How I Made the Japan Coronavirus Video in 18 Hours | An Intense Saturday

So I planned to release the long awaited Sapporo Snow festival video on Abroad Perspective this weekend, when on Friday I witnessed the bizarre scene of panic buying at my local supermarket. Panic buying for toilet paper.

It was quite a surreal situation as I’ve never witnessed panic buying before, especially not for something quite as random as toilet roll. Although to be fair on a list of the top 3 things you don’t want to run out of, let’s face it, running out of toilet roll would be a number 2…

- Oh yes. Pun intended.

By Saturday I realised I couldn’t wait any longer to release a video discussing the Coronavirus in Japan, given that nearly every comment section on every Abroad in Japan video had just descended into viewers typing various things about the Coronavirus in Japan in Caps Lock.

And so yesterday, in what might have been the most brutal and hastily produced Abroad in Japan video to date, I brutally worked for 18 hours to get it done, starting at 9am and posting it online by 3am. 

It was an absolute nightmare by all accounts - which made it all the worse when it got instantly demonetised - but I have no regrets given it’s a serious topic that may affect viewer's upcoming trips, and so I felt a sense of urgency in getting it out there.

Watch:https://youtu.be/Qr5sS4c_jZk

So for those of you wondering what it’s like to produce a video from start to finish, here’s the intense timeline of how it went down:
 

09:00 - 12:00
Scripting the video, with a mixture of news stories, personal experiences and opinions.
- On a video such as this, where you need more objective facts than usual, it takes longer to cross check all the facts.

Interestingly, the running gag of the toilet roll castle (and James Bond at the end) weren't planned. They happened during filming when I was being a bit spontaneous, and I just rolled with it.
 

12:00 - 13:00
Lunch: Eggs on toast, with a coffee, a banana and a notable absence of lentils.
Never film on an empty stomach. It takes a lot more energy than you think to stare into a camera and talk continuously for 80 minutes. At the same time, after lunch you may feel a bit sleepy, so coffee is key.

13:00 - 16:00
Begin filming - albeit with 2 or 3 breaks along the way.
-  I quickly realised I wasn’t in the right frame of my mind to film as I was still dehydrated from going to the gym the night before. I kept slurring my words and having my mind go blank while I was speaking. Amidst the frustration, I almost gave up and threw the camera out of the window.

Fortunately after another coffee and several glasses of water I was rehydrated, caffeinated and ready to go. By the end of filming there was about 80 minutes of raw footage.

16:00 - 18:00

Beginning cutting down the 80 minutes of raw footage into 10 minutes.
- There were various topics and jokes I ended up cutting out to try and make it to the point, given it’s a more serious topic, including an entire 1 minute segment about how much I hate Twitter. But it was too much of a tangent so it got the chop.
 

18:00 - 19:00
Dinner. Fried chicken from Family Mart.
- Thankfully, no lentils in sight.

19:00 - 01:00
Finished editing the video and overlaid all of the photos and ludicrously expensive stock footage, so people don’t have to stare at my face for the entire 10 minutes.

I also reshot the ending of the video with the toilet roll castle and James Bond sequence, as originally the video ended really boringly - and typically people only ever remember how they felt at the start and ending of a video - so always end on an amusing note.
- Especially if there's a chance to pretend like you're James Bond.
 

01:00 - 02:00
While the video’s rendering and your laptop is melting, sit on the floor and take a thumbnail while wearing a mask and clutching a toilet roll tightly. At this point you start to wonder how the many decisions you made in life led up to this moment.
 

02:00 - 03:00
Upload the video and watch it to check there were no errors. Quickly colour the thumbnail and add big bold eye-catching text in Photoshop.

Release the video and quickly post across social media - FB, Twitter and Instagram - to build momentum in the first hour.

03:00 - 04:00
During the crucial first hour spend an hour responding to comments on the video and across social media. It's good to let people know you do actually read the comments and make an effort (unlike most Youtubers I know who don't bother). 

- Releasing a video feels a lot like hosting a party, and a good host doesn’t simply f*ck off to bed when the guests arrive. So even though by this point it's silly 'o' clock, you still need to make an effort - fortunately the adrenaline rush of a recently released video will see you through.
 

04:00
Crawl in to bed absolutely shattered, and yet, fail to fall asleep because you've stared at a laptop screen for 18 hours and your brain is racing and disorientated.
 

04:30 

Eventually fall asleep
 

10:00
Wake up to neighbours talking loudly upstairs through the paper ceiling. Try to fall asleep again but give up and grab a coffee. Attempt to salvage the rest of the day by doing something productive, but inevitably fail as you feel drowsy and fatigued.
 

AND THERE YOU HAVE IT!
 

As I said, no regrets on doing it and to my surprise the video has had more views than I could possibly have anticipated. Sure it got demonetised, but the most important thing as a creator is knowing the work you’ve created is being seen, and so in that regard I’m delighted. Especially when it's on a serious contemporary issue such as this.

That being said, if it weren't for Patreon, producing a video you know will get instantly demonetised by Youtube would certainly be far a more difficult decision to make, so a huge thanks to you all for your support.

(And if you're wondering why it got demonetised, Youtube has been blacklisting Coronavirus videos, as it's a "sensitive" topic - whatever the f*ck that means).

And finally another huge hanks for all the kind words and excellent feedback on the new website. We were able to make the changes and correct the glitches you guys found, pretty much instantly after reading your feedback and I’ll be announcing the website tomorrow across Twitter and FB.

For now though, enjoy the rest of your weekend and sorry again for the wait on the Sapporo Snow Festival folks. Hopefully you’ll agree that the decision to fastback the Coronavirus video was for the best.

Now back to my toilet roll castle.

Chris