Brendan van Son

Why I Quit Daily Vlogging on YouTube

I obviously posted the below video about this. And while I got accused click bait – and maybe rightfully so – it didn’t feel like a small thing to me.  And I kind of feel like I needed to air out some of my thoughts and ideas. A brain dump, if you will.

I’ve been daily vlogging for about 2 and a half years.  Some of that time it consumed my life.  Big life decisions were made around the question of “how does that fit into my vlog schedule”.  There was a point where I vlogged every single day for over 4 months without missing a day. I was up at 5am shooting, editing, writing, then not sleeping until midnight or 1am.  It wasn’t a full time job, it was 3 of them.

Then, as I scaled things down to 5 videos a week my life became more sane. I felt like the content was getting better.  But, some of it just felt gratuitous. I started to worry that my content would go from inclusive and inspiring to narcissistic and dull.

So, change was necessary.

I’m Not Working Less

I think that I need to clarify something.  When I was doing 5 videos a week, I didn’t feel like I was working too hard.  I just felt like my work couldn’t be focused enough. It was too rushed.

A lot of people have been mentioned that it’s good for me to cut down to 2 1/2 videos a week because I’d have more time to relax.  But, I don’t want to relax more, I want my energy to be more focused.

I want to create content with a purpose and that I’m proud to share.

I won’t be working any less hard.  I’ll just be putting more work into fewer videos.

Growth

For me, growth is such an integral part of life. What’s the point of life if you’re not trying to continue to build, grow, advance – evolve?  Growth keeps you fresh, and allows you to see more perspectives.

This change is all about growth.

I always tell people that they shouldn’t change their camera gear until they feel like they’re restricted by their current kit. Well, I was starting to fell restricted by my current format. So, it was time for me to change my format.

I think this change of format will allow me to experiment.  It’ll allow me to fail. And, it’ll allow me to grow.

Brendan van Son

Teaching

There have been a lot of comments about education. A lot of people would love to see a bit more of an educational angle into the videos. And, I think that will become an integral part of the channel moving forward.  But, I don’t want it to become dull.  I want to take you into the field and show you the reality of shooting a certain style – or a certain lens.

Moreover, once a week I’ll have a quick video where I try to teach you something actionable. Something that improves your life as a photographer or filmmaker really quickly.

Really? No More Vlogs?

Well. No.

Some of the times that I film a video it will be a vlog – or at least vlog style. Some might even be daily vlogs.  But, that’s not always going to be the format. I don’t want there to be any sort of “requirement” to a post. I want to post videos that have a purpose.

So, I won’t be vlogging for no reason.  I may vlog extraordinary days, or if that style fits a video I’m hoping to make.

So, What’s the Format?

I’ll essentially be posting 3 videos a week.  However, only 2 of those will be full-length videos.

Sundays: This will be a full length video day.
Tuesdays: I’m calling this “Teach ’em Tuesdays”
Thursdays: Another full length video.

The posting times are the same – 2pm UK.

Panda Bear, Bifengxia, China

Bear with Me

This new format is going to take time for me to figure out.  I’m going to fail. I’m going to mess up. I’m going to make videos that suck. Please, bear with me.

There will be a learning curve.

But, to summarize: thank you.

Thanks for the support. Without it, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to try new things like this. I really appreciate it.