... Don't follow the worldly trends follow Jesus Christ today There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
Thanks! I took his course midway through making this video. Surprisingly, I didn't actually find anything in it that informed this video: his course doesn't actually do too much with concrete storytelling mechanics, despite the course title. Some general references to tension & release mostly. I would say it's an amazing course if you want to do travel storytelling, though: Johnny & Nathaniel really let you inside their process & minds, & it's really helpful. They have the 3 levels of travel storytelling concept which is pretty useful, too.
4:44: No, you're supposed to use a hook before your thesis when you explain things. The problem is, so much often gets focused on getting the thesis correct that the hook is ignored.
Agreed! Sometimes it's as simple as just saying, "So there's this weird thing happening where... and the question is: why?" and you get a similar structure & effect!
Thanks, Parjanya! The work you all do is setting the standard for so many creators! I hope you know that when I say “Johnny”, I’m really meaning all the amazing folks on his team! Thank you for your creativity and hard work!
I have no idea whether it is deliberate, but as a musician, I think the music you pick goes a long way to sustaining the audience throught the 10-25 minutes videos
Consider the opposite: Most of the news, is 2 minutes facts (often even just told, with some pictures) and then 10 minutes explanation with experts. Cheap TV that makes us dumber. We don't have to think for ourselves any more about facts. The constant (manipulative) framing (or even lying) steers our narrative. We should develop our own based on facts, not on 'experts'. Therefore we should go see and think for ourselves, like Johnny. Though I wonder if Johnnies episode on Venezuela just blamed their politics, or also included the influence of the US blockade, because the USA wants to get Venezuela's oil?
You really captured it! And you yourself showed the evidence (Johnny's clips) in your own explanatory style (the music layout!!!). You also did what we'd call a "key visual" - you had a one viz (the purple+green graphic in this case, but it could be a clip or an image or a demonstration) that people *had* to see in order to understand your point. Without that visual, it would have made much less sense, which makes this a great video. And you came back to that key visual over and over again, helping us better understand it each time. Love this so much.
Cleo, thanks so much for this breakdown. I’m still really learning so much of the basics and it’s helpful to hear how you think about video, as a real expert. I remember talking to Alvin Chang a while back and he asked me, “If you were trying to explain this topic to someone IRL, what’s the first thing you’d draw on a whiteboard?” I guess that’s the “key visual”. :) PS seeing what you did at Vox, and even more so what you do as an independent, really inspires and encourages me!
. Don't follow the worldly trends follow Jesus Christ today There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus
@@itsdavidmora Thank you for Helping expose this fraud being played on the People by Many Actor's who prove they are at war with truth and real history to confuse and confound good people. Proof that these corporate sites help folks just like him are overwhelming.
Wow, is this a God of coincidence? After going through the comments of this video, I scrolled down my UA-cam feed and there was a video on " How to show, not tell: The complete writing guide"!
@@gabrielfair724 what? you mustn readn any novels or manga, thats a very common topic in story telling, spoonfeeding info or show dont tell or just make the audience think for themselves
Huh. That's really interesting. I think I do this on my channel, by accident. In my videos, I really focus on the experience of actually being there, standing on the street. It's all about visual evidence. After watching this video, I'm going to think more consciously about how often I trade off between that visual evidence and context.
I actually love when you show graphics about the specific neighborhoods you discuss. Like when you criticize a massive strip mall, and you highlight the huge parking lots on a picture to show how inefficient it is. Visual evidence like that really adds to the quality of your videos.
I've always wondered why Vox's (or Voxes?) and especially Johnny's videos were so intriguing. Surely the master class editing and great pacing plays a big role, but I never could point my finger on what exactly made these videos so "different" from a storytelling perspective. Thanks for the explanation, looking forward to more videos from you! 😊
Honestly, I believe that a huge part Johnny’s success is a result of what I call a "dumb boy effect". The way he presents these topics is something like "hey, look at this interesting thing. Awesome, right? But what’s this all about? You don’t know. I didn’t know either, but now I do and I’ll show you", or sometimes even "Watch me trying to figure this out for myself and yourselves". He makes the viewers believe that he’s one of them, that all those topics were unknown to him and he has just found out and he’s coming to share his findings. His appearance, his voice, his body language, it all helps and enhances this effect. It’s like your buddy saying "hey, look what I’ve just learned". He doesn’t position himself as an expert or even a journalist in his videos. He’s a curious boy. And it works.
This is a really interesting take! I like the idea of moving beyond the "evidence=>context" idea, to the underlying FEEL of Johnny's self-presentation: "ooh, this is interesting. i don't get it. I'm just a friend who doesn't get it either. Let's figure it out." Yeah, I think you point out the biggest reason NOT to label Johnny a journalist: journalists try to act like objective experts. Johnny acts like a "dump boy" 😉
I agree. This comment honestly resonated with me more than the video. I definitely am a viewer who watches videos based on how they make me feel. I work professionally in the tv industry so I’m not impressed by graphics and editing techniques that I do at work. I’m into how a video makes me feel and I do think that the Harris videos are successful since he doesn’t pretend to be an expert. America loves anti intellectuals and he plays into that.
That means a lot, IJ! Yeah, I really tried to take my time on this one, no matter how many drafts :) I also want to say I really dig your motion demos!
While this is all true, and Johnny makes great videos, I think it's important to also differentiate between the styles of information. Johnny makes infotainment. It's entertaining, and is meant to inform. Something like PBS is strict journalism; it's not entertainment, but rather 100% context. That means by necessity, it's not as fun or engaging to watch, but it's more jam packed with context than any Johnny Harris video ever could be. While it's definitely good Johnny can ingratiate us to deep, complicated, interesting topics - and it's good the video go viral, because they're on very complicated, hard topics to cover - it's also important for things like PBS to exist, which can give extremely dense, fact-based, well researched context dumps that actually explain more than show. Sometimes that explanation is vital, especially for extremely complicated topics.
