Transcription
I've gotten a few emails when this video came out. They're like, "Oh my God, your address is on the label." And that's actually a fake label that I did. And if you scan the QR code, it'll go to my channel.
"You're joking me." Little details like that can be found all over Kariza's videos, and they help to build what she calls her cinematic world. It's almost like the fairy tale of vlogging, is what it feels like.
"I like to say that it's based on a true story, versus what we think a traditional vlog is."
She's not doing the traditional Casey Neistat style, improvised adventure. She's carefully crafting all the details and shots of the videos before she even picks up a camera.
"And then I'll go into storyboarding."
"Oh my God, Kariza, you're like super prepared upfront, like you're a pre-pro demon."
"The better the pre-production is, the better the end result will be."
Kariza has spent the last year refocusing her channel on this reimagined approach to vlogging, and it worked. Three weeks after her first vlog, she hit 100,000 subscribers, and it's only grown from there. I'm sitting down with Kariza to discuss what she's learned over the last year and three core concepts that she uses as anchors for her creativity.
"This is the plan. At least stick to these very simple three rules, and then everything else go and feel free to experiment." (sheep baas)
"You're on a course to produce a bunch of films this year. And how many months in are you at this point?"
"Well, I'm going up on one year."
"On one year, okay."
"Yeah. Yeah."
"So we're gonna watch 12 or 13 clips from your last year of filmmaking."
"Mm-hmm."
"And we've got them spaced out here and I wanna see if we can get to the bottom of like, your journey as a filmmaker, and how you've developed and changed as a filmmaker, and kind of how you see that as well."
"Yes, let's do it."
"Okay? All right. Let's start, here we go." (upbeat music)
"So, oh, I have a couple of things that I need to get done today."
"I love that sequence. You leave in bloopers and things."
"Yeah."
"Why do you do that?"
"I feel like, it's more true to who I actually am. I feel like a lot of the time on YouTube, it's very curated, very like, very tight. And that's good for some things, but then I think that when I wanted to get into vlogging, I wanted it to be a little bit more looser. And I think moments like this, the audience can actually feel like, 'Oh, she's like, this is just like real life, almost.'"
"Yeah."
"So I feel like there's more of a personable trait going on, versus like, very strict and numb and perfect."
"Totally."
"I was actually planning to film for a future video, and in efforts to document my life better, I thought that it would be a great idea to vlog."
"Is this scripted?"
"Yeah." (laughs)
"Yeah. Okay. And do you know that as you're about to hit that final line, you're gonna reach for your headphones?"
"I more so was like, okay, it's more interesting when you're talking to the camera, but you're also doing something. I think that's my way to cope with talking to the camera."
"Right."
"I feel like, it's also as if you are in a room with a friend. Like, not all the time that you're just sitting there and not doing anything."
"No."
"If you're hanging out with somebody at your house, maybe you're doing something and you can talk to them when you're washing dishes or whatever. So I feel like it's kind of the same thing, a little bit more casual, and for me as a creator, it's a little bit easier to talk to the camera when I'm doing something."
"Yeah."
"But for this beat, I was like, okay, if I'm gonna say something like this, then maybe it can lead up to this moment where I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna try to vlog.' That's the mission of the video."
"Right."
"Yeah."
"It also adds a little bit of interest 'cause we don't know what you're gonna do with those headphones. And so it creates a little bit of mystery. Like, we're wondering, what's gonna happen next? What is she doing with that?"
"Mm-hmm."
"So I used to do a lot of improv in college and we would do, you know, you would go out on stage when you started a scene and you would start some kind of activity, like, you're cooking. And the rule was you can't talk about what you're doing. So the conversation has to be unrelated to the activity and it creates a little bit of tension or something in a scene because you have to process two things at once. And it, I don't know, it makes it more engaging or something like that."
"Yeah, and then even when you rewatch the video, you're like, oh, okay, this is where it actually comes into play."
"Yeah."
