Not Amusing: Interview with Ameen Roayan

Ameen Roayan, Creator/Presenter of the Web-series Not Amusing, Episode 2.

Ameen Roayan, co-founder and CEO of Visual Effects company FramedKeys and past-time YouTuber, has been so kind as to share with us an insight into his experiences with online content creation and distribution. 

In Aug 2011, one year after the launch of hit YouTube programmes such Uturn's 3al6ayer and Eysh Elly and Telfaz 11's La Yekthar, Ameen Roayan was one of the many young men and women that decided to take part in the New Media Wave sweeping the country and make his voice heard. 

He created and presented the niche web-series Not Amusing. Although the series was short-lived and ran for only 4 episodes, it reached 6,681 subscribers and 209,419 views. The series tackled issues regarding the realities and often negative impacts saturated media environments and television can have on people. Arguably, what made the programme stand out was its serious, dark and rather thought-provoking tone. Especially when compared with numerous comedy and satire genres being produced at the time.

Pilot episode of Not Amusing (NB subtitles available in video settings).

The Interview

1)  It's no secret that most of the content broadcast on Saudi television is foreign content. Did you ever feel satisfied with that?

The Saudi broadcast has been trying to catch up to a share of the viewership in the tug of war between the internet based media and broadcast. However, in my personal case I was not keen on following the broadcast programs and always felt that they require too much commitment, therefore the quality or satisfaction level was not a matter of concern.

2) In general, what sort of films/programmes appeal to you?

The broad collection of themes and concepts present in this age of interest enables the person to explore far beyond his personal appeals; I for one never thought I would watch videos about cooking or follow something that cooking-centric such as Buzzfeed foods for example, however the content delivery and length of time of each segment enable me to enjoy it, with my usual things from channels like Vsauce, SmarterEveryDay, or even TED talks of relevance.

3) Before you launched your YouTube channel, were you a frequent YouTube viewer?

I believe so, since I was not a television person.

4)  It was the viral success of early Uturn shows like 3al6ayer and Eysh Elly that largely ignited a New Media Wave / Audiovisual online content boom in the country. Would you agree with this statement? 

I would disagree, and cite the accessibility of technology as the main champion of the movement, and all the listed shows are only a byproduct of the enabled getting access to enabling technologies.

5) Given that your first Not Amusing video was published in 2011, a year after 3al6ayer was first published,  would you say you were inspired by the show and the success it had? What kind of impact did it and other YouTube shows that started to appear have on you and the kind of programme you wanted to make?

I had a general disdain for the situation due to how much comedy was used to portray a very dark image, I felt the comedy overshadowed the reality and became a way to numb people instead of enabling them to take action. Now I am not saying that Not Amusing was going to do that, I was merely trying to bring key sources of information in hope that people will follow the breadcrumbs left in the show to gain new knowledge.

6) In terms of what I can discern from Not Amusing, you seem to have had a solid idea for the programme as well as the skills and talent to back it up. What made you choose YouTube as your main platform, rather than pitching it to a media/television company?

The whole show takes a stance against the current standards of broadcast, the show is done on a 0 budget and was shot mostly in bed rooms and living rooms. YouTube is perfect because the content I place there does not get through any censorship other than my own, and even if it went through a censor, odds are if the content was good enough, it will survive forever.

7) What programmes would you say acted as inspiration for Not Amusing? How did you adapt that into an online video format?

Not Amusing is a mash of several shows, or actually segments of some other shows  (literally), but I would say a show like How TV Ruined Your Life is one good example of inspiration. Also the content is mainly derived from the writings and works of Neil Postman and Marshal McLuhan, also the first episode borrows heavily from the Story of Stuff.

8) Briefly, how did the production of the series go? What kind of equipment/sets did you use to film and edit your videos? Were you able to produce and publish the series on your own?

Yeah, the team was three guys, one 5D and a computer for editing no more no less. We used what we had and we got together when an episode was written as a mind map on a big piece of paper and discussed what to keep and what to remove.

9) How important was Social Media e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. in terms of the circulation of the programme?

The first day we posted the first episode the people who shared it were Malik Nejer and Fahad Albutairi, then Yasser Bakr*, then almost every other big name in the twitter sphere. So, yes, it went viral due to the contributions of the twitter key tweeters.

10) The subject matter of Not Amusing is rather thought provoking and dark, how did audiences react to it when it was first published or did it seem to appeal to a more niche online audience?

Judging by the viewership, it did become some sort of cult show, and the niche audience is rather small compared to audience who attend Eysh Elly for example.

11) Looking through the number of views and subscribers and even briefing through the comments sections of your videos, you seemed to have good audience reception and success. Why did you stop?

A change of heart would be the mild way to put it. I believe that if the message of this show was to be truly effective, the show would actually kill it. Hence I am working on turning it into a book, from there, things can progress.

12) Do you think that online video content is a durable medium in the long-term?

Not at all, right now I focus on the transformative power of books as a catalyst for change way more than video content, despite the developments in video. A book is still able to confer serious trajectory adjustments in ones thought process and way of thinking.

13) Finally, 4 years after the final episode of Not Amusing was published, do you believe that Saudi YouTube has changed in any way? Why do you think that is?

The “shows” boom is over, that is a fact and its probably due to saturation and a drop in content quality. The new buzzword is films, and it seems like its going to be the next door that attracts people and shakes up the old system.

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Many super extra thanks to Ameen Roayan for his contribution. 

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* Malik Nejer Founder of Myrkott Animation Studios, and creator of the Masameer Animation YouTube Channel - Number of Twitter followers - 678K.

* Fahad Al-Butairi, Stand Up Comedian and presenter/writer of Telfaz 11's hit comedy YouTube Channel, La Yekthar - Number of Twitter followers - 2.19m.

*Yaser Bakr, Blogger and Stand Up Comedian - Number of Twitter followers - 307K.