I’m starting a YouTube series and a podcast!

Thanks to your encouragement I’ve decided to go ahead with the YouTube series I mentioned on last week’s email.

Wait, more Grumo crap?

If you are like me, you’d rather remove information than add more to the pile.

After all, there are only so many hours a day we can dedicate to enlightening our brains with cat videos, cheesy TV series, depressing world news, mind numbing video games, and the odd book here and there.

So when I create new content, my challenge is to make it so good as to deserve a slot in the already saturated agenda of my audience.

Ultimately, my goal is not to add to the noise but to replace some of it with an “upgraded” version.

Upgraded noise? what does that sound like?

Like this… ♪ ♫ lalalo, bizz buzz, cookie-tronix, ♪ figaroooh ♫, chorizitoshh, bam, bim, blam, bluh, blero, bada bim bambero… ♪ ♫.

Think of it as the mind bending cacophony of a digital symphony in binary minor.

Ok, so what is this digital symphony of cagadas going to be about?

Given that I’m interested in so many things, I find hard to commit to a specific topic.

This may not be a bad thing altogether.

Seinfeld couldn’t commit to a topic and ended up being the most watched TV series of all time.

A show about nothing?

Well, if anything, I’m leaning towards content designed to uncover the mysteries of the human mind.

Why? because maybe by learning about what makes us smarter, I can become smarter?

Also, because after taking Fundamentals of Neuroscience from HarvardX, and reading Thinking Fast and Slow, The Cosmic Code, Biology of Belief, Man’s Search For Meaning, Moonwalking with Einstein and Stealing Fire, it seems I cannot get enough of the subject of the mind.

I’d like to create content that brings some of the concepts explored in these publications to the masses.

Not sure about the format yet but, rest assured, it would have some of the Grumo traits you are now used to including; humor, irreverence, and conciseness.

I’ve already been testing different recording setups and, given my experience in animation, I’m sure I could enhance the videos with some nice little animated eye candy.

Here some stills of my current setup trying different lightning and exposure variations:

*The Post-its were to help me remember which camera settings I was using.

Turns out shooting video about science is a science in itself!

I’ve found inspiration from channels like VSauce, Veritasium, MinutePhysics, ASAPscience, PBS Space Time, SmarterEveryday, CGP Grey, and lately (and surprisingly) HolaSoyGerman, the second most watched YouTube channel (30+ million subs) which happens to be in Spanish.

All the channels, except for HolaSoyGerman, are super successful sciency channels.

HolaSoyGerman makes it to the list because, although his target audience is 10 to 15 year olds (my mental age), it’s a great example of someone making mundane topics fun to watch by mixing humor, acting (he plays all the characters), super fast cutting (averages 1 cut every 1.4 seconds), music, and a solid structure.

How do I know his average shot lasts 1.4 seconds?

Because I take my research seriously.

Here is a second by second breakdown of one of his videos:

Inspired by some of his characters I even bought two wigs. One blonde and one fluorescent pink so I can create my own sketches should I feel like making an even further moron of myself.

Think I’m kidding about the wigs?

You thought wrong my little grasshopper.

How about this…

Will I use them? not sure yet. I’m such a bad actor. What should I call this character?
Pepita Schrödingerita? maybe Enrika Von Neumann? Your ideas are welcome of course.

Like I say, I’m not sure about the actual content yet. Exploring how the mind works so I can learn how we can improve mental capacity, memory, focus, and creativity would be a fascinating journey but maybe too complex to make into something digestible and fun to watch.

What other topics would you be interested in learning more about the Grumo Way?

My friend Pedram, who is helping me coming up with a structure for the series, suggested covering a topic related to how I’ve overcome some of my own struggles. Like a series to help people overcome their fear to do what they really love, even as an immigrant in a different country (my case).

My wife suggested a series where I interview experts with different accents from all around the world.
That one would be fun but I would probably have to have all the episodes subtitled (have you seen Trainspotting?).

Maybe a series that reviews old Spanish cult movies from the post-war era?

How about a virtual reality series where I test the latest virtual reality gear by smashing it with a virtual 15 pound sledgehammer in slow motion?

Anything is for grabs. It’s that decision stage where all possibilities are still alive… but not for long.

You are welcome to contribute to the slaughtering of all the bad options.

What would you like to learn more about?

Peace, Love, and Cookies,

P.S.: And the Podcast? that’s also in the works. Stay tuned for more about it next week!

P.3: If you missed last week’s email you can read it HERE.

 

Did a homo sapiens forward this article to you?
That human was very sapiens indeed. If you don’t want to miss my upcoming articles make sure to subscribe to them HERE.​