Very good point. I think it's important to distinguish infotainment from pure reporting too. Infotainment standards have been creeping into everything and become the new one size fits all for "success". I don't agree on the basic assumptions of such a stance that all we consume must entertain us (at least based on conventional entertainment standards...) It has certainly caused damage in some industries and arguably society.
I think the distinction is a good one. But I think we need to admit that more news will need to be packaged in a sort of infotainment-esque way or people just won't watch it. The infotainers will control the narrative. So if you want to teach people about climate change or systemic racism or capitalism... it needs to be packaged in the infotainment way and not something like thomas piketty books
100% agree. Johnnys videos are extremely shallow. He starts rambling about how hard his research was when it was literally half a week of googling liberal-adjacent news
@@compedium I agree. MSM has clearly lost its touch in a lot of ways, and I think that's because people have seen the behind the scenes, and seen when it's disingenuous. That's why I enjoy Vice. They're really bold and are fine to get their hands dirty while reporting. Those are also my favorite videos from Johnny; his Borders series is so compelling because he's literally there, on the border, investigating first hand.
@@Franfran2424 That's also why I can't get too mad at it though. While his videos can often be a bit shallow with context, that's also because I'm deeply invested in journalism and learning things. I know the average normie gives zero craps about the world around them. So if Johnny's videos can be a person's first entry into a new bit of information, or if he can do that basic research that most people won't take the time to do, it's still good work, because it's a general increase in the level of knowledge for everyone. Only downside is that for people who do like getting in the weeds, his videos will feel more like a salad and less like an entree.
When i got out of college, UA-cam didn't even exist - (yeah that makes me like 40) - but I've spent my entire career thus far in advertising and communication, so I can say I understand a bit about filmmaking techniques and storytelling. But I have been truly amazed how everything has evolved and continues to evolve with many emerging communication platforms - and the idea of explanatory journalism, first born with Vox, is truly amazing and its former star journalist Johnny Harris is one of its great proponents. I have been his admirer for long - and this video of yours gives a very neat insight into what makes his work - work. So thanks a lot man! And here's hoping you're the next one to rock!
Santosh, thank you for the words of affirmation! Wow, it's really neat to learn from your perspective on the evolution of storytelling & the web. I think for "babies" like me, Vox was just a thing that existed by the time I was looking for news online! Hopefully I can continue to get your insights on my future videos. :)
@@roboticvenom1935 If you’re going to negate something, - maybe Vox didn’t invent explanatory journalism as we know it on UA-cam - then provide the answer according to you - who did? I have no problem learning something new or correcting myself but the easiest thing in the world is to shit on something without basis
Really loved this. I've loved making my own Johnny Harris style videos about topics I'm passionate about. Having it clearly laid out why I find his format so compelling was fascinating. Keep making videos please.
As a visual learner, watching Johnny’s videos opened my eyes to the world and things I would not have read about. His style works for me. Your emulation also kept my attention. I wish tax accounting education in Australia was produced in same way so I don’t fall asleep while watching 😀. One can wish right? I Just subscribed as I have a curious mind too.
@@uubfi3779 Haha! Yeah maybe doesn't work for everything. Hmm like maybe a pic of what happens if you get something wrong/right? Like a skit. Or some videos of some numbers LOL I think incorporating stories can be good and add the visual representation
Like good literature (and unlike most UA-cam videos), this video merits multiple "reads." Each time I watch it, I see more brilliance and nuance of explanation. The color coding and musical sounds contrast information/context vs experience, causing me to feel the difference. Watch this again!
It really is just basic reporting. Show and tell. It's not as much amazing how good Johnny is, rather amazing how bad journalism and media are outside of Johnny.
Or maybe his success is just because he is a think tank who has a full chain of places and groups that share his videos to create a neoliberal narrative. So, no, if you repeat exactly how he does his movies you won't "go viral" without thi$ chain.
That explains why I don't like his videos and always thought they were light weight, almost puff piece type videos. Just saying. Then again, I'm the kinda guy who can watch 1hr power point presentations with nothing but context and be satisfied. (actually not satisfied, will probably have further rabbit holes to investigate further the merits of the arguments). Yeah, I like to understand fully
The downside of this approach is that you get a 5 year old's understanding of a situation because a complex issue cant be primarily explained visually with very little context given. That's why textbooks are mostly words and not photos.
Right, I don't think Johnny gives us a super deep, critical understanding of the topic. Whatever depth he found in research is mostly out of site in the video. I think if he wanted to put more info, he might have to target a slightly smaller, if more appreciative audience.
Here's the problem: everyone burns out of Johnny. Eventually, you realize that he's overloading your senses rather than nurishing your mind. You get frustrated with the incredible thinness of it all that delicious footage. Slowly you criticize it more and more. Then one day, you realize you don't have to waste your time on it anymore. You out grow Johhny.
Haha, you seem to be doing well as is, but Johnny's formula has definitely been kicking my butt as of late, & it's forced me to spend way more time crafting my scripts. The biggest change for me has been using his "2 column script" approach: first column is the visual, and the second column tries to speak to it. :)
Oooh, that’s a great physical metaphor! When you put it that way, it makes it seem silly to do things any other way :) thanks for bringing that gem from game design!
The extraordinary amount of his editing skills, mapping structures used, the analysis behind every video, and the simple way of explaining the topics is exactly what excites me!!
