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 RU-vid 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.
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, RU-vid 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 RU-vid - 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
... 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
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.
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!!
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.
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
Like good literature (and unlike most RU-vid 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 RU-vidrs noticed it and made their own videos about it and Johnny countered them with snarky replies.
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 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.
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.
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!
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!
I've watched the hole presentation where he talks about the structure but I was so hooked up about it that I forgot to take notes. Well, glad you made this video, it's way better than any note I could ever take. You synthesized the whole think in a few minutes and it's amazing.
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.
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 RU-vid 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 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!
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.
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!
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 ❤️
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.
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.
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.
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!
Nice explanation!! When you put it that way, it reminds me of Edwin Gordon's Music Learning Theory 1. Experience the Whole 2. Learn the Parts 3. Comprehend the Whole. Such a simple yet effective idea, love it!
The RU-vid 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.
I think there's more to it. A big literary device I notice he uses a lot in his videos is the problem - solution cycle. He gives a problem, tells how it was solved, then that solution leads to another problem. Rinse, repeat. His narratives also start with a big idea, then get more complex as more problem-solution cycles progress in his story. Then he zooms out to deliver a big idea at the end (like a lesson) for everyone. He is a master storyteller, and its more than just an editing trick.
This is a really interesting aspect, thank you so much for adding it to the discussion! To clarify, I think of "evidence=>context" not as an editing trick, but more as a deeper concept around how you present information, in this case, visual information. I see a sort of symmetry between all these ideas that goes beyond medium: - "problem=>solution" - "evidence=>context" or "see it => think about it" - in education, "show, then tell" as Nicky Case puts it To me their common symmetry is the fundamental experience of being human: the arc of a desire. Basically: desire arises, it motivates us to confront or overcome some resistance, and the desire is resolved (either via fulfillment or denial and moving on). This, to me, is the fractal that forms all of storytelling. At any zoom level, a desire arises, conflict is faced, and its resolved in some way. To your point about "problem => solution", I think it's the problem that creates a desire to then get relief by finding out the solution. And, as you adepty point out, Johnny cleverly ensures that the relief of finding a solution actually introduces more conflict that you then want resolved. Very excellent points! Maybe you need to make a video, too! I'd watch :D
I'm glad it was helpful, researching & making this video certainly really helped me, too! :D Johnny is great and really talented (usually!) haha just watch out when he starts to try to explain too much with sweeping over-simplification. Or when the video is sponsored by the WEC :P Honestly, I find his older stuff a bit better than his more recent things, which are often too surface-level for me!
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!
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 :)
My favourite real news genius. You and your team are the best! I wait patiently with excitement for every new project coming out. I am completely captivated by the way you explain everything so clearly. The ADHD part of my brain adores you 🙏🏼 Best of the best! Thank you so much ❤️🔥
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...
@@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 ❤
That means so much, Dar! Welcome to the community, can't wait to share more! Also, looks like you're really creating a ton of stuff, excited to see where your stuff goes!
Wow incredible work! It's worth mentioning that you should throw on a high pass filter on the recording of your voice, maybe up to around 100hz, because there's a lot of low end when listening with a sub or nice headphones. It will create more space for the audio of your whole video and make the mix cleaner. Everything about this is 10/10 though great job!
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…
Every field has evolution so does the journalism. This new level of video journalism keep the viewers engaged which is why it is liked by many especially the younger generation hence the views.
In the worldbuilding subreddit there is a similar phenomenom. Basically text based explanation stuff is what gets comparatively little clicks as seen from the pictures that dominate the hot posts. The best way to get your lore out outside of a question text post (in most cases) is to attract people with a picture, and then provide the context (in this case lore) under the picture as the picture will make many people curious to learn more about the world.
That means so much, Montell! I'm really honored I can be of service to your creative work. Please share the documentary with me when it's done, would love to enjoy it!
@@MontellReacts I'd love that! I'd also love to view any in-progress work too, if helpful -- I made like 4 separate drafts of this video before I got to the final version I posted here, and got a lot of helpful feedback. Would love to pass it on! :)
Bro I just want to leave a comment saying congrats on this well-made video. I didn't expect you to only have 1.7k subs bro. You seemed like a 100k+ sub channel
Interesting concept. I'll give that a try. I usually do context first but I can see how that contextual explanation at the beginning could be creating a disconnect.
