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Jessica Kellgren-Fozard: YouTube’s gay disabled sweetheart

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard is quick to charm any new viewer with her welcoming personality, bubbly British accent and vintage aesthetic. Underneath is only more to love—a biting wit, a passion for fighting for—and with—the underdog and an incredible ability to educate viewers on anything from LGBTQ+ history to living as a deaf person with many chronic illnesses.

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard
Subscribers: 780K
Uploads: 561
Video Views: 60,096,147
Channel Type: People
User created: Apr 2nd, 2011

Despite joining YouTube in 2011, it wasn’t until December 2015 that Jessica started her online career with a series of popular Christmas songs in British Sign Language. Since then, she has blossomed into an activist, entertainer and absolute icon. Her journey is far from slowing down as she continues to thrive on YouTube while writing a book, all with her wife and 770k+ devoted subscribers by her side. 

“realizing that you’re gay doesn’t immediately flood your head with all of the knowledge you need to navigate life as a gay person”

Representation is the destination

Growing up as a disabled lesbian, Jessica Kellgren-Fozard wasn’t provided with representation in mainstream media. This made it difficult for her to imagine a future where she could have a career in entertainment—until she discovered YouTube.

“YouTube is a wonderful platform in my eyes because I can make content around my body’s schedule—which is unhelpfully all over the place!— [and] not have to go through gatekeepers who question whether I’m ‘too disabled’ or ‘not visibly disabled enough’ to be a presenter AND at the same time provide to others some of that much-needed representation I was lacking”.

The scarcity of representation didn’t stop with the media, as Jessica came to realize that these disconnects also happen in our everyday life. Growing up, we experience the same culture as the generations in our community before us—we eat the same foods, continue traditions and share stories of ancestors. When we live with something that isn’t handed down between generations, such as sexual orientation or disability, we’re forced to seek out our own communities to understand what that world is like.

Jessica aims to provide this representation and knowledge, noting that “Knowing the history of your community helps you to feel proud of your identity; to realize that others like you have done great things and to inspire you to do the same. Equally, realizing that you’re gay doesn’t immediately flood your head with all of the knowledge you need to navigate life as a gay person, much like no one hands you a guide book when you become disabled!” Jessica’s channel acts as a bridge between two worlds—the one where you’re without a community, and one filled with it. 

She knows what works for her

YouTube can be difficult for anyone to navigate and thrive on, but Jessica has managed to build a dedicated and enthusiastic community.

Outstanding consistency may have contributed to her success, with regular uploads fuelling her growth – she has shared videos two a week for over three years and has earned over 58 million views. A regular schedule can be difficult to adhere to, but Jessica has learned to work with her body instead of against it (“ie, writing when my brain feels clear, filming when I have energy, editing or planning when I have to lie in bed”).

She’s also found the perfect balance between “easy/elaborate productions”. Some videos will take her a day to create, and others can take a month. Finding the sweet spot that works for you—and your body, and your schedule—is key to maintaining consistency. This also applies to brand deals and collaborations. Jessica has lost some amazing opportunities because one day of travel or a more demanding shoot could have her in bed for a week.

People who work with her also need to understand that longer lead times may be necessary, and a sudden day or week of illness could put a temporary halt to production. This can, and should, be a wake-up call to brands working with creators. A truly inclusive campaign should not only include disabled creators but also willingly provide appropriate accommodations to ensure it runs as smoothly as possible without putting disabled people in uncomfortable or painful situations. 

Her vintage charm

When it comes to her unique vintage style, Jessica insists that it wasn’t planned—“I’ve always just worn clothes that make me happy!”—but the result remains a strong visual impact that makes her videos instantly recognizable to fans. Designing a unique look and feel is something many successful creators strive for. Considering that it will be a part of your content and online persona, it’s important to form your aesthetic from within rather than searching for inspiration externally. Jessica’s advice is to create a look that is “authentically ‘you’” to avoid becoming “fatigued with your own content”. 

Addressing the haters

“Clearly it’s something that we as a community need to be more conscious of.”

It’s no secret that LGBTQ+ and disabled creators face harassment online. Jessica finds it easy to brush off any homophobic comments because, as she eloquently puts it, “well, clearly they’re just empirically wrong!” Hateful and ignorant comments surrounding disability, however, elicits a more impassioned response.

For many disabled people, their disabilities aren’t always visible. Sometimes people who use mobility aids like wheelchairs or canes don’t need them every day. Chronic pain can flare up out of nowhere, and activities that make someone feel fine one day could have them bedridden for days on another day. This results in disabled people unreasonably needing to “prove” that they’re disabled enough for certain spaces, accommodations or reserved seats made specifically for them. “That’s what the majority of the ableist comments I receive hinge on and it upsets me, but at the same time makes me angry.”

Instagram jessicaoutofthecloset

Jessica works hard to combat ignorant comments through education but will turn to moderation if that doesn’t work. She also puts her energy towards speaking directly to those living with disabilities. She’s telling them that they are enough and worthy, and don’t need to prove anything to be accepted in this space.

Making YouTube better

As Jessica Kellgren-Fozard moves to make YouTube a brighter platform, there are steps other creators can do to help disabled viewers and creators. Number one on Jessica’s list? “Caption. Your. Videos. Captions are vital not just for viewers who are deaf and hard of hearing but also those with processing disorders or cognitive impairments—not to mention the wider internet community for whom English is not their first language.”