Brilliant explainer. Johnny is one of a few youtubers that I take inspiration from for my own videos. Another thing that I like about his stuff is nothing ever sits still. Even if its just a newspaper heading it will be animated in some way.
This is exactly what led me to his channel. Ironically, this might also be why I gradually got tired of it. Context + evidence is a great way to explain, and a great way to persuade. However, it's only as good as what the producer gives the watcher. Videos after videos, his editing style becomes obvious. I started to realize that the initial bombardment of out-of-context clips mainly serve to drag me in, instead of to explain. I started to skip the dazzling part, and only to watch the informative part. I started to notice how long the video drags before giving out context. Eventually I started thinking, if his team spends so much effort on producing the videos in this style, then how much time do they still have to do the research? How could I know if they're presenting the topic in a holistic and objective manner? How can I trust that this video is covering the topic fairly, when the editing style itself is the key to persuade people? ... eventually, I grew up.
I couldn't agree more. I used to love his videos. Then Tom Nicholas did a tear-down of one of Harris' videos (titled "Johnny Harris: A Story of UA-cam Propaganda"). I don't know if I'd put it as crassly. But Nicholas made me view Harris more critically. Similarly for Vox actually. Adam Ragusea (who's a cooking youtuber now but used to be a journalism professor) said "Vox is gonna Vox". By which he meant that they like to simplify complex problems to make you feel like you really got it. Now I read "professional" (by which I mean well-established and reputable) news papers like the New York Times. And I'm not naive either thinking they are "objective" (there is no such thing). But at least they hire hundreds or thousands of journalists and have op-eds from all kinds of angles.
That's a good point. I think Johnny sees himself as trying to tell stories a mass audience will connect with, even if that involves over-simplifying some parts. It's both what makes him so popular, but also dangerous.
I also honestly love his presentation style, it feels like what you'd imagine how a crack journalist trying to explain the secrets of the universe, it's fun and amazingly paced
That means so much, Jack! The work you all do is an inspiration to so many! Haha that's funny those are actually YOUR hands at 3:09 Props on sneakily creating a "bar chart" from the physical objects Johnny was working with! I might steal that in the future :)
I feel you! I think the other element I'm trying to cultivate is just that deep curiosity that looks at the issue with fresh eyes, not within the paradigms my particular society gave me. Glad to be on this journey with you!
Thanks for flagging this, I've heard this from others, too! Yeah, I think I was really committing to the hyper-paced UA-cam style without thinking, and I agree that slowing down a bit would improve the comprehension.
There are some "opinion" based videos that Johnny tries to make an issue out of an non-issues. His videos about China are full of stock footage and unsourced graphs that has little to do with the main topic he is discussing which leads the viewers to formulate negative opinions where none was before. Some UA-camrs noticed it and made their own videos about it and Johnny countered them with snarky replies.
Thanks so much, welcome to the community! Glad you don't know Johnny. He's great in some ways, but sometimes a bit problematic / oversimplifies. We're probably best off studying history / geo politics directly, if we can!
Nice vid! A tip, try to isolate your voice recordings or add a high pass filter to get rid of the low frequency rumble leaking into your mic. The sound design overall could do some refining to be cleaner/less intrusive as well.
I love this explanation. It's so cool that Johnny looks for a visual anchor for his topics, just like my favorite podcast, Radiolab, looks for a sound-design anchor.
Johnny’s an artist! He zooms in to the unconscious experience, like the body of a myth or story, then zooms out to analyze it consciously, which makes clear the moral/lesson of it.
Wow! I´ve watched it for 4th time now... And my question is still: What's your IQ, David? I mean, This is a masterpiece of Reverse Engineering. Deep Congrats again! Can you tell me what's missing for my channel to start growing? I would love to hear that from You! I will watch this video every day, just like I do on Magnates Media, speaking James Jani.
Impressive that you did this, giving us the evidence then the context. Nice to see you adopting your own advice and it working well. Thanks for the video!
Wow incredible work! It's worth mentioning that you should throw on a high pass filter on the recording of your voice, maybe up to around 100hz, because there's a lot of low end when listening with a sub or nice headphones. It will create more space for the audio of your whole video and make the mix cleaner. Everything about this is 10/10 though great job!
His editing is amazing but in some of his videos he doesn’t put sources like in the video about Morocco borders and the Sahara, all his informations about the subject were false it was very unprofessional, so I wonder if videos about others subject are not misleading because I don’t have any background about it Sorry for the mistakes
I'm sorry but you really drag this video!!!! Next time pick another sound effect for the words when it pops up. Overall it could've been better but at least you tried. Good Job!!!!
This is a really good analysis of Johnny's craft, but I feel like the comparison to PBS could have been framed better. PBS Newshour (the show being clipped here) is a **nightly hourlong TV broadcast.** I don't think it's completely fair to compare it to a UA-cam channel that uploads 15-30 minute-long videos a few times a month. It does help explain why Johnny's stuff goes viral, but PBS isn't making 'mistakes' or doing low quality work, they're just operating on a much much tighter production cycle.
never, in a thousand years, would I expect someone to say "yea man, just treat your video like music"... and then provide and example that literally made me rethink everything... Nice m8
I find his videos problematic. They are nice visually and keep you engaged. But honestly his actual content and research is so bare bones and surface level on almost every topic. Geopolitics and history is just not something you can simplify to this degree. Like sure it’s nice to look at I guess
You forgot one little thing, he's white, photogenic, english is his first language and has a good passport . I'm more interested in people and travellers who have none of this and still can make great quality videos!