"So I like those kind of things, and also, it's pushing the scene forward."
"Yeah."
"I'm doing something because I'm packing, which is like point A to point B."
"Oof."
"So every scene, I want it to be purposeful of what I'm doing."
"Interesting, it's a new piece of information in the narrative that pushes the story forward."
"Yes."
"Love that. Ooh, that's a really good tip. It's like, what is happening in this scene that is the next button, essentially."
"Exactly."
"Right. Okay." (upbeat music) ♪ Glitter and a touch of glamour ♪
"Hey!"
"Okay, how many takes?" (Jack and Kariza laugh)
"So many. I think we just rolled the camera for 10 minutes. I think the clip itself is 10 minutes. We couldn't take too much time because we were like, you know, there was traffic on the road."
"Right."
"But I was like, I dreamed up this shot. This was filmed after I filmed everything else."
"Mm-hmm."
"And I was like, how do I introduce a character without saying, 'Oh, hey, this is this and this, so and so. She's like this,' but you see she's already on the curb, she's waiting for me. And then when you play the rest of the clip, she's like, 'Really?' And you're assuming like, 'Oh, she's done this so many times and her friend is already used to this.' It's like, okay, so it says a lot about her character too, as a supporting character, on how I introduce her into my world."
"Yeah."
"And it says a lot about me as a friend as well and our dynamic is there."
"Are you think, like as you're writing, are you thinking about all of those things? Like, 'Hey, what new information is the audience learning in this scene?' Are you literally thinking about that when you're storytelling?"
"Yeah."
"You are?"
"I am thinking about, how do I introduce a character? What is our dynamic on screen? A good example is 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off.'"
"I'm taking a day off. Now get dressed and come on over."
"I can't, stupid. I'm sick."
"That's all in your head. Come on over."
"I feel like complete shit, Ferris. I can't go anywhere."
"Ferris, he wants to go about the town. He's very carefree. And he's like, 'Oh, come on.' And then we have Cameron who is like, 'Oh my God, I don't wanna do this. Leave me out of it.' But eventually he comes against his will, kind of."
"Yeah."
"But then that creates an interesting dynamic, versus like, 'Okay, yeah, let's go.'"
"Right."
"There's nothing there."
"There's no tension."
"Yeah. Exactly."
"Yep. Makes sense."
"Yeah." ♪ Impress me ♪ ♪ Show me real amour ♪
"Seriously?" ♪ Flower curtains, rose petals on my bed ♪ ♪ I'm your ♪
"How did you get that shot? Is that just leaning out the window, or?"
"So I rolled down my window all the way and then I clamped it on the door."
"Is that some kind of clamp mount or something for your camera?"
"Yeah, so then like, I used a super clamp, a Manfrotto super clamp."
"Oh."
"To be specific. And then a magic arm and then I kind of just prop it there and then I get whoever's in my passenger seat to hold it for me."
"Yeah."
"And then I just drove down a neighborhood."
"And what's the camera for this video?"
"So I filmed this video on a Sony a7S II. I had that camera for so long, I think, I mean, in the tech world, it's a long time because there was no stabilization on it. There's like, it was a good camera for its time, I wanna say that. But it was an old camera. It was falling apart by the time that I filmed this. But I mean, it got the job done." (laughs)
"Nice. And what do you film on now?"
"I film on the Sony FX3. I have it here with me, actually."
"Oh, wow. Oh, let's see it."
"Well, I have my vlog lens on this."
"Okay. Why is that, why do you call that a vlog lens? 'Cause it's wide?"
"Super wide."
"Do you know how wide it is? What is it?"
"It's an 11 millimeter."
"Oh my God. It's super wide. Oh man, look at that!"
"It was recommended to me and you can go up really close to your face."
"Oh my God."
"And you're still in it."
"You get a bunch of barrel distortion on the edges."
"Yes."
"That's really funny."
"But I think it's nice for a POV and then I can literally just hold it here."
