A short-form creator with four unfinished long-form projects gets a workflow built for him on paper, then checks back in two months later to find the real fix wasn't the workflow at all.
Posted
1 months ago
Duration
Format
Interview
educational
Views
50.8K
599 likes
57 · 43
Big Idea
The argument in one line.
Long-form video isn't a mandatory next step for every short-form creator; the real obstacle is the hidden cognitive cost of a format with no repeatable template to follow.
Who This Is For
Read if. Skip if.
READ IF YOU ARE…
A short-form creator who feels guilty for not making longer YouTube videos yet.
Someone with finished short-form footage who keeps shooting long-form projects and never editing them.
A creator who wants a repeatable thumbnail-first template instead of reinventing the process every time they film.
SKIP IF…
You already have a long-form production process that works and just want more tactics, not a framework.
You make narrative fiction or scripted content — this is about documentary-style creator vlogging and coaching formats.
TL;DR
The full version, fast.
A short-form home-improvement creator sits down with the hosts of Creator Support because he has four unfinished long-form projects and can't bring himself to edit any of them. They diagnose the real problem: long-form has no repeatable template, so every edit starts from a blank timeline and a blank page. The fix they build together is a thumbnail-first workflow: mock up the title and thumbnail before shooting, shoot both vertical and horizontal at once with a dual-camera app, then research a 'reference board' of competing titles to find a gap in YouTube's recommendation algorithm. Two months later the creator checks back in having made none of it, and reports the actual unlock wasn't a better process. It was giving himself permission to stay a short-form creator.
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01 · The problem: four unfinished long-form projects
Adrian, a short-form home-improvement creator, admits he's shot four long-form projects and can't bring himself to edit any of them.
00:30 – 04:33
02 · Why short-form wins and long-form stalls
Adrian traces his pull toward short-form (speed, fast payoff) against his nostalgia for Casey Neistat-era long-form storytelling, and names the real pattern: he's chasing the high of a quick idea-to-publish loop.
04:33 – 08:50
03 · Reframing the idea: museum piece vs. personal story
The hosts show AI-mocked-up thumbnail concepts for an upcycling series; Adrian redirects the 'museum quality' framing toward the more honest story underneath it: growing up poor and being forced to upcycle.
08:50 – 10:12
04 · Sponsor break: The Big Idea Fund
Mid-episode Adobe-sponsored break: viewers are invited to submit a 60-second pitch for funding, with a montage of other creators' submitted ideas.
10:12 – 13:30
05 · Work backward from your best short
The hosts point out that Adrian's best-performing shorts already have proven long-form-worthy titles; the lesson is to lock the thumbnail and title before shooting instead of treating them as packaging added last.
13:30 – 16:50
06 · Mapping the short-form process (and a FaceTime assist)
Adrian draws his current two-iPhone, no-plan, 40-minute-edit process on paper. A FaceTime cameo from another creator (Adam) introduces Double View, an app that shoots vertical and horizontal simultaneously.
16:50 – 21:54
07 · Designing the long-form workflow and finding the content gap
They sketch the long-form version of the same process (idea, thumbnail mock-up, dual-format shoot, voiceover script, talking-head bridges) and research a 'reference board' of competing titles to find where Adrian's angle fits in YouTube's recommendation algorithm.
21:54 – 22:46
08 · Follow your own rules
The framework lowers the mental load of starting each video; both hosts agree the goal is following rules that fit your own life, not someone else's standard for 'real' production.
22:46 – 27:41
09 · Two months later: the pressure is gone
A different location, two months on: Adrian never finished the long-form video. His real takeaway was dropping the need to make one at all, and realizing what he makes for the show isn't 100% of his creative identity.
Atomic Insights
Lines worth screenshotting.
A creator can have four long-form projects fully shot and never edit a single one, because the real blocker isn't time, it's the absence of a repeatable template.
Short-form rewards the creator with a fast idea-to-payoff loop, and chasing that high is a legitimate reason long-form feels impossible to start.
Treat your best-performing short as the seed for a long-form video: mock up its thumbnail and title first, then work backward into the full edit.
Burnout is creative output without direction, so a locked title and thumbnail function as the direction that prevents it.
Title and thumbnail are the front door to a video, not the last piece of packaging added after editing is done.