She’s not the first—and certainly won’t be the last—creator to call for wider captioning across the platform. YouTuber Rikki Poynter started the #NoMoreCraptions movement in 2016 in response to YouTube’s substandard auto-captioning capabilities and the number of YouTubers with massive audiences who still don’t have effective captions on their videos. In addition to this, content warnings can also help make a more inclusive viewing experience for audiences, be it for mental health topics or flashing lights that could trigger a seizure for those with photosensitive epilepsy. 

In LGBTQ+ spaces, there is a long way to go in regards to making the community more inclusive of disabled people. “More than one-third of adults who identify as LGBTQ+ also identify as having a disability… Clearly it’s something that we as a community need to be more conscious of.” In Jessica’s experience, LGBTQ+ events often involve nighttime activities and alcohol, but she can “barely stay awake past 10 PM!” Live events could also benefit from sign language interpreters, live subtitling boards, ramps and quiet spaces that allow people to step away from everything if they’re feeling overwhelmed or just need a moment alone. Jessica loves both her online community and the LGBTQ+ community and strives to see both of them do better for disabled people.

Community though YouTube

While she has her criticisms of YouTube—reminder again to “Caption. Your. Videos.”—the overall impact the platform has had on her life is extraordinary. Through YouTube, without barriers put up by mainstream entertainment, Jessica Kellgren-Fozard is able to create thought-provoking and highly entertaining videos for millions to see.

She’s grateful for her career, but also for the ways in which her positive community helped her own loneliness. “Living with a dysfunctional body can be very isolating,” Jessica explains, “so I’m very lucky to have such a positive and uplifting community of internet friends”. On YouTube, fans often reflect your content, so Jessica prioritizes positivity by approaching every topic and video “with kindness, and by welcoming people in, making it clear that it’s okay if you disagree [with her]”. Her welcoming nature does not extend to hate speech, and Jessica strongly moderates her platform in order to protect her diverse audience.

It’s evident that her positive content isn’t a PR move or “branding”. It’s simply a disabled lesbian with an enviable petticoat collection creating a place online where she and her audience feel accepted, supported and empowered. And if you’re still looking for your place online, a group of people who understand and reflect you, then be patient. “The internet is such a huge space, your people will find you.”

Creator Studio now tests video post performance

Facebook Creator Studio now can test video performance before posting

Facebook is releasing a new useful Creator Studio tool that allows video creators to test different versions of the same video to determine which has the best performance.

So, Facebook creators can have different variations of their video and test their performance before posting. They will be able to compare with a number of different metrics. For instance, creators can A/B test all aspects of a video post. This includes testing the video’s asset, headlines, descriptions, and even thumbnails. After testing, creators can select the metric they’re wanting to focus on.

How does the new Facebook Creator Studio tool work?

This new tool works by showing each post. Creators can text a max of four posts simultaneously. They can test them with a subset of users in their News and Watch feeds for a certain amount of time. The test will not publish the post to users’ Pages. After the test is done, the post with the most successful in the metric chosen is determined. Once it’s determined, the post will automatically publish.

Facebook says this tool will help people make creative strategy

Similar tools to the new Facebook Creator Studio tool have been available through paid, third-party services previously. Now, however, Facebook is offering the tool for free in Creator Studio. Facebook is looking to help creators to make decisions about creative strategy, as well as engage their audiences,

“If you were to ask me if there’s any feature I could have, it would be this,” Content creator Dhar Mann, who has 18.2 million Facebook followers, said in a statement. “When my producer is arguing with my editor about what the intro should be, we can end the argument and just let the audience decide.”

It appears that this new Facebook Creator Studio tool could do some good for creators looking to plan their content strategy more effectively.

NICKMERCS and his path to streaming success

Nick Kolcheff, better known to his subscribers as NICKMERCS, has found success balancing his content between both Twitch and YouTube. Let’s take a look at his journey and how his story might inspire other content creators. 

Tournament player

Though NICKMERCS has found more prominent success in recent years, he’s been around the streaming industry from the beginning. Nick’s passion for gaming came in his youth. Despite victories in local tournaments, he often struggled to convince his parents of it being a viable career. Finding himself at odds more often than not, he set out to prove himself in the gaming community. 

Nick put himself on the map during the early days of the modern esports scene by joining the professional team, TH3 NSAN3Z, and winning the Major League Gaming—MLG—Gears of War 2 National Championship in 2009. His time with TH3 NSAN3Z was fruitful, and they went on to win three more major tournaments—MLG Anaheim, MLG Dr Pepper, and the National Championship at MLG Orlando. All together Nick earned over $100,000, an almost unheard-of sum during those early days of esports. 

The forefront of streaming

Early on in his career, Nick leveraged his esports success into live-streaming on top of tournament participation. In 2010, before Twitch was even known as Twitch, Nick was streaming. Though he hooked a loyal following with his Gears of War videos, his transition to Call of Duty is what took his channel to the next level. 

By 2015, Nick was regarded as one of the biggest names in the COD community. Known for his aggressive playstyle and humorous demeanor, his star continued to rise as Justin.tv made the conversion to Twitch. 

