Creators in Action: Meet Our UNCean Vloggers

Creators in Acti n

MEET OUR UNCEAN VLOGGERS

JAYVEE FORTUNO

WE ARE DYNAMIC and creative. That is one of the University’s core values that is still being uplifted among the students. Now that we are in a pandemic, many of us have been experiencing struggles, many have nothing else to do aside from staying at home, and some have found new hobbies to make their quarantine days worthwhile. UNCeans, being dynamic and creative, have thought a lot of ways to spend most of their time with. It can either be by reading, watching, dancing, singing, and the most relevant way to entertain and as well as to earn money, vlogging.

Take One: Action!

Vlogging has been known since then as a form of a blog but in a video type. Here, the creator overlays photos and videos, effective enough to keep the viewers entertained and watch other videos as well. The content of these videos depends on what the creator wants. But most of the time, the content focuses on entertaining and educating the viewers in different ways and ideas. At UNC, some students are also immensely interested in terms of vlogging. We can see some videos posted on their different social media platforms but for students who have their own YouTube channels, among their population, we have here two (2) students coming from the Senior High School and College Department who shared their stories in crafting their video contents.

Take Two: Momshie and Three Sons

“ To try to be more productive.”

Selwyn Geoffrey Flores, 16, a GAS 12 learner, started to become a vlogger in April 2020, with starter contents of covering songs and cooking demos. According to him, he decided to be a vlogger to entertain people as well as to earn money and help his family financially. He is not alone on his vlogs. He is with his mom and two other brothers and did not have the chance to collaborate yet with other vloggers.

When asked about who pushed him to start vlogging, Flores stated, “Of course, that would be our Mom. Back then we were shy/silent people who didn’t want to be seen or say something in front of the camera. But now we are confident enough to face through the camera. ‘Make all the shyness go away.’ She is the reason why we still keep on going to upload more videos on our YouTube Channel.”

With the guidance and support coming from their mom, they were able to continue creating content that entertains people by doing challenges, playing games, cooking food, and mukbangs. Of course, as a student, it was a challenge to balance time and vlogging but the good thing is that according to him, they first prioritize academics, and once done, that is the time that they will do their video content.

Vlogging has both effects and benefits to him and his family. They were able to entertain the audience while earning money, and the most important thing is that they were able to go out of their comfort zone and gain more confidence as they do vlogs. Aside from wanting to achieve their goals, those two are also the reasons why they still pursue vlogging until now.

“If they can do it, we can do it too!” This mantra is one of their motivations to pursue and inspire students who would like to enter the vlogging world.

When asked about what message can he/they give to the aspiring vloggers, he expressed, “Just be yourself, be positive as always. Do the things you love. Don’t give up easily because you don’t know what’ll happen next. Everything starts with small things such as the views or subscribers, don’t mind it at all. Just do your best!”

You may support Flores and his family by subscribing to their YouTube channel: Momshie and Three Sons.

Take Three: The Sanguine Creator

“Do something today that your future self will be proud of.”

According to Jayvee Soriano, 21, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Marketing Management student from the College of Business and Accountancy and an alumnus of UNC SHS, that is the mantra that keeps him doing things his future self will be proud of and one of those things is vlogging.

At first, Soriano did not intend to enter the vlogging world. His first vlog was crafted to entertain people, and just for fun. But as he was surrounded by supportive friends, plus his talent in public speaking and video editing, made him continue and pursue the vlogging industry.

His first ever vlog was way more different compared to the usual videos we see from content creators. According to him, his first vlog was way back in November 2018, where he filmed himself going to a spa named Facial Plus, as he used the coupon he won during their OrSem and he was able to avail the facial treatment for a cheaper price. Before this first video, Soriano had been watching vlogs of different YouTubers which inspired him and by gaining support from the people around him, despite the hesitation, he finally decided to enter and create his channel.

The contents of his videos were more on something the present generation would find interesting. According to him:

“My first 3-5 videos I guess we’re just “mema videos” meaning - just anything under the sun, I just film myself doing random stuff, but as time goes by, I learned how to do videos of me doing tutorials and also travel vlogs.”

With the evolution of his contents, he was also open to collaboration with other student Youtubers he knew. Because of his influence, he was able to encourage one of his friends to also start vlogging, and there, they created video collaborations that have kept their subscribers looking forward to more of them.

“Also, I have known some local vloggers as well, and we talked and planned on collaborating, but unfortunately, it didn’t just happen. But still, we support each other.” Soriano added.

Since Soriano is on his way to graduating from college when asked if he is still pursuing vlogging, he expressed, “To be honest, I am not sure, but I have this vision in my mind that I would fully invest my time being a vlogger or be active again once I already finish my studies and that I can already travel the world, since it has been a goal for me to do travels and filmed it, not just to upload it on YT, but of course as memories.”

Being naturally responsible and expert in managing his time, Soriano gave emphasis that just like other student vloggers, he also does vlogs when time permits him because his top priority is to be a student and his academics.

“I never pressured myself to be that consistent in vlogging since I know my priorities and one of those is studying,” he added.

Vlogging has paved the way for him to be confident with his crafts. Vlogging is something that boosts his confidence as he lets the people see what he got by showcasing it through his videos. Aside from that, his speaking skills were used and developed as well as him learning more about video editing that he may not just use for his vlogs, but also future work. Despite not having professional equipment for vlogging, it was never a reason for him to stop and to be belittled, as he believes that confidence, talent, and perseverance are things that would keep your feet on the ground of vlogging.

When asked about his message to his fellow students who are aspiring to be vloggers, he stated, “Considering that I am not really active in vlogging, I want to tell those aspiring student vloggers to just do it, don’t hesitate to do it. Yes at first, maybe people will make fun and will mock you, but you don’t need to put them all in your head, because what matters is you do you. If you believe you have the potential if you believe you can influence others if you have a creative mind to come up with your contents, and if even if you’re still hesitating and struggling with your confidence, just do it and don’t be afraid to try because everything is a process, maybe you’re not that good today, but someday you’ll be better and even best on it. So just push yourself, believe in yourself, and never doubt your capacity.”

You may support him on his YouTube channel, Jayvee Soriano.

Just like the two of the UNCeano vloggers, the pandemic can still be a reason for us to try new things and make our days productive. Just like them, we can also make our quarantine days worthwhile by doing something that we love that will keep us productive and be a source of happiness for other people. As long as you are ready to take on the challenges, and have the perseverance within yourself, that already is a stepping stone for you to be dynamic and creative in maximizing your talents, and for sharing them with your audience.