Long-form YouTube runs on a recommendation algorithm, so success depends on finding the exact gap between competing videos the audience already watches.
Build a 'reference board' of the thumbnails and titles already ranking in your topic before you shoot, and look for where your angle doesn't exist yet.
A dual-camera app that records vertical and horizontal simultaneously removes the need to choose between shooting for shorts or shooting for long-form.
Giving long-form the same story depth as a personal essay — the 'why' behind the project, not just the steps — is what separates it from a short.
Two months after building a full process on paper, the creator had shot zero long-form videos and said he felt relieved rather than behind.
Clarity about which type of creator you are is harder to reach than any production framework, and more valuable once you have it.
What you make for a company or show you co-host isn't 100% of your creative identity, and treating it as the whole of your output invites burnout.
Takeaway
A process beats willpower, but permission beats both.
WHAT TO LEARN
The actual fix for format paralysis is a thumbnail-first template that removes the daily re-decision of what the video is, not a better camera or more willpower.
02Why short-form wins and long-form stalls
Chasing the fast idea-to-payoff loop of short-form is a real, nameable addiction, not just a lack of discipline.
Loving long-form as a viewer doesn't mean you have the workflow to produce it yourself.
03Reframing the idea: museum piece vs. personal story
The first instinct for an idea's framing is usually less interesting than the honest personal story underneath it.
Long-form's actual value over short-form is depth: a personal 'why' behind the thing you're showing, not just a faster recap of it.
A reusable format lowers the cognitive load of starting a new long-form video from scratch every time.
05Work backward from your best short
Your best-performing short-form video is a long-form video with the hard part, concept-testing, already done for you.
Lock the title and thumbnail before anything else; treating them as the last piece of packaging means you're designing the video's front door after the house is built.
Burnout is creative output without direction; a settled thumbnail gives every shoot day a target so you're not re-deciding the video's shape each time.
06Mapping the short-form process (and a FaceTime assist)
Mapping your actual process on paper, step by step, surfaces exactly where the long-form version needs to diverge from the short-form one.
A dual-camera app that records vertical and horizontal at once removes 'which format do I shoot for' as a decision point entirely.
07Designing the long-form workflow and finding the content gap
Long-form YouTube runs on a recommendations algorithm too, except a viewer has to actively decide to click in rather than keep scrolling.
Build a reference board of the titles and thumbnails already ranking in your topic, then look for the gap your angle fills that none of them do.
Talking-head segments exist to fill the gaps where you don't have footage for what you're explaining, not to replace the footage you do have.
08Follow your own rules
A repeatable format lets you play within it instead of reinventing the entire video's skeleton each time.
Following rules that fit your actual life beats following someone else's standard for what 'real' production requires.
09Two months later: the pressure is gone
Two months of process clarity didn't produce a finished long-form video, and that outcome was fine, even good, once it stopped being mandatory.
The actual unlock wasn't a workflow, it was accepting which type of creator you are instead of what you think you're supposed to become.
What you make for a brand, show, or company you're part of isn't the entirety of your creative output; protecting a separate creative space keeps you from resenting the thing you built.
Glossary
Terms worth knowing.
Reference board
A collection of competing videos' titles and thumbnails in your topic, gathered before you shoot, used to spot where your angle is missing from what's already ranking.
Double View
A phone app that records a vertical and a horizontal video simultaneously from one shot, letting a creator produce short-form and long-form footage without filming twice.
15:42toolDouble View (dual vertical + horizontal camera app)
12:10channelRyan Trahan
01:57channelCasey Neistat
00:00channelAdrian Vazquez Vlogs (@adrianvvlogs)
Quotables
Lines you could clip.
04:04
“I had an idea, I put it out, it did well, and that's a high that I feel like I'm always chasing.”
Names the short-form dopamine loop in one breath, no setup needed.→ TikTok hook↗ Tweet quote
07:36
“We always say that burnout is just creative output without direction.”
Clean, standalone aphorism that reframes a feeling every creator has had.→ newsletter pull-quote↗ Tweet quote
11:08
“The title and thumbnail is the concept. It's the front door to your video.”
Flips the common 'thumbnail last' workflow into a flat rule.→ IG reel cold open↗ Tweet quote
19:57
“Long form YouTube is a recommendations algorithm. Somebody has to make the decision to click into it.”
