Stop Overthinking Your Content

When I share my behind-the-scenes clips, I typically produce a script, storyboard, record narration, animate motion graphics - more of a how-to, short lecture approach that takes quite a bit of work.

But my pal Caleb Natale, an incredibly talented VFX artist, has recently been posting the raw footage from his effects shoots (above) to wildly successful results. On YouTube Shorts, he's seeing tens of millions of views on each post.

What I find SUPER interesting is that this style of behind-the-scenes is literally just the raw footage from the main camera paired with a wider view. He doesn't include the final result or any of the editing process (those are in separate posts).

From a business standpoint, Caleb's established a really great system where he's posting Hollywood-level visual effects clips (that draw brands to hire him) and then supporting those with these much lower lift behind-the-scenes clips that funnel a ton of new viewers and subscribers to his channels.

Let people into your niche

I think what's going on here is that Caleb's lifting the curtain on a very niche process. He's not necessarily teaching, but revealing what it takes to be a master of his craft. And whether or not viewers care about visual effects or filmmaking, it's simply fascinating to get a look at that process. It's kind of like a chef showing you how they chop an onion at lightning speed instead of sharing a recipe.

So stop overthinking it! I'm discovering (and Caleb's proving) that you don't need all the bells and whistles to captivate an audience. Double down on sharing the intricacies of your niche.