On possibly overdoing it (Patreon)

We are working on something that is way more work than usual. It might be absolutely not worth it. This is a strange feeling because everything we work on is too much work. Kurzgesagt never wast hat goal oriented in the first place. When I started the channel nobody thought that investing hundreds of hours into a single video and then uploading it on youtube for free, was a smart move, including me.

But the current project makes me doubt myself. And to not get mad I have to talk about this at least semi publicly.

So we are doing a video on CRISPR, a DNA editing technique. It is pretty revolutionary and might change humanity forever. So I wanted to make an ambitious video, something that really explains the topic to the general public, from start to finish. It has been a while since I did as much research, there is SO MUCH stuff you need to talk about if you want to do the topic justice and also have fun future talk. 

But the video is getting longer and longer and longer. Right now the (still unfinished) script is in the 15 to 20 minute area. It is kind of a mixture between the fermi paradox video and the immune system. Future talk and speculation mixed with complicated science.

The thing is, is it worth it? Is it worth investing so much time in a single youtube video? After all, the video could be bad or mediocre, which would mean lots and lots of hours wasted on something big that should have been a forgettable quick video.

Also the length might actually hinder a lot or people to watch it all the way and get worth out of it. On top of that doing such projects always puts a huge amount of stress on anyone in the team (the human history video had a great reception and I’m super happy that we did it but after it was over we basically needed a few days to recover from it). More stress means less output, at least for a while.

So it might be a better idea do just make it a 7 minute video and cut all the future talk, make it really scientific. Or to make it a 7 minute video and make it lots of speculation and future thoughts. Maybe there script has to be vigorously cut so that it is one thing instead of a few things at the same time. I don’t know. But we might have reached a point where putting in more work is a bad idea.

There is no solution in sight. This video is a gamble and right now there is nothing but grinding on until it feels like it makes sense. Maybe it will be a very long video, maybe two. Hopefully it will be worth the time.

So much for a small peak behind the curtains, from a moment of frustration. Let me know if you find that kind of stuff interesting, it is a great way to procrastinate while pretending to do work. – Philipp

*(the text on the graphic says: „Return of investment on youtube“ and „Extra Effort is wasted (?)“. Sorry for my abysmal handwriting)