In this episode, I sit down with YouTube storytelling master Johnny Harris to discover how he creates his videos. Johnny Harris has proven he can make pretty much anything go viral, from breakfast and lottery tickets to bread-making and extra virgin olive oil. We look at his entire creative process, breaking down exactly what makes his storytelling so addicting to watch. We cover the complete workflow: writing, drafting, editing, visual composition, and sound design. By the end of this video, you'll walk away with practical tools to become a better visual storyteller yourself. Enjoy!
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0:00 Intro
0:35 Johnny's entire process
5:14 Notes from the field
9:18 Researching for a documentary
10:15 Marketing 101
13:15 Script vs no script
14:30 The two kinds of storytelling
15:18 The only app I use to read articles [Readwise Reader]
16:44 Johnny breaks down a 4M view video
25:06 Writing visual scripts
27:27 Is he writing or coding?
34:38 Video-first writer
38:20 Johnny's weekly schedule
40:35 New art direction
45:34 Market vs passion
50:27 Every story is a promise
51:47 Finding the paradoxes
58:56 Writing for retention
1:03:20 Johnny after Vox
1:04:26 Pillars of YouTube writing
1:05:27 Complexity, made simple
1:07:19 The art of surprise
1:11:33 The Economist style of storytelling
1:18:11 Inviting human stories
1:21:05 Craftsmanship is #1
Johnny Harris
@johnnyharris
https://www.patreon.com/johnnyharris
https://www.instagram.com/johnny.harris/
I also made a website that helps you learn from the best writing of all-time: https://writingexamples.com/
Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.
Follow me
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv
X: https://x.com/david_perell