"Oh my God. I gotta get an 11 millimeter. The widest lens I have is a 16 and this is really nice."
"Yes. It was recommended to me and I was like, 'Perfect.' But usually I would shoot on a 24-70."
"Okay."
"When I wanna get more of the cinematic look."
"Why the FX3?"
"I mean, this was my dream camera since it came out. At the time I was filming this, I wasn't doing YouTube full time. It was still a dream of mine. So I knew that I wanted to stick with Sony. I love the tones. I feel like it's very, it has like a filmic quality almost. And I love to color grade, so I thought that I just wanted to stick with Sony."
"Yeah. So you shoot everything in LOG?"
"I do, yes. SLOG3."
"Okay."
"Yeah."
"And do you use Premiere for color or do you use something else?"
"No, I'm on DaVinci Resolve."
"Oh, you are?"
"I am, I am a DaVinci Resolve user. My whole workflow is in DaVinci."
"Okay, so you use DaVinci's color grading?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
"So everything is in DaVinci Resolve, from editing, and then it goes into color, and then all the audio stuff. I just do everything in that program."
"Awesome. Okay, cool. I've not used DaVinci Resolve yet, but I've heard amazing things about it. And obviously it's like the one everybody's-"
"You're gonna convert."
"I know."
"You're gonna convert."
"Everybody's switching to it. I remember when I, on the audio end, I made a switch from Pro Tools to Ableton in probably like 2010. It was like one of the best decisions of my life. So, I don't know. It's hard to change software, but I think it's actually really good."
"It's gonna be one of those moments."
"Yeah, I think so." (upbeat music)
"Do you have a dolly?"
"For this shot?"
"Yeah."
"This was actually on a Boosted Board."
"I have a Boosted Board!"
"Yeah, so my partner, Colt Kirwan, he's also a YouTuber, and he is actually, he works as a filmer in New York City for other YouTubers, which is super handy, because I'm like, 'Hey, I have this shot in mind, but I don't have a dolly here in New York City and I can't lay tracks on the road in New York City.'"
"Yeah."
"And he's like, 'Well, we have a Boosted Board.' And I'm like, 'Okay, perfect.' So we found this gorgeous street and I was like, 'Okay, just don't get hit by a car.'" (Kariza and Jack laugh)
"But we did the shot like, oh my God, like 10 times. He's super patient. But we eventually got the shot, and this was exactly what I had in my head when I wanted to add this cinematic element to my vlog."
"Right."
"Yeah."
"And is he holding the camera on the Boosted Board?"
"He is."
"And using the Bluetooth control to go as he's holding it?"
"Yes."
"And that's a little bit of a longer lens."
"Yeah, so then we filmed it on, this was actually on his camera, 'cause I did not have an FX3 at this time. It was a Sony a7S III, the 24-70 lens."
"Okay."
"Because I wanted the versatility of that lens 'cause I knew I was gonna get a lot of coverage when I went out to film."
"Yeah."
"And then, so I wanted a wide shot. I wanted to see the background and then I wanted to just have that kind of main character moment of walking down the street, kinda like 'Juno.'" ♪ And if I was a tree growing tall and green ♪ ♪ All I'd want is you to shade me and be my leaves ♪
"Oh, I love that movie."
"Yes."
"It's such a good movie."
"I'm very influenced by 2000s rom-coms. I love it. If Michael Cera's in it, I probably-"
"Oh yeah."
"I probably love it. Yeah."
"He's the freaking best. I love 'Superbad.'"
"So wait, you just used the term coverage. So, are you reading books on filmmaking? Did you go to film school? Like what's your, like, how do you know that term?"
"So before YouTube, I was a freelancer for around like five years. I did videography at first and then I tried to freelance more in the traditional film industry."
"Right."
