Day 1464: ApprenticeEh

I got into YouTube somewhere in the midst of high school. I remember sitting in my bedroom late at night, going from one video to the next, laughing, crying, and reveling in each new production I saw. Some videos seemed simple, others next to impossible to create, and each one absolutely unique and spectacular. I wouldn't learn until part way through college just how difficult and rewarding and challenging and encouraging being a YouTuber is though.

But one of those late nights in my bedroom, I stumbled across a video I'd be sent time and time again for years, and one that still occasionally pops up in my feed - John Williams is the Man. This video, a four part a cappella medley sung by Moosebutter, was produced by Corey Vidal, and today has over 21 million views on YouTube. I've seen it probably somewhere over a few hundred times since 2008, and it introduced me to Corey and what would ultimately become one of the biggest parts of my life: YouTube.

At the time, I'd just watched Star Wars from start to finish for the first time, and suddenly this video became my favorite thing on the internet (I'd say it's still in the Top 5 for sure). It launched me into a full fledged Star Wars craze and inspired me to watch every other video by Corey and his team, which, starting in 2011, included daily vlogs and other spectacular videos that I watched religiously for years. I specifically remember how thrilled I would be whenever my comment made it into the interactions of the day, or that one time I sent a postcard from Disney and it made an appearance on the vlog (I shared that video below). ApprenticeEh, in every reality, got me through my senior year of high school and led me into college, and in addition, the team inspired me to begin creating my own vlogs.

My vlogs, of course, would take place only at Walt Disney World, but as time went on, I was inspired to create other videos as well, and to be completely honest, it was Corey Vidal and ApprenticeEh that inspired me to be a YouTuber. It looked like fun, and after a bit of messing around on my computer, I realized that I could create things too, albeit on a smaller scale. Unfortunately, as my college schedule grew busier, I ended up missing more of ApprenticeEh than I wanted to, although every so often I'd check back in and see what was up for them, and through social media I've kept up with their adventures over the past few years, all of which continue to inspire me in my own YouTuber goals.

As we continue into 2017, however, the vlogs have concluded. After six years of daily vlogging, the team made the decision to stop the daily videos, which, knowing the work and effort it takes to create daily content, is a decision I completely understand. I'll miss them though, and over the past couple of weeks, I went back to watching some of the ApprenticeEh vlogs, both new and old, and it felt distinctly like coming home. I was reminded of so many wonderful memories, and it rejuvenated my love of vlogging (which means I'm pretty excited to vlog come my trip next week).

So I guess what I'm saying is thank you - to Corey and Corrado and Saskia and everyone that's been a part of the ApprenticeEh vlogs. While I haven't been able to watch consistently for a while, it'll still be very different logging onto YouTube and not seeing the vlogs there. But six years is a huge accomplishment, and for that I congratulate you! May your next adventures be as wonderful and inspiring as the past six years have been, because trust me, even without the vlogs, I'll be following them!

Have a magical day!

Day 1255: Watch and Subscribe

It's only been about a year since I really got serious about my YouTube channel, and it's been less than a year since I attended the D23 Expo and was encouraged by several people to sign with Maker Studios. I'm pretty sure it was the odd situation that provided one of my earlier vlogs with thousands of views that got me to continue filming what seems like every second of my Disney trips, and to bring the camera into my own world back home as well. I suppose, however, that it was the addition of a digital camera that really kicked things off, and the journey since then has certainly been a wild one.

And yet, throughout most of that time, I've known that what I really needed was a channel trailer. YouTube launched the system and idea quite some time ago, and despite the fact that I've been aware of the necessity, I never got around to creating one for myself, and none of my other videos really describe everything that my channel is made of. I knew right away that if I wanted a channel trailer, I was going to have to make one from scratch.

The process proved to be quite difficult, and for months I've just pushed it off as something I'll get to later, but now that we're at the start of yet another summer, and my one and only goal over these next few months is to throw myself into the Disney World a little further, I figured there's no time like the present. Over the past few weeks I've slowly been compiling ideas for a channel trailer, and once I found the right music and picked the right opening, the rest of the editing passed by like a dream.

Having finally finished my channel trailer, I figured it would be a great time to throw in a bit of extra promotion for my YouTube Channel here. There are new videos every Friday, alternating Disney Park Vlogs and various other Disney Videos, many of which are often posted here on the blog. I'm really excited about the videos that are yet to come this year and this summer, as I'm already hard at work preparing the video list and scripts so I can film on my next trip to Florida as well as at other locations throughout the next few months.

Remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel for weekly Disney videos, and here's a toast to a whole new summer of fun!

Have a magical day!