We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristina Martin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristina below.
Hi Kristina, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I watched other YouTubers and decided I could do the same thing but maybe add more to my videos. I don’t think I could have done anything different to speed up making the videos though I do wish I learned more about Adobe Premiere Pro back then (I’m starting to learn more about that software now :)
I used to be in drama a lot in high school and college and think being a performer has helped me be comfortable talking to the camera.
So when I first started my YouTube channel on toy reviews, I decided to film every detail including the unboxing process. I had always wondered how long unboxings took for other people and thought I’d show how long it took for me. However, I received several comments that my videos were too long and showing the unboxing was unnecessary. I was stubborn at first which was my own obstacle but then I realized that while I appreciated watching people showing the unboxing process in their videos, most people did not care about it. I changed my format and no longer showed the unboxings, Instead, if an unboxing process took a long time, I’ll time myself and comment it in the video.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I got very sick in 2020 and could not do anything but either lay in bed or lay on the couch. While not being able to do much, I started watching a lot of YouTube videos on toy/doll reviews. They were all done by adults and it made me really happy to realize that there are other adults who collect and play with toys/dolls like me.
A year later, I was getting better but not well enough to look for a job. I kept thinking about starting a YouTube channel and I especially wanted to start a YouTube channel to highlight other dolls because at the time, most of the YouTube doll channels were just reviewing Rainbow High dolls.
I made an Instagram account (I had never had one before!) and then made a YouTube channel. And then I started creating a script and looking at what toys and dolls I wanted to review. I’m very proud of myself for seeing my channel through and still making videos three years later!
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
When I was very sick and watching toy review YouTube videos, I forgot about my illness and had moments of joy. What drives me in making my videos is giving that same feeling to my audience. I’ve received comments that my audience thinks I’m funny or fun or nice and those comments keep me going. The world is so scary and if I can provide some relief to that, then it’s worth it!
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I think I wish I would have learned more of the basics of Adobe Premiere Pro and then how to make thumbnails in Photoshop years ago. I am now making up for it and am learning more about Adobe Premiere Pro and am going to start learning Photoshop soon. But I think if I had learned those two software programs earlier, it would have helped my channel more
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1kristinaland/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@kristinaland?si=pnkTRxOQ68kIfesd
