The global COVID pandemic which has changed all of our lives this year has also afforded me ample time to not only cover the MTV beat on this blog, but also take advantage of my newfound love of videography to also put just as much time into growing my YouTube channel. And thanks to the relatively light schedule that has just The Challenge, Siesta Key and a few other shows air on MTV this year with production on other shows which we normally cover here being halted as with other TV & film content, this has given more a little more time to devote energies into my video work.
And perhaps, there is no better place for me to put my video skills to work than in the place that I have grown into becoming my favorite city other than where I live. And when you have a city that you go to almost every year for the past decade as the breeding ground, and having that famous three-mile stretch of lights, landmarks and the like as the playground, then you have an ongoing series on YouTube that stretches my love for Las Vegas into the video sphere.
And while I'm working on a special set of videos going back in time to my earlier trips there - which has also drifted me over there from my MTV coverage, it's worth a trip for a brief moment to how I do DC Vegas on YouTube.
It's no secret that Vegas has become that city that I truly love and enjoy whenever I set foot in the world's capital of fun and pleasure. Although my first trip there came as a young kid on his school summer break some twenty-five years ago, it has become an almost annual tradition since 2007 for me to venture out to Sin City for a several days' vacation in that ultimate of adult playgrounds. As I wrote on here last year before I made my tenth overall excursion to Vegas, every trip I take there feels more like an event rather than just a vacation: I treat what I call #DCVegas as my own personal equivalent of the Super Bowl — it's THE biggest happening in my own universe.
A consequence of COVID has seen all of us resort to living at home and working from there too, sometimes taking distance learning classes while wearing our pajamas... and for my retired parents, that means more work around our house. Well before the pandemic, I've been used to this at-home activity for years & years because of DCBLOG and all of the thousands of hours I've devoted to all the work that you see here. This at-home life has also seen a spike in the amount of television viewing during this year, both in the traditional linear environment and in the streaming universe where things are getting more competitive in the ladder field.
When it comes to viewing habits, my family is very much different than yours: besides my MTV obsession we watch a lot of sports, news and music, and my parents are part of the Bachelor Nation fandom having spent many Monday nights watching every episode of that franchise. This year though, we have found some solstice in a longtime love of ours to get through nights without action on the court: casinos, slots and Vegas — and my parents have spent ample time during this year of watching on their phones the thrill of playing slots both on the apps and most especially on YouTube.
Going into last year's trip to Reno, I had watched a lot of slot videos to get myself acquainted with playing with those prior to going up there for my cousin's big wedding weekend. That, of course, would pay dividends in that famous handpay which felt like I won $100,000 when it was just $2,000. That caught the eye of my parents, who have been watching a lot of those since then to get through the time of the nearby Indian casinos being closed here in California to contain the spread, and perhaps learn things from those so they don't have to lose money on the floor.
If you search slot videos on YouTube right now, then you'd see the likes of The Big Jackpot, Brian Christopher, NG Slot, Slot Lady, SDGuy 1234 and others. They have collectively amassed hundreds of thousands of followers and just as many views in posting videos of slot play in casinos in Vegas, Atlantic City and in local ones across the country as they win hundreds of thousands of dollars playing the 1-armed bandit. In fact, my dad now uses Big Jackpot's "Boom, Boom, Boom!" catch phrase around our house after having watched his videos a lot in these months.
There are other YouTube channels that have some slot play, but whose purpose is to showcase the full Las Vegas experience that is more than just gambling. Check out those like UK vlogger Matt Bridger, Toronto-based Say Hi to Matthew, locals such as Not Leaving Las Vegas and Jacob's Life in Vegas and so many others, and they get to cover everything about Sin City that you want to know, whether you go there every year or if you're a resident of the area. It ranges from room tours and live streams on the strip, to discussions of matters pertaining to the city as it tackles this new reality and whatever comes to mind related to Vegas.
It's with these two YouTube channel trends in mind that in this past year, I have put a lot of work into my DC YouTube channel and extending the DC Vegas experience, expanding it from one weekend a year to an ongoing YouTube series. I've been able to take advantage of this quarantine to further stretch my love affair with Las Vegas by getting to offer everyone my experiences of going there over the past decade while also showcasing my video skills as my family's unofficial videographer. And I love being able to operate any kind of camera: smartphone, a palm-sized HD vlog camera or a camcorder like those whose old footage is making its way from tape to digital & into your homes.
