Creator Spotlight: David the Hooman

Four months can seem both a very long yet very short time simultaneously. 

Four months ago, I was trawling through YouTube (as I do) when a video popped up in my recs. “Musician REACTS to This Life Is Mine (feat. Casey Lee Williams)”. With that song being my complete favorite from RWBY, it was an absolute must watch for me. Plus, hearing the thoughts behind some of the composition was enticing. I’m not a sophisticated musician by any means. (I can’t even read music or name the key signatures.) But I enjoy hearing about the technical aspects of music. 

The short video was only ten minutes long so I was just like, “Why not?” 

I was greeted with an extremely warm, extremely enthusiastic person. Of course, he paused during the video to give some insight into the lyrics and what’s going on in the music. However, once it hit the rock section, he just gave up and gave into the music, jamming along with it. There was just so much genuine and authentic joy that it was hard to ignore. 

Admittedly, I kind of forgot about him until about a month later when his Red Like Roses Part 2 review came up.

From there, I subscribed and became a regular viewer of his channel. 

His channel originally started off as reactions to more normal music which didn’t catch the biggest audience. But after shifting to fandom music, he’s found his footing. His community has absolutely exploded in the past several months from that very shift.

And, honestly, it’s a great community. The comment sections seem to be relatively chill which matches his personality. 

But his Patreon on community is where things shine the most. While there are a lot of people in the server, it’s kind of the typical Patreon server. It’s kind of a small group of the same people that talk. We’re all generally pretty supportive of each other. There’s generally no negativity. There’s a venting channel, of course, but that’s pretty standard. We can definitely offer critique to writing and artwork. But it’s never in a way that talks down or demeans anybody. It focuses on striving for improvement. As for right now, it’s a good bunch of people with no bad eggs in the bunch.

I think that can be attributed to David himself. He himself is someone that’s truly positive, upbeat, and authentic. The way he reacts to RWBY episodes really highlights that. He watches and gives thoughtful insight into what’s happening in that moment. Of course, there are criticisms; it’s not just all praised. For example, he started off not liking Roman since he thought he was a bit of a douchebag. He did come around, though, after hearing what other fans thought and seeing more himself. 

His insights are so genuine and relatable. During the V2 arc where Blake’s running herself ragged, he relates to that. He says he tends to be the type that just keeps going and going and going. As a bit of a perfectionist myself…I completely get that.

One thing I really enjoy about his RWBY reactions are the fact he offers points to talk about at the end of every episode. Again, one was on the point of “do you rest or do you keep going?” And he always reads a comment that talks about it. The engagement is just so legitimate.

Of course, one of the cool things that happens on Patreon is weekly watch/jam sessions. The community comes together to watch anime and/or just chill and listen to music while talking. Being able to interact with David like that really just reinforces that what you see in the videos is what you get. 

Of course, like any creator, some distance from fans is necessary. Giving out all the personal info isn’t the best idea. But you can just tell that he’s a legitimately sweet, nice guy that loves what he’s doing. 

Watching him grow as a creator bit by bit over the past several months has been pretty cool. Things still remain largely the same. He’s pretty humble and down to earth. Things remain rather simple. But he’s managed to hire an editor that helps polish video quality up a fair bit. 

One thing I do have to appreciate for his personal style isn’t the use of a lot of jump cuts. I get that they have their place. I do not disparage creators that use them a lot. If you’re a commentary-type creator or someone who talks to the camera, oftentimes they’re really necessary. Bailey Sarian is an example of a channel that uses them a ton that I really enjoy. There’s just also something to be said for creators that don’t use them a whole lot. In this case, it just enhances the feeling of genuineness he brings to everything he does. 

So yeah, if you’re a fan of animation, music, and especially RWBY, give his channel a look! We’re currently about halfway through Volume 2 in terms of reactions. His upload schedule can be a bit inconsistent since he’s still figuring things out. Despite that, it’s still frequent enough that you won’t be wondering where the next video is.

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWH6O3GL1sLj-cIjukOmppQ 

Twitter: https://bit.ly/34Oc6l2 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFnAhnMFDki/ 

Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/davidthehooman

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