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?
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
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.
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.
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! 😊
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.
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.
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!
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
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!!
... 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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
Thanks so much, Olesia! I'm glad it feels pithy, I spent quite a few weeks trying to refine this script with my editor, Michelle Jia! Haha she really kicked my butt on it ❤️
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.
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.
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.
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!
Johnny is a very smart journalist, not just because of his coverage and his formula, but also because he understands that a good team can work wonders. Producers and editors are extremely important to any channel on the scale of Johnny's, it's where a lot of channels fail, and why some of the greatest channels are so successful. Johnny's greatest skill is his ability to let other people do the work that they specialize in while he does what he specializes in.
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.
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.
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
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.
The UA-cam algorithm is like a stepdad that's easy to get along with. You don't want him to impose but you secretly enjoy his company. I've been spoonfed relevant content for the past 2 weeks that has helped me understand the psychology behind posting videos.
Johnny's mass of visual evidence in his videos are so great. The visual work is excellent. It's always a slight odd "this is me and I want to tell you"... but it works. Nobody else can do that strict "me"-documentary style...
Thank you for the affirmation, Eduardo! Means a lot ❤ Looks like you're making some documentaries yourself, can't wait for the auto-translation features to roll out so I can enjoy them in a language I speak! Hope you're doing well!
i am not a journalist, yet i see how johnny’s genius approach could apply to my work-perhaps i open presentations with something bold before explaining it outright; maybe it applies to dating, biz negotiating, etc. Very smart, both of you…
This is good pedagogy too. My favourite profs always got us asking questions, making observations about what didn't add up before any explanation or theory was brought up. We would talk for days about those classes, ignoring the others that were info dumps that we were supposed to regurgitate for an exam or repeat the profs 'ideas' to prop up their ego.
Thanks David. Being a beginner creator, I must say this was quite insightful. Eventhough I had listened to Johny's talk before, your analysis made me reach to more depths of his content. Thanks again!
@@PaintingwithGeorge ahh, I'm glad you liked the music notes! I certainly had fun making that part, and it was definitely an unusual approach. Makes me happy it worked well for you! I'll keep trying to experiment with things like that, thanks ❤
Your video is 10/10 in so many aspects, thank you so much for making this. While I still edit so little, I get myself using those concepts in music, it is all storytelling for humans.
My pleasure, makes my day to hear it resonated! That's super neat -- I'm curious how this video resonates with your experience in music. What parallels do you find? I also love playing music, and definitely feel like they're connected!
It's rare these days to click on a random youtube video and come out the other end thinking "Damn, I'm so glad I watched this"... But that's exactly how I feel right now.
Oh wow. I've been stuck on writing this video about the Pomodoro technique and this might just do it for me finally getting it done. Thanks for introducing me to Johnny Harris too!
David even employs the technique by showing us Johnny saying "look at this", making us think "wow what is this", and then sit through the rest of the video.
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??
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?
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
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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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
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
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!
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!!
"good explaination doesnt just start in our head but rests on a body of vivid experiences. "
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
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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
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.
Insane how he actually used Johnny's formula to make his video go viral as well!
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
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
Main reason why Johnny Harris is far more recommendable than any mainstream media on UA-cam...
Great breakdown, and sweet graphics/animations, well done 👊
Bro, this needs WAY WAY more views
Thanks so much! Haha, for a small creator, this *already* feels like a lot of views!
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.
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.
And when you scrutinized his formula, you went viral yourself!
Great content! Keep it coming!!
I love how you use these exact formula in this video as well!
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
So, you are using the technique you talk about to talk about it. Brilliant!
Great video David!
Thanks so much, Zac!
David Mora: Wow, I never even thought about why I find Johnny's videos so engaging. Well explained! 👏
Underrated video 🙌 Good job explaining Johnny's video structure!
The best thing is that his uploads don’t feel rushed
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.
I love how the details on the formula is reflected in the time stamps
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
Was so hooked I didn't even realise the video was almost finished
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
This is why i like his videos so much. He actually provides visual evidence and detailed maps
as well as being a nerd in history and geopolitics
Go nerds!
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
You may have found your new niche David! Look at these views and comments...BOOM! This was an awesome breakdown. Definitely do more!
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.
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.
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!
This video randomly appeared on suggestions. And I watched all the way through. Man, you're great. Awesome vid!
Welcome aboard! Thank you!
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.
My favorite journist/story teller. Love your work Johnny!
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?
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! :)
I just LOVVEEE this video! It's like you boiled it down for us. Short, on point, wonderful visualization! Thank you!
Thanks so much, Olesia! I'm glad it feels pithy, I spent quite a few weeks trying to refine this script with my editor, Michelle Jia! Haha she really kicked my butt on it ❤️
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.😅
Johnny's is my go-to favorite channel. So much information and intelligence.
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 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.
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.
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!
You're a legend for breaking it down this simply! Subsribed to see more from you everyday!
😍
this is such an elegant way to get this idea across. the musical notes bit is genius.
These are such kind words, thank you, I'm glad you liked it! :D
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 :)
Johnny is a very smart journalist, not just because of his coverage and his formula, but also because he understands that a good team can work wonders. Producers and editors are extremely important to any channel on the scale of Johnny's, it's where a lot of channels fail, and why some of the greatest channels are so successful. Johnny's greatest skill is his ability to let other people do the work that they specialize in while he does what he specializes in.
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.
This is an amazing analysis. Excellent work, David.
Thanks so much!
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.
