I've decided to do a series of interviews with YouTubers that I enjoy watching (to clarify, I enjoy watching their work - I don't stalk them or anything), to link with my 2014 Video Challenges, an effort to lift the quality of my videos.
Today we're interviewing Nick Crompton, a teenager from West Yorkshire who produces some of the funniest stuff on YouTube today. And yes, he's younger than me and more entertaining than me, but that doesn't mean that I'm jealous (ahem).
If you haven't seen Nick's stuff yet I'd really recommend it, it is extremely funny and Nick's reactions to... well life, really... are just brilliant.
So Nick - how did you get into making videos?
I made my first video in July 2012 just after I'd left Sixth Form. It was the beginning of the summer and I had absolutely nothing to do so I decided to get my camera out and start talking to it. My first 20-ish videos are still on YouTube but they're private due to how awful they are. When people email me asking for advice on how to start YouTube I always send them my first video and show them how bad I used to be. Making videos isn't easy and it takes practice. I'm now two years down the line and even though I've improved massively, I'm still learning stuff with every new video I make.
I remember finding your channel as a result of the YouTube Creator Academy last year, and kind of being apprehensive because unlike a lot of the people doing the academy you had something like 2000 subscribers already. Why do you think your videos are so popular?
I don't see my videos as being 'popular'. I just like entertaining people and making people laugh and I hope that's why people keep coming back to watch.
I'd suggest that you come across in your videos as being a bit older than you actually are, and with the persona of a sort of really good northern comic, a proper Yorkshireman loaded with wit. Is the Nick we see in your videos the same Nick in everyday life?
I think so yeah. A few YouTuber's use an online persona that they create for themselves. A great example is Jack Dean, his online persona 'JaackMaate' has gained him over 100,000 subscribers and it works really well for him. I like to think I'm just me. I turn the camera on and I'm exactly the same as I am off screen.
Nick is distracted in the bathroom by a rubik's cube. That's not a sentence I expected to type today.
Talking about video quality, it's clear in your videos that you put in a lot of work polishing them - the quality is always fantastic, the custom thumbnails are brilliantly designed to attract viewers, the clone scenes are always perfect - does it come naturally to you to put that amount of work in, or is it an effort for you to do all that after you've spent your time recording?
The recording part is definitely the easiest aspect but I love editing and graphic design so the whole process seems to come naturally. Me and my friend Jason use the term "Full package" when we're making videos. The full package is a video that is well planned out, really well edited and has great graphics to accompany it. You can film almost anything and make it look good with great editing and well designed graphics.
Did you learn much from doing the YouTube Creator Academy?
I'm partnered with LittleDotStudios who taught me most of the things that they mentioned in the YouTube Creator Academy. I think it'll help a lot of beginners but I don't think I gained anything from it.
You've been involved in some great collaborations, particularly "The Final F*** Off" with TeaMakerJason, where the world was saved by people telling you to...um... go forth and conjugate... nothing personal I'm sure. Any more collaborations on the horizon? And is there anyone in particular you'd like to work with?
Oh yes, the Final F*** Off was the collab of the century. I still can't believe how much of the community got involved, it was brilliant. Shout out to TeaMakerJason for the great work on that! I've been talking to a few other YouTuber's about collaborations but nothing has been arranged yet. My dream collaboration would have to be with It'sGrace.
What do you get up to when not making videos?
Since I started my gaming channel I hardly do anything else but make videos but that's exactly how I like it. I now constantly feel busy and productive by doing what I love to do.
And for those people that haven't enjoyed your videos yet - what would you say to make them watch?
Well it depends what kind of content you prefer! I'm really proud of my latest sketch: http://youtu.be/hq3Uf_yNTlABut if you prefer gaming videos then you should definitely check out this: http://youtu.be/XtU--EzfsX0
Nick - thanks for your time.