These are good points, thank you! Yes, I don't think Johnny would have been able to do anything he's done without all the things you mention. To be honest, my title on this video is a bit hyperbolic in hopes of getting clicks. The other thing I'd add to your list is his wife, Iz. She's a very accomplished producer and businesswoman who basically created the entire business that enables him to make his videos. I'm always looking for great but overlooked creatives who don't fit the Johnny mold, do you have any recommendations? One person who doesn't fit the Johnny Harris mold that I'm a big fan and Patreon supporter of is Noor, who makes the channel www.youtube.com/@barknoorz She's not exactly travel-focused, but many of her short films involve travel.
Thanks for chiming in on this! Yeah, I do feel like exciting visuals & good pacing definitely help retain viewers who might otherwise click off. While definitely important, I'd also argue that fast cuts aren't the only thing that makes MrBeast so successful. In fact, my friend Michelle Jia and I actually just made a video on what we think are some of the deeper secrets behind MrBeast's success. Would love your feedback on it! ua-cam.com/video/XuAysx7kZeU/v-deo.html
I like his topics but after a while his style gets annoying, like his obsession with maps, trying to insert pictures of a map, scenes with a paper map, scene which he looking seriously at a computer showing a map. That and too many jump cuts. A bit style over substance to me. That is not to say in most cases, a map in an animated sequence is useful, and I appreciate it's his thing.
Wow. Yep you got it right. Nice work.
Lmaoo
😂
nicee
WTF, I wasn't expecting the OG to reply this fast.
@@mohit_panjwani Why you think that he's a mouthpiece for the World Economic Forum??
Great editing man. Congrats on your first UA-cam hit, won't be the last.
i agree, also hi mogswamp lol
...
Don't follow the worldly trends follow Jesus Christ today
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
That was the best ad for his visual storytelling course ever. Great work, makes me really want to learn more about it!
Thanks! I took his course midway through making this video.
Surprisingly, I didn't actually find anything in it that informed this video: his course doesn't actually do too much with concrete storytelling mechanics, despite the course title. Some general references to tension & release mostly.
I would say it's an amazing course if you want to do travel storytelling, though: Johnny & Nathaniel really let you inside their process & minds, & it's really helpful. They have the 3 levels of travel storytelling concept which is pretty useful, too.
That music bit was crazy! I'm going to take that as well as Johnny's technique!!
Love it, looking forward to seeing what you create!
This video got recommended to me and it was very well made.
I was surprised that you only have 650 subs, but you will definitely grow 😁
Honestly, we are all so blessed by Johnny Harris.
4:44: No, you're supposed to use a hook before your thesis when you explain things. The problem is, so much often gets focused on getting the thesis correct that the hook is ignored.
Short, straight to the point. Extremely informative.
Really interesting. Lots of applications I imagine, including public speaking.
Agreed! Sometimes it's as simple as just saying, "So there's this weird thing happening where... and the question is: why?" and you get a similar structure & effect!
Nicely done. Thank you!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
absolutely fantastic work you've done here. congrats
Thank you so much!
I subscribed to Johnny when there only few thousand subscribers. He's the best in the game
Dayum, got in early!! Nice!
This is so good that you just got a new subscriber! ✨
thanks for sharing this
My pleasure!
Amazing quality content
Damn Chef Johnny just gave away the secret sauce
haha, true! but, at least for me, it'll be another half decade in the kitchen before I use it like him :P
All this is good BUT if anyone saw THE ORIGINAL VIDEO OF THIS THEY WOULD KNOW ITS AESTHETIC. Nothing else.
im glad i watched this
You forgot to mention how unbiased his contents are, the number 1 reason I'm subscribed to his channel.
lmao, no
he is supporting the west everytime
@@777Nikolaus with video titles like "how the US stole the Phillipines" I would disagree.
you're using his formulae to go viral... w o w
Love how you're using the forumula to explain it. Brilliant.
This summarises Why It's Great's video on Nerdwriter1.
@@SeanConway99 nerdwriter is boring
@@dundeedideley1773 viral though
Yooo Thomas Flight! I'm a big fan!
Thomas I literally rewatch your videos (specially inglorious bastards one)... I love you.
I'm one of the producers on Johnny's team, and I must say, amazing job with this analysis! 🙌
Thanks, Parjanya! The work you all do is setting the standard for so many creators! I hope you know that when I say “Johnny”, I’m really meaning all the amazing folks on his team! Thank you for your creativity and hard work!
Jeg var ikke forberedt på, at en dansker er producer for Johnny Harris. Stærke sager!
I'm curious how many are in the team working on the johnny videos and how long does it take you? great job everybody!
I have no idea whether it is deliberate, but as a musician, I think the music you pick goes a long way to sustaining the audience throught the 10-25 minutes videos
Consider the opposite: Most of the news, is 2 minutes facts (often even just told, with some pictures) and then 10 minutes explanation with experts. Cheap TV that makes us dumber. We don't have to think for ourselves any more about facts. The constant (manipulative) framing (or even lying) steers our narrative. We should develop our own based on facts, not on 'experts'. Therefore we should go see and think for ourselves, like Johnny. Though I wonder if Johnnies episode on Venezuela just blamed their politics, or also included the influence of the US blockade, because the USA wants to get Venezuela's oil?
You really captured it! And you yourself showed the evidence (Johnny's clips) in your own explanatory style (the music layout!!!). You also did what we'd call a "key visual" - you had a one viz (the purple+green graphic in this case, but it could be a clip or an image or a demonstration) that people *had* to see in order to understand your point. Without that visual, it would have made much less sense, which makes this a great video. And you came back to that key visual over and over again, helping us better understand it each time. Love this so much.
