Out West returns!

GITTY UP!

1. Stealing Like An Artist. A piece of content that inspired us to create this week

2. Our Response, Unfiltered. Responding to a controversial comment.

3. Mind-Blown. Something that provoked our thoughts.

4. Early to the Party. A small creator on their way to stardom.

5. Zoom Out. Thinking big picture for our brand

6. Roasted. A light dig at each other’s content.

Hello OW fans.

We have bad news and amazing news, let’s start with the bad. We discuss a lot about how what made this community work is our focus on keeping a concrete process – one that we can easily deliver on, no matter how tough our weeks get. Well, we failed on that, with the introduction of our Patreon. So, we took a step back, paused the Patreon and now 100% of our efforts are back on making this the most valuable newsletter to you.

Now the amazing news - we rebranded! As you can tell with a quick scroll down, our log format has changed. We picked apart what you all liked the best and what we thought could be fun and below is the product! Six ‘bites’ of valuable info + our 8-week consistency challenge.

We can maintain this process consistently, while still providing the most value, concisely.

Without further ado, gitty up!

In a world of content that is all spectacle (MrBeastification), award-winning editor Hayden Hillier-Smith broke down one of those videos and how he would have made it into a better story. It was phenomenal and changed how I’m crafting my everyday stories. Always keeping this question top of mind - “Why should the audience care?”

Left on my video about “breaking the cycle”

I see these comments delivered in hordes sometimes on my content - people complain just to complain. We talk about peaks and valleys often here at Out West, so I get it. But with all the knowledge in the world at your fingers, why bring others down with you? Be the change you want to see.

I’m a sucker for musical inspiration and this week I was touched by Aphex Twin - QKThr. It’s kind of trending on TikTok, mostly because it leaves room for so much interpretation. Is it melancholic? Optimistic? Bittersweet? It’s anything you want it to be. IDK, I think that’s amazing.

One of my favorite meta-creators I’ve found is Tyler Fleischman. His video essays on how to become better content creators is refreshing as he is not afraid to take a contrarian approach, yet also backs his theses up with data. This video on how short-form media is bad is fascinating.

One of my favorite characteristics about Out West is the nimbleness in which we pivot. As you can see, shifting to a new format isn’t difficult for three online-obsessed nobodies. We’re always looking to innovate how we share what we love through this newsletter, and this new format is a prime example. Kill bad ideas fast.

I’m so proud of Tejas and his recent accomplishments, but this video did not hit. He claims the day was adrenaline-filled, but the editing is slow. He works through the day backwards for some reason. But worst, it’s all expositional VO and little to no visual storytelling. Show, not tell!

Follow along with us each week as we run from the horrendous penalties if we don't reach our goals. What's worse - a salmon-flavored smoothie, or paying $100 to one of you??