Project Vision 21 was a project which involved the shift of all of my channel work on the front end & back end to the cloud using the tried & true Google software & APIs. The project started in January & February 2021 where it involved my websites, logos, newsletters & video styles undergoing a major redesign as the project favored modular designs, more color variants, more style & more class. I moved my websites from Weebly to Google Sites & Wix when Weebly continued giving me problems since Google Sites was much more flexible & reliable. I used extra free time to improve my channel operations on the front & back ends by migrating my existing infrastructure to more reliable Google-supported platforms & constant tested new online software & strategies to make the shift to limitation-free channel operations. The brunt of my shift to online-only took place mostly during the post-September 2020 part of the pandemic but may extend further even after the pandemic has subsided to or below September levels. Since January 2021, I have managed to successfully & completely shift from the all-too-restrictive Windows Movie Maker software (now unavailable for downloads from the Microsoft Website as of January 2017) to online alternatives such as Clipchamp for my regular lift videos & Magisto for my trailers. Project Vision 21 entails the following 15 core elements:
- COVID-19-safe lift filming strategies
- The Clipchamp program
- The Magisto program
- The Google program
- The Canva program
- The Rising Salamander Showdown Series
- The Rising Salamander Academy
- The Rising Salamander Showdown Portfolio
- The Rising Salamander Express
- Rebranding campaigns
- The Instagram Guide program
- The Flowpage program
- The Wix program
- The Tiktok program
- The Reels program
I run my websites primarily using Google Sites & Wix.
COVID-19-safe lift filming strategies
In December 2020, as I started filming lifts again during the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic, I fully committed to wearing my mask at all times, social distancing at 150% the required distance & using hand sanitizer. As of June 2021, I have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, allowing for myself to have confidence filming more lifts safely with added protection against COVID-19. I however still continue to wear my mask, socially distance & use hand sanitizer when possible. As other variants of COVID-19 pop up with the ability to evade vaccines, I remain extremely cautious & only film lifts on a mid-time basis until the pandemic reaches base levels of transmission throughout the community. I will be going for my third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in February 2022.
The Clipchamp Program
In January 2021, after a couple years of hard research, I discovered a revolutionary online video editing app similar to Movie Maker called Clipchamp. This was the only app I needed to complete my Project Vision 21 as it gave me the fewest problems & utmost versatility. It comes with its own built-in text-to-speech program making video editing seamless. The 480P is of ample quality compared to my Sony Handycam. I use this app as my main program for video editing.
Success with the Clipchamp Program
The Clipchamp program turned out to be a massive success as it removed the hassle of having to download, set up & configure confusing & tedious video editing software on one computer at a time. Editing videos on any computer is seamless & even integrates with OneDrive cloud storage & Google Photos meaning almost no downloading & uploading are required to use it. The same applies for the Magisto program. I can import Magisto trailers into Clipchamp at their original quality & the quality will not be reduced no matter how many times I reuse said content in future Clipchamp edits.
Notable Successes
My first big success was with the Atlantic City lift galore in August 2021 where I filmed several lifts & compiled an 18-minute-long compilation of all the publicly accessible lifts at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City. Not only did the clips come out impeccably, but they came out even better than anything he's made with the Windows Movie Maker before Clipchamp, causing him to make a tentative, temporary decision to postpone use of Windows Movie Maker & Windows Live Essentials until further notice.
The Magisto Program
In January 2021, I discovered a revolutionary online AI-powered trailer creation app called Magisto. This was the only other app I needed to complete my Project Vision 21 as it gave me the fewest problems & used AI to create the trailers for me, given my music preference, video style preference & my uploaded clips with text captions. The standard 480P is of ample quality compared to my Sony Handycam. I use this app as my go-to for trailer creation ahead of a lift galore or showdown.
The Google Program
In December 2020, I migrated my Weebly site to Google Sites as Google Sites is more reliable, more flexible & a more tone-down bare-bones website editor which has everything I need in one place, including importing Google Drive files as embeds & an easier & more intuitive editing style overall. I can also share the site with other lift filmers & declare them as administrators to help me edit the site when I am busy. I kept my Blogger account active by changing my journal to match the theme of my brand. I switched from PowerPoint to Canva to save & export my branding design to Google Drive & I now use Notejoy to plan out future lift filming events. I can import Google Drive files into Wix directly from my new Rising Salamander Showdown Series brand sites.
The Canva Program
In December 2019, I started using Canva to create my brand logos & generic Instagram posts. I export all designs directly to my Google Drive. This is the longest-running of the 15 programs I have.
Rebranding Campaigns
I rebrand my channels from the inside-out when need be. A rebranding campaign takes around 4-5 hours per campaign & usually involves the entire channel series being rebranded with a new logo, new name & complete overhaul of everything including on the elevator community wiki.
The Instagram Guide Program
In August 2021, I tested a demo of the Instagram Guide feature for my lift filming Instagram page. I first tested it out with my Atlantic City lift galore of August 2021 & it turned out to be a success as I can share them directly to my stories & highlight. I will only use this feature for the best lifts of the month & recommend places on my Guide to others looking to get started filming lifts.