Compresses the short-form vs. long-form discovery difference into one sentence.→ newsletter pull-quote↗ Tweet quote
24:09
“The biggest takeaway I got is the needing to not feel the need to put out long form videos if I don't want to.”
The episode's whole arc lands in one self-aware sentence from the guest himself.→ TikTok hook↗ Tweet quote
26:06
“What I make within the context of Colin and Samir and the company is not a hundred percent of my creative expression.”
A host turning the guest's lesson back on himself — rare, specific, and honest.→ IG reel cold open↗ Tweet quote
The Script
Word for word.
Read-along
Don't just watch it. Burn it in.
See every word as it's spoken — crank it to 2× and still catch all of it. The same dual-channel trick behind Amazon's Kindle + Audible.
17px
metaphorstory
All right, Adrian, welcome to Creator Sport. Tell us about what you make and what your problem is.
So I'm a home improvement DIY creator. I just made the coolest piece of furniture ever. This is the best find of 2023.
Today I found a bed that comes from the ceiling. And my problem is that I'm a short form creator and I'm battling this need to make long form content. That's a very common problem.
We face this problem many times. Are you losing the battle right now? I am.
Because I've shot like four different projects and I haven't felt the need to like, or the desire to edit them. Like long form projects, but you just can't get yourself to edit them. I can't get myself to edit them.
So obviously we're here at Create Camp Outdoors. We've been here for about a week. What has the time and space?
taught you. Yeah. Speaking to a lot of the creators here and kind of seeing their process and how they go about storyboarding things.
And that's not my process at all. So it's almost making me realize that like, maybe I should just stick to short form, just do the thing that like I'm good at already. The tough part I faced is that I'm a, I grew up a YouTube long form kid.
Like that was the thing that I loved. And I actually hated a short form content. I despised it.
I thought it was dumb. I was like, this is never going to work. And because I disliked it so much, I was like, let me just try this thing.
Let me sharpen my knives. And I eventually... fell in love with it.
What did short form represent to you when you hated it? And what did long form or what does long form represent to you? Yeah.
That you like long for it. Yeah. Yeah.
Uh, for me it was, I didn't think it was possible to tell a good story within that 60 second timeframe. And for me, like I like a good story. I like a good beginning, middle end over the course of like eight minutes.
You know what I mean? We all. Watch the Casey Neistat era and just his setups, his promises to pay, like all that was just, I didn't think you could do that in short form.
That makes sense. It does make sense. So I think in watching your videos, like I've come across them many times in my short form feeds, partially because you wear a press publish hat that like stuck out to me the first time I saw it.
I was like, wait. But also because they're very fun to watch because the mechanic of what you're doing is inherently transformative, which means it has. a reason to watch until the end.
Sweet. I think something that's really interesting when we were really inspired by Casey and wanted so badly to vlog, what we didn't do was understand why would someone watch this until the end? Right.
Right. And like Casey always did a great job of setting up and still does. Like, why should you watch this until the end?
Whether it's, you know, that video where he's like saving his drone. Right. And it's because it's such a good.
Storytelling structure of like an act one to three and a reason to watch till the end to see does he rescue this drone? Right, right. Right and how does he do it?
Yeah So why I bring that up is because your short form has that inherent structure to it I have to watch until the end right because I want to see this thing get built, right? I think a very simple thing to explore And this happens a lot in like the New York City short form scene, which I would say you're a part of, right?
You're part of the New York City short form scene. I am in New York City. So I'm talking about Trackstar with Jack Coyne.
I'm talking about Subway Takes with Kareem, Gabe DeSanti, who does the jobs. I'm going to go to work. Yeah, go to work with you.
A lot of these creators are shooting short form, but they're shooting it horizontally so that they can upload a long form. Right. What stops you from doing that?
And that's the thing, I've done that. For me, I think it's the speed of short form, right? Where I have an idea, I can execute it quickly, and I can put it out quickly.
And then you have the payoff of, I had an idea, I put it out, it did well, and that's a high that I feel like I'm always chasing. I don't know if that's part of the problem. You're an addict.
I'm an addict. Yeah, got it. Understood.
I'm an addict. What you're saying is you lose excitement because the process takes too long in long form. Yes.
And that's why you have four episodes that you've essentially shot that are just sitting there. Correct. Yeah.
Let us show you some mocks. So we mocked up some things in Firefly that we want to show you. Okay?
