Nathaniel Drew

My live film & video editing master class is now open - for the final time. Watch the trailer:

My editing & animation master course, Frame by Frame, is open for its Fall cohort! This is my definitive course to master video editing & animation. And for this cohort, we added 27 new lessons, 8 live sessions & an entire new track: the Shooting Course. More details:

I made a mistake early in my video creation career. I thought every video had to be punchy, all out, bombastic, no dead time, as BIG AS POSSIBLE. Basically, this turned making every video into a stressful, breakneck run to the video’s finish line. But I learned how to fix this. When I started making videos, what I was doing was forcing my energy out. And the audience can tell. But I’ve learned to trust that more relaxed, understated energy. How do you make this happen? Why does being natural feel unnatural? It’s about feeling comfortable. And feeling comfortable can be learned, practiced, and become your default. Here are 6 ways to make it happen: 1. Be Interested The universal languages of excitement and passion bleed through even if you don’t understand the words being said. Humans can read it. Either talk about something you have genuine interest in, OR if you can’t do that (e.g. you’re not assigned your subject, you have to talk about something super important but less interesting), then work the most interesting angle available to you. The key is to you reframe whatever you’re doing in terms of an actual higher-level interest or perspective you have. That way, anything can be interesting. And it will come across in your performance. This is why I always think of the framing “life is a series of experiments” – because it makes moments and topics interesting to me that wouldn’t be otherwise. 2. Get Informed A lot of comfort and confidence on camera is just having a rock solid bank of knowledge under your belt that you know what you’re talking about. If you’re talking about something you’re an expert, that you’ve prepared (sometimes for years) to discuss, your discomfort will naturally evaporate. Plan ahead and acquire background knowledge. Prepare behind the scenes. Alternatively, hedge aggressively! And if you’re talking about something you’re figuring out - that you don’t “know” – focus on what is definitely true FOR YOU at this moment. What are your feelings and experiences about the topic right now? What do you feel inadequate to address? Be upfront about that! Confidently claim your current place. Don’t overshoot and posture that you’re beyond where you actually are. That’s a recipe for inauthentic presence in front of camera. It will always be easier to talk about your own life. 3. Practice There’s no way of getting around this. You have to create regularly - once a week, 2x a month, etc. - before you master it. Almost no one is born with the ability to talk fluently and connect ideas spontaneously in front of camera. I definitely wasn’t. I issue you the following challenge: Sit down every day for the next week, in front of your camera (or phone, webcam, etc.) and speak about something you care about for a minimum of 10 minutes. You must hit the RECORD button! You don’t need to edit the video, or share it with anyone. It can be on your iPhone. But it must be committed to a digital recording device. Otherwise you’re not “practicing,” you’re not really on stage. Do this 10 minutes a day for a week and you will be transformed. 3. Speak as if You’re talking to your most intelligent friends I like to imagine myself sitting around a table having beers with my smartest friends. The friends might not be familiar with the topic I’m talking about, so I’m taking extra steps to be clear, but with confidence that if I do so, they will definitely understand – and won’t need a watered down version of the idea. NOT doing this is the # 1 reason for my cringe watching old videos… I’m trying to dumb it down, like I’m talking to a child or a pet. It’s not a great look. 😅 For a long time, I avoided speaking plainly about what I thought, trusting the audience to understand. I was afraid of being misunderstood. But as soon as you dumb down how you present an idea, that’s incredibly damaging to the idea itself, and to the world as a result. 4. Pick Time and Place Carefully As you practice, you’ll start to discover patterns in your own energy and performance. For me, I avoid times like, say, first thing in the morning: • I have low energy • My brain’s not working, so I speak at 0.5x speed • I don’t tend to like my appearance as much (face feels puffy) It’s just not what energizes me or makes me feel good about my performance. Same for late night or right after lunch (post-lunch slump). I try to be in a quiet place, alone. I find I am less authentic if someone else is watching me film. It’s also just distracting and unhelpful to be hearing extra noises and distractions. 5. Show Your Personality People don’t want to see a perfect performer. But our imperfections are our humanity. The more imperfections, the better. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Perfect performance is boring and robotic. Being comfortable tripping up translates to overall increase in the vibe and comfort you’re conveying. Try speaking in front of camera with a focus on continuing what you are saying after you trip up. Speak intentionally, and when you make a mistake, smile for a moment, then continue. Don’t start over! Besides, when it comes to editing your videos later, you can make it as seamless as you want – then there won’t be any flubs left in your video. The only thing that will be left is your calm, confident performance – that came from the willingness to be imperfect on camera. Good luck – and please, make GREAT VIDEOS!

This video creation course was taken by 12K+ people. Learn to: • Speak well on camera • Share your ideas • Plan & script great videos These ideas got me 1.7M YT subs. I'm sharing it free for the next couple weeks only. Just reply "FxF" to this post and I’ll DM the link!

Frame by Frame (my new editing + animation course) is now open to join. Watch the trailer: