The VlogBrothers

For my English class’s next project, we have to turn our research paper into a multimodal research project. When I first heard the assignment, I immediately thought of the vlogbrothers on YouTube. This channel is run by two brothers, Hank and John Green, both famous for their crash course videos and one for this books. The way their channel is run on vlogbrothers is by uploading videos every Tuesday and Friday, starting the video with a “Hi John” or “Hi Hank” as if they are talking to each other, but in reality, they are speaking to the audience and entertaining them through their comedic yet informational videos.

This YouTube channel has a series called “Hank and John EXPLAIN!” which consists of videos that explain various events and issues such as Benghazi, the refugee crisis, and net neutrality. The ones I took particular interest in were the videos on the debt crisis in America as it sort of relates to my topic. Here is one of the videos:

Through cleverly placed humor, John Green explains the issues America faces with national debt and budget deficit and also how they work. He does a very effective job in teaching the topic while keeping the audience entertained and engaged throughout the video. Hank Green also does a very good job doing this.

It looked really easy to do to me, but turns out, it’s not as easy as I had hoped. I figured that if I just ranted while adding lame jokes here and there, the final product would be as comedic and informational as the vlogbrother’s videos. I now have a new found respect for videos like these.

After rewatching my video, I found it awkward and slightly embarrassing with the way I talked and the way I attempted to be funny. Of course, there are many reasons why my video did not turn out as great as theirs.

1. I am nowhere close to a professional vlogger.
2. I have little experience in rambling effectively in videos or in real life for that matter.
3. I filmed in the awkward silence of my home, so my voice also did not come out confidently enough.
4. I am not as funny as the vlogbrothers.

To be able to create something as effective as the vlogbrother’s explain videos, I would have to film many, many times to perfect the jump cuts, the enunciation, the humor, and the rambling. Unfortunately, this is time I do not have, but through this I was able to experience the possible struggles of vlogging and filming informational videos such as the ones that John and Hank Green upload.