Nice. And you want to play around with like, what if these were some of your formats? Wow.
So something that we noticed is like, you're turning unexpected things. into furniture or into something that can fit into your apartment.
And we started by exploring like the pallet. You turned a wooden pallet into like a shelf, right? And so we started with that concept.
I turned a wooden pallet into a shelf. And then we were like, is it more interesting if it's trash? Like you turning trash into something that's in your tiny space.
So we put this one, right? I turned trash into my new dining room table. Or I opened a museum.
Your partner is happy with you. She's already not thrilled about a lot of the projects I make. I turned trash into museum quality art, right?
That's fun. That is cool. It's like I turned this thing into an unexpected thing.
Yeah. Well, the reason I did, like, the trash or, like, the upcycling thing is because, like, I wanted something, like, relatable. Like, anything that anybody can grab and just inspire, like, a thought for, like, a second life.
You know what I mean? In New York City, I don't know if you guys have obviously been, but have you guys been during, like, trash day? Yeah.
There's, like, tons of furniture thrown out. Yeah. It always blew my mind.
I grew up really poor, and I think I was forced to upcycle things. Great story, yeah. And I think that's how that whole thing came to be.
I wanted to create a really cool space with little to no money, and I think this is really fun. I think I would try to gear it more towards the home. Yeah, sure.
You know what I mean? As opposed to the museum thing. But this is great.
Yeah, so it could be like... A series though, right? Like we could start with, cause I assume the four videos you shot are all different.
All different. So that's like, there's a cognitive load for a creative when you're like doing a thing that you know how to do. which is your short form content.
And then you go, I'm going to try this new thing, but you're going to try it four times over and you're going to open up a timeline. You're going to open up Premiere and be like, what is this video? How does it start?
And then you have to reinvent the wheel every single time. And if you already feel like you have process problems, you don't want to do a different thing every time. So a format is an entry point to long form where you go like...
We mocked this up as a thumbnail, right? You're like, oh, okay, cool. That's a cool thumbnail that I can now visualize.
Right. Let's now mock up a storyboard. Okay.
Let's go, what happens in the beginning? Right. You say, I need a new dining room table, right?
So I'm going to, and today's trash day in New York City. Ideally, it's like ruthlessly honest. Like what you said before is really interesting.
I grew up poor, so I learned how to upcycle. Right. That's like, that's an amazing frame.
Like, what was trash day? It's a great why, for why you are the way that you are. Yes.
Because, like, I don't understand bringing, like, upcycling something and, like, having the energy to do that. That was not my situation growing up. When I see people doing it, I'm like, that's an amazingly crafty thing.
So I think a framework like this is just to reduce the cognitive load every time you open up the timeline or every time you take out a camera. You're like, I know what I'm making. I'm finding something to upcycle into a home furnishing.
Right? Thumbnail is that. The title is that.
Now, while I'm doing it, I can tell a personal story. And in my opinion, that's the actual goal of why you would do long -form content, is to build depth. It's not just to entertain.
Like, we don't want you to go out, even as an audience, and collect a bunch of trash and make a dining room table with no why. Right. We want to hear the story of it to get connected to you.
And that's also the value to you as a creator that's different than short -form. Yeah, and I think that's honestly one of the things I'm really lacking too. And another reason why I want to do it is because my connection to my audience is very surface level.
And I think that I create, and again, if I look back to creators that I've like, you know, feel like even you guys, like I watch you guys. A lot. And we had 60 second increments.
No, no, no. You guys create depth, you know what I mean? And it's obviously hard to do that with short form content.
Especially, I would categorize myself as a idea, what is it? Idea based creator, yeah. And I'm striving for that like depth.
And I think you're right by telling those stories and those personal, I guess, anecdotes. I think could be really helpful. All right, so as we mentioned, time and space is one of the most important things to creativity.
So we want to give one of you watching the time and space to pursue one of your big ideas. So just get up and then walk outside and find some space. You're welcome.
So we partner with Adobe to create the Big Idea Fund for big ideas. All you need to do is go to CollinsMirror .com slash big ideas. You'll make a 60 second video using Adobe tools telling us about the project you want to make and how you plan to use the funds.
Here's a couple that were submitted this week. What if? Instead of just learning about history, you could actually step into it.
