Macintosh Collector Series: vision, process and goals (Patreon)

I had amassed a large Macintosh collection by 2014, but no real justification for having it. "Maybe I should do YouTube videos about them!". My vision was to do a model-by-model guide of each Mac like they did in Macworld Secrets. If you're going to do videos you need to have the vintage Macs to film, and I had no problem with that requirement. I had been collecting for 10 years by then. I've been a video hobbyist since the 80's, so I have the equipment and ability to do it. With that vision, I've developed a set of goals to stick to. The first goal was to be unique. If someone else was already doing the ‘model guide’ that I wanted to watch, then I'd just subscribe to that person and leave it at that. I looked over 2014's YouTube Mac video landscape and many involved filming with a phone in one hand and trying to open the Mac case with the other. Those can be good too, but making a video off-the-cuff was not my thing. A couple were well-produced but only gave basic information that anyone with an interest in vintage macs would already know. The only real competition (for lack of a better word) to what I wanted to do was Jason's Macintosh Museum. Still highly regarded by the vintage Mac community (including myself), even though he abruptly stopped posting years ago. But still not quite what I had in mind, so that’s when I began filming my first Mac that I’ve had since 1988… The Macintosh SE.

I make the videos with equipment that's on-hand. A camcorder from when I used to film weddings, a tripod, a couple lights clamped on broken tripods (my son 'tinkered' with), a desk to put the featured computer on, and a spare room of the house (unfinished, but painted in a colour that happens to work for green screen). I didn't have an HD video camera and I wasn't going to buy and learn a new camera just to make YouTube videos. That's why I went with my existing SD camera, the Sony VX2100, and Final Cut Express 3.5. Besides, I've always strongly believed that image quality is a far distant second in importance to the content. I would rather watch an 8mm film of my grandfather than an 8K video of a waterfall, for example. The 4:3 aspect ratio ensures the audience is focused on the machine, and not the pile of laundry at the edge of the wide HD frame. As the audience grew, they (surprisingly) embraced the "vintage feel" of the videos. Who would have thought that being ‘cheap’ would be misconstrued as ‘artistic vision’. But it always made sense that matching the frame size and resolution of the archive footage kept my video "connected".

The second goal was to tell the audience things about the Mac that they don't know. Make it worth their while. This involves a deep dive into videos and articles from the time. Finding answers to my tough questions like 'What did “si” stand for?' or ‘What was the most popular iMac G3 colour?’ or ‘What's a Power Macintosh 4400?’ And follow a research trail into barely-related territory for inspiration. Even digging into my personal video archives of 35 years (i.e. Oil Museum Tour). Another goal was to have as many of the accessories as possible to make the Mac footage feel lived-in. Software, manuals and peripherals that I can talk about as well. It's easy with a computer I bought new and kept everything that came with it, but not so much with used Macs where I might only have the computer, itself.

I used to write the scripts on scrap paper (see example), but, more recently, found that Google Docs is great for this task (sorry, Apple). I've slowly learned the value of script writing. With the Power Macintosh G4 video I got completely lost in the editing when I couldn't keep it all in my head, and I remember thinking I'd never be able to bring it together into something cohesive.

If you watched my pre-2014 Macintosh instructional videos, they are very dry. Truth is, I wasn’t doing those videos to get ‘views’. I made them for myself. In the past, before I joined YouTube, I’d figure out how to do something with a Mac (like how to jump-start the Mac II, for example), but a year later I’d forget and have to research the whole thing again from scratch. Making a quick video and posting to YouTube was a perfect solution, because I would be able to easily find the video when I needed it. I left it 'public' because if it helped someone else, that’s great! When the Mac Observer picked up my Retrobrite instructional video early on, it was amazing!

After I made my first video (The Macintosh SE), I discovered something else that's important. I was re-watching my SE video a lot. No one else was, so most views were me. It occurred to me Steve Jobs’ saying, "If you don’t love it, you will fail." ... So it's a good thing to be a fan of your own video. It ensures a level of quality-control and personal accountability. Either that or I'm a narcissist. As much as I liked that first video, it almost wasn’t enough to do a second video. The SE video was a lot of work just to be something for me and maybe some ‘Joe’ out there to watch. Sorry, Joe. That was until I got a Quadra 800 for $25. The first of this famous case design that I had FINALLY found for my collection, and I had been searching a long time. I wanted to look inside and experience the famous terrible case design I’d read so much about. "Might as well do another video." Which brought me to another realization. You learn the most about a Mac model by studying the machine itself. Many interesting things about a specific model are not written down anywhere, or, if it is, it’s still nothing like seeing it in person. It can be a real thrill to see something you've only read about, or better, something you never knew. I try to share that experience with the audience.

