It’s the middle of September 2024. I have a brand-new wheelchair, built by a company founded by YouTube stars. On Oct. 1, they will be launching this new chair to the public. Seems like a good idea to do a video review, right? The only problem: I have no idea how to make videos.

I mean, I’ve filmed a couple of clips before, and recorded a voiceover talking about how I transfer to a bed. But a complex video? The kind we’d need to fully explain what this chair is, where it came from and whether it’s any good — no clue. I have two weeks to figure it out.

Crunch Time

I spend most of the first week diving into YouTube. My first lesson: YouTube is a fantastic place to learn new skills. I was looking for information about lighting, editing, camera selection, operating as a one-person film crew and talking to the camera. I found it all, along with innumerable other insights. Second lesson: People build professional-looking YouTube channels all the time serving as a one-person film crew. I’ve no doubt that as a quad, it’ll take me longer to do everything, but if we want to make videos, it’s got to start somewhere.

Week 2, I start writing a script and thinking of shots that can illustrate what I want to say. I shoot B-roll, curse the sun and my brush-chipping neighbor, fumble over my words while talking to the camera, tape my script to the tripod in a windstorm, wear the same outfit three days in a row because I can’t get everything done in one day. I rely on tripods for almost all my shots. Half the time I hit the record button with my fat thumb and it tilts the camera angle, so I have to reset and start over. It is exasperating. It’s also the most fun I’ve had producing a story in a long time.

By the time I finish filming, there are three days until the story publishes, and I still must edit the entire video. Coffee is my lifeblood. I fry one GoPro battery, max out the hard drive on my MacBook and get deeply acquainted with the limitations of iMovie.

I send the first draft of the video to our team on Sunday night. It has to be published by Tuesday morning. Jean uses her design skills for title cards and thumbnails, Ian catches places where I cut too much context, and Teal helps with captions and posting. On deadline, we publish the video.

Deep breath.

Twenty-eight days after publishing, the video review has 63,000 views. It’s by far our most successful video to date. Its success shows what a need there is for in-depth disability videos.

Looking back, I don’t know exactly why I was confident our team could make a quality video in two weeks. Partly sheer optimism. A bigger part confidence in our team. It’s the same when Ian spends years corresponding with wheelchair-using prison inmates so readers might have an idea about life behind bars. Or Teal reworks a print feature on ways to prevent shoulder damage, so our Instagram-only followers get the same benefits. If there’s an idea for a good story, our team will figure out how to get it polished and over the finish line.

What’s Next?

As we transition to a primarily digital media outlet, none of us know what the future looks like. Technology and media habits evolve too fast for that. We have immediate plans: We’re leaning into video while also planning other formats like topic-based newsletters and occasional, resource-heavy print issues aimed at newer wheelchair users. Who knows, you may even see a podcast down the road.

Like everyone in the disability community, we’ll keep learning and adapting to an ever-changing world. Whatever the delivery mechanism, the mission stays the same: to provide high-quality, authentic stories from and for our community.

We hope you’ll continue the journey with us. To stay up to date with our latest content, go to youtube.com/@NewMobilityMedia and subscribe to our YouTube channel, and visit newmobility.com/newsletter to subscribe to our newsletters.