His subscriber base had been steady for a number of years, but jumping onto Fortnite early in the title’s launch, Nick saw exponential growth over the course of just a few months. Once his squad broke a pair of world records, Nick cemented his role as one of the preeminent game streamers.

Despite some hiccups, including a public falling out with Nadeshot and 100 Thieves, Nick is now part of the most popular esports organization in the world: FaZe Clan. His continual hard work has paid off and he now commands nearly four million Twitch followers, alongside his 3 million subscribers on YouTube. 

Community impact 

Another crucial key to NICKMERCS’ success in streaming stems from his community engagement. His Fortnite adventures garnered considerable attention considering his exclusive use of a gamepad during tournaments. Even while everyone else was playing with a keyboard and mouse —a standard for competitive play— Nick stuck to his controller setup. 

This endeared him to many gamers and essentially made him the ‘face’ of the controller-based community. Nick has used this distinction to build more content for his channels; from snagging partnerships with ScuffGaming, gamepad reviews and even videos based around the settings he prefers. Nick has been able to expand the types of content offered while still sticking to a brand the community knows and loves.  

Beyond that, Nick maintains an active presence within his own community, the “MFAM.” He has an active social media presence, often interacting directly with fans on top of posting links to new content. More impressive, however, is his direct outreach work within the community. 

Nick frequently holds fundraising streams and has donated several thousands of dollars to the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research. This generosity extends directly to subscribers as well. He routinely gives thousands of dollars to subscribers during the holidays and just last year hosted a $100,000 barbeque open to all of his fans. 

With all the hard work he’s put into his gaming career, Nick makes it clear he wouldn’t have made it without the help and support of his followers. As such, he continues to go out of his way to try and show that appreciation in a way few streamers have. 

Balancing platforms

Even with a significant subscriber base, Nick isn’t slowing down. His approach to growth should be familiar to any content creator looking to grow. He adheres to a regular schedule, posting new content on a daily basis and he utilizes a dedicated space for recording. He’s also invested in his streaming/gaming setup to ensure everything looks sleek and professional.  

Despite sticking to a couple of games, Nick keeps his content diverse by balancing the two major video platforms. On Twitch—his primary outlet—he streams matches in Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone, entertaining viewers while playing. He then takes those streams and turns them into YouTube content. These include highlight reels of specific matches, humorous moments top lists and specific tips for other players. Nick finds a way to take raw stream footage and turn them into fresh content

This approach keeps livestream viewers happy while enticing newcomers with the highlights. In this way, NICKMERCS found a balance between Twitch and YouTube. This allows him to stick to the platform he’s most familiar with without excluding other audiences. 

A journey to remember

NICKMERCS’ rise to streaming fame comes from his dedication and work ethic. By combining his passion for competitive gaming and being at the forefront of the streaming era, he’s proven that hard work along with basic content creation principles can get you far. Along with his constant support of the community, Nick’s legacy is one that will have a lasting impact.

YouTube revised retention analytics with key moments

YouTube updates retention analytics
Image courtesy: YouTube

According to Dan, a YouTube interaction designer, the Creator Studio has featured an audience retention graph, but it offered little information. All it really showed was a single graphed line that displayed the percentage of starting viewership retained during the time span of the video in question. This display only gave creators a general idea about their video’s viewer retention. Now, after the update, Creator Studio will use four “key moments” retention analytics tools to better detail viewer retention on individual videos. These “key moments” are Intro, Continuous Segments, Spikes, and Dips.

Video courtesy: Creator Insider

Retention analytics: Key moments

According to YouTube, the key moments will track data at specific time areas in a creator’s videos. Intro will measure how many viewers are watching the video after the first 30 seconds. This should help creators gauge how effective their intros are for particular videos and adjust if retention is low.

Moving on, Dan says Continuous Segments are “a period where the graph is basically flat, and that means no one is leaving the video, so that indicates you have really engaging content.” Dan recommends paying close attention to Continuous Segments. “I would recommend watching that section and kind of thinking about what’s happening there, what can you do with that information to make more of that content in the future?”

As for Spikes, these are areas of a video where there’s an unusually high viewer increase. So this might point to areas where viewers are rewatching or there’s a timestamp.

Dips show unusual decreases in viewership. This would point to areas where people are leaving the video.

When is the update?

All of these tools are currently available in Creator Studio on YouTube. You can use them right now.

Image courtesy: Creator Insider

How to get viewers on Twitch

It’s never been easier to start streaming on Twitch, but getting consistent viewership is another story. Getting viewers on Twitch is still a challenge for many aspiring streamers, but following a few key tips will push your channel in the right direction. Here’s our top advice for attracting viewers to your Twitch stream.

Stream frequently

The best thing that you can do to grow your viewership on Twitch is to keep your channel active. Ideally, you’ll publish a streaming schedule — and stick to it — so that viewers always know when to tune in. Designating at least one day a week to streaming will keep viewers more engaged, but if you can stream more often, that’s even better.

You’ll want to stream to Twitch as frequently as possible. Avid gamers already spend lots of time at the computer — why not turn on your stream whenever you sit down to play? To make this easier, create a permanent streaming setup that requires minimal effort to get up and running. It doesn’t need to be elaborate; it just needs to work.

