Photo by Will Lattman Studios
How did you start JFergal Productions?I tended to go on mini rants and when I didn’t have my channel, people would laugh. I’ve been doing stand up for about 4 years now, wow I’m old. I wanted to combine the two. I really thought there were some issues that needed to be talked about, but I wanted to do it in a way that wasn’t boring and some way that people can actually get engaged with it.
What is your favorite thing to talk about?I love talking about social issues and also music too. I get really really passionate about it. I also like to talk about police brutality because it is an issue that should be on everyone’s mind and I think it something that we can all really change. I started my show because I wanted people to know my authentic view current events in my videos. And that can be scary because you’re leaving yourself vulnerable but I think the best part about it is the conversation afterwards. If you have an opinion bout anything I think about, I always say to my viewers to leave a comment in the comment section because I genuinely want to hear people’s feedback.
Are there any YouTube idols that inspire you?I met two of them. The first is Phillip DeFranco. I’ve been watching him since I was 14-years-old and he is just the man to me. I also met Elliott Morgan. He one of my favorite YouTubers and comedians; he is very witty. NigaHiga is also all over the place with his content too, I love it!
Is YouTube what you want to do after you graduate?This summer I had an internship with Posse Media in Charlotte. I wrote, directed and produced content for them. I love it. It’s really weird when people ask me what I want to do, because I’ve just always wanted my words to mean something. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a lawyer because I was like, “you treated me unfairly!” I’ve always wanted people to listen to my words and I think that this is a really cool progression. It’s a lot of work, but it’s definitely satisfying.
What do you use to edit your videos?Final Cut Pro is bae! There is a very steep learning curve to it. I have a stutter so I chop it up when I do stutter and put a picture and video in there but it’s nothing extravagant because I’m still learning.
Do you want to do more stand up?Actually yes! I have a stand up show coming out soon. It’ll be me, Minnesota License Plate and Phi Beta Sigma. We’ll be doing the show on October 10th in Tillman! I’ll be doing 20 minutes of stand up, Minnesota License Plate will be performing and doing their awesome band stuff, and Phi Beta Sigma will be making an appearance too.
So for stand up and YouTube, do you write your script before hand?It’s a weird process — I can’t do a teleprompter. I learned that this summer because I overthink it. I actually have so many jokes that are programmed into my phone that is all for stand up. If I hear something or say something that’ll trigger for content, I’ll add it to the list. For the videos, since I normally have a hot topic, I’ll research that topic and ill just sit in the room and pace back and forth. That’s how I get my thoughts together and then it’ll start to come to then ill turn and me on the camera and start talking. It’s a borderline stream of consciousness thing because sometimes I didn’t think I would say the things that I say.
What is your dream job?I would love to make content on the Internet and travel. I could set up a show in Dublin, for example, pack it and perform for people. That’s would I would love to do for the rest of my life because it’s my passion.
What’s your favorite spot on campus?The Amphitheater is amazing. I love going there all of the time! I like going on walks just to clear my mind and somehow I always end up there. It’s good for me to go work out or go walking because I need to gather my thoughts for content. It’s important for me to live life. It almost feels like I’m slacking when I’m not doing anything, but I have to take some time to decompress and it’s healthy. I’ve been doing a lot of stand up in Charlotte and I’ve written some of my best sets when I’ve stopped because I’ve learned that you can’t over think things and have to let it come to you naturally. I’m my best when I turn off my brain.
What is the one piece of advice you can give to people who are trying to pursue what they love?There is a book called Outliers. It says that you need to do something for 10,000 hours to move into a special class of people who’s really good at that one thing. What I tell people is just do it – follow your dreams. When I first started with videos, I was so bad, but you just have to do it. It’s going to be bad at first. As long as you genuinely have a passion for what you love, the 10,000 hours are going to fly by.
Thank you for the awesome interview, Joseph! HCXO