Collaborating with Strangers: Can You Make a Great Video Together?
As creators, we often only collaborate with people we know well like close friends or fellow YouTubers within our niche. But I wondered, could total strangers band together to make an amazing video?
To find out, I found 4 strangers with no previous connection to collaborate with me on a YouTube video. Here’s how we created content together:
Finding Strangers to Collaborate With
I put out a call for collaboration on my social media and reached out individually to responders I thought brought diverse skills. I gathered a musician, artist, chef and actor.
Brainstorming a Unifying Video Theme
At our first meetup, the hardest part was landing on an agreeable theme that tapped everyone’s strengths. We finally settled on recreating a haunted house since it allowed showcasing all our talents.
Dividing Up Roles and Responsibilities
Based on skills and interests, we gave each stranger creative control over different portions – one arranged the soundtrack, another handled set design, etc. This ensured contributions stayed in their wheelhouses.
Shooting Guerilla-Style Run and Gun
With limited time together, we essentially winged it shooting guerilla-style on location rather than meticulously planning every shot. We embraced the messy energy and improvised our parts.
Post-Producing Solo
For editing, rather than collaborating further, I had everyone submit their portion individually like soundtrack stems, b-roll clips etc. I took responsibility for editing it all together into one cohesive video based on the footage.
Establishing a Schedule and Deadlines
To make sure collaboration stayed on track when not shooting in-person, we set a clear schedule for submitting materials with hard deadlines so the process moved efficiently.
Providing Creative Feedback
We shared rough edits of our individual contributions to get feedback from the group. Consensus creative criticism strengthened each piece before compiling the final video.
Credit and Cross-Promotion
Once the video was complete, we all used our various platforms to share the final product and promote the unique skills each stranger contributed. Reciprocity was key.
While chaotic, our random mashup of creative strangers ultimately did yield an entertaining, engaging video collaborating sight unseen!
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Stepping out of my comfort zone proved strangers can collaborate effectively if communication, skills and clear expectations align. However, collaborating with those already within your niche is lower friction. Have you ever collaborated with unfamiliar creators? Share your experiences below!