"And that's kind of where I learned all these terms and then how to get full coverage for a scene. Like what does that look like? And it's also studying how movies do it as well. And it's a simple formula that I use in my videos just 'cause if you're on location, you just gotta get what you need. And so I never wanna take more time than I need to. So I'm like, 'Okay, get a wide shot.'"
"And then, yeah."
"You don't overshoot?"
"I try not to overshoot."
"But do you overshoot?"
"Sometimes." (Jack and Kariza laugh)
"I overshoot, I can't help myself. And it makes editing-"
"I was guilty. I was guilty of it. Yeah."
"It makes editing so much harder. But like, I would rather have too much footage than not enough I think."
"Mm-hmm."
"And so I end up just shooting a lot."
"I used to be like that. I used to have that mindset of like, 'More is better.' And then I started uploading more frequently and then my mind changed a lot. I was like, I just need maybe a little bit more than I know that I need, but not too too much."
"Right."
"So that's where scripting is very handy."
"Right."
"So now I'm like, okay, for this shot, or for this scene, I have this amount of lines. Or in this case, I have a whole chorus for a song. And then I kind of go with the beats to that."
"Right."
"So then, I'll be like, okay, this to this wide shot, and then I'll cut to an insert here, an insert here. And then each time the scene changes, I just try to get full coverage if that's all I can manage. So then I know for sure like, okay, at least I have something to work with."
"And do you map that out in Google Docs or something? Or how are you scripting?"
"Right now I am in Apple Notes, honestly." (laughs)
"That's what I use! It's so great."
"Yep. So sometimes, so I'll script out or bullet points at least, but mostly it's a script. And then sometimes I'll even have the song chosen already for a certain scene, just so I know what kind of vibe I'm going for for that video. After that, from the script, I go into shot list and then I'll go into storyboarding."
"Oh, you storyboard?"
"I do storyboarding, yeah."
"Oh my God, Kariza. Really?"
"I have to, yeah. I really do, because sometimes I have like, 30 shots I need to do in a day. I'm not gonna remember each composition that I'm gonna do. I've tried and each time I just get very overwhelmed. So instead I just have things to reference on the day of. And then I'm just like, popping off the shots. Yeah."
"Okay, so you go script in Apple Notes, into like a spreadsheet of shot lists."
"Not a spreadsheet. Okay."
"It's more like, an office scene."
"In the script?"
"No, it'll be a separate note."
"A separate doc. Okay."
"And then it'll be like, shot list, so cinematic frame sequence, it's like, you can see, there's just like, top down, closeup, closeup, insert wide, insert face, show camera, medium shot, closeup. So it would just be stuff like that."
"This is so cool."
"Yeah, so I try to be a little bit descriptive when I do my shots."
"Right, right."
"Yeah."
"You're like super prepared upfront. Like you're a pre-pro demon, you're putting all your time and energy into pre-pro."
"Yes. It's very important to me."
"Yeah."
"Because if not, oh my God, it's a disaster of editing."
"Yeah."
"The better the pre-production is, the better the end result will be. And it's a streamlined process and I love that."
"Yeah."
"If not, it's a pain."
"So are you like a super organized person in general? Like in your life?"
"You know, I'm realizing that right now as I'm talking to you." (Jack and Kariza laugh)
"I mean, it just sounds so meticulously prepared. Yeah."
"I think because, I guess the more production I put into it, the more I'm like, okay, I need to know exactly what I'm doing."
"Right."
"And if I involve somebody in helping me film, I need to be able to communicate exactly what we're doing and to not waste any time."
"Right."
"Because it just takes, everything just takes so long. Filming takes long. Editing takes long. Scripting takes long. So the more consistent I can be, the better."
"And then, I want to keep watching, but one more question about storyboards. Are you drawing storyboards?"
"Yes. They're not good, though. So let me make that clear. But I'm just quickly writing out how the composition will look."
"Okay."
"Stick figures. Just as fast as I can. Yeah."
"Scribbles, okay."
"But as long as I have an idea of like, oh, okay, yeah. This is it. And then I can imagine it the day of."
