The Alix Earle Effect
By Maddie Cosgrove
While creating my video I struggled with selecting a topic or content creator. I was not entirely sure where to even start. I went back and forth between different podcasts that I listened too or youtube creators but ultimately I was inspired by the textbook. Within Chapter 7 LonelyGirl15 is mentioned and the question of just how real are the relatable content creators. After this I instantly thought of Alix Earle and her instant rise to fame for her relatability. I thought the comparison between LoneyGirl15 and Alix Earle was a great place to start. Also considering I was already familiar with her content it made this project very entertaining and fun for me to research.
Knowing this I began to look at google trends as well as Alix’s Forbes interview to find a place to begin my research. Considering I am a fan of her going through the logistics side of her content was crazy to me and finding out one brand deal easily brings in over 40 thousand dollars it did shift my perspective on Alix and her content. Now deciding how I was gonna present my project was an entirely different struggle.
Never once in my life had I created content like this and being totally transparent I had no clue where to start. After watching the examples I was entirely at a loss for words of the production style of the other past students’ projects. I hope that with time I will become more comfortable and possibly try to explore more higher production level video creation ideas. I had struggled with the screen capture feature for a while. At first I couldn’t get it to record my sound and I also had problems with my google chrome. After a few updates as well as watching the tutorial posted I was able to successfully record my video. It took me many, many tries to get a clip that I was satisfied with considering I often found myself stumbling over my words and not able to time my voice over with my slideshow like I had pictured and intended for this assignment. This was an assignment like no other. I did enjoy the opportunity to research a topic that I was interested in and a topic that I enjoyed. It was also entertaining to be on the other side of all the youtube videos that I watched. Being a content consumer I always loved watching youtube videos and analysis videos. It never crossed my mind how much effort,work,time and research goes into these videos . I have a newfound appreciation for all the youtubers that I have followed for many many years.
I’m happy I got the new experience of creating a video and filming a voice over and I am hopeful to improve my skills as I continue on with the course.
By:Maddie Cosgrove