I never want to stop creating shows, and I came up with an idea which I absolutely love, and it is called The Altar. I want to create a whole series on building in public. The pinnacle of videos that I want to get to is wingsuiting through the Eiffel Tower.
All the terms and conditions and the judging criteria are on the website, and we'll be flying out the winner to LA to workshop this idea on the final episode of this Adobe Creator Support season. So thanks so much to Adobe for helping us with our big idea to help one of you with your big idea. Go to colonelsmere .com slash big ideas.
Yes. Or big idea. Both URLs work.
Yeah. Now back to creator support. You have a short form has clearly given you the reps and taught you about like, these are all good titles.
Recreating DIY projects made by AI. That's a great title. That would work as a long form video.
That has 32 million views as a short form. That's insane. That would work as long form, right?
Right. I agree. And so if you just mock it up, again, as a thumbnail, and then think about like, what's the structure of this that's just a little bit longer?
Right. It's the same structure. Working backwards, essentially.
Yeah. It's the same structure as you're showing in this short. Yeah.
But then what's the story I'm telling while I'm doing it? What's the why? Why am I talking about this?
Is it my relationship to technology? Is it my relationship to AI? Am I giving my personal thoughts about AI and creativity during this process?
I've actually never thought of it that way. I've always put the thumbnail as the very last piece of the packaging. Don't do that.
Listen, we've lived 15 years of turmoil, of doing that very often, even 15 years in. We still make the mistake. All the time.
I would say very similar to how... professional athletes still need a coach. We all still need that coach in our brain to remind us of the fundamentals.
The title and thumbnail is the concept. It's the front door to your video. You have to build it first.
And a lot of people are probably like, oh, title and thumbnail, I don't care about optimization. That's fine. What it is is a simple framework for someone to understand what they are stepping into.
Because we are in the business of asking for people's time. And so you have to present something to them, say, here's why you should spend your time with me.
Maybe I'm just finding a way to talk myself out of it because I know it's a lot of work and it's a lot of time that I already have not a lot of. I have two kids and I live in New York City. But I think to get that next level of, I think my career, I think I need to build more community and I think I need to do a better job at it.
I do think then so much of it. is going to be mocking up these titles and thumbnails and concepts and having a ton of them ready that you're excited about that you can't wait to shoot. We always say that burnout is just creative output without direction.
And the thumbnail is direction. So that you ensure you're not necessarily burnt out by the end of it. Do you feel like if you were to make long form, the production quality has to be higher and it can't be iPhone?
Yeah. So I'm picking up on that with you. And I think I would watch like Ryan Trahan because Ryan Trahan shoots all of his long form videos on iPhone.
Really? Yeah. Oh, okay.
And the thing about Ryan that's amazing, he also edits a lot of his own stuff. Because one time we hung out with him in Austin and he needed to publish a video from his trip from Switzerland or something like that. Okay.
And he published it and then we went out to coffee. And we were like, when did you shoot that? He was like, oh, two days ago.
And I edited it on the flight home. And we were like. what and he was like yeah it's all iphone videos so it's like and i have the concept like in my head i know where i'm going with it so like and that's working for him like oh yeah yeah i guess yeah sorry ryan okay so this is really interesting because i i've created my current process to be as frictionless as possible why don't you draw draw out your current like draw out the short form process here like in a line like step one through publish um okay so it's typically like idea, right?
I find something along the side of the road that I think is really interesting. For example, one of them was like a... I can't draw.
Is that a witch hat? It's a street cone. Maybe it's more...
There you go. And in my head, I'm like, wait, this could be... excuse me, like a side table.
Like that could be interesting. And then it's like, okay, cool. How do I execute this?
And then I just shoot. I set up two iPhones. So I'm shooting up two iPhones.
Okay. They're both set up vertically. Exactly.
I don't, they don't have home buttons anymore. I don't know why I drew a home button. Whatever, that's fine.
Two phones, no plan. No plan. No, literally no plan.
And I just shoot. Right. And it's you're watching the process of me figuring this thing out.
Right. And then I just airdrop these two to my laptop and knock the edit out. How long?
In like 40 minutes, if that. Draw the laptop. Oh, OK.
So we know that goes into the laptop. Oh, God, let's go a little fancier. You didn't need to draw such a long arrow there, but that's OK.
This is such a good idea already. It's a transformative idea for YouTube. Right.
