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Never Retallack<\/strong> |\u00a0 Entertainment Editor<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Q: How have you been handling the quarantine?<\/span><\/p>\n A: Quarantine has been… interesting. I spend pretty much all of my time watching videos\/shows\/movies or finding something to do. It\u2019s an equal balance of laziness and productivity, but I\u2019m 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\u2019m stuck at home, I\u2019ll make the best of it and maybe test out some new hobbies or skills.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Q: What made you start your YouTube channel?<\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019t 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\u2019d post it somewhere. It was mostly montages and compilations of my snapchats with friends or times I\u2019ve 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\u2019t control.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Q: What are your primary focuses for the channel?<\/span><\/p>\n A: My videos mostly consist of me failing at something but still somewhat having success at it. I\u2019ve 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\u2019m incredibly sarcastic and have a dry sense of humor. I feel like I don\u2019t see a lot of that. Even now, I don\u2019t make these videos expecting to blow up. It\u2019s just a temporary thing because it\u2019s fun for me. I\u2019ve turned myself into Joe Exotic from the \u201cTiger King,\u201d I\u2019ve talked about my craziest and embarrassing stories, I\u2019ve put on 100 layers of clothing, I\u2019ll do a makeup tutorial; it\u2019s all pretty sporadic but fun, and I usually just record in the comfort of my own bedroom \u2014 mainly because my mom would be super confused and interrupt if I recorded in the kitchen.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Q: What\u2019s your favorite part about producing videos?<\/span><\/p>\n A: The editing process is my favorite. Once I get started, I just zoom through it. It\u2019s incredibly therapeutic for me and lets me zone out for a while. Then when I\u2019m done, I\u2019ve spent hours creating something that I\u2019ve envisioned and it makes me feel pretty good. Finding background music and sounds, adding effects, playing around with all the tools my program has \u2014 it\u2019s creating art.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Q: What are your hopes for producing content?<\/span><\/p>\n A: I guess for right now, I\u2019m just making videos just to make videos. I don\u2019t really expect to make it big or have thousands of subscribers and have a career from this, I know it\u2019s possible but it isn’t a priority. I\u2019m not good at drawing or have a sport I\u2019m 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\u2019d be cool, but I know sooner or later I\u2019ll have to figure it out and either commit or move on. But right now, it\u2019s me finding enjoyment and possibly spreading a little enjoyment to someone else. But life\u2019s pretty crazy and you never know what could happen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Q: What has been the general response to your channel?<\/span><\/p>\n A: Generally, it\u2019s my friends or acquaintances, basically anyone who follows my Snapchat or Instagram because that\u2019s where I advertise my videos. It\u2019s always a good response, people tell me I\u2019m funny \u2014 which is a huge compliment to me \u2014 or they say they loved how my video went with all the comical effects I add into it. It\u2019s been great responses but then again, it\u2019s from people I know, so I would hope they\u2019re nice about it, but I also always appreciate the feedback.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Q: For those interested in your content what should they look up?<\/span><\/p>\n A: If anyone\u2019s interested just look up Ali McCarthy or RallyAli, one \u201cL\u201d and one \u201cI\u201d, that\u2019s 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\u2019s algorithm is weird so it\u2019s best just to look up my name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Q: Anything else you would like to add?<\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019re all just trying to have some fun before life gets too serious, so don\u2019t be afraid to just do what you want to do.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n