The Creation Process of Fesh Pince 3 (Patreon)

Howdy, swell friends! Here is my write-up on the creation process of Fesh Pince 3 (and other nideos) for paid patrons only!

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the delay. I meant to have this done much sooner, but I kept stopping prematurely while working on it to do nideo editing instead. I didn't want to put it off anymore, so I finally buckled down to finish it.

A few things to note before you read:

My philosophies and methods have changed drastically over the years, so some of what I will be covering here does not apply to my older content. While this post will be focusing primarily on Fesh Pince 3 - much of it will apply to my other nideos as well. Bear in mind, this will not cover every aspect of the editing process - as it is quite complicated, and at times chaotic - but if you have any questions about anything I failed to go over, leave a comment and I'll be happy to fill you in!

I'm hoping this overview can be useful to anyone who wants to make YTP, or is simply curious about the inner workings of them. As a result, there may be some technical jargon that not everyone will be familiar with, so please excuse that. I will try to keep things in simple terms as much as possible.

The process for creating an installment of Fesh Pince can be broken down into several categories (not necessarily in the order listed below):

1.) Gathering Source Material

2.) Word Mixing/Sentence Splicing

3.) Masking

4.) Miscellaneous

5.) Coming Up with Ideas

6.) Polish and Structure

1.) Gathering Source Material:

This is by far the most straight forward part of the process, and the methods for doing so vary. While I already had some episodes on hand from previous nideos, I wanted to go all out for FP3 - so I bought the Fresh Prince complete series DVD just to have easy access to any episode I wanted. I utilized over 30 different episodes for this installment.

Beyond that, additional music/videos/sound effects need to be obtained from various sources. I currently have a pretty nice collection of media to use for editing, but I always find myself searching for more.

The programs I use for this process are as follows:

MakeMKV: This can be used to rip individual episodes from a DVD into a MKV file format.

HandBrake: I use this to convert the MKV files into a more compatible filetype (MP4) for my editing software (Sony Vegas Pro 18).

OBS Studio: A screen recorder I use to record various other things such as YouTube videos I want to sample.

2.) Word Mixing/Sentence Splicing:

As I'm sure you know, word mixing (or sentence splicing) is the act of reconstructing words or sentences to make a character say something other than their original dialog. This process ranges from fun to infuriating. It's somewhat difficult to give detailed instructions on how to do so, but I do have some tips and tricks I have learned over the years to share.

Tip #1: When possible, acquire a transcript for the material you are editing. 

This may sound ridiculous - but for Fesh Pince, I went out of my way to obtain the transcripts for all 148 episodes of Fresh Prince, and then compiled them into a single notepad file. This way, when I need a character saying a specific word or phrase, I can simply do a find search in that text document.

You have no idea how annoying it can be when you need something as simple as Uncle Phil saying the word "again" - but you have to skim through entire episodes to find it. A transcript eliminates this issue. I will note that the transcript I have does not state which character is speaking for each line of dialog - which can be a pain - but it is still immensely helpful.

It also arms me with essential knowledge that no one else in the world has. For instance, did you know the word "dick" is said a total of 12 times throughout the entirety of the Fresh Prince series? Now you do, and you are more intelligent for knowing so.

Tip #2: Be mindful of the speed and vocal inflections of the character speaking. 

I cannot tell you how many times I had the perfect idea for a wordmix, but due to the character either slurring their words together or not speaking clearly, the wordmix was incomprehensible and had to be abandoned. This can also happen when a character is speaking in a tone incompatible with the other words I was trying to mix. Sometimes a wordmix can still work with varying inflections (and even make the joke funnier) but other times it is unintelligible.

Tip #3: Be aware of useful words.

Some words are very close to other words, and make for excellent wordmixes. An example would be the word "direction" - which I utilized several times in my latest nideo to make characters say "erection". Another example is the word "happiness". If you eliminate the "ha" - you will be left with a satisfying "penis" sound. Peanuts minus the "t"? You do the math. There are many other examples of this, and not just for naughty words. With some experimentation, you will find plenty of useful words to modify.