Cleo, thanks so much for this breakdown. I’m still really learning so much of the basics and it’s helpful to hear how you think about video, as a real expert. I remember talking to Alvin Chang a while back and he asked me, “If you were trying to explain this topic to someone IRL, what’s the first thing you’d draw on a whiteboard?” I guess that’s the “key visual”. :)
PS seeing what you did at Vox, and even more so what you do as an independent, really inspires and encourages me!
Meta. I love meta.
@@TheConcernedSum7 same lol. wait to you see jay clouse interview george blackman. its like four levels of meta. many screen shots were taken by me
.
Don't follow the worldly trends follow Jesus Christ today
There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today
Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell
Come to Jesus Christ today
Jesus Christ is only way to heaven
Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void
Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today
Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Mark 1.15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus
@@itsdavidmora Thank you for Helping expose this fraud being played on the People by Many Actor's who prove they are at war with truth and real history to confuse and confound good people. Proof that these corporate sites help folks just like him are overwhelming.
In writing, there's a concept called "show, don't tell."
Amazing how universally it works.
Wow, is this a God of coincidence? After going through the comments of this video, I scrolled down my UA-cam feed and there was a video on " How to show, not tell: The complete writing guide"!
Thanks for mentioning this. I had not heard of this before
+1 this
@@gabrielfair724 what? you mustn readn any novels or manga, thats a very common topic in story telling, spoonfeeding info or show dont tell or just make the audience think for themselves
@@daniel1RM I have a lot to learn
Huh. That's really interesting. I think I do this on my channel, by accident.
In my videos, I really focus on the experience of actually being there, standing on the street. It's all about visual evidence.
After watching this video, I'm going to think more consciously about how often I trade off between that visual evidence and context.
while i may not be an avid watcher of your channel, it certainly sticks out to me in a good way! love your channel, and surprised to see you here!
I actually love when you show graphics about the specific neighborhoods you discuss. Like when you criticize a massive strip mall, and you highlight the huge parking lots on a picture to show how inefficient it is. Visual evidence like that really adds to the quality of your videos.
r/notjustbikes
I love it when Not Just Bikes shows up in unexpected places on the internet !
I really enjoy your videos!
I've always wondered why Vox's (or Voxes?) and especially Johnny's videos were so intriguing. Surely the master class editing and great pacing plays a big role, but I never could point my finger on what exactly made these videos so "different" from a storytelling perspective. Thanks for the explanation, looking forward to more videos from you! 😊
That's exactly how I feel, Kjul! I was so excited when I saw Johnny's longer talk I had to, well, make this video :)
Vox's _____ = the ______ of Vox
Voxes = many "Vox" (which may be a creature, a company type, a schedule, or a thing)
Too bad the facts are mostly shit, sadly
johnny did work for vox for a while i think
It's _Vox's videos_ because _'s_ indicates that the videos belong to Vox. "Voxes" would be the plural of "Vox".
this is like the level beyond next level content
E
Him and Karl Rock look like Pewdiepie
Honestly, I believe that a huge part Johnny’s success is a result of what I call a "dumb boy effect". The way he presents these topics is something like "hey, look at this interesting thing. Awesome, right? But what’s this all about? You don’t know. I didn’t know either, but now I do and I’ll show you", or sometimes even "Watch me trying to figure this out for myself and yourselves". He makes the viewers believe that he’s one of them, that all those topics were unknown to him and he has just found out and he’s coming to share his findings. His appearance, his voice, his body language, it all helps and enhances this effect. It’s like your buddy saying "hey, look what I’ve just learned". He doesn’t position himself as an expert or even a journalist in his videos. He’s a curious boy. And it works.
This is a really interesting take! I like the idea of moving beyond the "evidence=>context" idea, to the underlying FEEL of Johnny's self-presentation: "ooh, this is interesting. i don't get it. I'm just a friend who doesn't get it either. Let's figure it out." Yeah, I think you point out the biggest reason NOT to label Johnny a journalist: journalists try to act like objective experts. Johnny acts like a "dump boy" 😉
Yes, exactly. It's that journey of discovery
I agree. This comment honestly resonated with me more than the video. I definitely am a viewer who watches videos based on how they make me feel. I work professionally in the tv industry so I’m not impressed by graphics and editing techniques that I do at work. I’m into how a video makes me feel and I do think that the Harris videos are successful since he doesn’t pretend to be an expert. America loves anti intellectuals and he plays into that.
Man this is well made video. The amount of effort and work is seen throughout the video. You got a new subscriber.
That means a lot, IJ! Yeah, I really tried to take my time on this one, no matter how many drafts :) I also want to say I really dig your motion demos!
same here
While this is all true, and Johnny makes great videos, I think it's important to also differentiate between the styles of information. Johnny makes infotainment. It's entertaining, and is meant to inform. Something like PBS is strict journalism; it's not entertainment, but rather 100% context. That means by necessity, it's not as fun or engaging to watch, but it's more jam packed with context than any Johnny Harris video ever could be.
While it's definitely good Johnny can ingratiate us to deep, complicated, interesting topics - and it's good the video go viral, because they're on very complicated, hard topics to cover - it's also important for things like PBS to exist, which can give extremely dense, fact-based, well researched context dumps that actually explain more than show. Sometimes that explanation is vital, especially for extremely complicated topics.
Very good point.
I think it's important to distinguish infotainment from pure reporting too. Infotainment standards have been creeping into everything and become the new one size fits all for "success". I don't agree on the basic assumptions of such a stance that all we consume must entertain us (at least based on conventional entertainment standards...) It has certainly caused damage in some industries and arguably society.