"Right."
"But at least I have some kind of reference before I go into filming."
"Right. Makes sense."
"Yeah."
"Okay, cool."
"Yes. Something that I can allow myself to..."
"Yo!"
"Switch gears for a while. What are you doing tomorrow?" (upbeat music)
"Ready?"
"So I just have to call out one little technique here that you did that's really good, that is like a really good storytelling tool, is like, clearly you're thinking of something. And then you ask the question."
"Switch gears for a while. What are you doing tomorrow?" (upbeat music)
"And the music comes in maybe." (upbeat music) "Five seconds before we know, like four or five seconds before we know what we're doing. And those five seconds we're like, 'What is she talking about?'"
"Yeah."
"Is that deliberate?"
"Yes. It's deliberate. I feel like it's a good transition into the next scene without being like, 'Okay, we're doing this now.' I like to, like I know my audience is smart. And I also know it's very satisfying when you're like, waiting for that moment to come versus holding the audience's hand."
"Right."
"So that's something that I try to do a lot in my videos is just like, put together the pieces and then instead of verbally saying what we're doing."
"Right."
"And then I think I love to lead in with the music before the beat actually drops."
"Yeah."
"I just feel like, it keeps them engaged, but then also I can have fun and let each point breathe before moving on to the next thing."
"Right."
"Yeah."
"It's such a great way, there's so many different ways to tell stories. You can tell stories with voiceover, you can tell stories with shots, you can tell stories sometimes with music. And I think in this case, you're telling a story with music, which is like, we're gonna go do something fun, which you told us with music."
"Yes."
"It's like such a cool-"
"And I'm thinking it and then it kind of like, it's like almost it's happening in my head at first and then we see it."
"Yeah."
"Yeah, and then I guess like the audience can also feel that way as well."
"Right. Yeah. It's a beautiful technique. Yeah, telling stories in different ways, sometimes with sound effects or whatever, it just adds variety throughout the video. And I think you do a really good job of that, where sometimes you're using visuals, music, sound effects, and it's all kind of hitting the next button on the narrative, you know?"
"And it's good for pacing as well."
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Totally. Cool." (upbeat music)
"Do you feel weird walking around public spaces with a camera?"
"I try to do it as fast as possible." (Jack laughs)
"Yeah."
"It is always uncomfortable. I don't know if I'll ever get over it and it's way easier when you have somebody with you, which in this case I did have someone with me, but I just, again, that's where the shot list comes into play. I'm like, okay, I need three environment type of shots. And then so I know at least I can use those things and I can get them fast."
"Right."
"Yeah."
"Right. Okay."
"It's also the time that my office is a mess."
"The way you do this, obviously, is you write out the script first. You say the line and then you finish the line somewhere else and you cut between them."
"Yes."
"Yeah."
"So I think what I try to do is I'll always lead into the problem because I try to at least have a problem or a conflict and then a resolution by the end of it. Just a simple three act structure of a video. When I first started to vlog, I knew that I wanted to challenge myself, but at the same time, I needed to make it as simple as possible for me to do it consistently. 'Cause prior to this, I was like, I was making videos that took way too long and I wasn't satisfied enough as a creator. I felt like, I just needed to do something different. And having a little bit of rules, so it wasn't so much a free for all, where I was like, 'Oh, I can create anything,' and, you know."
"Right."
"But it was a big enough box for me to play in."
"Right, right."
"And so having very simple rules, like three act structure, have a conflict and a solution in each video."
"Yes."
"And then maybe like a cinematic shot, and then just pillars that can help me remain consistent in the final product as well as production wise."
"Yeah."
"So it was like, was something I'm glad that I listed out before I started to vlog for a year."
"Wow, so you came up with those pillars before you started vlogging?"
"Yes, so before, I knew that I wanted to start vlogging. I thought that for a long time, it was something that I really wanted to do."
"Yeah."