There are many more tips I could provide, but I don't want this section to become bloated. I may do a post specifically for wordmix tips in the future if that's something people are interested it. I would highly recommend checking out captpan6's twitter, as he has plenty of useful sentence mixing tips posted on there.

3.) Masking

Masking is the the process of removing characters or objects from a scene frame-by-frame. In Sony Vegas, this is done by inserting a series of anchor points in a "connect-the-dot" fashion to create a selection which removes anything outside of it.

I hate masking, but it is a necessary tool that can make for some fun edits. It's extremely boring and time consuming, so I recommend listening to some music or a podcast while you're doing it.

Remember when Stuart Little popped out of Will's head and said "Oh, hello."? That probably took me close to an hour just to mask those few seconds. Maybe it wasn't quite that long - but it certainly felt like an hour. The more complicated the shape of the character, and the more movement, the longer it takes. Fuck Little Stuart.

I'm no expert when it comes to masking, but I can share a few tips:

Tip #1: Choose what you want to mask wisely.

I typically like to mask something that will be reusable to some degree. If I'm going to spend a lot of time on it, I prefer for it to be fruitful. A good example of a reusable mask would be Uncle Phil's punch. It didn't take very long, and I was able to use it multiple times. I do make exceptions, of course. Sometimes it is worth taking the time to mask something for a gag that will only last a few seconds. Ultimately, it's up to you if it's worth the effort or not.

Tip #2: Mask a mouth.

Sometimes, you can mask a character's mouth out so it can be superimposed onto their face in another scene. This is useful for when you want to take a line of dialog from one scene and insert it into another scene, while still preserving the associated mouth movements. Sometimes it will look wonky, but under the correct circumstances, it works quite well. Just be sure to use a good amount of feathering on your mask to blend it in.

Tip #3: Make a simplistic mask to test your intended edit.

Any time you want to mask something, always create a simple mask first to test how it would look on the scene you intend to layer it over. The last thing you want is to spend hours masking something, only to find out it doesn't work well for your intended edit. A quick makeshift mask - or even a mask that is a rectangle or circle - will suffice. Place it over the scene you want to use it on to see how well it fits before committing to a proper mask.

Tip #4: Use your imagination.

When masking lower resolution shows like Fesh Pince, characters will often blur into the background - and it can become difficult to know exactly where to place the anchor points for the mask. Sometimes during quick movements, their faces will become smudged and you need to use your imagination to trace out the shape of certain facial features like ears and noses. In these situations, it is best to use some degree of feathering on your mask to blend it into the blurriness.

Tip #5: Don't even mask.

Just don't even bother masking. Masking is an idiot. Fuck Little Stuart.

4.) Miscellaneous:

These are a few other miscellaneous things that I'll lump together for the sake of brevity.

Image Editing:

This is an area where admittedly I am not very proficient, but I make do. While many edits can be done inside Sony Vegas - there are times when I need to supplement my nideos with image editing. For software, I like to use a combination of paint.NET and GIMP. The applications of image editing are plentiful. I've used it for modifying limbs, creating props like Will's Breffmints, adding visual effects like blood, editing the background of a scene, and much more.

Scene Transitions:

I love a good scene transition. You have to be creative these, and think of a way to connect two scenes in an absurd manner. You can either do something completely random (like this weird moaning Uncle Phil transition) or something that utilizes an event from one of the two connecting scenes - like Uncle Phil unzipping his pants, or an ambulance driving into the former scene.

Music:

I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to the YTPMV-esque remixes I make. I basically just pitch shift audio and tweak it until I have something that sounds acceptable. I can't give any advice here, because I am just winging it every time. I also like to sync up dialog to the melody or beat of music snippets. This works especially well for the funky transitional Fresh Prince music.