So like. My perspective is like the few changes that could happen here is like idea, mock -up of thumbnail, shoot horizontally wide enough, finish the vertical video, then write a longer voiceover script. Okay, yeah.
And make the horizontal video. There's also an app that lets you shoot horizontally and vertically. Oh, you're right.
You're right. Oh my God, you're right. Adam W.
made this app. Yeah. Oh, wait.
So you can film horizontally and vertically at the same time. I should FaceTime Adam. Can you hear me?
Yeah, yeah, I can hear you now. Okay, hold on. All right, I'm sitting...
Are you guys on green screen right now? No, dude, this is... We're outdoors.
We're outdoors right now. Oh, AI. Yeah, here's...
What's up, man? Here's Colin. He's over there.
What's going on? Okay, we're shooting with... This is Adrian.
He's a creator. He mostly makes short -form content. He wants to make long -form content.
And we were trying to figure out how he can shoot his short for vertical. And for horizontal at the same time. You got a solution.
You called the right guy.
What's the app called? It's called Double View. Double View.
Yes. Okay, great. Double View.
And he was asking about the resolution. What are the dimensions? So it basically gives you the option on the app to choose one of them to be 4K.
So you got one 4K and one 1080. Yeah. Just because right now, like the hardware on the phone, until we figure out like another solution, it's just impossible to download two 4K simultaneously.
So yeah, it's just one that you get. Double view. Double view.
Double view. That's the solution. And if you use promo code AdrianVVlogs, you get 20 % off.
Well, I appreciate your time, man. Thank you. Thank you, Adam.
Of course. Good luck with everything. Thanks, man.
You're in the right hands with these guys. All right, man. Sweet.
Peace, Adam. See ya. Double view.
That's a really good solution. Okay, no, it is. It's a really, really good solution.
Yeah. No, that's awesome. I think you also have to be willing to sit in the timeline.
You know, a long -form video is not going to take 40 minutes. Right, right, right. It might take three hours.
But you'll have the selects from the short form. And that's what I'm thinking. Because then I can just...
Because the way that I typically do is I'll have a string out. I'll make all of my best clips. And it's already like an 8 to 10 minute cut.
You know what I mean? That's very interesting. Oh, there's more horses.
Montana, baby. Hold on, let me show them this view. Because this is just crazy.
Look at this, guys. Yeehaw.
Dude, Creator Sport outside is so cool. It's so much better than inside. Yeah, it's so much better.
I think I just move here and then just do all of your shelves. Hey! Hi.
Man, it's so good. So let's draw out now the process of how we would do this for long form. So you can kind of see like what happens.
Yes. So idea is the same, right? So we can just draw a line straight down.
Okay. Idea is the same. same same now the thing that happens in between here thumbnail is mock -up of title and thumbnail again we did this super quick in firefly you can just pull that up okay mock it up sketch it out like bring it into photoshop put some text on it just feel like what is this transformation right like what's my what's the thumbnail for this would i click on this yeah would i be interested in this right you gotta you gotta make it like sell me on the transformation that happened.
So I'm like, oh, I would totally see a cone turn into a table. Yeah. You know?
So from there, you're going to go and shoot, right? Yes. Yeah.
So you're going to shoot with double view. This almost feels the same. Yep.
With this. Yep. You're going to shoot so that it's the exact same.
You're shooting both a horizontal and vertical shot. That's great. Okay.
Yeah. Right. Again, I'm already putting.
I'm already having an eight minute cut. Yeah, I think you're still going to, exactly. You're still going to the eight minute cut.
I think what might change is the writing. The writing that it takes to make, you know, the minute long versus the eight minute is probably going to involve way more of the why. So what I think you should do is you're going to do the voiceover, right?
You're going to write the voiceover script. And then I think what you do is you set up a camera and you host the longer one. So that's basically the same selects, but you're sitting on camera hosting.
Yeah. And so whenever you don't have B -roll for what you're talking about, it just cuts back to you talking directly to the camera. Okay, so then there's another step here, right?
There's talking to camera. Talking head. Giving more context to what's going on.
Another series I wanted to start, I think I might have mentioned this to you. There's a series that I... It's it's a little more ambitious, but I want to create a series called micro makeovers where I go You know, New York City has a lot of small apartments and I want to go Design their spaces for free within a certain budget.