Play games you enjoy

Another way to make sure you are streaming as often as possible is to commit to only streaming games that you actually enjoy playing. If you don’t have fun playing a game in private, why would anyone want to watch you suffer through playing it on stream? Playing games you already love is more enjoyable for both you and your fans. That means more consistent streams on your part and more consistent viewership on theirs.

It’s tempting to choose games based on popularity or to focus on games that top Twitch streamers are playing. There is some logic to this mentality: Your Twitch stream may attract more viewers if it appears in popular streaming categories. On the other hand, though, it’s extremely easy for your stream to get lost within these larger categories. If you’re still struggling to get consistent viewership, your stream will likely fall to the bottom of the list. Instead of competing with the most popular Twitch streamers, aim to dominate smaller categories with less competition.

One last note on game selection: Don’t be afraid to switch it up. Playing the same game indefinitely will get stale for both you and your viewers. Once you have a loyal fan, they’ll most likely stick with you regardless of the specific game you’re playing at the time.

Be entertaining

While the game you choose to play is important, you can’t rely exclusively on the game to entertain your fans. We’ve all seen enough Let’s Play videos to know that the person behind the keyboard is a huge factor in attracting and retaining viewers. Don’t sit and play in silence. Engage with the game. Get pumped. Share your excitement with the audience.

There are a number of different ways that you can provide entertainment for your Twitch viewers. One is to become an exceptional gamer who viewers admire for your skill and prowess. Comedy is another popular approach, which itself can be broken down into dozens of subcategories. If you can’t be the best, you can at least try to be the funniest; the bumbling hero is always a fan favorite.

A good way to find your voice as an entertainer is to take your natural disposition and turn up the volume. Whether you have a particularly dry sense of humor or a tendency toward undeserved self-confidence, amp up your authentic personality to create a persona that engages and entertains.

Finally, whatever persona to choose to cultivate, keep it consistent. Fans need to know who and what to expect when they tune into your stream.

Engage your audience

Part of the beauty of going live is the direct connection it creates with your viewers. This real-time engagement is unique to live streaming, and it’s one of the main appeals for streamers and viewers alike. Remember, for your Twitch channel to be successful, you need to build a community. Authentic, real-time communication is a great way to do it.

As you’re streaming, actively look for opportunities to engage with your audience. Respond to questions in chat, and ask your fans to share their opinions and advice if you get stuck on an especially challenging level. Invite discussion whenever possible.

You can also use streaming tools like alerts and overlays to foster more engagement. Some games even feature Twitch integrations that give viewers a say over in-game events. This is a great way to get viewers invested in your stream so they’ll be sure to tune in next time.

Leverage other platforms

Our final bit of advice is to promote your stream outside of Twitch. The massive streaming platform is notorious for its poor discoverability, meaning it’s difficult for new streamers to gain a foothold. Promoting your stream on platforms like Twitter, Facebook and, of course, YouTube can make it much easier to reach potential viewers.

Posting to YouTube in particular is a great way to bring new viewers to your Twitch stream. It’s much easier to get discovered on YouTube thanks to YouTube’s robust recommendation algorithm. To take advantage of this, edit your stream recordings into highlight reels, walkthrough tutorials or simple let’s play videos and post those to YouTube. From there, you can invite viewers to join you on your Twitch stream.

Final thoughts

Getting consistent viewers on Twitch takes work and dedication, but it is possible. Start by streaming frequently and playing games you sincerely enjoy. Then, be creative in how you entertain and engage with your fans. Proper marketing is essential as well. With these pieces in place, you’ll be on your way to building a substantial Twitch following.

Instagram rolls out shoppable ads on IGTV

Instagram rolls out shoppable ads on IGTV
Image courtesy: Instagram

IGTV now has shoppable ads. Instagram added a new form of monetization to the video-sharing platform. It’s also planning to release these ads on Reels soon.

According to Instagram, adding shoppable ads to IGTV, it creates “a new way to sell in an inspirational and immersive way through long-form, edited video.” While see-and-shop videos have been on Instagram since 2018, they were only available on Instagram Live and Stories.

Adding more monetization features to IGTV

This is a big update for a fairly barren IGTV in regards to its eCommerce features. Shoppable videos allow brands to create videos that help viewers see and buy their products while watching. While brands have been able to post videos about their products on IGTV before, shoppable ads allow people to shop right from the video without needing to pause. Once they’re read to check out, they can do so through the company’s website or the Instagram Checkout service.

The feature is coming to Reels

Instagram is currently planning to add shoppable ads to Reels after IGTV. Instagram has added a new form of monetization to the video-sharing platform. It’s also planning to release these ads on Reels. Adding more eCommerce early on could allow Reels to pose a real challenge to TikTok. TikTok still hasn’t rolled out any significant monetization features for creators and brands. We can expect to see Instagram release the feature on Reels later this year.

“By bringing shopping to IGTV and Reels, we’re making it easy to shop directly from videos,” Instagram COO Justin Osofsky said in a statement. “And in turn, helping sellers share their story, reach customers, and make a living.”

Image courtesy: Instagram

What makes a screenplay strong?

If you think back over the books you have read or films you have watched, there will be some which stand out above the rest. The stories engage you in a way that the others don’t and touch you on an emotional or intellectual level – or both.

Film is a compelling medium through which a storyteller can tell their tale and have their voice heard. But what makes a strong screenplay?