Sound effects:

There are a number of different sound effects I use for my nideos. I tend to get a lot of them from video games I've played, but I have a huge variety of sounds from all different sources. You'll find a lot of copyright-free sounds on YouTube by searching around for them. You can never have too many sound effects at your disposal.

Glitchiness:

Distorting a character's voice, morphing their body/face, having them glitch around, ect. I actually do put some thought into these edits, but I couldn't really tell you what those thoughts are. Most of them are a result of me tweaking something that looked or sounded weird to begin with. I search for those moments, and when they stand out to me, I throw all kinds of effects on them to see what seems funny.

It's hard to pinpoint what I'm going for when I do this, but there are times when it feels right, and times when it doesn't. I particularly enjoy manipulating the audience sounds in Fresh Prince and other sitcoms. I find it humorous when a strange audience sound seems like it is emitting from a character on screen.

5.) Coming Up with Ideas:

Taking notes:

Typically I'll begin the project by watching some episodes I want to edit - pausing frequently to take notes throughout. I'll keep an eye out for any funny movements or noises a character makes. I search for phrases, words and moments that could be manipulated or re-contextualized to suit my needs.

The more notes I take, the better - because often times - an idea that sounds good on paper, will not actually work for various reasons. I would say that roughly 75% of the ideas I have on paper, do not end up translating well into actual edits.

Sometimes, the dialog I'm trying to edit is not spoken clearly enough for the wordmix I have in mind. Other times, scenes just do not mesh well together for an edit I planned. I've even had situations where an edit works in practice, but just isn't as funny as I thought it would be.

Attempting to implement the ideas:

After taking as many notes as possible, I then attempt to implement the ideas I have, and tinker with them. See what works - and what doesn't. I usually come up with entirely new ideas just from fiddling around with the material like this. I'll often re-watch what I edited, and skim through the episodes again in an attempt to come up with more ideas.

As the editing progresses, I'll eventually have several larger scenes that exist independently. I continue the cycle of reviewing material and building on these scenes. I'm always looking for connections - ways to string interactions together in a funny/weird manner. I spend a lot of time contemplating how to connect the larger scenes together in an organic way, and also what order they should be played in.

Once all the larger scenes are connected, I continue to review them for polish and general improvements. Nothing is ever set in stone, so even when I have everything lined up, I may still choose to restructure some things - sometimes even opting for sweeping overhauls. There are also many smaller, isolated edits scattered throughout the project that don't fit in with everything else - and I occasionally have a breakthrough with some of them - finding a way to work them into the larger conglomerate of scenes.

The limitations:

Coming up with ideas is by far the most time consuming part of the process. I'll often spend hours sifting through my project trying to come up with workable jokes. The reason it is so difficult, is due to the nature of making videos that rely on existing material. Everything hinges on my ability to re-contextualize the content I'm working with, and I have a finite amount of material to draw from.

In YTP, the foundation is already built for you, but you have to find a way to restructure it in a manner that's satisfying. It's like trying to jam incompatible pieces of a puzzle together to form an entirely new picture. It can be done, but there are substantial limitations.

I cannot simply say "I want Will walk into the International Space Station, wrap around Uncle Phil like a snake, spit in his mouth and sing about carpets." If I was more competent, I likely could edit that - but it would not be easy. Instead, I must find the appropriate scenes and dialog to accommodate what I want to make, and ensure it looks right and flows properly while I'm editing it. Because of this inherent limitation, coming up with something funny or interesting can be very difficult at times.

With elaborate editing, you are able to stretch the borders of these limitations. I can mask characters to create new scenes, and edit the limbs of characters so they preform new actions - but even complex editing can only take you so far.

Overcoming the struggles:

I often find myself at a creative impasse, I tend to fluctuate between one of two creative states:

1.) The creative juices are flowing, and I'm churning out ideas like nobody's business.

2.) I can't come up with anything decent, and I feel completely incompetent.

Regardless of the effect the latter state has on my motivation, I am always able to come up with something decent if I keep at it. It just takes time and persistence. I like to look at it this way: A great video is just a shitty video that you kept working on until it became good. I have made plenty of subpar scenes that I kept workshopping until they became funny.

