Social media video: it’s entertaining, enraging, exhausting. Most of it is garbage.
Creating original content that attracts eyeballs and view counts is a challenge. The simple solution: piss people off. Present a hot take as established fact and watch the comments boil over and the view counts skyrocket.
The Stranger pushes buttons. That has been its brand since its founding. So it’d be easy to just lean into that vibe and only create rage bait. And while some of the videos I’ve created since becoming the Director of Video Production last October have provoked heated reactions and comments, I’ve been struck by how many followers engage with content that is, at turns, silly, nerdy and even, dare I say, mellow. And let’s face it; creating that kind of content is just more fun.
But the biggest lesson I’ve learned is this: you can never predict how your videos will be received. Something that I work on for weeks will only get a few thousand views while another video I shoot and edit on my phone in an hour will get almost 2 million views (yes, this actually happened.)
For this reason alone, I strive to never phone it in. Metaphorically that is.
Here are just a few of the shorts I’ve helped create for The Stranger that I am particularly proud of.
How can you say anything new about the MELANIA documentary that hasn’t already been said? Subjects that are part of the cultural zeitgeist get old real fast. The solution? Get two drag queens to go see the film and ask them what they think. Pro Tip: it helps if they are smart, incisive and brutally funny like Monday Mourning and Miss Texas 1988.
The Stranger publishes an annual sex survey so I decided to create a video series that features a diverse cross-section of Seattleites talking about a few of the subjects covered in the survey. This is the first episode: an exploration of all the different unique locations in Seattle where people have had sex.
In addition to creating editorial content for The Stranger, I am also responsible for helping promote other properties we own. The HUMP! Film Festival is a DIY p-rn fest that was founded by Dan Savage and The Stranger over twenty years ago. We currently produce two programs per year that tour nationwide.
Fun fact: working for HUMP! as a freelancer last year was my first official gig for the company and provided a foot in the door for my future full time role. Needless to say, I have a soft spot for HUMP! and it’s message of acceptance, joy and overall enthusiasm for one of our most treasured pastimes.
But how to make a promo for the fest that doesn’t feel like an ad? We have very smart followers who can smell marketing from a mile away and they know when to swipe to the next thing. Once again the solution is to ask Miss Texas 1988 to bring her talents to the table.
We had such a blast filming this. We didn’t even have a polished script: just a few ideas, some shaving cream, a pie tin and a goal to make something so funny that people couldn’t possibly swipe away. To date, this is still one of our most successful videos we have produced since I started.
Photojournalist Nate Gowdy documented the front lines of the resistance in Minnesota at the height of the ICE surge earlier this year. I interviewed Nate and we collaborated on the edit going through a couple rounds of edits before we landed on the right mix of on-camera interview footage and examples of his powerful photography.
Our interview was over an hour long so it was a challenge to cut down to under 3 minutes - the maximum amount of time for an Instagram Reel. Below is the 16:9 version that I created for YouTube. Thanks to assistant editor Danielle Driehaus for helping me craft the story.
At Cascade PBS, my previous employer, I was a video editor, despite trying numerous times to switch to a producing role. Thankfully, I never stopped exercising my production muscles. Over the years, I've continued to shoot, produce and, yes, edit my own films including the pilot for City Edition.
Well, it turns out all those evenings and weekends spent working paid off.
Linked below is an adaptation of City Edition titled “Stranger Places” and featuring The Stranger's senior staff writer and Seattle journalism and filmmaking legend Charles Mudede and Keith Cote, creator of the popular Instagram account "@buildings_of_seattle". Fun fact: Keith was a consultant on City Edition so it was fun to get to work with him again.
Charles and Keith already had a series of videos about architecture they have been producing for years at The Stranger. I just gave it my own spin which meant embracing Charles' unscripted opinions and profanities that are an essential part of The Stranger's irreverent brand of journalism. And let's face it, it's just more fun.
The takeaway: don't ever stop doing things you love just because your employer doesn't let you do those things because maybe someday you'll work someplace that will.