The #1 Skill of the Digital World
I want to tell you about two very different (real) people I've known intimately, and they both come from the same background:
Person #1:
He’s having a hard time feeling understood. It really seems like the ideas are there but conveying them is a struggle.
His job is ok but he has a sinking feeling that he’s always doing it on other people’s schedules.
He’s frustrated, because other people are telling very cool stories (and even sometimes making money doing it) and he wants to do the same but doesn’t know how.
Then there's Person #2, who:
Knows how to tell those stories, and people care. (wtf!)
Has complete control over their schedule every day, without stressing financially or burning out.
There is a feeling of richness and fullness in their life — there always seem to be so many cool projects to work on.
Maybe you know both kinds of people. Like I said, I do, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how two people can end up in such different life situations.
What are the pieces of the puzzle that separate the two?
I'll tell you what I think it is: tools. Tools for navigating life and reaching people. One of these people has figured out the thing that makes humans function: effective storytelling is what moves and shapes the world. And they've found a way to share those stories.
With a tool that powerful, the rest just falls into place.
(The other person spends most of their effort hoping their work makes its way to someone who already cares about it. But they don't know how to help them care. No tool.)
… you might have guessed this already, but both of the people above are me. Me at two very different points of my career/life. A version of me with the tool, and a version of me without it.
The truth is I was a "Person #1" when I started my artistic journey. I think everyone is. No one is good when they start.
When I was 17 years old, I wanted to break into "the industry" (what we call making movies in Los Angeles).
I wanted to do big things and make a name of myself. But I couldn’t even afford to move to LA, I didn’t have any savings and I didn’t know anyone. When you don’t know anyone in the industry, it is very hard to get any work, so I had to start more simply: in Portland, OR, where I grew up.
It took me 8 months of phone calls, emails, coffee meetings and an (unpaid) internship to even get on set… for free. I wasn’t even asking for money yet. I just wanted to get experience. 8 months just to get that.
Once I was finally making it on set, I was a Production Assistant. An important role for the proper functioning of a shoot, but also the lowest tier in the hierarchy and you are treated as little more than a space cadet.
So I spent my days running to Target to buy socks or protein bars or grabbing water or coffee for the crew until 2am. I had to make sure everyone’s parking was paid if we were shooting downtown. Silently hanging around a crew that is not in a good mood because we’re 3 hours late already is not something I wish upon anyone.
I think it’s fair to say I "paid my dues."
But I found myself a year, two years older, and not far from where I started – no more creatively fulfilled, and still part of this hierarchy, still following order and fun excitement of being on set disappearing with every passing day.
Fast-forward. Here's what life looked like for me yesterday:
No meetings and I decided exactly what I wanted to do when I got up in the morning.
I work with an extremely cool team of people I really like, happy creatives who are all experts of their crafts.
I regularly publish work I'm proud of — and the big clients and brands I work with keep wanting to work with me.
Every single day that I get to operate like this is a gift I don't take for granted.
But this wasn't just a lucky break.
(Ok, it was a dozen lucky breaks - but bear with me).
The truth is none of this would have happened if I hadn't picked up my most important skill - a skill that's been the MOST important puzzle piece behind my entire career (as a YouTuber, artist, and creative).
In two weeks, I'll be launching Frame by Frame, a 5-week intensive course that I've been working on (as hard as anything I've ever done) for over a year... where I share the skill I’ve been refining for nearly a decade of making videos professionally.
I want to teach you the #1 skill I've relied on to navigate the digital world: the art of effective editing and animation – the art of "post-production."
When I began learning to edit videos as a teenager, I didn’t know it would lead me to where I am now.
In a sense, I owe my whole career to these skills – and I’d like to finally share them in a very in-depth, technical way.
I rely on video every day - not just to tell stories to others - but to make sense of my OWN stories.
The thing is: every story needs a vehicle. For some people, that vehicle is a string of words, a series of chords on the guitar, or a sequence of movements on stage.
For me, that vehicle is video-making.
Video is the most universal, accessible medium in the internet age – and every platform is being pulled toward it.
(Consider this: I'm fully confident my great-grandchildren will be able to watch what I dedicated my life to through the film I’ve made. It’s a weird and beautiful thought).
When done right, video editing is taking the raw ingredients of visuals, music, and audio and creating something that is far greater than the sum of its parts and leaves a real emotional impact on an audience — immediately.
And I think the right person — who has already taken a creative leap, or is now ready to take that leap — can turn it into THEIR OWN #1 skill. You can change your life through video: you can meet people around the globe, make friends, or even build the career that makes it possible to buy your first home.
Making videos has been among the most beautiful experiences of my life and I'm excited to share what I know with those who want to make art that truly stands the test of time.
If that's you – stay tuned!
Next week, I'll be sharing a 15+ minute excerpt from the course right here, for free (the full course will cover everything me and my team know about creating world-class videos and animations, in an extremely in-depth way).
The week after that, I'll be opening early access to this email list – to keep things intimate, we're limiting sign-ups to 300 seats only (far less than any course I’ve ever released)... so watch your inboxes on April 21st for more details!
I hope to see you there. Thanks for reading,
Nathaniel Drew
P.S. This course really isn't for everyone. If you're not either ALREADY working as a video editor or animator, or you aren't INTERESTED in becoming an editor or animator as a career or side hustle (OR simply a very motivated beginner who's ready to dig into a serious master class of video) – this course probably isn't for you right now. (Honestly, this course is probably NOT for most people!)
So hang tight — I'll return to normal programming in less than 30 days. Please enjoy all the free material on my creative process in the meantime!
