Since Christmas, I have been working on a single video. I knew it would take a while, but I didn’t know it would take THIS long. I wanted to update you on: when you can expect the video, some thoughts on video length and structure, and honestly: build some hype!
NEW VIDEO?
I’m keeping the topic secret. My patrons have received tons of updates including screenshots and clips, but even they don’t know the main subject. What I will say is: I’m telling the story of an enormous ten-year-long mathematical event. It has drama, twists, winners and losers, lots of mathematics, and is about something that affects us all.
Why has it taken so long to make? Brace yourself: it’s over 2.5 hours long. That said, in my usual videos, I build lots of theory toward one big conclusion. So, they are perhaps best-viewed in one go so you can keep the stepping stones in your mind to enjoy the punchline. My upcoming project has natural chapter end-points where you can relax before moving on to the next part, taking a break if you need to. It feels like three of my usual 30- to 40-minute videos in one, but with a narrative linking them together. As such, my original plan was to separate the story into multiple videos. But in the end, I decided that one epic all-in-one video with all the drama and all the maths was the way to go — it is ONE story.
WHY SO LONG? Because it's a long story! I wanted to address this though because I've seen some negativity recently about YouTube being saturated with time-wasting videos. Broadly speaking, I agree with the sentiment — many video essays could be much shorter while still making their case. Being charitable, editing one's own work is difficult, and it's easier to make your point in many words than few. Being cynical, the algorithm prioritises watch-time, so making super-long videos is an easy way to game the system. This is why we see ""video essays"" about films which spend most of the time recapping the plot.
I bring this up to reassure you that I haven't inflated the video length to score views or waste your time. I'm always conscious of length and desperate to shorten things, but while there may be a shorter version of this story, it wouldn't be the complete one told in my own meticulous detail-loving style. I have faith in my viewers to view the video in multiple sittings if they need to, effectively turning it into a multi-video series. I’ll also say that this is a one-off super project — I do not plan to shift into an HBomb pattern of exclusively making enormous videos months or years apart!
RELEASE
I had to do a tonne of research, reach out to lots of academics to check my facts, write 25,000 words for my script, and make an ungodly amount of props. I started shooting two months ago, and have just now finished. In this time I’ve also managed to do lots of editing. So, I’m currently sitting on a big long sequence that’s edited together but with no effects, captions, music, and so on — all the things that bring videos to life. It’s been a long journey, but I can see the finishing line! I want to say it’ll be ready in about a month, but whenever I make these sorts of predictions I realise what a fool I was. So, a month-ish, with a generous heap of salt.
Fun fact, on this day three years ago, I uploaded my first video. Thank you all so much, whether you’ve been here since the beginning or have recently discovered the channel. And thank you all for your continued patience — I cannot wait to share this project with you!
Another Roof
Since Christmas, I have been working on a single video. I knew it would take a while, but I didn’t know it would take THIS long. I wanted to update you on: when you can expect the video, some thoughts on video length and structure, and honestly: build some hype!
NEW VIDEO?
I’m keeping the topic secret. My patrons have received tons of updates including screenshots and clips, but even they don’t know the main subject. What I will say is: I’m telling the story of an enormous ten-year-long mathematical event. It has drama, twists, winners and losers, lots of mathematics, and is about something that affects us all.
Why has it taken so long to make? Brace yourself: it’s over 2.5 hours long. That said, in my usual videos, I build lots of theory toward one big conclusion. So, they are perhaps best-viewed in one go so you can keep the stepping stones in your mind to enjoy the punchline. My upcoming project has natural chapter end-points where you can relax before moving on to the next part, taking a break if you need to. It feels like three of my usual 30- to 40-minute videos in one, but with a narrative linking them together. As such, my original plan was to separate the story into multiple videos. But in the end, I decided that one epic all-in-one video with all the drama and all the maths was the way to go — it is ONE story.
WHY SO LONG?
Because it's a long story! I wanted to address this though because I've seen some negativity recently about YouTube being saturated with time-wasting videos. Broadly speaking, I agree with the sentiment — many video essays could be much shorter while still making their case. Being charitable, editing one's own work is difficult, and it's easier to make your point in many words than few. Being cynical, the algorithm prioritises watch-time, so making super-long videos is an easy way to game the system. This is why we see ""video essays"" about films which spend most of the time recapping the plot.
I bring this up to reassure you that I haven't inflated the video length to score views or waste your time. I'm always conscious of length and desperate to shorten things, but while there may be a shorter version of this story, it wouldn't be the complete one told in my own meticulous detail-loving style. I have faith in my viewers to view the video in multiple sittings if they need to, effectively turning it into a multi-video series. I’ll also say that this is a one-off super project — I do not plan to shift into an HBomb pattern of exclusively making enormous videos months or years apart!
RELEASE
I had to do a tonne of research, reach out to lots of academics to check my facts, write 25,000 words for my script, and make an ungodly amount of props. I started shooting two months ago, and have just now finished. In this time I’ve also managed to do lots of editing. So, I’m currently sitting on a big long sequence that’s edited together but with no effects, captions, music, and so on — all the things that bring videos to life. It’s been a long journey, but I can see the finishing line! I want to say it’ll be ready in about a month, but whenever I make these sorts of predictions I realise what a fool I was. So, a month-ish, with a generous heap of salt.
Fun fact, on this day three years ago, I uploaded my first video. Thank you all so much, whether you’ve been here since the beginning or have recently discovered the channel. And thank you all for your continued patience — I cannot wait to share this project with you!
- Alex (and Alex (and Alex))
3 months ago | [YT] | 428