Win $100 in 1 Hour and Go Viral
By: Sean Smith
Tags: Digital Marketing, Digital Nomads, Videos, Contests, Productivity

For someone who made killer mixtapes in the ’80s, I can’t seem to use video editing software programs to save my life. Any of them. Can you help me today?

Video editing software makes no sense to me. I’ve tried using several, and I find them all to be completely counterintuitive.

I recently made 20+ recorded video interviews with Zoom for story2021.co, my upcoming Digital Content Masterclass Series. Now I want to make some relatively simple edits to them (using either iMovie or filmora on my Macbook Pro) and publish them on YouTube.

Yes, I’ve watched plenty of how-to videos that say how easy it is, but somehow when I try it, and it’s always shitshow.

And no, I won’t go on fivvr. I want to learn to edit them myself.

I’m pretty sure a digital native or competent video edit could show me what I’m doing wrong in about ten minutes, but with this whole pandemic, I decided to reach out here instead.

So while I was walking my dog, Frankie, this morning, I got a fun idea. Why not make it a contest?

Hey, if I have this problem, no doubt others do too, especially other Gen Xers like me (about 40–55 years old).

Introducing the GenX Video Editor Contest

Today. Not figuratively, literally in the next few hours. I will pay $100 to the first person who will hop on a Zoom call with me today to explain the basics of using iMovie to:

Trimming a video — What’s up with that stupid command b line keeps jumping around? All I want is to put exactly at the beginning of the interview and cut the first few seconds). Edit out mistakes — It’s essentially the same problem as above, mid-video) Add the intro and outro I made — I’m not sure I’m doing it right. (It feels amateurish.) Add titles — When I introduce the speaker, I want their name and title to appear. I’ve done it twice, but for some reason, it only likes adding titles at the beginning. Trying to do it mid-video blows. (I have wasted hours diddling with these stupid things.) Save and Export — Mother of God! Could they make this part any harder? Yes, I have shared a video on my YouTube channel, but the quality looks like ass. Then when I tried to download it, I couldn’t. Descriptions and Tags — I can guess how to optimize my videos on YouTube, but I’d rather have a pro tell me. How long should descriptions be? Which tags are best? Etc.

Oh yeah? Screenshot and PhotoShop by author

Funny Story — Bonus Points Awarded

I had heard filmora was great video editing software. If you watch this video, they literally have a child using it.

So I paid like $79 for a lifetime subscription, downloaded the software, and was unable to figure out where it went? (It literally dispappeared.)

I reinstalled it but have never been able to find it to open. I don’t know if it’s cloud-based or on my Macbook Pro.

Worse yet, Wondershare’s site is a horror show and their customer service is awful. Again, after wasting hours trying to figure it out myself, I gave up and used iMovie.

I’m perfectly happy to use iMovie instead, but since Wondershare refused to refund my money over chat, I’ve decided to try to make it work for me.

So if you can help me open and use filmora, that would be great, but not part of the GenX Video Contest.

Double Bonus — Let’s Go Viral!

When I started writing this post, I realized the deep irony of the fact that I had not bothered to interview any video experts for my Masterclass Series. Okay, shame on me.

So I figured we can record the Zoom tutorial, edit it together, and include it as a bonus video in story2021.co.

NOTE: This is a great way to get tons of exposure for you!

Screenshot from YouTube: Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise (GenX Film)

How to Enter the Contest

Please send me an email at genxvideocontest@gmail.com no later than tomorrow at 5 pm EST (Sunday, December 20, 2020) that tells me you’re the one.

Let me make it simple:

Dear Sean, I’m the one you should pick because: (Short answer that shows you have the skills, made lots of videos, teach classes, have a vlog, whatever). Just convince me you can do it.

Please show me a sample of your work (one link will do). Make me laugh. Personality goes a long way!

Lastly, this contest is for iMovie and/or filmora only. I refuse to learn any more new programs this weekend.

What If You Missed the Deadline?

I will announce the winner here tomorrow evening (December 20, 2020, at 5:00 pm EST).

If you miss the deadline and still want to connect with me follow this new publication or drop me a note at genxvideocontest@gmail.com or sign up for story2021.co, the FREE Digital Content Masterclass Series coming Jan.11–25, 2021.

story2021.co will feature more than 21 Amazing Speakers (from q0 countries) including Top Writers and Forbes: Niklas Göke, Kristin Wilson, Jim Woods, Jordan Gross, Ana Andjelic, Michael Thompson, Jon Brosio, Casey Botticello, Jonathan Aufray, Christina Jandali, Sergey Faldin, Alon Ghelber, Christina Hager, Kevin Urrutia, Holly Chessman, Joel Goobich, Zulie Rane, Anthony Shop and more.

Sean Smith is a GenX marketing guy who is fascinated by the new digital reality and meeting people who are making a living by doing cool things online. Follow me here :)

Contact Me

If you’re a digital nomad, content marketing badass, growth hacker, master storyteller, non-conformist, and you have a great story, I want to hear it. To be featured in the story2021.co Podcast Series (Coming 2021), send me at an email at story2021dotco@gmail.com.