I think the distinction is a good one. But I think we need to admit that more news will need to be packaged in a sort of infotainment-esque way or people just won't watch it. The infotainers will control the narrative. So if you want to teach people about climate change or systemic racism or capitalism... it needs to be packaged in the infotainment way and not something like thomas piketty books
100% agree. Johnnys videos are extremely shallow.
He starts rambling about how hard his research was when it was literally half a week of googling liberal-adjacent news
@@compedium I agree. MSM has clearly lost its touch in a lot of ways, and I think that's because people have seen the behind the scenes, and seen when it's disingenuous. That's why I enjoy Vice. They're really bold and are fine to get their hands dirty while reporting. Those are also my favorite videos from Johnny; his Borders series is so compelling because he's literally there, on the border, investigating first hand.
@@Franfran2424 That's also why I can't get too mad at it though. While his videos can often be a bit shallow with context, that's also because I'm deeply invested in journalism and learning things. I know the average normie gives zero craps about the world around them. So if Johnny's videos can be a person's first entry into a new bit of information, or if he can do that basic research that most people won't take the time to do, it's still good work, because it's a general increase in the level of knowledge for everyone.
Only downside is that for people who do like getting in the weeds, his videos will feel more like a salad and less like an entree.
Wow, that explains so much. Thanks for clearing that up!
You bet! I’m definitely trying to learn all I can from amazing visual storytellers out there!
Great breakdown, and sweet graphics/animations, well done 👊
When i got out of college, UA-cam didn't even exist - (yeah that makes me like 40) - but I've spent my entire career thus far in advertising and communication, so I can say I understand a bit about filmmaking techniques and storytelling. But I have been truly amazed how everything has evolved and continues to evolve with many emerging communication platforms - and the idea of explanatory journalism, first born with Vox, is truly amazing and its former star journalist Johnny Harris is one of its great proponents. I have been his admirer for long - and this video of yours gives a very neat insight into what makes his work - work. So thanks a lot man! And here's hoping you're the next one to rock!
Santosh, thank you for the words of affirmation! Wow, it's really neat to learn from your perspective on the evolution of storytelling & the web. I think for "babies" like me, Vox was just a thing that existed by the time I was looking for news online! Hopefully I can continue to get your insights on my future videos. :)
Vox is a biased as fuck, it makes it harder to watch
And no.. they did not invent exploratory journalism.. seriously?
@@roboticvenom1935 If you’re going to negate something, - maybe Vox didn’t invent explanatory journalism as we know it on UA-cam - then provide the answer according to you - who did? I have no problem learning something new or correcting myself but the easiest thing in the world is to shit on something without basis
Oh Man, mark my words, you are going to be a successful UA-camr one day, you have a great sense of storytelling. all d best
Really loved this. I've loved making my own Johnny Harris style videos about topics I'm passionate about. Having it clearly laid out why I find his format so compelling was fascinating. Keep making videos please.
As a visual learner, watching Johnny’s videos opened my eyes to the world and things I would not have read about. His style works for me. Your emulation also kept my attention. I wish tax accounting education in Australia was produced in same way so I don’t fall asleep while watching 😀. One can wish right? I Just subscribed as I have a curious mind too.
Lol yes maybe educators should consider this
How could tax accounting education be produced in the same way? I don't know what the visual evidence would be.
@@uubfi3779 Haha! Yeah maybe doesn't work for everything. Hmm like maybe a pic of what happens if you get something wrong/right? Like a skit. Or some videos of some numbers LOL I think incorporating stories can be good and add the visual representation
Like good literature (and unlike most UA-cam videos), this video merits multiple "reads." Each time I watch it, I see more brilliance and nuance of explanation. The color coding and musical sounds contrast information/context vs experience, causing me to feel the difference. Watch this again!
from johnny contort history to his ideology? very good nuance
Great video David!
Thanks so much, Zac!
Amazing video!! 👏Can't wait to enjoy more of your work. Subscribed!
Welcome to the community, Jesse! We're glad to have such a heavy-hitting channel in the mix! :)
It really is just basic reporting. Show and tell. It's not as much amazing how good Johnny is, rather amazing how bad journalism and media are outside of Johnny.
Interesting point! Is Johnny a master... or do we just kinda all suck on average? :P
Or maybe his success is just because he is a think tank who has a full chain of places and groups that share his videos to create a neoliberal narrative.
So, no, if you repeat exactly how he does his movies you won't "go viral" without thi$ chain.
Because he is a master of baiting and triggering people.
That explains why I don't like his videos and always thought they were light weight, almost puff piece type videos. Just saying. Then again, I'm the kinda guy who can watch 1hr power point presentations with nothing but context and be satisfied. (actually not satisfied, will probably have further rabbit holes to investigate further the merits of the arguments). Yeah, I like to understand fully
Insane how he actually used Johnny's formula to make his video go viral as well!
The downside of this approach is that you get a 5 year old's understanding of a situation because a complex issue cant be primarily explained visually with very little context given. That's why textbooks are mostly words and not photos.
Right, I don't think Johnny gives us a super deep, critical understanding of the topic. Whatever depth he found in research is mostly out of site in the video. I think if he wanted to put more info, he might have to target a slightly smaller, if more appreciative audience.
Here's the problem: everyone burns out of Johnny. Eventually, you realize that he's overloading your senses rather than nurishing your mind. You get frustrated with the incredible thinness of it all that delicious footage. Slowly you criticize it more and more. Then one day, you realize you don't have to waste your time on it anymore. You out grow Johhny.
Ok, fine. I'll change how I make my videos.