There are many factors that go into telling a strong and compelling story. This article will break down the elements you need to incorporate in your screenplay to create a story that engages and moves your audience.

What makes a strong story?

Have a message

At its core, a strong story will have a message to bring to the audience. That message may be explicitly stated, like in The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy says, “there’s no place like home” and realizes that she already had everything she wanted. Or it may be more subtly implied, such as Jurassic Park’s warning as to what can happen when people try to interfere with nature.

Some films aim to raise awareness of particular issues. The Day After Tomorrow brings attention and awareness to climate change, for instance. Other films want to challenge the way their audience thinks, such as Philadelphia, which helped to destigmatize AIDS at a time when it was a taboo subject.

A story with a strong message can emotionally engage the audience during the film and can continue to generate discussion and interest in the days that follow.

Use relatable experiences

Script writers often use events from their own lives when writing a script to shape the story or add depth to their characters. When the audience can recognize events from their own life experiences in your film, they will more strongly connect to your story. Having a basis in reality will also make your film more authentic.

It’s helpful to make your story relatable, but that doesn’t mean you need to limit your story’s scope to everyday events. Rocky is a film about boxing, but, more importantly, it is about overcoming hardship to achieve your dreams. In many ways, this is the same story as the journey of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, who goes from being a poor farmer on an obscure planet to a hero who saves the universe. The audience will relate to the characters’ struggles even if they take place in an unfamiliar world.

Write compelling characters

To engage your audience, you need to create compelling characters that people will rally behind. When your audience feels empathy or sympathy with your protagonists, they want to know how the story ends.

Ensure that your characters are believable and three dimensional. It can be tempting to use established stereotypes to quickly determine who is the hero and who is the villain of your story. While this can be a good starting point, you should flesh out your characters with their personalities, foibles and nuances. Consider Police Chief Brody trying to protect Amity’s people from the shark in Jaws: he is afraid of the water and doesn’t like going out on the boat. Indiana Jones faces all manner of challenges but is fearful of snakes. Giving your hero a weakness is one way to make them more human, just be careful not to make these weaknesses humorous.

Take time to get to know your characters before you write their story. Where were they born? What accent do they speak with? What is their favorite food? What music do they listen to? Make each of the main characters in your story different and unique. Most importantly, write characters you like as you will spend a lot of time with them as you work on your story!

A strong plot

At a fundamental level, there are only six or seven basic story types. To make your screenplay  stand out, you must try to find a new and unique way to look at a situation or struggle. For instance, the horror film The Lost Boys used vampires to retell the story of Peter Pan. The film Forbidden Planet was a science-fiction take on William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

One of the most common romantic plots is boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back again. Yet, there are still fresh, new romance films made each year. How could you tell that story in a new way? You could set your story in a different historical period— in the past or the future. It could be boy meets boy, or girl meets girl. What if the two protagonists fight on different sides in a war and supposed to be sworn enemies, yet fall in love? At its heart, West Side Story is a reworking of Romeo and Juliet.

Start with an age-old story and then allow your imagination to take it in a brand new direction. There are lots of books which can help you learn more about building a strong plot. The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell and Poetics by Aristotle are  great places to start.

Before you start writing

Read

Before you start to write your first screenplay, you should take the time to read some screenplays. Doing this will allow you to study the form and structure of screenplays for films that you know and like. However, it can also be useful to read screenplays for films that you didn’t enjoy to see if you can determine why they didn’t connect with you.

As you read the screenplays, study what worked and what didn’t work. Choose some stories that are driven by dialogue and others that are more focused on action. Consider what message the writer wanted to convey through the screenplay and whether it is explicit or implicit.

It can be a useful exercise to have your own take on what worked for those screenplays. Choose a scene and think about how you could write it in a different way to achieve the same goal.

The Internet Movie Script Database (https://www.imsdb.com/) is a fabulous free resource with screenplays from all genres and an ideal place to start your research.

Watch

As well as reading screenplays, it would help if you also watched films. Choose one of your favorites and write an outline for it. An outline is a writer’s blueprint for their screenplay. It may be in the form of bullet points or short paragraphs for each scene, summarizing the essential plot points, action and dialogue as necessary.

Map how the plot is structured and how the characters develop. Traditionally films have often followed a three-act formula. Act One introduces the characters and establishes the setting for the story. It also includes an inciting incident that sets the tale underway and ends with a turning point, which leads to Act Two. In Act Two, the protagonist pursues their goal, leading to another turning point at the end of the Act, which suggests that they will fail in their quest. In Act Three, the protagonist will face a climactic do or die battle leading to the story’s resolution.

Study how characters learn from their experiences and are changed by them. What journeys do the characters go on, both physically and emotionally? The loner may have to learn how to trust others and work with them. An arrogant man may learn humility. A timid person comes to believe in themselves and stand up against their foe. If a film character tells you their weakness or worst fear, you can guarantee it will be a challenge they have to overcome before the end credits roll.

Write with passion

Writing a screenplay is rarely a quick process. You will be spending a lot of time crafting your story and molding your characters, so write about something which inspires you. Find a topic you feel strongly about and base your screenplay around that. If you are passionate about the story you want to tell, then others will be as well.

