Hi, everyone! This past week, I exchanged an interview through email with Harrison Renshaw, creating YouTube videos under the name Alfo Media. Renshaw created the channel while a student at the University of Rhode Island, and has grown to have a following of over a quarter million subscribers in almost two years. He creates music video essays that highlight topics like "Great Songs You May Not Know" or "Why Isn't Anyone Listening to ___", and I've really been a fan of a lot of those types of videos. Needless to say, I was very happy to hear that he was willing to do an interview with me.
bazzreviews: Which YouTubers or content creators inspired you to start your own channel?
Harrison Renshaw: Around the time when I started, there weren't really any huge channels doing the whole "music video-essay" thing. There's a lot of channels filling that niche now, but I think we all kind of popped around the same time. For me, I just saw an opportunity to combine ideas from a few bigger channels I love. I got the inspiration to talk about music on YouTube from guys like Anthony Fantano, and I got the inspiration of the video-essay style from channels like Nerdwriter and KaptainKristian.
br: I know you just graduated from the University of Rhode Island this past year- what were the biggest challenges with balancing college work and YouTube?
H.R.: It was definitely a grind. When I first started out, it wasn't too bad. I was doing YouTube more as a hobby at that time. I would work on videos for a couple of hours over the course of two or three weeks. But as the channel grew, I needed to spend more and more time on it. I've always had high standards for myself when it comes to doing well in school, and luckily YouTube didn't really set me back in that regard. It just meant that I had virtually no free time for my last two semesters of school. This past year was definitely the busiest time of my life, but it ended up working out.
br: What gave you the inspiration for the name “Alfo Media”?
H.R.: Around the time that I wanted to create a channel, I was watching Marvel's Luke Cage on Netflix. There was an old, wise, character that would always give the advice of "always forward". No matter what life throws at you, just keep looking ahead. Learn from your mistakes and try and stay positive. I really liked that idea, so I decided to incorporate it into the name of my channel. "Always Forward _____" seemed a little clunky, so I shortened it to "Alfo". Then I threw the word "Media" at the end to encompass whatever else I would do on my channel.
br: Can you describe your process for making an Alfo Media video?
H.R.: I've never been one to dwell on a project for too long. For all my papers for high school/college, I'd write them all in one sitting. The same typically goes for my videos. They might take me 5-10 hours sometimes, but I like to get it done all at once. So, the process is me picking a topic, researching & writing for a script, recording the voiceover, downloading all necessary b-roll, sleeping on it, and then editing the next day. By the time it’s all said and done, each video is about 2-3 day process to get everything finished.
br: I really like your “Introduction To”, “Why isn’t Anyone Listening to...” and “Artist Spotlight” series, what fuels your interest in making those types of videos?
H.R.: The driving force for my channel is discovering new music. I know my platform isn't huge, but my goal is to spread the word for up and coming musicians. If I like them, then I want more people to know about them. All of my different series are for different things, though. "An Introduction to ___" is typically for a well-established band or subgenre, "Rising Artist" is for up and coming musicians, and "Great Songs You Might Not Know" is for random music discovery. They all relate back to the underlying theme of trying to introduce people to cool stuff.
br: Which videos have been your favorite to research and make?
H.R.: There's a legitimate video-essay I made on an indie film called "Columbus". That's the best video I've ever made. The research is top-notch and I think I make some pretty compelling points. I wish I would talk about film more, but music essays are what people expect from me at this point.
br: Do you have any video ideas in the works right now?
H.R.: There's always a few ideas floating around, but I don’t want to reveal too much about what’s coming up.
br: What goals do you have with Alfo Media the future?
H.R.: I'd love to do the same stuff that I'm doing- but on a larger scale. I recently filmed a live performance and put it on the channel, too. I'd love to do more of those in the future, because I had a lot of fun doing that one.
LIGHTNING ROUND:
What is one album you find as overrated and one you find underrated?
I don't really like the term "overrated", but for underrated, people need to listen to "Onion" by Chase Ceglie.
I hear you’re also a big movie guy, what are your top three movies of all time?
No Country for Old Men, The Social Network, Little Shop of Horrors.
Which albums and artists are you listening to a lot right now?
"Onion" by Chase Ceglie, "Immunity" by Clairo, "Flamboyant" by Dorian Electra, "i,i" by Bon Iver and "So Much Fun" by Young Thug,
What was the first album you ever bought?
"Aquemini" by Outkast on vinyl.
If you weren’t doing YouTube right now, what do you think you would be doing?
Something involving writing or marketing.
I'd like to thank Harrison again for giving me his time for an interview. For those of you who haven't checked out Alfo Media on YouTube, go give him a watch! He continues making awesome music video-essays that give a nice angle on music discovery. Thanks so much to all of my readers, and my apologies for very low content in recent times. Be prepared, because a lot of more content is coming your way soon!
To watch Alfo Media, log on to https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiBRvd_WgBNiq0CPmCVSFGw
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