The making of – Like and subscribe

Almost every YouTube video has a small part where the creator of the video asks the viewer to like the video and subscribe to the channel. Likes help other viewers to see if a video is worth watching. Subscribes help by generating lots of exposure for new videos. A channel with lots of subscribers will usually have lots of views for the videos they post. For amateurs it is really nice to see lots of people watching your content. For professionals a higher number of subscribers means a higher income.

Alex wanted to do something with this theme, so we made a ‘Like & subscribe’ stop motion. The idea was to add the short video at the end of a ‘normal’ video, just like the intro Alex used to start his videos. We would love to hear your opinion about this in the comments!

First we make the text. Every letter was drawn, colored en cut. Then we had to think of a nice idea for the short movie. Alex liked to do something with his skateboard, so we decided it would be nice to jump over the letters. Jumping over everything was a bit boring, so we added some variation. First a few jumps, then a dive, then a jump off the skateboard, then hitting some letters, and finally just ignoring the letters. Just let them come.

The story is really quite simple, yet at the same time it is personal, recognizable and a very powerful story. I helped Alex a bit by adding a bit of direction and evolution into the story. A young boy, avoiding confrontation, avoiding problems, and slowly gaining confidence. Learning on the go, while life goes on. Then when he eventually feels his knowledge is enough the tables are turned. First he simply repels the things that threat him and finally he has gained so much confidence that the can just ignore the threats. He learned that was he thought was a threat (or something dangerous) was really just an illusion, and that he can trust in himself.

In reality it is a story that applies to all of us. We start out fearing the unknown. Slowly we lose our fears and get to know yourself, and with this knowledge of yourself comes a tremendous power, where the faith you have in yourself can at times move mountains and have a giant impact on the world around you.

Making the movie took quite some effort. A stop motion is created by taking lots of pictures, and pasting them together into a movie. Alex was lying on the floor for over an hour, while me moved the letters, the skateboard, and Alex around. Then we took a picture, and went on to the next frame. In total we had almost 100 pictures, which was good for a short 18 seconds movie.

With a zoom at the end, and a fade to black we should get a nice ending of around 20 seconds. After adding some ‘special effects’ (by editing the almost 100 images one by one!) we got a really nice sequence.

All our efforts resulted in something quite nice! We think it turned out pretty good. What do you think? Do you think it is a good video to include in our YouTube content? Please leave any ideas/tips/suggestions/criticism in the comments below!

Lessons learned:
– We could use some music with the video, but finding a nice short piece is difficult, and it could result in copyright claims if not done correctly.
– Alex’ position was quite uncomfortable. Lying on the ground for the entire time. Next time we can see if there are alternatives, so the position of his head will look more natural.

Alan’s first game

a photo of two soccer players when one player in an orange outfit kicks a burning comet across the field, right into the goalThe stress! We can feel the tention at home, the excitement. All these emotions, and the match is still a few days away. For Alan it does not matter. His spirit is up! High up, his thoughts are of victory. He is focused on only one thing. Every night we train football. Every visit to the park we need to bring a football. Every visit to a park with an area with grass we need to take Alan’s special football shoes. On wednesday is his first official match with his new team ‘Formento’ against another team!

He is sooooo excited, it look like it is a contagious feeling. We are all cheering for him of course. We all hope Alan’s team will win, but if for some weird reason this is not the case, that for sure we will be able to find some outside reason. A bad field, the ball was too soft, foul play by the other team, maybe missing a star player?

Soccer

A painting of two football players trying to both get the ball on a football field, The players are painted with clear lines, lots of color. The legs of the football players and the football itself are much larger than normal. One player has a blue soccer outfit. The other player has orange colored clothes.The soccer gene is completely lacking in my. Father Kees and mother Nel were both soccer trainers with various youth teams at VVSB (The local team from Noordwijkerhout). My brother Bert was also a player. I was sometimes forces to visit the games and watch, but I prefered to spend my time picking grass for my rabbits. The game was not interesting to me, and I still don’t care for it.