Another important goal is to make the machine look as good as possible. Whether it means cleaning, retrobrite, white balance settings, camera angles, using natural light, multiple takes or hiding defects with special effects. The viewer needs to see the beauty of the machine. Validation of this goal was when Jason Snell, former writer/editor for MacWorld, asked permission to use some of my Apple Network Server footage for his "20 Macs" series. "As you know, it's hard to get your hands on these servers and good imagery is even harder to find."  -Jason Snell

The other thing I introduced in the Quadra 800 video was a bit of humour. I initially thought being goofy in the video would undermine the content and people wouldn’t take it seriously, so I’d resist my natural urge to make jokes. But when I realized that I was the only one watching... "Who cares?!" The follow-up video featuring the Macintosh IIsi was when I got the most 'out-of-hand' with the jokes. I was inter-cutting the movie, Single White Female, with Apple Promotional videos, which would just be confusing for anyone else watching because I didn't set it up. Then there was my Hamburger Helper video.. (that speaks for itself). But the comedy got a positive reaction when people did start watching. This evolved into a new goal to use humour to deliver a message. I recalled that comedian, John Cleese, has this same opinion of using comedy as a teaching tool. If I can make a joke that makes my point at the same time, that’s gold. That’s highly impactful. Humour also makes the video more re-watchable, and many viewers have told me they will watch the videos several times. But humour only works if it does not over-shadow the content of the video. This was at it's most structured, doing a 'wrap-around' in the Power Macintosh 8100 video, where, at the start of the video, I denounce wrong Macintosh information on the internet. Later, suggest a George Orwell 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' shooter game, and then end the video defeated in my own Orwellian world, full of misinformation on vintage Macs. In general, I write a script straight. The humour develops slowly and naturally out of the content while I'm working on it, especially something like the Orwell wrap-around. Building on the one small idea of debunking the 8100/110AV, I spent a few months expanding on that in my head to get to the final 'joke'. And then there's the running jokes and sound effects which do not really adhere to what I said above, but gets a good response as well. Especially when I get frustrated by something and paste a "Damn!" in the editing timeline.

It’s important to be unbiased and point out Apple’s faults in addition to the great things they’ve done. I realized this when I started getting anti-Mac comments on videos from viewers still trying to prop-up the 'platform wars' like it’s still relevant. They come-off as somewhat pathetic, so I am on my guard not to be like that. I also want to be unbiased about Apple’s history and tell the stories of those forgotten souls who saved Apple, like Jack McHenry and Gil Amelio and also who almost put it in the ground… Michael Spindler. Some have suggested that the dislikes on my videos are fake accounts created by Spindler. lol. The Macintosh 128K/512K paperwork kept by Joseph Samuels even gave me insight into the Microsoft of 1985 as a young, ambitious company wanting to make good products and appreciating their customers.

Also, if I have an idea or new mac accessory, I don’t save it for a future video. I shoehorn it in somehow. I may not get another chance. What else? Find any excuse to mention Marathon… Don’t open the video with a generic, "Hey, guys." .. I admit, my opening ‘specs-read’ probably scares new viewers off, but it’s at least unique and consistent. It's some level of 'branding' the video as my own. I never appeared in the videos because that would distract from the machine... and I’m used to being the one behind the camera and not in front. It became a bit of a joke in the YouTube comments, and so, when I did appear, I always found an excuse to obscure my face with a dust mask (Hoarders scenes, cleaning the 9500/180MP). Then came COVID and now wearing a mask looks normal ... ruining my joke! ...COVID...

The information in the video has to be correct, so I verify all facts with a second source if I can. Looking to articles from the time that the Macintosh was released and not trusting wikipedia or contemporary articles. That's where I discovered how much misinformation is out there about vintage Macs. "Picasso Mac"?!  No, it’s based on the Matisse art style. Once I’ve done all the studying and research, I’m in a position to sit back and theorize on the big picture.  For example, that Apple's recovery was not as simple as the iMac. Or why Apple engineers decided a Peltier device was a good idea in the 8100/110. Unfortunately, no one really challenges me on my opinions, but for sure I have been corrected several times that Apple used a clarinet and not a flute in their iMac G3 demo! Damn! ..but I had that coming. :)

I love to put music in my videos, but YouTube ...well, you know. So I scavenge music from old Macintosh promotional or training videos, video games, or the free music that came with early iMovie. Many people actually recognized the very 80's music that I opened the Macintosh 512K video from Jim Butterfield's Commodore 64 training video! "I think we're a clone now" and "Don't copy that floppy" also being great fun songs that I really liked working with. I was honoured when composer, Alexander Brandon, told me he was a fan of the channel and offered his catalog for use. That is still mind-blowing.

The last step in creating a video is a voice-over track. This takes a lot of time because it is not a skill I possess. But it's my video and I get through it …with only rare complaints and the occasional compliment! "The Bob Ross of Mac videos" lol

Like I did with Jon Purdy and his Apple Network Server, it would be amazing to borrow other rare computers (even other brands), do a video and return them to the owner. This Patreon also opens up the possibility of buying computers that I would normally say are too expensive. I’ll have to see what happens.

The downside is that it’s hard to maintain the momentum of the channel due to the amount of time it takes to produce the videos combined with the small amount of time I have to work on them. But it's still as fun as it was in the beginning. Maybe even more-so with all the incredible community experiences it has brought me. Blending my two favorite hobbies, Video and Macintosh, I don't plan to stop anytime soon.  

So there's an insider view of the 65scribe process and how it came to be. It might be fun to turn this manifesto into a video someday, but I didn't want you folks waiting forever. Thanks to Almighty Jabba for making the suggestion!