You could use your story to raise awareness of an issue that is important to you. Alternatively, you may choose to set your story in a community you want to highlight, so that message is less explicit.

You may also choose to write about a subject which you are keen to learn more about. The research for your story will allow you to educate yourself and your audience at the same time.

Also, before you start writing, it is essential to understand that screenplays follow a specific and established format. Doing some research and knowing the proper format will help when you are ready to turn your screenplay over to producers and directors.

Techniques

Make it personal

When you are looking for a story to tell, why not start with your own experiences? You can choose to base the main plot of your screenplay on your life event. Alternatively, you could use your experiences as a subplot or to add depth and characterization to your protagonists.

Telling a personal story will ensure that the plot is very genuine. Incorporating elements from your own life will help you relate to your screenplay. It is important to be aware that if you can relate to your story, you can rest assured that your audience will.

The authenticity that comes when writing from personal experience will add depth and an emotional punch to your screenplay plot. It will add a level of humanity and nuance that comes from having that real-life feeling.

Show don’t tell

When writing a screenplay, you should always keep in mind that film is a visual medium. Remember the adage “show don’t tell.” A common flaw in scripts is to have the protagonists describe a situation or event through dialogue when it could be more simply conveyed to the audience with visual images. Never have your characters speak what can be shown.

The more visual a film is, the more universal it will be to all viewers. Also, by trusting your audience to follow the plot by interpreting what they see, they will become more engaged and invested in your story.

Once you have finished the first draft of your screenplay, an essential part of the writing process is rewriting. You should review what you have written and seek to remove any unnecessary dialogue. Also, leave out any unnecessary action and stage directions, as these will be determined by the directors and the actors.

Use suspense

We have already seen that a screenplay is usually divided into three acts. However, those acts will be further divided into shorter scenes. With books, authors frequently end each chapter with a cliff-hanger moment, which makes the reader excited to turn the page to see what happens next. It’s no different when writing a screenplay.

By using suspense, you will keep your audience wanting to see what comes next. This doesn’t need to be the level of intrigue from a film like The DaVinci Code! It could be as simple as your protagonist suddenly checking their watch and realizing they are late for a necessary appointment. Will they make it on time? Try to end every scene in a way that creates a “what will happen next” moment. Your audience will want to find out more and will be hooked.

Don’t overcomplicate things

Incorporating a subplot to your main story will add more interest to your screenplay. It will also give you the means to introduce more depth to your characters, for instance, by including a backstory that will make them more realistic and intriguing. Some stories will naturally be more complicated than others, especially if they have a larger cast and more characters.

Try not to over-complicate your plot, however. Adding unnecessary layers could just end up confusing your audience or taking them out of the story if it starts to become unrealistic.

Conclusion

Good storytelling will have a strong message that comes from emotional truth. Whether a film is fiction or non-fiction, if it conveys real emotion, the audience will relate to it. When you have crafted a screenplay that moves your audience, they will continue to discuss your story long after the final credits have rolled.

Learn more at: fujifilm-x.com

YouTube removes Community Contributions feature

Recently, YouTube finally removed the Community Contributions feature, much to the dismay of many disgruntled creators.

The feature allowed anyone to create video titles, descriptions, closed captions and subtitles for any video on the platform. Then, creators reviewed and published the contributions. In some cases, the contributions could forgo the creator and publish if they received enough community reviews.

Why it wasn’t working — according to YouTube

In a YouTube Help Community post — posted at the end of July this year — a member of TeamYouTube made the announcement. While the feature originally intended to improve accessibility, the platform concluded that the feature is “rarely used,” and when it is, it’s filled with spam and abuse.

“Both creators and viewers have reported problems with the community contributions feature, including spam, abuse and low-quality submissions,” according to YouTube.

They said creators rarely use the feature, with less than 0.001% of channels using community captions in the month prior. Creators are apparently using other captioning tools provided by YouTube.

Most creators aren’t happy

Some creators, such as PewDiePie, faced some problems with Community Contributions. Some people abused the feature to promote their own channels.

However, an overwhelming amount of people are far from happy with the removal of the Community Contributions feature. In fact, many creators pleaded for the feature to remain on YouTube. However, the platform decided the removal of the feature is best.

YouTubers such as Rikki Poyner have discussed why the removal of the Community Contributions feature is a bad decision.

User Casey Connor 8820 states “Very disappointed to hear this, as I am one of the—apparently few—creators who greatly benefit from community-submitted captions.”

Despite the concern, YouTube assures users that no other captioning tools will be removed from the platform. These tools are manual and automatic captions, as well as the built-in automatic captioning feature.

YouTube ends the post by stating, “We’re committed to improving existing accessibility and caption features, as well as introducing new and better tools for creators to reach the broadest possible audience.”

Let’s see if they can make up for this in the future.

Bailey Sarian: YouTube’s murder mystery, makeup maven

YouTuber Bailey Sarian
From Bailey Sarian's video "Cam Girl Obsession Turns Deadly."

Do you like watching makeup videos on YouTube? Are you a fan of murder mysteries and true crime? What about both? If you answered yes to these questions, chances are you’ve heard of Bailey Sarian, or as we’ve dubbed her, YouTube’s murder mystery, makeup maven—that’s a lot of M’s, we know. But it has a nice ring to it…doesn’t it?