Haha, you seem to be doing well as is, but Johnny's formula has definitely been kicking my butt as of late, & it's forced me to spend way more time crafting my scripts. The biggest change for me has been using his "2 column script" approach: first column is the visual, and the second column tries to speak to it. :)
Reminds me of the principle of "put the locked door before the key" in game design. Otherwise people don't understand either
Oooh, that’s a great physical metaphor! When you put it that way, it makes it seem silly to do things any other way :) thanks for bringing that gem from game design!
Can you explain this principle?
The extraordinary amount of his editing skills, mapping structures used, the analysis behind every video, and the simple way of explaining the topics is exactly what excites me!!
Who would have thought something so simple like, " look at this thing" could just be awesome.
BTW , nicely done, you researched the hell out of it.😅
And when you scrutinized his formula, you went viral yourself!
Great content! Keep it coming!!
Underrated video 🙌 Good job explaining Johnny's video structure!
Brilliant explainer. Johnny is one of a few youtubers that I take inspiration from for my own videos.
Another thing that I like about his stuff is nothing ever sits still. Even if its just a newspaper heading it will be animated in some way.
Harris gets MILLIONS of views because he has FOUR MILLION+ subscribers. There, I cracked the code.
Haha touche
This is exactly what led me to his channel.
Ironically, this might also be why I gradually got tired of it. Context + evidence is a great way to explain, and a great way to persuade. However, it's only as good as what the producer gives the watcher. Videos after videos, his editing style becomes obvious. I started to realize that the initial bombardment of out-of-context clips mainly serve to drag me in, instead of to explain. I started to skip the dazzling part, and only to watch the informative part.
I started to notice how long the video drags before giving out context. Eventually I started thinking, if his team spends so much effort on producing the videos in this style, then how much time do they still have to do the research? How could I know if they're presenting the topic in a holistic and objective manner? How can I trust that this video is covering the topic fairly, when the editing style itself is the key to persuade people? ... eventually, I grew up.
I couldn't agree more. I used to love his videos. Then Tom Nicholas did a tear-down of one of Harris' videos (titled "Johnny Harris: A Story of UA-cam Propaganda"). I don't know if I'd put it as crassly. But Nicholas made me view Harris more critically.
Similarly for Vox actually. Adam Ragusea (who's a cooking youtuber now but used to be a journalism professor) said "Vox is gonna Vox". By which he meant that they like to simplify complex problems to make you feel like you really got it.
Now I read "professional" (by which I mean well-established and reputable) news papers like the New York Times. And I'm not naive either thinking they are "objective" (there is no such thing). But at least they hire hundreds or thousands of journalists and have op-eds from all kinds of angles.
Also don´t forget, that Johnny Harris not always stays 100% fact based and "bends" the truth, which is the secret spice to his recipe.
That's a good point. I think Johnny sees himself as trying to tell stories a mass audience will connect with, even if that involves over-simplifying some parts. It's both what makes him so popular, but also dangerous.
I also honestly love his presentation style, it feels like what you'd imagine how a crack journalist trying to explain the secrets of the universe, it's fun and amazingly paced
Phenomenal analysis video. New subscriber here (from Johnny's team.) Those are my arms and hands at 3:09 :)
That means so much, Jack! The work you all do is an inspiration to so many! Haha that's funny those are actually YOUR hands at 3:09
Props on sneakily creating a "bar chart" from the physical objects Johnny was working with! I might steal that in the future :)
sexy arms and hands
Thank you for breaking it down, been trying to do what he does. It's hard.
I feel you! I think the other element I'm trying to cultivate is just that deep curiosity that looks at the issue with fresh eyes, not within the paradigms my particular society gave me. Glad to be on this journey with you!
I wasn't expecting to see you here
@@kugul1683 :D
So, you are using the technique you talk about to talk about it. Brilliant!
You're a legend for breaking it down this simply! Subsribed to see more from you everyday!
😍
You talk so fast I had to check if I'm not in 1,5x speed. Makes it very hard to follow
Thanks for flagging this, I've heard this from others, too! Yeah, I think I was really committing to the hyper-paced UA-cam style without thinking, and I agree that slowing down a bit would improve the comprehension.
The reason I watch his videos is because "impartial" investigative journalism is dieing. His content is a breath of fresh air.
There are some "opinion" based videos that Johnny tries to make an issue out of an non-issues. His videos about China are full of stock footage and unsourced graphs that has little to do with the main topic he is discussing which leads the viewers to formulate negative opinions where none was before. Some UA-camrs noticed it and made their own videos about it and Johnny countered them with snarky replies.
Idk who Johnny Harris is. But I like this break down. Thank you. subbed to you.
Thanks so much, welcome to the community! Glad you don't know Johnny. He's great in some ways, but sometimes a bit problematic / oversimplifies. We're probably best off studying history / geo politics directly, if we can!
Nice vid! A tip, try to isolate your voice recordings or add a high pass filter to get rid of the low frequency rumble leaking into your mic. The sound design overall could do some refining to be cleaner/less intrusive as well.
Thought I was crazy not seeing more comments about this.
You are going to be a top top channel. This is unbelievable. I can't wait to come back to this comment at 1M subs!
Ironically, you convey this explained by displaying it in your own video format subtly. Good work
TLDR; MTV vs PBS, tiktok is creating a culture that can't sit through boring long form content 💯
I love this explanation. It's so cool that Johnny looks for a visual anchor for his topics, just like my favorite podcast, Radiolab, looks for a sound-design anchor.
Ooh good point. Oh how I love a well produced podcast.
Please put a hi pass filter on your voice recording, my house is rumbling!
