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What happens at Refinery29 on a snow day? Lucie shows us what it's like interviewing Anna Akana during a storm.
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00:00Oh my god, it's so pretty out here. It's a little wonderland. Ah, okay, I can't stand this way.
00:12Good morning, everybody. I made it to work despite the horrific weather. Nobody's really here yet.
00:19There are only a few people in the office, but I have a very important shoot today
00:24with a major YouTuber, Anna Akana. Anna is coming in for a shoot a little bit later today,
00:32but would you look at it outside? Oh no. I'm just gonna sit at my desk. I have a few
00:38things to do
00:39this morning. I have a YouTube meeting where we're planning some Try Living With Lucy videos.
00:43I'm just gonna put my stuff down, go to the meeting, and see if Anna makes it. Let's cross our
00:52fingers.
00:57Lip time.
01:04Off to the Try Living With Lucy meeting. Got my power lip on. Let's do this. Good morning, Rachel.
01:11Hello. Good morning. I guess we're the only two that's in the office.
01:15Literally, there's like five people out here, so. Do you hear the wind out there? There is a blizzard.
01:22Hold on. I just need to show you how fast the snow is whipping. Do you see this?
01:28What if I open this window? Is that a bad idea? It's really snowy out there.
01:35Okay, so to give you guys a little background about Try Living With Lucy, Rachel is the YouTube
01:42girl that I plan all these episodes with, and we pretty much sit down and we read
01:46all of your YouTube comments, and we select ones that we think would make for a good video.
01:52So we are going to pull up a recent episode where we've asked you guys to comment suggestions. So we're
01:58going to look through a few and see what I should try next. This is the Refinery29 YouTube channel.
02:02If you're not familiar with our content, you should check out Lucy Vlogs, which is this series.
02:07You should also check out Beauty With Me. She's one of my best friends.
02:15Okay, so, skip ad. And we look at the Refinery comment where it says,
02:20what five-day challenge should Lucy try next? Comment below. 292 of you have commented.
02:25So here are some of your suggestions. Five days of trying billionaire routines? That's a genius idea.
02:31I think we should do what that person suggested. Five days of spring cleaning. Oh, that's a great idea.
02:39Right? I feel like I really need to clean, so why not spring clean on camera? You know what else
02:43I
02:44really want to do? I'm saying this after I did five days of self-care when I got a massage.
02:48I think I
02:49should try five days of different types of massages. And that was a comment suggestion. So this is not my
02:57original idea. No social interaction. Like, sit at home all day in the dark? Interesting. We have
03:04done random acts of kindness, have we? Mm-hmm. Oh, I really like that. I feel like there's something
03:11there. That is something. You know what? We have the best comment ever. What? What is it?
03:18Five days of traveling around the world. Woo! How do I do it in five days? It's gonna take me
03:26five weeks to travel around. Exactly. Maybe it could be five different episodes and each episode is
03:32five days in one place. Now there is an interesting idea. This is how we brainstorm. We just sort of
03:39throw ideas around and we see what sticks on the wall. Like this.
03:49Stick. It did stick. So, uh, we're not doing five days of cups. The windows are beginning to frost.
03:57Oh no.
04:02The entire Refinery29 office just got an email from HR saying, go home, office is closed. But Anna is on
04:08her way. There's thunder and lightning. I've been seeing it out here. Actually, I don't really want
04:13to be sitting next to the window. I don't want to get struck. All right, this is the, this is
04:17the set.
04:17It's, it's all ready for Anna. We've got a purple seamless, two seats. Uh, we have a two camera setup
04:25right here.
04:28Anna, if you're out there, I hope you're safe in the storm. Oh, look, Rachel found a disco ball.
04:35Okay, ready for a boomeray? Yeah. One, two, three, go.
04:45There are a few ways that you can work out with a disco ball. If you have nothing at your
04:50disposal,
04:50but a giant disco ball, here are five simple moves. Number one, over the head squats.
05:00Move number two. I call this the lift.
05:04This is what I did in the boomerang. Move number three. Now this one might break your disco ball.
05:11Play on the ball and then hold it. You're going to break the ball.
05:19Move number four.
05:26Balance is key.
05:28The fifth and final disco ball move. Put it in a shiny spot, spin it, and dance. And that is
05:38how you
05:39work out with a disco ball. Guess what, guys? She made it.
05:46Very cold, but I'm here. Yeah, how's the weather? Cold and cool because I'm from LA, so it's nice.
05:52Yeah, this must be rough for you.
05:55Oh, my Isaac looks in your necklace. It's getting all tangled.
05:58Let's do it. There you go. Okay, and you, I'm going to put it like this.
06:06There we go. Thank you. Take one.
06:14Finally, despite the snow, Anna made it.
06:18Anna made it. Yay! Welcome to Refinery29.
