The Top 5 Content Ideas for Achieving My Dream
Today I want to explore Step 4 of my end-goal plan: Create on-camera work. I’ve been mulling over some old ideas I’ve dropped off the radar and some new ones inspired by other content creators. As I explore these ideas, I want to maintain a semblance of practicality. Thus I’ll use a project management triangle: time, cost and scope. Here are the five content ideas I’ve decided to roll with.
1. CFN
CF News is a project I started to talk about video game news. I created five segments for each episode: “Tech”, “Esports”, “Game Spotlight”, “Social Highlight”, and “Did You Know” (which I later changed to “Streamer Spotlight”.)
The problem I ran in with this idea was two-fold: a) it was too broad and didn’t have intentional focus; b) it was curating content from other sources users could easily get. While I liked the practice, it wasn’t bringing any value to my audience.
I’ve thought about focusing on a specific topic, like one game. There are two choices I’m deciding between. Would I rather focus on a single esports title, or a genre? Say I choose to report on Overwatch. I LOVE playing this game, but I feel deterred because the broadcast market is heavily saturated with others like Your Overwatch and Stylosa. But now that I’ve got my end-goal plan written out, competing for an audience with other content creators seems irrelevant.
It’s irrelevant because the only people I’m trying to persuade are the people/companies hiring on-camera workers. Sure those recruiters may care about my follower base to ascertain my “popularity modifier”, but my current intuition thinks people are more interested in a talent’s qualitative personality and not his/her quantitative statistics.
“We want our viewers to be 100% successful. We want them to feel good about themselves. I don’t really care that they are impressed by me. I want them to be impressed with the dinner they made, the adventure they went on … that’s the main goal.” — Racheal Ray
A huge benefit to reporting on Overwatch is the Overwatch League. Blizzard Entertainment makes history by projecting esports into mainstream culture akin to traditional business models like the NFL and NBA. As a Dallas residence, I am physically available to attend watch parties for Texas teams Dallas Fuel and Houston Outlaws.
A good incentive to stand out from other content creators might be representing Texas esports for Overwatch. Now that’s a solid niche to build a case around…
Alternatively, I could follow other news topics like “RPGs” or “Indie Game Developers.” What do you think?
TIME: 1 VIDEO a WEEK
COST: 2 HOURS of RESEARCH, 3 HOURS OF FILMING and EDITING. (per video)
SCOPE: Show my capability to present information on-camera.
2. VGJ
Video Game Journalism is a project I educate aspiring writers/reporters on actionable steps to improve their craft. Each episode focuses on a topic, offers professional writing examples, and gives the viewer a homework assignment to put the lesson to use.
I love this project but it takes some time to find quality articles that fit the lesson. There seems to be a big disconnect between video game journalism writing and the professional field of journalism at large. The more articles I read by video gamers, the more I’m convinced they never received education on how to write leads or format their hard news articles in upside-down pyramids.
This is definitely something I want to continue working on but I’d like to polish my videos with better video editing and less forced script writing. Lately when I watch my work, I notice how excessive the teleprompter reads. Becoming more comfortable with improvisation is a huge step moving forward.
Worth mentioning, inspiration for this idea came from Ashnichrist’s “Stream Coach” expertise. If you are a subject matter expert, you gain social proof in the world.
TIME: 2 VIDEOS a MONTH
COST: 2 HOURS of RESEARCH, 3 HOURS OF FILMING and EDITING (per video)
SCOPE: Show my expertise in a specific subject on-camera.
3. Gamer Web Series
The title is TBA (possibly “iTeam”) but this one has been a long time in coming. Ever since I saw Felicia Day’s “The Guild” I’ve always wanted to create my own real life video game series. The complexity of this project requires a huge time commitment. But I think it all starts with writing a story and building a script from it.
Once I have a script written, I can recruit actors to play the part. The next challenge then becomes one of coordinating schedules and having the right equipment. I imagine the video quality would be shoddy compared to other professional setups. But that’s why it’s called a personal project. One that I am passionate about.
A vision can go a long way.
TIME: First PILOT by JUNE 16
COST: $50 for actor/crew snacks. 10 HOURS Script Writing, 16 HOURS Filming, 20 HOURS Editing, (for pilot and process building.)
SCOPE: Passion project in creating meaningful stories to resonate with gaming culture.
4. Podcast Interview
Podcasts seem to be the new thing these days. They are easy to do which is great. But deciding on a podcast that is of value to the listener is the real question. What would I even talk about? Fortunately all I need to do is think about what I am already creating, and just expand off that!
My podcast would interview other video game journalists and share their experiences with my audience. The audience — gamers, journalists and people that just want to learn about the industry from a reporter’s perspective.
“GG Report” is my tentative name I’m leaning towards.
TIME: 1 EPISODE per WEEK
COST: 1 HOUR recording, 2 HOURS editing (per episode)
SCOPE: Network and share the stories of video game journalists.
5. VLOG
I’ve created a few VLOGs this year. Most of them have been really lame, but you know what? That’s O-K. The purpose of a VLOG is to give a viewer a snapchat of my personal life and the silly antics that accompany it. I want to inspire, entertain and have fun expressing myself.
TIME: 1 VIDEO per MONTH
COST: 1 HOUR filming, 2 HOURS editing (per video)
SCOPE: Connect with my audience on a personal level.
There you have it. My top 5 content ideas I want to get rolling off the ground.
Altogether I count 13 guaranteed hours to recurring content + VLOG and the web series. That’s equivalent to another part-time job! It would make sense to find help in tackling the workload.
Do you think I am trying to do too much? If so, where should I fuel my efforts to achieve my end-goal?
“It takes two flints to make a fire.” — Louisa May Alcott
CONNECT
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