Well, the gene is back! Alan has a love for the game that amazes me. Alan is part of the Las Palmas youth team of ‘Atleti Formento‘. Now, every night we play a game of soccer in the hall (with a soft ball), every visit to the park he spends playing football with the kids there, every weekend we go to the park what Alan tries out his new soccer shoes. Once a week he goes to training.

Party on La Gomera

We are taking a short break and we’ll be going to la Gomera for a couple of days. We leave by plane on tuesday and return home on thursday. A short trip but very welcome to break up our daily routine.

We will be going with a few friends and at la Gomera we rented a big car for 7 people where we can all just fit. In addition to a big car we also rented a big house, hopefully with a garden so we can maybe even have a bbq! It will be quite the adventure. Of course there is also a big celebration! It is Alan’s birthday, so there will be a great party.

Coach

I will become a coach. The date we have to focus on is Saturday the 19th. The event is the Kids Race 2022, in Maspalomas. Alex and Alan will have to perform then. Alan will run 300 meters, and Alex needs to cover 1000 meters. The kids have developed some nasty habits for the weekends where they quickly get bored, and often the situation deteriorates rapidly into fighting. I hope to change this behaviour by focussing on something physical in the mornings. We will do a couple of training sessions, just like the real deal.

Usually we go to these running events without any preparation. The distances are so small that the kids can easily run them, and just participating is much more important than actually winning. This time I want to try and get a good result. Finish in the top 10. We need to approach this professionally. Evaluate the distance. Find out a good speed. See how much sprinting they can do. We have two weekends to prepare and train. If we go on Saterday and Sunday we have 4 sessions available. If they both try their distance twice it should be more than enough preparation. If they train in the morning they don’t even need to change their weekend routines (hopefully with less fighting).

The plan

  • Warming up. Walk to Romano (the track), do some jumping, some stretching, maybe a few push ups.
  • Review the track. Walk the entire distance, and discuss the optimal approach to running the distance in a good/easy/fast way.
  • Alan: 300 meters. First a small candy for some extra energy. Start running normally the first 220 meters, and finish with 80 meters superfast. Drink water and relax/rest. Do this twice! I will measure the time.
  • Alex: 1000 meters. First a small candy for some extra energy. Start running normally the first 300 meters, then slow down a bit for 300 meters to regain strength, then another 300 meters normally and finish with 100 meters superfast. Drink water and relax/rest. Do this twice! I will measure the time.
  • Cooling down, a few jumps, stretch, discuss results, walk back home.
  • Objective

    The results really are not so important. If the kids have a good time that is the only important thing. The preparation is more meant to stimulate the kids and to prepare them a bit. If they reach their goal of finishing with the first 10, well, thats great! It will boost their self-esteem, which is great. If they just finish that is also great. They will have prepared for something, and gave if their best try. This is also something to feel good about.

    Birthday 2022

    A salvador dali painting of an email with a professors hat and a cake with candlesAt work we are around 100 people all occupying a giant office. When it is someones birthday usually the person celebrating his/her birthday will bring a big amount of candy. This candy is placed in the kitchen, and everybody who passes by just takes what they like. Usually the birthday is accompanied by an email send to everyone in the office telling everybody there is candy. This ritual happens quite a lot, on average around twice a week.

    This year I send a creative email.

    Subject: Here we go again!
    Another day, another year. The hands of the clock that mark our place in eternity keep ticking without pauze. Minutes become hours, which turn into days and years. Today, once again the inevitable has occurred and my natal day has arrived. To celebrate I am following the uncoerced tradition set by so many of my esteemed colleagues; I brought a sugary treat for you all to indulge. Please feel free to release your inhibitions, take what your heart desires and enjoy the sweetness!

    Naturally I don’t want to exclude anyone from this celebration and I know some of you are still in the process of perfecting your mastery of English vocabulary, so in order to be sure this messages reaches all of you in good order I will add a Spanish translation which should cover most, if not all of the emotions I am trying to convey with this email.

    ¡Es mi cumple, hay dulces!

    Kind regards,
    Adrie