Never Retallack | Entertainment Editor
Spending time stuck at home can leave many people feeling as if they have nothing left to do. English major Ali McCarthy, a Western Alumni, has decided to use her free time creating content on YouTube. Get to know more about her process and what her channel is about in this Q&A.
Q: How have you been handling the quarantine?
A: Quarantine has been… interesting. I spend pretty much all of my time watching videos/shows/movies or finding something to do. It’s an equal balance of laziness and productivity, but I’m definitely missing my friends. I try to stay on track with a bullet journal and try to write down things that can help me be productive or creative. I figured since I’m stuck at home, I’ll make the best of it and maybe test out some new hobbies or skills.
Q: What made you start your YouTube channel?
A: I was going through a bit of an existential crisis going into my last real year of college, feeling like everything I thought I knew about myself wasn’t actually what I was, and just feeling really lost. Back in high school, I took a video editing class and I really enjoyed editing. So during my crisis, I tried out a bunch of hobbies to kind of find that passion I once felt for writing and found it in video editing. I figured since it was fun and I thought I was good at it, I’d post it somewhere. It was mostly montages and compilations of my snapchats with friends or times I’ve traveled, but then I wanted to kind of dive into challenges and more entertainment and find a way to laugh at myself to take my mind off the stress of school and relationships and the future. Kind of like finding control in a world I couldn’t control.
Q: What are your primary focuses for the channel?
A: My videos mostly consist of me failing at something but still somewhat having success at it. I’ve learned to laugh at myself a lot, and I just kind of responded naturally to things like challenges, DIYs, cooking, etc. I just wanted to have fun, and I’m incredibly sarcastic and have a dry sense of humor. I feel like I don’t see a lot of that. Even now, I don’t make these videos expecting to blow up. It’s just a temporary thing because it’s fun for me. I’ve turned myself into Joe Exotic from the “Tiger King,” I’ve talked about my craziest and embarrassing stories, I’ve put on 100 layers of clothing, I’ll do a makeup tutorial; it’s all pretty sporadic but fun, and I usually just record in the comfort of my own bedroom — mainly because my mom would be super confused and interrupt if I recorded in the kitchen.
Q: What’s your favorite part about producing videos?
A: The editing process is my favorite. Once I get started, I just zoom through it. It’s incredibly therapeutic for me and lets me zone out for a while. Then when I’m done, I’ve spent hours creating something that I’ve envisioned and it makes me feel pretty good. Finding background music and sounds, adding effects, playing around with all the tools my program has — it’s creating art.
Q: What are your hopes for producing content?
A: I guess for right now, I’m just making videos just to make videos. I don’t really expect to make it big or have thousands of subscribers and have a career from this, I know it’s possible but it isn’t a priority. I’m not good at drawing or have a sport I’m killer at, it just became something that took me out of some anxiety and made me feel in control. If I happen to go somewhere with this, that’d be cool, but I know sooner or later I’ll have to figure it out and either commit or move on. But right now, it’s me finding enjoyment and possibly spreading a little enjoyment to someone else. But life’s pretty crazy and you never know what could happen.
Q: What has been the general response to your channel?
A: Generally, it’s my friends or acquaintances, basically anyone who follows my Snapchat or Instagram because that’s where I advertise my videos. It’s always a good response, people tell me I’m funny — which is a huge compliment to me — or they say they loved how my video went with all the comical effects I add into it. It’s been great responses but then again, it’s from people I know, so I would hope they’re nice about it, but I also always appreciate the feedback.
Q: For those interested in your content what should they look up?
A: If anyone’s interested just look up Ali McCarthy or RallyAli, one “L” and one “I”, that’s a pretty common mistake. I try to do videos based on the trends going around or what I find is most interesting or entertaining, but YouTube’s algorithm is weird so it’s best just to look up my name.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: I mean, any feedback is always welcome. Subscribe for new videos every Wednesday. I feel weird self promoting myself but you gotta do what you gotta do, am I right? We’re all just trying to have some fun before life gets too serious, so don’t be afraid to just do what you want to do.
Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of Alison McCarthy
