YouTube was launched on 14 February 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and was purchased by Google in 2006 for 1.65 Billion Dollars. In 2019 it was estimated that around 500+ hours of content was being uploaded every minute. YouTube’s 2.5 billion users have not gone unnoticed by the marketing team and with an aggressive advertising model providing revenue, the platform is set to remain a key player for user created content in the foreseeable future. For £11.99 per month (after a 1 month trial) it is possible to buy a subscription to YouTube Premium to remove advertising, allow the playing of videos in the background (eg on phones) as well as access to their premium music service.
Creative Industries
YouTube is a valuable platform for designers, video producers, photographers and other creative practitioners as a source of research regarding design trends, live events and technologies in development. It can also be used to learn more about content creation software such as Adobe Creative Cloud as there are numerous tutorials on Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier Pro, After Effects and InDesign. In my own experience of using YouTube, the additional benefits to logging in to the system are that the platform’s algorithm will supply you with a seemingly never ending series of suggestions related to your previous searches and viewing habits. It is also possible to subscribe to channels to further refine the experience. Below are some examples of podcasts, tutorials, reviews and other useful ways creatives could use their viewing time wisely on YouTube.
Tutorials
This playlist comes from the Jake In Motion YouTube channel and is a collection of demonstrations of effects in Adobe’s After Effects. As a video producer and Creative Cloud subscriber, these tutorials provide a useful journey through standard effects. Each demonstration is presented in a standard, easy to absorb format with clear step by step instructions. This playlist could provide the basis for a crash course in After Effecrts over 2-3 days or a more informal process of dipping in and out of tutorials in your spare time.
Reviews
Reviews and ‘unboxing’ videos can provide insight into new tech released to consumers. Whilst these may or may not be impartial (depending on whether the reviewer was supplied with the product free of charge), they do provide a useful tool in the decision making process when considering a purchase. The video on the right is a demonstration of Meta’s new Quest Pro headset which was released last October (2022) for £1499.00 in the UK (reduced to £999.00 on 15 March 2023). It provides a realistic insight from someone other than the Meta marketing department and may address many of the concerns not included in the original advertising.
Evolution of Products
Not only are product evolution videos fun to watch and, for some, a trip down memory lane, they can also be a useful way of tracking the development of technology. In this case (right), we can see the development of Microsoft’s Flight Simulator from the early release in 1982 to the most recent version in 2020. The most striking and obvious development here is the difference in graphics but there are also many developments behind the scenes in terms of flight models, controls and the level of realism. The visual difference is at such a stage that in my own work with Airbus, I have used Flight Simulator 2020 with a Google Maps and Hawarden Airport mod to create realistic sequences flying over the Plant in Broughton.
Longform Podcasts
Longform podcasts are an excellent way to obtain a real insight into both a subject and the interviewee(s). With mainstream media dictating both public exposure and narrative, longform podcasts enable in-depth interviews on any topic over a period of an hour, two hours or more enabling the viewer to gain real insight into both topic and personality – essentially, its much easier to hide behind your public persona in a brief 5 minute news piece than a two hour debate.
Lex Fridman and controvercial podcaster, Joe Rogan, are great examples content creators of this type with the later being one of the top podcasters on YouTube. If you prefer other podcast flavours there are so many to choose from, but each aims to impart insight and encourage debate on hot topics, controvercial events, future tech or even speculation on whether we are alone in the universe. There have been many times when I have personally followed references made on some of these shows and then discovered a new technology, breaking story, new internet trend or even find out about an up and coming film, band or comedian. Whatever your longform podcast of choice is, you are sure to come away with an insight and opinion – even if that is to find an alternative source.