As I dabble into this new world of YouTube, I thought of how I want to offer these vlogs to the public in a place that has so many things on offer that it can be overwhelming at times. And we also live in a place where often times, you have to try at all costs to get people to watch. It's with this in mind that I have a philosophy that it's best to just let the videos speak for themselves -- and as the channel's description reads, there's no hype and no click bait, along with my channel not reposting other's videos or copyrighted content, just like you'd see on other YouTube pages.
But to make up for not wanting to buy views or subscribers like other users, I make up for it with some pizzaz to help my videos sort of stand out from the rest. Thanks to having watched a lot of television in my lifetime, within the industry it's presentation that can be just as important as in offering that content that the viewers come to expect... and three things perhaps matter the most when it comes to that component: it has to look, feel and sound good. Those three elements are those that I feel have helped give my videos a sense of uniqueness that makes it unlike any other Vegas vlog on YouTube.
On the first category. It's with this in mind that I have adopted a network television quality presentation for my vlogs thanks to editing and effects that have helped distinguish my videos from the rest. Here, there's no flashy or large words as in other videos, being replaced by "chyrons" like those you'd see on the news or in sports events. The fonts may feel small if you watch these on a phone, but I've designed it this way knowing that a lot of people might watch it on a connected TV or device to enjoy my videos in the comfort of their home… and in the case of my 2019 DC Vegas X series - in full 1080p, smooth 60-frame high definition.
Those who consider themselves Olympics fanatics like I do know that the host city is much a star of the show as the athletes: viewers who tune in for those two weeks find that TV coverage of the Games incorporates that feel of the host city & country into their broadcasts. Thanks to having the CyberLink PowerDirector editing software, I have many options to incorporate flashy graphics into my videos while keeping a constant of my DC Vegas logo typeface. And this is also where the one exception to my all original content rule exists: I download stock footage from free and budget sites to give that sense of feel of Vegas in all my vlogs.
As far as audio goes, I have been relying on adding free stereo sound effects from Free SFX and ZapSplat to enhance the soundsphere, especially in giving videos that I shot in the earlier half of my Vegas journeys a better sense that you're there with me since the cameras I had back then and captured had one-channel of sound. And I've used the YouTube Audio Library to provide the musical soundtrack to my vlogs, and trying to capture the right mood of every video with the appropriate song. The only thing you don't hear in my vlogs is my voice: ever since we started making home videos, I have long feared hearing myself in playback - it's still the case today.
And no blog post pertaining to videos would be complete without mentioning toys of the trade: whenever a network televises a major sports championship event, they always get to debut new technology to enhance their coverage. In the case of my Vegas trips, I've used these trips to boost my technological gear besides buying new iPods and launching my SnapChat: for my 2016 trip I bought a new Sony camera to take both pictures and high-def video. For last year's vacation, the first thing I bought with my handpay was a gimbal that's able to take smooth & steady video while moving all over the place -- and I used it for the first time during that trip.
Those are some of the aspects that go into the vlog-making process for the #DCVegas series, one that I am just am proud of as this DCBLOG site. And as you'll see in just a few of the nearly 150 videos that have been posted from my trips there so far, you'll find that the work I have put a good deal of time into making this videos below just as enjoyable.
This weekend, I am taking a much-deserved break from editing videos and blogs on my desktop to enjoy some quality family time with my sister & her family out in the Central Valley and to celebrate my brother's birthday with them -- and I'll be able to showcase my videos there too (they are safe and healthy if you're asking). But once I return from there at weekend's end and along with also getting to do some blog work, the words "save the best for last" really will ring true.
Ten years ago here in mid-September, I was counting down the days and anticipated for a whole summer my fourth trip to Vegas, and what became without a doubt my favorite of the ten I've done. Just as I did the previous year, our cousin celebrated his birthday in the big city, and all my cousins joined me, my sister and brother-in-law for an epic trip that ranks at the top of the list, and we can't wait to share that with you as the finale to the Flashback series. Enjoy these videos...
- I AM DC @DC408Dxtr
#TheEscapeYouDeserve
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