In the YouTube world, there are tons of beauty channels, which can make it a difficult category to succeed in. Yet, by implementing murder mystery stories into her makeup videos, Bailey formed a special niche within the YouTube beauty community which set her apart in the best way.

Bailey Sarian
Subscribers: 2.58M
Uploads: 367
Video Views: 190,961,491
Channel Type: Education
User created: Jan 23, 2013

With her friendly, inviting and quirky personality, we can’t help but be drawn to her videos and go “down a rabbit hole” with her as she tells us true crime stories. Bailey Sarian gave us the content we didn’t know we wanted and needed.

Makeup maven: Bailey’s life before YouTube

Image Courtesy: Instagram – baileysarian

Before Bailey started focusing more of her time on YouTube, she worked at Sephora for five years. During this time, she began posting her daily makeup looks on her Instagram, which gained her a bit of a following. Many commented on her photos, encouraging her to start a YouTube channel. She started one in 2013, but only uploaded occasionally.

After working for Sephora, she worked briefly at Urban Decay. However, Bailey grew tired of working in the sales part of the beauty industry. “At that point, I was tired of sales, as I am not a good salesperson,” she laughs.

“[I] decided I was going to try and be a freelance makeup artist, its what I was most passionate about—doing makeup, not selling it!” she says. “I worked my way up to assisting celebrity makeup artists and bigger gigs, which was a lot of fun.”

She worked as a freelance makeup artist for a few years before becoming a full-time YouTuber, and she still freelances from time to time, but not as of late due to COVID-19.

Getting started on YouTube

Although she started her channel in 2013, Bailey didn’t focus on it too much and uploaded new videos whenever she could. She started by filming and editing her videos on her phone and then uploading them to YouTube. “I mainly just wanted to share makeup tips and overall brand knowledge I had gained throughout my years of working at Sephora,” she recalls. However, as she grew more of a community and following on her Instagram, people encouraged her to start making more videos on YouTube, which “is what gave me the push to start,” she says.

We asked Bailey what kind of videos she wanted to make when she first started on YouTube. When she began uploading videos consistently, she wanted to share her makeup expertise and create makeup-related content. “I always wanted to get on the education side of things and teach others about ingredients and techniques,” says Bailey.

Most of her early videos focus on makeup looks and tutorials that vary from smoky and dramatic looks to Halloween looks.

True crime interests

Makeup and true crime; seems like an odd combination, right? But it works for Bailey—and at around 2 millions views per video, it is clear that people love these videos. Why true crime, though? We asked her where this interest in mystery and true crime began.

“Probably when I was a little kid,” she says. “I used to go to work with my mom who was a 911 dispatcher at the time and [I would] listen in to her calls. We laugh about it now, but looking back that probably wasn’t a great idea,” she laughs.

Nowadays, Bailey’s life revolves around true crime, as it takes a lot of time and research to create content for her videos. Her favorite content includes “Crime,” and “Snap Judgement Presents: Spooked Podcast.” She says the spooked podcast is “more creepy than ghost stories but the storytelling is perfection and always gives me the creeps,” she laughs.

“i love being creeped out.”

Bailey talking about Elizabeth Bathory in her video “The Blood Countess [Elizabeth Bathory] And Her Reign Of Terror.” Image Courtesy: Bailey Sarian – YouTube

However, listening to too much true crime and mystery really does weigh “heavy on her noggin.”

“I try to limit how much true-crime related content I listen to and watch throughout the week only because my life kind of revolves around it now—hey, I’m not complaining. But it can definitely mess with my mood and bring me down,” she says. She takes a break from uploading about once a month as a refresher so she doesn’t get burnt out, as she states in her most recent video.

We don’t blame her. In her videos, she talks about some seriously heavy stuff, including stories on some of the most notorious serial killers such as Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer.

The evolution of her channel

Once she started focusing more of her time on YouTube, Bailey began building a following. Towards the beginning, she focused mainly on creating makeup looks and sharing tutorials, which gained her a solid amount of views. Still, she felt that she held back her personality a bit.

Image Courtesy: Instagram – baileysarian

“My videos at first were me trying to be a little more ‘proper’ and not truly being myself. Finally, I got to a point where I relaxed a little and that’s when YouTube started to become more fun,” she recalls.

It wasn’t until 2019 that Bailey’s channel started getting some heavy traffic, and we’re sure you can guess the reason why. Murder, mystery and makeup Monday’s—queue Bailey’s catchy intro jingle.

“I uploaded my first Murder, Mystery and Makeup in January of 2019 and I kid you not, my channel has just been growing ever since,” which still amazes her.

In August of this year, Bailey reached 2 million subscribers on her channel, which is quite the accomplishment.

Clearly, her channel has evolved from where it was when she first started. Now, she gets to combine two things she loves—true crime and makeup. “I love it, though, and it makes me so excited that two worlds I’ve always been interested in have collided and it just works,” she says.

Finding the story

Every Monday, Bailey uploads a new video as part of her “Murder, mystery, and makeup Monday’s” series. This series is what gained Bailey immense popularity on YouTube, averaging over 2 million views per video.

Image courtesy: Instagram – baileysarian

Creating weekly videos on true crime stories is a process, and it takes Bailey some time and effort to put together these together. For inspiration and ideas for her videos, she typically starts by looking in the comment section for suggestions. “Everyone is always recommending stories to do and it makes me excited to read the comments,” she says.

