It took Mark Rober 6 years to get 300,000 subscribers. Now he gets that in just days after launching one of his projects. Mark's success is compounding, and we feel safe calling him the Michelangelo of YouTube. What makes this former NASA and Apple engineer, Current YouTuber, and friend of science so successful? We sat down to ask him how he does it. 

In this interview, we ask Mark Rober to describe the unique focuses that make his youtube channel, career, and video productions exceptional. 

Mark insists on developing exciting stories. This is an effort he does not outsource.  Mark always works on the edit to ensure the finished video is incredible. He knows that the audience needs to be wowed by a remarkable story. That means framing things for the audience, writing great scripts, and producing great edits. Mark describes reducing 200 hours of footage into a compelling 10-minute video as exhausting, rewarding, and critical to his success. 

In this interview, Mark Rober also explains that he is successful not just because of the things he does but also because of the things he chooses to ignore. He says no to most things that don't end up in a video or equate to more time with his family. 

Mark doesn't do speaking gigs, write books, or do podcasts. Why?  He has to focus on things that will compound and produce the most significant return while also avoiding the burnout associated with a career on YouTube. 

When it comes to building things like glitter bombs, obstacle courses, and programming equipment Mark Rober is happy to outsource elements enabling him to focus on things like coming up with the story and working on the edit.

In this interview, Mark also discusses doing a deal for discovery TV and his thoughts about the value of content on his channel vs. content for TV. Mark believes having people discover his channel and look around at other videos is more advantageous than having content in another ecosystem. 

We hope you enjoy this success-focused interview with Mark Rober. 

Want to make better videos by changing your approach to audience engagement? Here is a massive discount for the Masters of Engagement online workshop. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/offers/dLPTNWJu

Learn Video production strategy and find other podcasts here. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/welcome

Mykim Dang is a bridge builder. She can bring together a diverse group of people to participate in the pre-production, production, and post-production processes. This ability is truly one of her superpowers. 

In addition, Mykim is also one who can always peel back another layer of the onion and get to what is truly important in a project. She askes the right questions in pre-production. Questions like where is this going to be published? And What transition are we trying to make in the minds of our audience? Every critical question is an opportunity to get a great result from the effort to make a video. 

Want to make better videos by changing your approach to audience engagement? Here is a massive discount for the Masters of Engagement online workshop. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/offers/dLPTNWJu

Learn Video production strategy and find other podcasts here. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/welcome

Being on set is exhausting. Making mistakes onset can make these 12 hour days feel overwhelming.  What are the critical things that every video creator needs to get right on set? 

For starters, attitude is critical. It's essential that people can stand to be around you. 

Also hitting that list of critical elements is crafty (catering), sound, and detailed pre-production. 

This advice can only come from someone like J.R. Timothy, who has made enough mistakes to know how to do the essential things right. 

Want to make better videos by changing your approach to audience engagement? Here is a massive discount for the Masters of Engagement online workshop. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/offers/dLPTNWJu

Learn Video production strategy and find other podcasts here. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/welcome

Amina Moreau is the expert at guiding the client through the story development process. 

How do you create a tremendous story-focused client experience? 

Making videos for an organization is challenging for so many reasons. Customers want every person in the organization featured and don't want to expose conflict. Clients are guided by motivations so different from the natural desires of their potential audience. It is your job to help the client be less selfish and tell a better story. 

The key to client success is finding a way to make the creation process feel effortless, and at the same time, you want your client to feel like they have skin in the game. 

If you start with a storytelling session and work to educate your customer, you can begin pre-production on the right foot by starting with the fun stuff and earning your client's confidence and trust. 

Once you have your client figured out, it is time to turn that attention inward. Are you doing your own stories justice? Call it sales or call it storytelling, but it so so important to focus. 

Want to make better videos by changing your approach to audience engagement? Here is a massive discount for the Masters of Engagement online workshop. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/offers/dLPTNWJu

Learn Video production strategy and find other podcasts here. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/welcome

Casey Schendel joins us to share the power of partnering in the video production industry? 

Casey Schendel is a cinematographer and visual storyteller. But great video production is a team sport. 

