YouTube NextUp

I should've made this post a week ago, but as I'll explain in a moment, it's been a crazy, crazy week.

If you've already seen the video above, you know what this is about. If not, go watch it now. Then come back.

Back? Okay, cool.

So last week was NextUp. It was amazing. I shot a lot of footage of the whole thing and am going to attempt to edit it into some kind of recap vlog/doc thing within the next couple days so you can get a look at what this was like.

I'm still amazed I was chosen for it. I'm not used to applying for things and getting accepted (example: I attended my sixth choice of college), so this was a very nice surprise. It took up almost every waking minute of last week. We would arrive at the YouTube Space at 9am each day and the group would usually be together until we finished dinner at 10:30 (usually at a very nice restaurant with everything paid for by YouTube).

The timing couldn't have been better. Like many of us, my mood following the election was far from good, and I spent much of each day reading news that terrified me, so it felt great to be distracted from the real world for a week.

What I most wanted from the week was consulting and mentoring to help me refine my strategy for the channel, to figure out the ideal structure, schedule, and focus to grow the audience and build the brand (I always feel gross refering to "my brand," but sometimes it's unavoidable). Coming out the other side, I feel that I have that. I also have a bunch of wonderful new friends who are all making a wide variety of really interesting content. And it was definitely a nice change to exist in NYC for a week and not  have to spend any money at all.

Each of the 16 NextUppers (not the official word) made a video during the week. I shot mine on a RED Epic Dragon (for non-filmmakers, that's what David Fincher and Guillermo del Toro use) in a set that's a full replica of the Oval Office. As you might imagine, this was cool as hell. The video is done, but I'm waiting until after Thanksgiving.

So stay tuned for the NextUp vlog and get ready for some exciting stuff in the coming months.