"'Cause prior to that, I was making more, I guess you can call them essay type of videos, where it was like, topic and three points for each thing."
"Right."
"And it was just very, very rigid."
"Yeah."
"And I felt like I needed to do something a little bit more loose."
"Yeah."
"So then vlogging was something that not a lot of people were doing at the time. I feel like if you were known, then people say, 'Oh, you only should vlog if you're known and you have an audience already.' And I was like, but I just wanna be able to tell a variety of different stories and work on my storytelling and my filmmaking. And the only niche that I could really think of was vlogging that it would make sense."
"Yeah."
"So then I knew that if I wanted to be consistent and then it would be kind of a rollercoaster, once I was like, in it and the momentum was going, so then I wrote out pillars that I could look back on as my north star of, okay, this is the plan. At least stick to these very simple three rules and then everything else I can go and feel free to experiment."
"In some ways it sort of establishes your voice as a creator, right?"
"Yes."
"Because we see, there is a lot of consistency across your catalog of videos, and it's probably, what are those three things again?"
"I have it on my phone. I can actually show you this list."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's see it."
"Yeah. Ground rules of challenge. Have you shared this?"
"No."
"Can you hold it right here?"
"Oh my God."
"Do you mind sharing it? If you don't want to, that's okay, but."
"Oh my gosh."
"Oh my God. I wanna see this. Ground rules of a challenge. Three act narrative. Keep it simple, fun, playful. Love that. One banger cinematic style shot. Dolly, Plexiglas, et cetera. Bonus, one surprise and delight moment. God, that's such a simple set of rules but that's such a great framework to tell a great story."
"Yeah."
"I love that. Okay, let's keep going." (upbeat music)
"And is a friend doing the camera or is that a friend walking?"
"So that's me walking. And then my mom is actually helping me with the shot." (Jack and Kariza laugh)
"Nice."
"She helps me with most of my shots that I need somebody to operate the camera with. Most of the time, I try to film everything myself, just 'cause it's easier to just make things, like it's faster to make things on my own, not rely on people. But when I do need somebody and when the shot is bigger than me, then I'll ask my mom if she's around."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Yeah, yeah. So she's the one pushing the camera."
"Awesome, by the way, we talked with Gawx as well and he has his brother and his dad helping all the time."
"Oh, nice. Yeah."
"With his shots as well."
"Oh yeah."
"Yeah."
"And honestly, I've only been home a couple of days at a time before needing to leave again. But this time I'm glad to be back because I have a special package that has been waiting for me."
"Did you plan out that that line was gonna be the line that went to handheld or did that happen in post?"
"That was intentional. It was intentional, just because I feel like the scene, it's always moving forward, and then when you just talk for so long, it just slows it down."
"Right."
"So I'm like, okay, say one or two lines here, and then we're gonna move to handheld, and then we're gonna go back into, yeah."
"So you're just trying to create dynamic-"
"Momentum in the video."
"Yes."
"Especially, this is within the first two minutes of the video, I just, I still wanna push it forward and keep it going until it hits the point. Then it's like, 'Oh, this is the point of the video.'"
"Yeah."
"We're not there yet."
"So, okay, one thing I'm learning as I'm talking with you is like, it's funny, when people use the term vlog, it's usually this very impromptu, unscripted thing, but what you've done, is you've created a cinematic production process to recreate the improvised vlog."
"I like to say that it's based on a true story versus what we think a traditional vlog is."
"Yeah."
"I think a vlog or the vlog niche is the closest thing I can categorize this as. Because if it's too different on YouTube, then I don't know if it works as well. People need something that's a bit familiar in order for that new thing to be accepted."
"Right."
"And so this is my way of bringing some new elements into a niche while still keeping familiar elements, so an audience on YouTube can have something to latch onto."
"Totally."
"Yeah."
"Yep, yeah, it is definitely drawing on YouTube vocabulary."
"Mm-hmm."