Sometimes I'll step away from my computer and walk around for a bit, while still actively thinking about ideas I could potentially incorporate. I find it helps to just be in a different environment in order to break through that creative block. Just staring at a video editing project for too long can really fuck with your head. Your thoughts begin to be encompassed by Carlton. He's Carlton.

For anyone else facing similar struggles, it's essential to recognize that when you're immersed in a project - endlessly revising and scrutinizing it - you can become desensitized and overly critical towards your work. Try not to let that discourage you! Just because you've become numb to your own material, doesn't mean it's not good. It helps to get a fresh set of eyes on your work. Ask a friend or a sexy nutritionist to check out what you've made to get the perspective of someone who is not overexposed to what you're creating.

6.) Polish and Structure

Reviewing everything I have edited to see what can be improved upon is in integral part of the process. I'm always looking for ways to make certain segments funnier, as well as methods to make everything flow together more smoothly. I spend an absurd amount of time refining things. In the case of YTP, you very much can polish a turd.

There is a delicate balance of sloppiness and structure that must be maintained in order to achieve the quality I am aiming for. That's not to say my nideos are pristine, perfectly edited masterpieces. They are messy and goofy, and often times look downright bad - but I strive for them to uphold a certain level of chaotic cohesiveness.

I find that flow is particularly important to me. One trick I like to use is zooming into a character before transitioning to a clip of the same character in another scene.

Let's say I have two scenes of Geoffrey in the kitchen that I wish to connect: Scene A and Scene B. 

I will zoom into Geoffrey in Scene A until he matches the positioning of Geoffrey in Scene B, then I quickly transition between the two scenes. Because your eyes are fixated on what the camera is zooming into - the background suddenly changing does not feel as jarring. You'll obviously still notice the change, but it will flow together more nicely this way. This works best when the character is in the same setting/room, but can still be done even if they are not.

As a general rule, I try to keep the setting consistent during a conversation. You won't see a shot of Carlton greeting Geoffrey in the kitchen, followed by Geoffrey replying to him on an airplane, culminating in both of them hugging inside a McDonald's bathroom. Mismatched settings do happen sometimes, but I try to keep the proximity of the characters in mind when stitching together a scene. I only want something jarring to occur when it is an intended part of the experience. If the focus is meant to be on the scene at hand, I will avoid random shifts in location.

I get a sense of satisfaction when things flow together nicely, and while I try my best to achieve that, it isn't always feasible to make everything look cohesive. In certain cases, it's still worth going for a particularly funny joke even if the surrounding circumstances make it a little clunky. Sometimes the jankiness can even make things funnier. It just depends on how it's handled.

Clothing consistency is another matter. The characters in Fesh Pince wear all sorts of different outfits, so I typically don't worry too much about the consistency of a character's clothing during a scene. Sometimes Uncle Phil is going to suddenly have a different shirt because of a cut I made in the middle of a conversation. That sort of thing can be easily overlooked, in my opinion. Let these fashionistas express themselves.

I should note that none of these things are requirements for making a good YTP. You do not have to worry about flow or cohesiveness for YTP if you don't want to, and I'm sure some people might even like it better that way. I've enjoyed plenty of YTPs that are just scenes and jokes strung together with very little structure or regard for the settings the characters appear in. It all comes down to personal preference. The beauty of YTP is that there are no rules aside from the ones you impose on yourself. The #1 goal will always be to make yourself - and other people - laugh. Fuck Little Stuart.

That's it!

Thanks for reading! Please excuse any formatting issues with this post. Patreon is terribly glitchy when it comes to text formatting for some reason. Hope this was able to shed some light into the process of making Fesh Pince 3. As I said before - if you have any additional questions - feel free to ask them in the comments!

Tomorrow I'll have my Patreon Exclusive Update for the month where I can share more about how progress has been going. See you then!