The way you used music to explain how his formula works was awesome and so much fun!
Ironically, you convey this explained by displaying it in your own video format subtly. Good work
He is very good at the way he explains things. I am addicted to his videos
He is also no afraid to say it like it is
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
Wow!!!! U sir have change my entire paradigm. Thank you !!!!!!!
So happy to hear that!
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.
The UA-cam algorithm is like a stepdad that's easy to get along with. You don't want him to impose but you secretly enjoy his company.
I've been spoonfed relevant content for the past 2 weeks that has helped me understand the psychology behind posting videos.
That good ol' algo... not that, like, you know, I think he's cool or anything... ok?
This has single handedly opened my mind to a completely different way of making my videos, wow. Thanks David will deffo be putting this into practice!
Love to hear that! Looks like you made a lot of fun blogs a year back, hope you jump back into it!
This video is simultaneously an excellent explanation of the formula and example of how to put it to work. Awesome stuff!
Thanks Finn! Yeah, I definitely knew exactly where to channel my learning as I wrote the script :)
What a great breakdown. Taking notes 📝
This video is edited and composed as well any channel 1000x this size. Those graphics hitting those guitar beats is *chefs kiss*.
Johnny's mass of visual evidence in his videos are so great. The visual work is excellent. It's always a slight odd "this is me and I want to tell you"... but it works. Nobody else can do that strict "me"-documentary style...
Elements of a documentary: music, visual examples, interviews, Johnny Harris*
*if you're Johnny Harris
Its not a formula. Its Passion and Quality by heart.
in simple term, show, not tell, thats the key
Couldn't have said it better myself!
He's a good storyteller, that's one of his quality that very few UA-camrs masters 💜
I really hope to see this channel with some millions of subscribers in some months. Absolutely top notch content
Thank you for the affirmation, Eduardo! Means a lot ❤
Looks like you're making some documentaries yourself, can't wait for the auto-translation features to roll out so I can enjoy them in a language I speak!
Hope you're doing well!
@@itsdavidmora just starting this journey of UA-cam. Your video was a masterclass for me. I will add some English dub soon! Thank you 👏
@@eduardo_gamaSo gald it was helpful, it certainly was for me :D
Johnny is honestly my favorite UA-cam atm
i am not a journalist, yet i see how johnny’s genius approach could apply to my work-perhaps i open presentations with something bold before explaining it outright; maybe it applies to dating, biz negotiating, etc. Very smart, both of you…
Johnny Harris documentary is on the next level. Even a boring topic becomes interesting.
This is good pedagogy too. My favourite profs always got us asking questions, making observations about what didn't add up before any explanation or theory was brought up. We would talk for days about those classes, ignoring the others that were info dumps that we were supposed to regurgitate for an exam or repeat the profs 'ideas' to prop up their ego.
Ooh, love your connection to teaching. Spot on!
@@itsdavidmora Thank you! I appreciate your work and i've already sent on your video to my spouse.
@@rkmh9342 wow, thank you RK!
He’s mastered the visual medium. Brilliant!
He does a lot of research about his topics. That's what I love about his videos
Thanks David. Being a beginner creator, I must say this was quite insightful. Eventhough I had listened to Johny's talk before, your analysis made me reach to more depths of his content. Thanks again!
The animation/graphics in this video is VERY UNDERRATED.
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!
Years of watching Johnny's work since borders and yet never saw what was right there. Amazing work bro!!
No wayyyy , subscribed 3 minutes into the video, this video is toooo good to exist
Loved this breakdown and also a fan of Johnny's storytelling. Would love a deeper dive into this and more examples. Keep em coming. Great video.
Thanks!
Motion graphics and editing on point! And the dissection is so helpful!
Thanks so much, Cara!
Your videos are so amazing. Please never ever stop making them
Wow, that means so much, George! Thank you 😊 Could I ask if there were any specific elements that particularly resonated with you?
@@itsdavidmora the music notes part was absolutely special. Thank you so much for the reply 🙂
@@PaintingwithGeorge ahh, I'm glad you liked the music notes! I certainly had fun making that part, and it was definitely an unusual approach. Makes me happy it worked well for you! I'll keep trying to experiment with things like that, thanks ❤
I really love the different colors for visuals and context. It helps so much with instant understanding.
Your video is 10/10 in so many aspects, thank you so much for making this. While I still edit so little, I get myself using those concepts in music, it is all storytelling for humans.
My pleasure, makes my day to hear it resonated!
That's super neat -- I'm curious how this video resonates with your experience in music. What parallels do you find? I also love playing music, and definitely feel like they're connected!
It's rare these days to click on a random youtube video and come out the other end thinking "Damn, I'm so glad I watched this"... But that's exactly how I feel right now.
I'm so grateful this video left you feeling like that, Haneul!
Oh wow. I've been stuck on writing this video about the Pomodoro technique and this might just do it for me finally getting it done. Thanks for introducing me to Johnny Harris too!
So glad to hear it! Can’t wait to see what you create, Jordan!
David even employs the technique by showing us Johnny saying "look at this", making us think "wow what is this", and then sit through the rest of the video.
Yeah even I noticed what David was doing
Isn’t that how reporting should work? Great explainer!!!
I suppose so! Thanks!
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT ! WHAT AN ANALYSIS. I'LL BE WATCHING OTHER VIDEOS OF THAT KIND REMEMBERING THAT STRUCTURE YOU SO AMAZINGLY EXPLAINED !
CHAPEAU !
I know, the pattern was really elucidating for me, too!!