"But then it also feels more produced. It just, it does."
"Yes, so it's bringing the filmmaking aspect of it and the filmmaking production of it."
"Right."
"But mixing it with, 'Oh, okay, well I'm talking here,' and there are moments that actually are happening in real time."
"Right."
"But then for the more scripted videos, it's like, okay, how can I still make this feel like a YouTube video and not like an episode on Netflix or something like that."
"Right, right. Totally." ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ Oh no ♪
"How did you do that?"
"I was holding the camera talking and then I whip it."
"Okay."
"And then I put it on a tripod and then I whip it and then I just cut it together."
"That's awesome."
"Yes."
"And then the cut is somewhere like, well there."
"You can see it now, when you're doing this, but."
"But when you watch it back."
"Boom. Yeah."
"It's perfect. And it's so jarring to go from a handheld to sticks with a seamless transition."
"Yes."
"It's really cool."
"And then again, the music comes in, and it's like back to our montage."
"Right. Right."
"Yeah, moving it forward again."
"And you're telling us this is something interesting that we're about to see. You got a surprise package and the music comes in and we're anticipating something big here."
"Yes."
"Yeah." ♪ Here we go again ♪
"And here, sorry, I just wanna say, with the package, I've gotten a few emails when this video came out."
"Uh huh."
"They're like, 'Oh my God, your address is on the label.' And that's actually a fake label that I did. And if you scan the QR code, it'll go to my channel." (laughs)
"This code right here?"
"Yes, that's all, like, literally." (laughs)
"You're joking me."
"I don't know if it's as HD."
"Oh my God."
"So everything on that label's photoshopped. Yeah."
"So you made a fake label."
"Yeah, I did. I just, like, I was watching a lot of unboxings before and a lot of people would just black it out, but I thought that would be a little bit too distracting. Especially if I'm saying like, 'Oh, I'm picking up a package.' Why is it already blacked out? So instead, I just made a new label." ♪ I was such a sad boy ♪
"You don't actually tie twine on the mail that you want to mail on any given day?"
"I could." (Jack and Kariza laugh)
"But no, this is again, art direction."
"Right."
"I want this cinematic world of mine to feel a little bit more, like there's vintage elements to it as well."
"Right."
"This is a way for me to tie in things that I actually really care about and that I like, very subtly."
"It's almost like the fairytale of vlogging, is what it feels like."
"Yes."
"Is that like, I don't know, there's something about it that just feels like the ideal. It's like a, I don't know, it feels like a fairytale."
"Yes, I mean, that's exactly how I want my videos to feel. I love when things feel a little bit magical, a little bit whimsical, and like, yeah, maybe things aren't this perfect in real life."
"Right."
"But this is me creating my cinematic world."
"Right, right."
"Yeah."
"Yeah. That's, yeah. And you've mentioned that before, your cinematic world, you clearly have put a lot of thought into how you want it. It's not what is naturally around you. It's like your fantasy, the world you want to create is what we get to see."
"Yes."
"Which is cool. Yeah." ♪ Such a sad boy ♪
"Like a handlebar mount or something? How's this happening?"
"Again, I was using a clamp."
"Okay."
"Although, this was such a tricky shot. This shot only lasts a second because it kept tipping over and it was so hard to ride a bike with it on. But yeah, this is clamped with a very wide angle. I think I was on a smaller lens as well when I was filming this one."
"Okay. All right, cool."
"Yeah." ♪ Caught my eye ♪
"Again, another Easter egg, that's not my address." (laughs) "For people who were very concerned and that's not Colt's address either. So my address, if you type it in, it goes to a bookstore that I grew up going to."
"Wow."
"And also, I wanna say, Colt's address is a certain Chipotle that's down the street from 368. And it was the Chipotle he went to after he met Casey Neistat, which is his idol." (laughs)
"Oh my God, Kariza, come on."
"Little Easter eggs. If no one gets it, that's fine. But to me, it's very satisfying."