Thanks! A lot of people with good headphones / speakers said the same thing :P
Wow, I LOVED ALL of this so much!! This is brilliant (and my favorite part starts at 5:26 ✨)
Awww, that's probably cuz it's a clever idea that was originally inspired by your playful genius, Aaron :)
এই ভিডিওটা এনায়েৎ চৌধুরী ’ স্যারের কাছে পৌঁছা দরকার 😶
Johnny’s an artist! He zooms in to the unconscious experience, like the body of a myth or story, then zooms out to analyze it consciously, which makes clear the moral/lesson of it.
Wow!
I´ve watched it for 4th time now... And my question is still: What's your IQ, David?
I mean, This is a masterpiece of Reverse Engineering. Deep Congrats again!
Can you tell me what's missing for my channel to start growing? I would love to hear that from You!
I will watch this video every day, just like I do on Magnates Media, speaking James Jani.
Impressive that you did this, giving us the evidence then the context. Nice to see you adopting your own advice and it working well. Thanks for the video!
Well, you understood how to go viral yourself 😁
Wow incredible work! It's worth mentioning that you should throw on a high pass filter on the recording of your voice, maybe up to around 100hz, because there's a lot of low end when listening with a sub or nice headphones. It will create more space for the audio of your whole video and make the mix cleaner. Everything about this is 10/10 though great job!
actually i think you're doing this already you just didn't on a couple clips haha
@@CompleteProducer thanks for that insight, will definitely do this going forward!
His editing is amazing but in some of his videos he doesn’t put sources like in the video about Morocco borders and the Sahara, all his informations about the subject were false it was very unprofessional, so I wonder if videos about others subject are not misleading because I don’t have any background about it
Sorry for the mistakes
Dude used the formula and pulled 140k views. What a move
What a great breakdown. Taking notes 📝
I'm sorry but you really drag this video!!!! Next time pick another sound effect for the words when it pops up. Overall it could've been better but at least you tried. Good Job!!!!
You may have found your new niche David! Look at these views and comments...BOOM! This was an awesome breakdown. Definitely do more!
Oh my gosh... Im one of the lucky 50k to see this video?!??.. In putting it to use while im ahead of the curve
Video moves really fast. It's hard for me to even understand what you're talking about
Good point, thanks! I'll keep working on balancing pacing. Curious if the videos I've made after this feel better paced!
Great video David
I can evem feel My next video Going Viral, just by watching this video!
Awesome Work, 😍
Love it, can’t wait to see what you make!
yes, everyone on earth has ADHD. this is no surprise. you have to keep the eyes constantly surprised.
This is a really good analysis of Johnny's craft, but I feel like the comparison to PBS could have been framed better. PBS Newshour (the show being clipped here) is a **nightly hourlong TV broadcast.** I don't think it's completely fair to compare it to a UA-cam channel that uploads 15-30 minute-long videos a few times a month. It does help explain why Johnny's stuff goes viral, but PBS isn't making 'mistakes' or doing low quality work, they're just operating on a much much tighter production cycle.
It's actually because he is being astroturfed by the state department.
I love how you use these exact formula in this video as well!
never, in a thousand years, would I expect someone to say "yea man, just treat your video like music"... and then provide and example that literally made me rethink everything... Nice m8
Thanks so much, glad it worked well for you! :D
I find his videos problematic. They are nice visually and keep you engaged. But honestly his actual content and research is so bare bones and surface level on almost every topic. Geopolitics and history is just not something you can simplify to this degree. Like sure it’s nice to look at I guess
It's a good point! Seems like you'd argue that the second reason for his virality is his oversimplification!
Also: Do a kiss ass promotional video for the WEF that guarantees you a life time of favourable algorithm selection from globalist YT
I'm still working on mine, personally!
You forgot one little thing, he's white, photogenic, english is his first language and has a good passport . I'm more interested in people and travellers who have none of this and still can make great quality videos!
These are good points, thank you! Yes, I don't think Johnny would have been able to do anything he's done without all the things you mention. To be honest, my title on this video is a bit hyperbolic in hopes of getting clicks.
The other thing I'd add to your list is his wife, Iz. She's a very accomplished producer and businesswoman who basically created the entire business that enables him to make his videos.
I'm always looking for great but overlooked creatives who don't fit the Johnny mold, do you have any recommendations?
One person who doesn't fit the Johnny Harris mold that I'm a big fan and Patreon supporter of is Noor, who makes the channel www.youtube.com/@barknoorz
She's not exactly travel-focused, but many of her short films involve travel.
No wayyyy , subscribed 3 minutes into the video, this video is toooo good to exist
It's because he works for the US state dept.
"Johnny Harris: A story of US Propaganda"
I've found my next video idea, thank you!
It is litterally just constant cuts beause of HDHD, Mr beast same thing wtf
Thanks for chiming in on this! Yeah, I do feel like exciting visuals & good pacing definitely help retain viewers who might otherwise click off.
While definitely important, I'd also argue that fast cuts aren't the only thing that makes MrBeast so successful. In fact, my friend Michelle Jia and I actually just made a video on what we think are some of the deeper secrets behind MrBeast's success. Would love your feedback on it!
ua-cam.com/video/XuAysx7kZeU/v-deo.html
I like his topics but after a while his style gets annoying, like his obsession with maps, trying to insert pictures of a map, scenes with a paper map, scene which he looking seriously at a computer showing a map. That and too many jump cuts. A bit style over substance to me.
That is not to say in most cases, a map in an animated sequence is useful, and I appreciate it's his thing.
I agree, I think his editors underestimate his audiences attention span. I wish he cut less, too!
It's hard to not see this "formula" as 80% fluff, 20% actual "journalism"
I suppose it can be used that way :(
Thanks for posting the link to his process video. Thanks for also not making this video 30mins long. (Someone else). Cheers
You bet! Yeah his process video is great, isn't it?