.
Now, the third C is challenges.
So think about all the different things that stand
in your way
to be able to get to your goal of the story.
So when we got to Ecuador,
there was a bunch of things that happened.
We all were feeling the effects of altitude pretty quick.
We went to one peak and I struggled to get up to the summit.
And then when I got to the base of Cotopaxi,
which is the mountain that we went there to climb,
I didn't know if I was even gonna be able
to get out of bed because I was so exhausted.
So as you're moving towards your goal,
anything that's standing in your way throughout that process
is a challenge and something
that you're probably gonna wanna include,
because it's gonna keep your viewer engaged
because they're gonna wanna see what happens.
What's coming next?
Are you able to get to that mountain?
Whatever your mountain is.
The fourth C is climax and climax is the ending,
the resolution, what happens?
So in this story of climbing Cotopaxi,
the climax was actually getting to the summit
and getting on top of the summit with like perfect weather.
We got above the clouds,
we had the sun rising and it was just the most beautiful
morning after everything that we endured
over the last couple of weeks, this was the final moment.
And so with whatever video that you're crafting,
the climax is the resolution of whatever the complication
or the challenge is that you set up at the beginning
of the story.
And the final C, the fifth C is consequence.
I like to think of this moment as,
what's the biggest takeaway?
And I often ask myself when I'm making a video
and I'm trying to tell a story.
I look at what happened
and what the climax or the resolution is.
And I say, what's my biggest takeaway from this moment?
So for this climbing story,
the biggest takeaway could be something like we don't know
the real strength of ourselves
until we're put in the situation
to actually push ourselves to the limit.
It's basically a change that happens.
So, something new you've learned
or some way that you're different.
And that's what you wanna highlight
with this last section of your video.
Now take this framework, these 5Cs.
And when you're watching different YouTube videos,
different vlogs that have a storytelling structure,
think about each of these Cs and break down
what that creator did in each of these moments.
And you'll start seeing how stories are crafted,
and you'll be able to start using this framework
to tell your own stories.
A good way to think about storytelling
is what is the mountain that you're climbing
and how did it change you?
Now, you don't have to climb a literal mountain,
but just think of what is the challenge.
What is the thing that you're up against
and how are you different
after you went through this experience?
I'll clue down below in the description,
a breakdown of these five CS and a good exercise
is to take anything that's happened in your life
and write out these 5Cs for it.
And you'll start seeing how these 5Cs tie together
and you'll actually find different things
that have happened
that could be interesting stories to tell.
So, I definitely think that using storytelling in your vlogs
is a great way to reach a broader audience.
Now, if you want to see another video where I talk about
how you vlog and craft stories,
check out this video right here,
I'll see you on the next one.