script first the first thing i tell
ethan when he's starting to make a video
about how i make a video is that i
always tell people the first thing i
tell people when i tell people how i
make a video is that i start script
first and so that's how i'm starting
this video about his video about making
his video about making a video but you
need something to write about i mean a
lot of people ask me how i make my
videos or suggest making a video about
how i make my videos and that's been a
potential video on the list of videos
that are just not conceptually there yet
for a long time but when i'm not looking
these rejected video ideas get together
and have a party and pair up in
unexpected ways like it was suggested i
make a video about how i make a video
and it was suggested that i let someone
else make a video about how i make a
video but that was boring to me until we
looped them together into a recursive
mess and then i write a script and then
i probably spend a long time doing
research and figuring out how to explain
stuff and once i think my script is
perfect i go in and eliminate whole
precious paragraphs and restructure
sentences to make it succinct
and i read through imagining what i
might film and if i can draw the point
of a sentence i don't actually need to
say the sentence if i draw the same
thing i'm saying that's like super
emphasis it's a way of slowing down
without actually slowing down so now i'm
going to stop filming about how i script
and start scripting about how i film i
mean except that i haven't actually
filmed that yet i'm just writing the
script about how i'm going to stop
scripting about how i script so here's a
question what am i doing right now am i
scripting or am i narrating because
recording the narration happens almost
last after i film and before i edit i
haven't gotten there yet i mean now i
have that you're hearing it obviously
but not yet of course because i'm still
writing the script that i'll be reading
i mean i'm writing this in present tense
but i'm never going to be my present
self ever again until right now
okay anyway here's where i might want to
go and do some research on the nature of
time and the self and then come back and
edit or continue or write my script to
make it all deep and stuff but my
present self just doesn't have the time
so let's get to filming or rather
scripting about filming basically i look
at my script and draw stuff that goes
with the words i may edit my script
slightly to reflect sudden ideas that
come out through my doodling or drawing
like all this stuff going on right now
is why i added this phrase but usually
no major changes often i think of
something and then have to scramble to
figure out how do i get the people or a
pineapple and this can delay filming by
a couple days except since i am super
impatient i probably just make do with
whatever i can find quickly which can be
super amusing when say i'm looking for
an example of a logarithmic spiral and
accidentally end up with a live snail
that shows up on my sidewalk
and then later i'll record myself
reading the script as fast as possible
all that's left is to speed up my film
to fit the narration i mean i don't just
speed it up you see me writing out a
long sentence but really i'm just taking
the ends of each line taking out the
parts where my hand is covering stuff up
once i show drawing something once your
brain knows how it's done so i can cut
the repetitious footage out and keep the
parts that show what you don't know yet
where i'm going to draw the thing until
you understand that i'm drawing all over
the place and then i can cut quickly
through that part too and your brain
knows how to fill in the gaps then again
for coloring from slow to fast i take
out pauses to make it feel continuous
even though it's really not i keep just
enough of the turning the page footage
to show you that i'm turning a page i
keep in little bits that let you know
i'm zooming in or viewing a different
part of the notebook and if i do these
things sometimes i don't need to do them
all the time because it's implicit and
your brain gets exactly enough
information and this is called flow or
something i am an anti-illusionist i
trick your brain into seeing what was
there all along but enough of theory
let's take a look at what filming is
actually like we'll start by going back
to the beginning a lot of my stuff
involves repetitious drawing or writing
and you might be curious about all that
time and effort it takes to write the
same thing like a zillion times well
zooming out you can see how at this
point i switch out with my boring
drawing stuff intern who writes most of
the words for me by editing carefully
the brain creates continuity across the
gap where my hand is replaced by my
interns i bet the first time through you
didn't even notice at the end of the
page we switch back because you can't
trust interns with things like turning
the page again with a little editing the
transition is smooth while the interns
are dealing with the boring stuff i go
into hair and makeup to make sure my
precious hands are looking perfect then
it's back to another tiring round of
having to do stuff when sharp implements
are involved we again do a subtle shift
to a stunt double not that i'm afraid to
do my own stunts but my agent thinks we
should leave it to professionals and not
risk getting a nick on these precious
hands and of course when it comes to the
real drawing which i cannot trust to
anyone but myself i have interns to help
with sharpie control props and otherwise
taking care of my every need sometimes i
actually do need people to help me with
the video as in for example this one in
order to capture that footage about how
i capture footage i had to send a note
out to my co-workers and be like hey
need some extras come on by right now
and in order to capture that footage
about how i captured that footage about
how i captured footage i was back to
just plain old drawing in my notebook
with a camera on a tripod except for
that footage i had to have ethan capture
the footage of me capturing the footage
about filming about footage about
filming footage i lost count and to film
that footage i had to film ethan filming
me filming him filming me filming
filming and then there was this other
guy and uh anyway look i made a video i
mean i'm going to have made a video by
the time you see this video which is now
hello