If you have a great visual movie with an underdeveloped story or lousy acting, the entire film suffers. You have to have a core focus in your career and then partner with individuals who have complementing skills. 

It is so important to be able to work with people who can help you make great content. When you work so hard to create greatness, it is critical to find the people that can take your ideas to the next level. Those individuals need to be strong where you are week.  

Casey shares stories from his career that illustrate how he has brought his best to every project. Casey has also found a production partner in Matt Cross. The overlap in their video production abilities is minimal so that the two of them can cover as many basses as possible. You can see how this great combo has translated into success for Think Out Loud. 

Here is some excellent advice from Casey. Ask yourself, What are you good at, and what do you love to do? If something needs doing that falls outside of those two criteria, you need to find someone who has a complementary skill set that can take your work to the next level. 

Want to make better videos by changing your approach to audience engagement? Here is a massive discount for the Masters of Engagement online workshop. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/offers/dLPTNWJu

Learn Video production strategy and find other podcasts here. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/welcome

Mark Rober puts a lot of time and attention into making great videos. This effort is no longer just a hobby as Mark Rober is now a full-time YouTuber. 

After working as an engineer at Nasa and Apple, Mark Rober is convinced that making videos is the most challenging career he has ever had. So why is he working so hard, and how is he making money?   

In this interview, Mark Rober discusses how he makes money by making great videos on YouTube. Mark Talks through the sponsorships he has had over the past four years and the ad revenue he can generate from Youtube and Facebook views. 

Although Mark is excellent at what he does, he still doesn't see running his youtube channel as a full-time job. He has purposely not built a big team and still insists on doing much of the creative work. 

Mark is not obsessed with scaling every element of his channel. He is publishing one video every month or two and plans to keep it that way. 

Mark sees adding a team, a book deal, and more revenue-generating activities would lead to burnout. 

He also spends time publishing to platforms like Instagram and TikTok even though they are not revenue-generating platforms for Mark's content. (at the time of recording, Mark was not making revenue on TikTok).

This video was filmed before Mark released his recent online engineering course, which has also helped him generate revenue without increasing his one video per month. 

Want to make better videos by changing your approach to audience engagement? Here is a massive discount for the Masters of Engagement online workshop. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/offers/dLPTNWJu

Learn Video production strategy and find other podcasts here. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/welcome

Video production in 2021 is the wild west, and there are incredible opportunities. Everyone who has a phone is a creator. There are endless platforms for consuming video.  Long-form and short-form content are trending at the same time.  You can create videos for brands or turn your personality into a brand; you have to admit this is an extraordinary moment for video. 

When video is this pervasive, and the pace of change this extensive. How do you measure success?  Organizations that want to be successful with video have to commit to the nuances of multiple platforms and complex digital strategies. Mykim Dang helps us explore the different formats, niches, and opportunities in the current video production industry and how to find and measure success.  

Want to make better videos by changing your approach to audience engagement? Here is a massive discount for the Masters of Engagement online workshop. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/offers/dLPTNWJu

Learn Video production strategy and find other podcasts here. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/welcome

What is the key to getting paid for the kinds of projects you love doing? Amina Moreau has found the secret to getting the right clients to select you for the kind of work you want to do. Amina has successfully grown into doing the type of work she was obsessed with, from weddings to emotionally impactful wedding films. From corporate projects to human interest videos that have businesses opening their wallets.  Learn how to do the work you love and get paid for it. 

Make better videos by changing your approach to audience engagement. Here is a massive discount for the Masters of Engagement online workshop. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/offers/dLPTNWJu

Learn Video production strategy and find other podcasts here. 

https://www.mastersofengagement.com/welcome

Is your video compelling? How do you measure the success of a video? 

These are highly subjective questions, but it's critical you find the answer. 

In this episode, we talk about how you can measure video success. We also explore how success may be different for an in-house team vs. an agency or production company. Some creators live in a world where KPIs and measurements bombard them, while some are judged more subjectively. 

After Spending Years in house at Tesla and Airbnb, Casey knows about in-house success. Casey now runs Think Out Loud, an incredible video production company in the bay area.