What Camera Does Chris Ramsay Use

YouTube Magician Chris Ramsay on Learning to Maxim No

How the pop vlogger keeps his sanity while keeping his fans happy.

Chris Ramsay isn't the typical YouTube star you hear so much about. Instead of applying meticulous makeup or decorating elaborate cakes, he performs magic tricks and solves brain-breaking puzzles. Although the YouTube magic he creates is more literal than most, his influencer condition takes the usual tangible forms: He has parlayed video-making into personal brand-building, working with other brands to integrate their products into his videos, and, through his agency, Slingshot, selling merchandise similar #RamFam T-shirts and custom playing cards in addition to some of his signature magical sleights and effects.

Cultivating creativity is an important part of Ramsay's process, whether he's playing the function of YouTuber, magician, or both. Although he's given up on the content-for-content'due south-sake approach to making new videos, he's intimately familiar with the struggle to constantly produce new textile in a fast-paced digital world. Earlier this year, he released a video about staying creative in magic that he believes tin be practical to whatsoever art form. Among his words of wisdom: Inquire questions virtually the everyday objects y'all take for granted, be open up to seeing your surroundings with fresh eyes, and crack open a dictionary to see if new words spark new ideas. "The thought might be crap, it probably will be, and that'southward just ane of the things that goes along with creating," Ramsay says. "Xc percentage of what yous're going to create is going to be garbage, just by doing that, you volition find things that will actually piece of work out for you."

Based in a rural part of Canada, far abroad from the big city hustle and bustle that many YouTubers rely on for exciting content and abiding inspiration, Ramsay has mastered the art and the bailiwick of making something out of cipher. We spoke with him about building an office full of options, maxim no to opportunities that don't further your goals, and loving what you do, even when it starts to experience like work.

Iv walls = 4 backdrops

My office has four walls, and as a creator who's on camera, that'south iv backgrounds, four places I can shoot. Four angles at least, if not half dozen. I don't desire all my videos to look akin, so I demand to have a lot of different lighting and background options. I likewise have a large wooden desk, and I can film top down for an actress angle. Redesigning my office was really about efficiency. For me a clean, well-organized, well-lit work infinite is very important. I live 45 minutes outside the urban center, so I'thousand not one of those city guys who goes outside and there's always something happening. My neighbors are retired. At that place's non much around, it's trees.

When renting a mansion makes sense

When I'm at domicile, I start the twenty-four hour period browsing through social and flagging my emails from bed. I'll brand java and make my way to my role, which is in my house, so I'chiliad on emails until about 11 or noon. On days when I'g not filming, I'll spend all day planning out two or three videos. If I already have a video idea, I'll interruption out the camera, film for an hour or two, spend the afternoon editing, and and so mail the video. If I'thou traveling, I'll create an effect where I tin can get more content out of it, rather than living video to video. We'll hire out a mansion with a bunch of friends who all do YouTube or some social-media content, and we endeavour to knock out 3 to five videos in those ii to three days, and so that when I get dwelling house, I have a calendar week or two of videos to work with. Investing in that 1 effect is more than profitable and simply smarter than leaving my house five times a calendar week or shooting in my function constantly.

Fugitive schedule stress

I don't have set hours since I work from home. I tin can spend the entire day in my part every bit easily equally I can spend five minutes in my office and and then spend the remainder of the twenty-four hours on the burrow. I effort non to set up myself a schedule because it becomes stressful. I did that at get-go, committing to three uploads a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Fri. Promising that to people was a big trouble for me because if I didn't deliver, they would remind me of it. I was creating content for the sake of meeting those deadlines rather than creating something that is quality out of a good idea. Then I but gave up on scheduling. Sometimes it'll be xi at night when I become an idea, and I have a expert lighting setup in my function, and then I tin can film whenever. Scheduling is just one thing I don't stress about, which is also why I tin't get booked for anything in advance. I don't accept whatsoever advance bookings whatsoever unless it's a really big thing that I tin't pass up.

Exposure is bullshit

I always say to my buddies who are magicians, instead of charging $500 for an hour of strolling magic, charge $5,000. You might have 10 people say no and take 1 person say yes. You're making the aforementioned amount of money and working ten times less. That whole "you'll become exposure by performing" matter is complete bullshit, especially in today'south mean solar day and historic period, where the performer's social media stats are probably bigger than the company he's performing for. Exposure's non a audio argument that people should exist able to utilise anymore. If anything, a lot of creators and performers can offering the visitor more than exposure than the company tin offer them.

