Why Do We Create Content?

A Brief History

It was 2016 and I was just getting into my early 30s. My wife Yohana and I had been married for about four years, and we had two young children at home: Michael (3) and Maia (not quite 1 at the time).

Michael discovered that he really enjoyed playing on the iPad; he'd play Red Ball, Geometry Dash, Mario, other puzzle games, and even explore Garage Band to make music.

I was working fulltime as a graphic designer and web developer for a media school, while also attending college to further my studies and grow in my career. I didn't have much time/energy after those obligations to play as much as I'd like. However, Michael and I still found time to play together and he would often show me new things that he'd learn on the iPad.

Yohana and I were familiar with YouTube, as we had published some content on the platform before. My niche was hip hop and electronic music, and Yohana's forte was nail art tutorials.

While finding new things for Michael to explore on his iPad, we found some children's shows on the YouTube app for Michael to watch... and he seemed to greatly enjoy the videos. It didn't take long, however, for the YouTube algorithm to recommend him new content, and he soon discovered some family vlog channels and gaming content creators — parents who played with their kids and recorded the process.

I remember peeking over Michael's should one day thinking "wow, that's so cool!" when I first saw what FGTeeV was doing. Michael would just CRACK UP watching him and his family play together.

A seed was planted.

Pondering and Planning

I began to ponder the steps I'd have to take to figure out how to create content like this... how to record video from an iPad, capture audio, get a decent picture and lighting, and work with a green sreen... most of which was brand new to me. I had history working with audio, and some digital video experience, but not at the level I'd feel comfortable with to put ourselves out there for the world to see.

There was so much content out there already. Such a high bar for quality standards, so many channels and personalities; it seemed like there's no way I could create something fresh to stand out.

It took some self-convincing, but we eventually tried to record our gameplay!

An Attempt

In early 2017, I purchased a fabric green screen with stand along with an iPad lightning-to-USB adapter so we could capture video into OBS. I used my wife's digital camera to capture the video of us playing. I hoped to edit it together in Adobe Premiere.

Michael and I sat down on some metal folding chairs next to each other in the office/slash/nail-room, and we played.

Michael was naturally engaged with the game and our togetherness. He was having a great time. I did my best to focus on playing and having fun — but my career-focused and responsibility-laden mind sometimes has a difficult time letting go.

When we were finished playing & recording, I copied the files. I made a brief attempt to edit the footage in Premiere Pro before I gave up, feeling defeated. I just wanted to create something cool, but self-doubt and harsh self-criticisms won that night... I backed up the footage and called it a wrap.

I didn't think we'd try to record again.

Ambition Rekindled

When we finally recorded our gameplay again, we had a great time! This is our first-ever published video on YouTube, from December 2020.

We began the video by playing next to each other on one computer (Michael's). After some time, I really wanted to play too so I broke out my clunky Dell i5 laptop and quickly installed Minecraft + OBS, spun it up and recorded my screen!

Editing this was so much more fun than the iPad video I tried to edit before... because I let go of my self-imposed high quality standards. I focused on the fun and the memories, and I let go of the fact that I wasn't going to produce some seasoned, well-refined video content on the first try! What a refreshing take.

Conclusion

In conclusion... just create. Don't judge yourself too harshly. Above all, have fun doing it!