Okay, so here's the first step when you do that Okay, you are going to build like a reference board Okay. So you're going to go like, if you want to make this long form, right?
That's what you're asking? Yeah. So long.
So we're going to go like NYC tiny apartment makeover. We're literally just going to search that on YouTube. Okay.
Okay. And then we're going to go like. what are some videos and how are they doing?
Like here's Colt's video, Colt Kerwin, my highly functional tiny NYC apartment. Okay, that's good, right? So we're going to write down some of these titles and thumbnails and go like, what are people reacting to in this category who are watching this category?
Because long form YouTube is a recommendations algorithm, right? Short form is as well. But long form, somebody has to make the decision to click into it.
And what's happening is like they're searching this. Or they're watching this architectural digest video that says how an interior designer maximizes her 650 square foot apartment. They're clicking into this video.
And then on the right side, they're getting fed a recommended video. You want to fit into this slot. Does that make sense?
So right here, this says interior design for boys. Oh, that's right in my alley. Yeah.
Who is this guy? Dude, speed. You got to watch James Pumphrey.
Those guys are speed. But look, you see how an architect filled the 340 square foot NYC studio with hidden something. Right.
So we're starting to see like, OK, this is interesting. There are recommended videos that are very similar. How an architect hit his bedroom inside a 400.
20 square foot, right? And so basically what we're doing is we're building a reference board of all these thumbnails and all these titles and then going, where's the gap? Where do I fit in?
Because where you're fitting is into a recommendations algorithm. Got it, okay. Like your audience exists, but they're watching these videos.
So our job is to fit into their flow of what they're watching. Got it, okay. Right, with long form.
So we need to make a title and thumbnail that... If you were watching this video and you saw that, you want to click on that. That's what we're trying to do.
So with this micro makeovers, great concept. Spend the time researching the category. See where you fit in.
See what thumbnail would stick out. See, now it's stuff like this. I'm excited and I feel slightly energized.
A lot more energized. there you go film content again it's just simplifying the process yeah yeah it's it's i think we forget that like even though we're capable the mental load is a consideration yeah like how much mental effort it takes to go what is this video like how does it work right but if you have the framework then you can start expanding from it right right you can have a moment at the end where it's like the lesson i learned you can have the story about your growing up in the middle.
You can play within the format, but the format makes it like, oh, I can do that. I can fill in the blanks. I think also it's so important to follow the rules that are right for your life.
Because the alternative is not doing this at all. Right? Like following someone else's rules of thinking you need to film with a certain type of camera and do it at a certain level just results in you not doing it.
Right. And yet we give those people's rules. more value than our own, you know?
Yeah. All right, dude. When should, when should we check in with you on this long form?
Um, let's see. It's June. Uh, let's say in July, end of July.
Is that crazy? No, no, no. We'll FaceTime you.
Yeah. We'll FaceTime you. Okay.
We're going to check in. Adrian, it's been two months since we sat down together in Montana. How you been?
Has it been two months already? Yeah. I was flying.
So a couple of things we talked about. uh when we were in montana yeah one was exploring shooting vertically and horizontally at the same time correct so that process wise you could upload you know long form and short form or turn a short form into a long form yep and we also talked about uploading your short form to youtube right i'm curious how both of these have played out because from a viewer's perspective i haven't seen a long form video from you yeah on youtube so i'm just curious how it's going yeah so update um I've shot one project and I'm almost having not the same problem, but it's just sitting on my storage.
I haven't done anything with it. Partly because I got super busy. I got a project that's been consuming a ton of my time.
But dude, I think the biggest takeaway that I got from Montana is the needing to not feel the need to put out long form videos if I don't want to. You know what I mean? That was the first question I asked you.
Do I, as a short -form creator, make long -form videos? Feeling the need that that's just the pathway to be a creator. And for me, I've kind of just accepted that I'm a short -form creator.
I love it, actually. And I don't need to put this extra stress slash pressure. into making long form content if i don't think it's gonna make me happy um so that's kind of where i'm at right now right like i've filmed a project where i turn a palette into a a chair turned out pretty cool um it's at some point i will get in there and i'll cook but i'm not again i'm not putting that pressure on myself to make that long form video.