06:21Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy that you're here.
06:23Me too. And I just spent the past 20 minutes watching your new series.
06:28Do you like it? It is amazing and it's so intense.
06:32Yeah, this is very dramatic. Yeah, and I mean, the producer of Grey's Anatomy,
06:35how did this happen? YouTube Rad actually approached me and was like,
06:38hey, we would really love to do a series with you. Do you have anything in mind?
06:41And I was like, you have to read this script. And so we made a full season,
06:45eight episodes that are all available right now on YouTube Rad.
06:47The first two are completely free and you can watch the rest with a free trial.
06:51So for people who love YouTube out there. Yeah.
06:53And I'm sure we have mainly viewers that love YouTube.
06:57I want to hear Anna's seven things that she's learned from being on YouTube for seven whole years.
07:02Okay. Take time to find your voice.
07:04I think it took me about 50 videos,
07:07which was about a year to really hone in on what my style was.
07:10So for people who thunder. Thunder. The storm awaits. Wow. Wow.
07:19That sounded like a bomb. All right, number two. Keep doing it.
07:23It's just throwing things against the wall every week and holding yourself accountable to that deadline.
07:28The more personal it is, the more relatable it is.
07:30The videos where I try to be very vague and like relatable to everybody are the ones that nobody connects
07:34to.
07:35So the more personal you are, the more like oddly enough universal that feeling is.
07:38I wish I'd done this a lot sooner. Collaborate. Definitely helps your audience growth for sure.
07:42But then you also have like a creative tribe to like talk to about stuff.
07:46People will put up with a lot if you give them good food.
07:49You need to feed your crew well so they have the energy to move.
07:52Do every job. It makes you better at what your ultimate goal is.
07:55Have fun.
07:56Because there was definitely a time where I was not having fun on YouTube
07:59and all I was doing was trying to chase views and it was very unfulfilling.
08:03I think you are incredible. Oh, thank you.
08:06You have learned so much in seven years. You've now taught them so much in just seven tips.
08:11Thank you, Anna.
08:12It was so good to see you.
08:13It was good to see you all.
08:14Anna's seven YouTube tips were incredibly helpful.
08:17I think the two that really stuck out and truly spoke to me were first and foremost the food tip.
08:22I cannot express how important it is to be well nourished and well fed when you're on set.
08:28So that was a great tip from Anna.
08:29And I think the second tip which was her final tip truly sticks with me is just have fun.
08:35I personally think what is the point of making YouTube videos if you're not going to have fun.
08:39I mean we're all living in this world where we watch YouTube videos and we like to soak up information
08:44and learn from others and discover other people's art in the community.
08:48But at the end of the day, what is the point if we're not enjoying it?
08:52So since Anna shared with us her seven things that she's learned from being on YouTube for seven years,
08:58I decided that I would share the two things I've learned since being on YouTube for two years.
09:03First and foremost, the more intimate of a setting that you can sit in, the better.
09:08And I'm pretty much exclusively talking about vloggers on YouTube,
09:12not necessarily actors who are making skits or comedic sketches.
09:15But if you are a vlogger and you're trying to bring people into your life,
09:19sit in a space that's really you.
09:21The more nitty-gritty and raw and real that it is,
09:24the more people will feel connected with you.
09:26And I'm just in a Refinery29 conference room right now.
09:29I mean we've got chairs scattered everywhere,
09:31there are pictures behind me, there's like stuff ripping off the walls,
09:35and that's just because I work with a bunch of creative geniuses.
09:39But it wouldn't be as fun now if I just set up some beautiful set
09:42and sat in front of some fake pictures and tried to make it like everything's perfect.
09:47Because it's not perfect.
09:48And the second tip I'd like to pass along is if you are a YouTuber
09:51and you spend a lot of time writing scripts before you speak,
09:55I've now had experience where I've done a few shoots where I'm reading off of a loose script,
09:59and then I've done other shoots where I'm not reading off of a script at all,
10:02and I'm just talking to the camera.
10:04And to be completely honest, I know it's scarier when you're off script and you're just talking,
10:09but you're way more present with what you're saying,
10:11because you just feel like you're having a conversation with a friend.
10:14And it's a lot easier to speak your mind and to sound natural when you're not reading a script,
10:20versus when you are reading a script and you're trying to make it sound a certain way,
10:23and it just doesn't come out sounding like you.
10:25YouTube wants to hear you!
10:27So use your real voice and be yourself.
10:30All right, there is no chance I can wear these boots home,
10:34so I'm changing out of them and I'm going to put out my tins.
10:44Okay, I'm ready to brave the storm.
10:54All right, now we're out in the snow, heading home in the slippery tundra.
11:07Now I'm going to get home safely so that I can live to see another vlog.
11:14See you guys later. Bye.