The Flowpage Program
In December 2020, I researched the advantages of having a linktree, so I researched all the possible options & decided to go with Flowpage as it's free & is the most flexible of them all. I replaced all my YouTube description links with a single link to my Flowpages. I did the same with my Instagram & Tiktok.
The Wix Program
In July 2021, I started using Wix to promote my sub-brand: The Rising Salamander Showdown Series. I own two websites on Wix:
- The Rising Salamander Showdown Series
- The Rising Salamander Academy (on the Rising Salamander Showdown Series website)
- The Rising Salamander Showdown Portfolio (updated once every 1-2 months)
I started using Wix ADI since it's vastly more powerful than Google Sites but at the same time is equally reliable. It is even more powerful as it includes free email marketing embedded within & multiple dashboard customization options, with its own blogging & event creation widgets. This is the perfect bundle for promoting the best lifts of the month. Instagram integration is included.
The Tiktok Program
In December 2020, I launched my Tiktok account to:
- Preview upcoming lift galores & showdowns
- Feature the 3 best & worst lifts of the week
- Promote shorter videos that wouldn't do well in a formal showdown
The Reels Program
In January 2021, I started importing some of my existing Tiktoks onto Instagram Reels without any editing so that more people can see the Tiktoks.
The Rising Salamander Showdown Series
In August 2021, upon rebranding my entire channel, I created a brand for my exclusive blog posts & premieres called The Rising Salamander Showdown Series. My brand suite comes with four programs as follows:
- The Rising Salamander Showdown Series
- The Rising Salamander Academy
- The Rising Salamander Showdown Portfolio
- The Rising Salamander Express
The Rising Salamander Showdown Series
The Rising Salamander Showdown Series is my new brand for my weekend night lift galores & showdowns. This brand has its own dedicated website, its own flowpage & is the one-stop location for accessing all current premieres for a newsletter week. The website was created using Wix ADI, the AI design assistant for Wix & uses the green theme just like the main website. This brand has its own logo but shares the same theme with its parent brand. As of August 15, the brand has its own dedicated YouTube subchannel shared under the main channel roots to premiere the best showdowns of the month at the end of every month. Additionally, a shared playlist between the two channels is updated with the end of the month trailers & supplemental followup premieres which air on the last Friday & Saturday night of the month, except for rare occasions where they may have to be premiered on the last Thursday of the month. This website lists all the upcoming premieres in event from. I created an Instagram account for it on August 24 which I will use to announce upcoming showdowns at the end of the month.
The Rising Salamander Academy
The Rising Salamander Academy is a weekly blog service which gets updated after every lift galore on a separate website dedicated solely to The Rising Salamander Showdown Series. Blog posts are called readcasts, where the categories range from under 200 words to over 500 words spread across 5 categories. Special blog posts may contain over 1000 words e.g. text overviews of overnight lift galores. I take pride in only providing my very best work to the Rising Salamander Academy. Starting September 2021, I will be inviting other lift filmers to make contributions to the Rising Salamander Academy by writing their blog posts of lifts that they found. I will use this program to slowly put a stop to the Rising Salamander Times weekly newsletter & shut that site down altogether in May 2022 as my blog posts gain more traction. I will open a monetized Medium account starting in February 2022 to make side money with my private lift filming blog posts shared outside the lift filming community. Starting September 2021, readcasts for the end-of-the-month premieres automatically get flagged as premium readcasts by default.
The Rising Salamander Showdown Portfolio
The Rising Salamander Showdown Portfolio is an online portfolio as an image-only gallery portfolio showcase of the best lifts of the month. These pictures are from lifts premiered directly on The Rising Salamander Showdown Series channel itself. Only the best lift galores of the month get showcased on the portfolio. I created this website under a child account with the parent administrator being my main account, for the use of co-authoring between the 2 sites & 2 channels.
The Rising Salamander Express
The Rising Salamander Express is a monthly or bimonthly email campaign service to email subscribers on a monthly or bimonthly basis of the top 3-5 best finds of the month. This is the first email marketing approach in 25+ years of lift filming. This email marketing approach is used to promote the end-of-the-month exclusive premieres as well as promoting upcoming Rising Salamander Academy readcasts.
Summary
These 15 programs will ensure limitation-free operations for my YouTube channels & websites going forward & will pave the way for limitation-free autonomy which will pay off dividends as my lift filming career progresses. As I celebrate my 21st birthday in half a year & reap the benefits of staying in almost any hotel throughout the United States on my own, legally & starting a small online affiliate marketing LLC business on the side, my access to other awesome lifts will soon be nearly limitless. The COVID-19 pandemic wasn't easy for me to get through to this point, but I took responsibility for my response to the situation, lead by example, got to work & used the extra free time on my hands to create & improve upon the 15 programs listed above. Due to the work I did during the pandemic, my YouTube channels are in a greater position now to succeed. Once the LLC gets off the ground, I will be able to integrate my LLC into my YouTube channels & all blogs & websites to produce even more affiliate income through funnel links.
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