Exist open while looking at the world

I recall if you're open up to looking at things, looking at the blueprint of things and questioning things that you see, your inventiveness will accept on a life of its ain. If you await for something to hit you in the face, it's just non going to happen. Information technology might happen, it simply won't happen very oftentimes. It's a proficient practise to exit of your caput, just I also retrieve you can depict inspiration from any form of art. If your mind is actively trying to slice things together while y'all're watching a picture or reading a book or listening to music or any it may exist, y'all'll make those random connections. And you merely have to be aware and alert enough to spot them.

That whole "you'll get exposure by performing" thing is complete bullshit, especially in today's mean solar day and age, where the performer'south social media stats are probably bigger than the visitor he's performing for.

Learn to say no

I'k fortunate enough to be able to turn down gigs as a magician and equally a YouTuber. I don't demand to accept on everything that comes my way. That was a resolution I made terminal twelvemonth, to say no more ofttimes. I went a twelvemonth maxim aye to everything, and as fun as it was, there was mode too much travel involved and at the stop of the day my expenses weren't necessarily all getting paid. I was exhausted. I felt similar I was doing everything for cipher. At present, I pick and choose exactly what I want to do, and if I need something, I'll have my agency outsource it or look into it for me, so I can be picky almost the stuff that I want to do for the aqueduct and for myself.

Recently, I was hanging out with David Blaine, we got along, and he said he wanted me to come out and tape his shows. I would film his shows for him and hand him the footage. At commencement the fanboy within me went, Oh hell yes, I'k definitely going to exercise that. Then when I got dwelling house and thought about information technology, I realized I've worked this hard to work for myself. I don't know if there would have been money attached to it, I assume so, only no matter what the amount was, I nevertheless don't want to work for anyone else, no affair what the pay is. I'd rather brand less coin working for myself. Information technology doesn't further my goals to be someone else's cameraman, even David Blaine'due south.

Work with people who practise what you do

The outset person I show my work to is Peter McKinnon. Peter's also a YouTuber — he quit the magic company we were working for on the same day I did. Since and then, he grew from zero to 2.3 million subscribers in two years. He's one of my closest friends, so every day we go back and forth on everything from thumbnails and captions to video ideas. Sometimes he needs help with an idea, sometimes I do, and it'southward good to have another artist on the within to bounce ideas off. He knows virtually the platform and the algorithm. Equally much equally your friends might be willing to help, if they're not in the aforementioned realm every bit you are, it won't make sense for what you're doing. I wouldn't ship a video to my mom before posting it because she's going to say it'due south astonishing no matter what. Make sure yous work with people who are pretty disquisitional.

Vlogging is like whatever business — you lot demand to find a problem, yous need to observe the solution, then you need to market the solution in a way that makes sense to the consumer.

Spot the niche, fix the problem

If you're just getting started, commencement of all, develop the skill. Observe something you're skilful at, whether that'due south cinematography, magic, drawing, makeup, anything at all. Be creative in that craft, explore the niche, make friends with people who are in that industry, get familiar with information technology, own it. Accept something to share. Also many kids desire to go out in that location and just exist famous, or vlog just for the sake of vlogging, like "I'm going to pick up milk today." It'southward like whatever business — you need to find a trouble, you lot need to find the solution, so you need to market the solution in a way that makes sense to the consumer. With magic, I noticed there was nobody doing it the way that I do right now. There was nobody making light of it, y'all didn't really encounter the lifestyle of magicians or behind the scenes or how things get done, and I thought there was a big marketplace for that. I just filled that gap with what I knew how to do. Spot the niche, fix the trouble, and y'all should be alright.

If you don't love it, you won't last

If I walked up to a class of students right now and said, "Who wants to upload one video and get paid for it?", all of their hands would become upwards. So I would say, "Who wants to upload one video and not get paid for information technology?" OK, possibly half their hands would go up. If I said, "Who wants to upload 100 videos and not become paid for information technology," probably all their hands would go down. And that's the reality of existence a YouTuber. If you don't dear it, if the number ane reason you do it isn't out of dear, you lot shouldn't be doing it. There'due south no way you'll be sane enough to keep going after 100 failures. Simply make sure you dearest it, and yous'll practice it regardless of how successful you lot're going to be.

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