Whereas like before, again, I felt like, oh, if I don't put a long form video out, I'm like a loser on every 60 years of creator. Like that was like the mindset when I first spoke to you. Dude, that's, I mean, that's a huge mindset shift.
That's awesome. That's great. I sleep better at night.
That's amazing. That's so good. Yeah.
That clarity as to like who you are as a creator and who you aren't. Yeah. That to me is like that.
That is a major goal and like very hard to get to. Clarity is very hard to get to. So I'm happy that that was an outcome for sure.
That's awesome. Yeah, thanks, man. Well, listen, I appreciate like you kind of guiding me in that direction.
And I think it was Colin who was like, dude, let us know how it goes after your thing or don't. Like if that's an option too. And it kind of like that like lingered in my mind a little bit.
I was like, oh yeah. that's right i don't have to do this awesome and then just again you know there's there's been a handful of projects that i didn't do or i was holding back on because i felt the need to oh i got to make a long form out of this and now that since that pressure is gone i feel like it's easier to just jump into those projects that i want to do so just like creating without any pressure has made me a lot happier yeah the um thing that i'm hearing from you that is a realization i've made recently which has been hard especially with guys like us who like the name of our channel is our name i've really been working on the fact that what i make within the context of colin and samir and the company right is not a hundred percent of my creative expression And that I think is the biggest unlock for me to go like, oh, I'm also a creative outside the bounds of this company.
Like the show, the Colin Esmere show or creator sport, like these are not, I was trying to jam every part of me as a creative into all that we make here. Totally. And once I took that pressure off and looked at the creative.
as its own thing that I am contributing to that has changed my mindset. I don't know if that makes sense, but like, no, that, that completely makes sense. And then ensuring that if you are this type of creative person, you have another space to put your creativity so that you don't get antsy inside of the thing you've built and, and, you know, kind of self -sabotage the thing.
Right. Right. I completely agree, dude.
That was, that was beautiful, dude. Thanks for, thanks for doing this. Thanks for coming back on.
Totally do. I'm glad. I'm glad.
The only thing I would say is upload those reels to shorts, dude. Upload those reels to shorts. You make great reels.
They're not showing up on shorts. Yeah, you're right. I will do that.
Follow up next month. No, I'm kidding. Yeah, next month.
We'll see. All right, Adrian.
The Hook
The bait, then the rug-pull.
Within the first exchange, the show's purpose doubles as its format: name a working creator's real problem, then work through it on camera. Adrian is a short-form DIY creator with a backlog of long-form projects he filmed and never edited, and the opening question does most of the work: why not?
Frameworks
Named ideas worth stealing.
11:08concept
Thumbnail-First Workflow
Mock up the title and thumbnail before shooting anything. The thumbnail becomes the creative brief, cutting the cognitive load of opening a blank timeline.
Steal forany format where output stalls at the editing stage
19:57concept
Reference Board Research
Before shooting a long-form topic, pull up the videos already ranking for it, note their titles and thumbnails, and find the angle that's missing.
Steal forpicking a long-form topic inside a crowded niche
07:36concept
Burnout = Creative Output Without Direction
Reframes burnout as a direction problem, not a stamina problem. A locked thumbnail and title give every shoot day a target so energy isn't spent re-deciding what the video even is.
Steal forany 'how to avoid burnout' explainer
CTA Breakdown
How they asked for the click.
VERBAL ASK
09:08link
“Go to colinandsamir.com slash big ideas. You'll make a 60 second video using Adobe tools telling us about the project you want to make and how you plan to use the funds.”
Mid-episode sponsor break for Adobe's Big Idea Fund, read by the hosts and bridged with a montage of other creators' pitch clips before cutting back to Adrian's session.
Add Modern Creator as a preferred source and Google shows you more of our breakdowns in Search, Top Stories, and AI Overviews. It only changes what you see, and you can undo it in your Google settings anytime.
Add to Preferred SourcesOpens your Google source preferences with us pre-loaded. Tick the box and you're done.
Colin and Samir hand over their actual 2023 intro checklist, then work through Sidemen economics, short-form burnout, and the three things fueling MrBeast's next stratosphere.
Colin and Samir dissect a 1.6-million-view video that hooked people and still lost them, building a five-part formula for the first 30 seconds live on camera.
A creator answers his email list's questions about growing a channel from zero, case study by case study, pulling up real subscriber channels and real comment counts on screen as he goes.
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