"That's so interesting that it's like, clearly no one else will know that. So it's not even for them, it's just for you."
"Yes. But if there are people who are curious."
"Right."
"Then it's a nice surprise. Also, that's something that I love about other things, like other movies, other shows. I love Easter eggs. I love the fandom culture, where you're like, 'Oh my God, they did this and this is a call back to this.' So I'm like, how can I bring those things into my videos? Even if I'm the only one who notices it."
"So great." (upbeat music)
"That's a fake knuckle crack, of course."
"Oh, it definitely is fake. But I wanted to be a little bit, like, extra and a little bit of humor, that's like, 'Oh my gosh, that was so dubbed.'" (laughs)
"Is this Kariza's actual desk? Is it this clean and organized? Or is this fantasy world?"
"This is fantasy world for sure. I mean, look at the cookies. It looks perfect." (Jack and Kariza laugh)
"But here you can actually see a little bit of my storyboards there."
"Yeah."
"So that's kind of how they look like. But this is clean."
"Right."
"Yeah."
"It's almost like, I mean I'm trying to, I'm just trying to like really describe your style. It's almost like a Pinterest mood board or something where we're like seeing like, it's like a magazine of your life, you know?"
"Yes."
"It's like this, I don't know, there's something very, yeah. Again, maybe that's the fairytale component."
"And I try to like have little pops of color here and there. I wouldn't say my work is very, very bright, bright colors, but I do try to have complementary colors within my shot."
"Mm-hmm. Yeah."
"Mm-hmm."
"When I set out to romanticize my life more and document it, I wondered if and when there would ever be a week where I would have to deal with this."
"Wow, such nice lighting in the shot. Can you tell us about the lighting setup? It's really nice."
"Off camera, on this side."
"Okay."
"I have a big window, which is nice. But unfortunately, it was very overcast that day, so that didn't do much. So I have a soft box that's right, 45 degrees from me. But it's on the lowest setting and there's an egg crate on it. So just very natural. I want it to look as natural as possible."
"Right."
"I try to keep it as simple as I can. And especially for something like this, I'm just like, vlogging to the camera."
"Right."
"So I just try to make it look a bit running on."
"Yeah."
"I've been in a creative rut for the past few weeks and today, today that's gonna."
"Do you film on autofocus or do you film manually?"
"So I film on autofocus. Now with the camera that I have, the FX3, it has the eye recognition, so it just tracks wherever you are. On my older camera and maybe the first, I would say, first three to four vlogs of the year, I was like, the autofocus was non-existent. So I would have to manually focus everything and just make sure that I would just stay in the same spot."
"Yeah."
"But then I think autofocus allows more, just like, you can be more loose with it."
"Yeah."
"So I mean, I had the struggle of it, so I don't, I was like, 'Okay, I need a camera that can track me.'"
"Super cool. Love that."
"Yeah."
"You're coming up on a year of filmmaking and vlogging here. So what have you learned over that period? If you had to break it down, what are some of the key lessons that you think folks at home could benefit from?"
"I think that, when you're a creator, you want to have the freedom to experiment and to constantly be growing and changing within your craft. But having an anchor and a north star to guide you and to have a bit of structure to what you're doing is so helpful. I feel like a lot of times, it's so easy to lose your way or forget why you're doing something, and I feel like if you have something to always refer you back to what you started with, then I think that is something that is so invaluable and it also just grounds you in what you're doing. And so I think for one year, I wanted to just be consistent with a style for one year, okay. And then maybe the next season of content, I can be like, okay, now we're gonna just add this element in and in this element in, and then for a season, it'll be consistent like that. But I think the one year taught me both discipline in staying consistent in this one thing, but also having the freedom to experiment outside those pillars that I had for myself."
"So cool getting to talk to you about these videos. Thank you for taking the time. It's so fun to just pick your brain about how you think about this stuff."
"Thank you for having me." (upbeat music)