Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris Anderson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Chris thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I didn’t begin my career as a producer or television show host; I started out as a high school science teacher. At first glance, you might not think that would offer any preparation for creating video content, but there are actually a lot of transferable skills. You need to be organized, you need to understand the logistics of materials and equipment, you need to be able to communicate effectively to your audience. It’s a little like putting on an Saturday Night Live sketch – you go in with a plan and a set but there’s always room for some improve. But instead of a 5-6 minutes on national television, you have 50 minutes with 25 teenagers, many of which don’t want to be there. Oh and you don’t do it once, you do five time a day, every day of the week. So I might not have had all the technical knowledge, but I already had a lot of experience doing similar experience.
As far as how I would have changed things, I would have just experimented more and earlier with video. I think sometimes it can feel that content creation has to be a large production in order to be good, but that’s not necessarily the case. And if you’re an early adopter to things, you get a huge advantage. The other skill I’d work at earlier is writing. Over the years, I’ve gotten much, much better at writing, but I almost wish I would have done more with sketches or narrative to stretch myself. Luckily, I had a great mentor with all aspects of production in John Gibson. John is a lecturer at NKU’s electronic media and broadcasting program and he has been so generous with his time over the years teaching me the finer aspects of shooting and editing videos. I’ve learned so much from him and he’s lowered a lot of barriers for me to create great content.
Chris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am proud to be the host and executive producer of OutSCIder Classroom, a web and public television based video series that teaches middle school science and social studies concepts through the National Parks. We also create free, standards-aligned videos and instructional materials that help teachers bring these concepts into their classrooms. All our videos and instructional materials are aligned to state and national standards. Additionally, by making all our resources, videos, and lesson plans free to access, we ensure that every student as the opportunity to learn through their public lands.
I am originally from Elyria, Ohio, growing up just a short drive from Cleveland. As I said, I started out teaching science at Princeton High School, where I found my passion for inspiring curiosity in young people. Currently, I am an instructional coach for Hamilton County Education Service Center, working with K-12 science teachers across schools in Southwest Ohio.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
It’s joyful. Pure and simple. Creating videos that teach kids is a joyful endeavor. And that’s not to say it isn’t hard work, it absolutely is. But it’s also a lot of fun to hike through the desert to find a cool feature that explains a geologic concepts really well. It’s fun to write jokes that both middle schoolers and their teachers will laugh at and keep them engaged in the learning. It’s fun to sit with your team and cut and tinker with a video until you’ve got an edit right where you want it.
Everyone has their medium for creativity. For some people it’s music for others it’s painting. For me, it’s making fun science videos. I’ve said in the past, if this project isn’t a joy when it’s not a household name, then it won’t be a joy if it ever gets there.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I am a big student of history; probably the dorkiest thing I do is read big, dense books on historical figures. It’s very dad-coded. And one of my favorite books is Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin on Abraham Lincoln and his leadership through the Civil War. It’s an incredible book that took my months to read but I remember feeling legitimately sad when I finished it. There’s a lot of to love about it but how Lincoln lead his cabinet and military leaders through that crisis was nothing short of amazing. He knew out to communicate goals, share credit, leverage the strength of others, even knowing when to finally cut people loose was nothing short of amazing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.outscider.org
- Instagram: @outscider
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutSCIderClassroom/
Image Credits
Dunes images – Credit: Abby Murphy