From there, she chooses her victim *get it?* and begins her research. She does as much research as she can on the person and from there she puts together her version of a script—basically the whole story from start to finish. This typically takes her 1-2 days depending on how much information she gathers on the person.

After that, she is ready to film. As far as her makeup for the video, she doesn’t plan ahead. “I just go with the slow and hope for the best,” she laughs.

Of course, her finished makeup looks are always snatched.

She also creates an ambiance and sets the mood for these videos with a dark backdrop and lots of candles, which gives us some cool, witchy/vampy vibes—what’s not to love?

Working as a full-time YouTuber

Because of the success and growth her channel has seen over the last year or two, YouTube is now a full-time gig for Bailey. Although she does a lot of work for her channel on her own, she does have a small team. “I have a manager who is very patient with me,” she laughs. She also has an editor that she uses occasionally when she gives them enough time to edit.

“I have this terrible, terrible habit of filming and editing on Saturdays and Sundays, and then the video goes live on Monday, so it just doesn’t give me enough time to hand off the footage to an editor,” she says. But hey, she’s gettin’ the work done.

Even though Bailey’s channel has reached a great deal of success—with over 2 million subs and millions of views on her videos—it is clear that she remains humble and works hard to keep the ball rolling.

Image Courtesy: Instagram – baileysarianmerch

She’s got some merch

In 2018, Bailey decided to come out with her merch line. The line features tee’s, hoodies and other items with catchy phrases such as “Suspish” and “Too Poor for Couture.” She says the feedback on the line has been great. “I wanted to make pieces that I would actually wear and not necessarily a shirt with my name all over it. I just wanted anyone to wear it, even if they never saw my videos before,” she says.

“Some of the designs me and my fiance had drawn up, which is awesome to see people wearing something we created.”

She loves her subscribers

With so many different social media platforms, it can be hard to engage with subscribers, but Bailey does what she can. “I love engaging with my subscribers,” she says. “I try my best to respond to as many comments as I can when my video goes live.” She also responds to Instagram comments and DM’s when she can, and also responds to people on Twitter.

Bailey’s tip for success

We asked Bailey what is one secret she has for making YouTube videos. “That’s hard,” she answers. “Just be yourself? I feel like that’s so cheesy, but it seems to be working.” When Bailey first started her channel, she said she focused on being “proper” rather than being herself. Once she became more comfortable with being herself, it not only became more fun, her channel also grew.

Another key Bailey attributes to her success is consistency, which she believes is key.

“Being consistent, I feel, is what really helped me grow my channel.”

Remember, Bailey uploads her Murder, Mystery and Makeup videos on Mondays and that is what people came to expect and look forward to. “People knew to come back on Monday’s, so I didn’t have to rely on YouTube’s notifications to gather the subscribers,” she says.

Wrapping it all up

When we asked Bailey what is in store for her and her channel, she admits she’s been thinking about that a lot as of late. “Oh man, I don’t know. I have been thinking about this a lot lately, ‘what now?’ I’m not sure what the future holds, but I just want to ride the wave and see where I end up next,” she admits.

The wave she’s been riding is a pretty big one, and with the way she’s doing things, it seems she could ride this wave for a long time.

Bailey Sarian has created something unique and fun on YouTube, which is hard to do these days. Her personality and makeup know-how, combined with the true crime stories, make for interesting, engaging—and yes, pretty creepy—videos that keep people crawling back every Monday.

Soundtrack by Twitch adds licensed music to streams

Soundtrack by Twitch announced
Image courtesy: Twitch

Twitch just announced Soundtrack. It’s a new tool that will allow streamers to add rights-cleared music into their broadcasts on the platform. Also, it should help streamers deal with archived VODs being muted.

Soundtrack by Twitch will give creators access to a range of licensed music to use on their streams. While Twitch hasn’t made any official deals yet, it’s working with a number of labels and music distribution partners. Some of those partners are Soundcloud, Monstercat, Distrokid, cdbaby, Empire and Westwood Recordings. Over a million tracks will be offered through the new feature and can be used for free by streamers.

When streamers use Soundtrack in their broadcasts, you’ll see a widget at the bottom of the stream. This widget will display the song that’s currently playing. It will also link to the artist’s Spotify page and Twitch channel if they have one. So this allows music artists to receive advertisements for their work across Twitch.

Playlist in Soundtrack
Here’s a playlist in Soundtrack. Image courtesy: Twitch

Soundtrack by Twitch should solve VOD muting

Twitch has had an on-going problem with sections of VODs including copyrighted music being muted when they’re saved onto a streamer’s channel. The thing is, some songs might be cleared for streaming, but not for recordings. Also, there isn’t much Twitch can do while streamers are in session. If the VOD of the stream is left online, the sections including copyrighted music will be muted. The Soundtrack feature looks to solve this problem.

Soundtrack separates the music stream into its own channel and broadcasts the stream separately. This allows Twitch to automatically take the music from VODs. Ultimately, it allows Twitch to remove music and not mute streams.

Is the feature out now?

The earliest version of Soundtrack by Twitch was released today. It’s compatible with OBS on PC, Twitch Studio, and soon with Streamlabs OBS.

Image courtesy: Twitch

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