Photo by Alexa Hann
This FAQ is geared primarily towards people who haven’t spent much (or any) time on YouTube, but there’s lots of good info here for video-hardened vets as well. And we recommend that EVERYONE interested in helping us get a Season 2 read the section on Things You Can Do to Help Us Get a Season 2.
If you have other questions about “LearningTown”, feel free to contact us.
What exactly is “LearningTown”?
What is the Geek and Sundry Channel?
Things You Can Do to Help Us Get a Season 2
How to get a YouTube account if you already have a Gmail account
How to get a YouTube account if you don’t have a Gmail account
I love the songs! Where can I buy them? And will there be a soundtrack recording?
What exactly is “LearningTown”?
“LearningTown” is our (Paul and Storm’s) music-comedy web series that you can watch for free on YouTube’s Geek and Sundry Channel (more on that further below). There will be ten episodes in Season 1, each between 7-9 minutes each in length. There may also be some shorter bonus videos. New episodes will be released every Tuesday starting on January 15, 2013.
To watch the first episode now, no other questions asked, just click here [link]. If you’re discovering LearningTown after the first week, we’ll be putting up a link for you to watch them all in order.
Got it. But what’s LearningTown about? [Spoiler alert!]
“LearningTown” follows a fictional Paul and Storm as they try to keep an old-style kid’s show (in the spirit of Captain Kangaroo, Mister Rogers, etc.) going after its original host dies. They hire a producer (“Cookie Tuesdays”) away from a rival show to help them; and they also enlist the help of a superfan (“Teddy”) to handle the puppets. But the challenge is steep, not only because they have no idea what they’re doing, but because they have radically different ideas about how to run the show, and there are lots of other characters who help and/or hinder their cause along the way. Oh…and puppets sometimes catch fire.
So it’s not actually a kid’s show?
Nope, it’s definitely for adults, and not intended to be watched by kids.
Right. But is it safe to watch at work?
Depends on your boss? By and large there’s not much in “LearningTown” (if anything at all) that couldn’t be aired on, say, network TV at night. The few curse words in Season 1 are bleeped, and there’s very little “blue” humor (with one or two notable exceptions).
Okay, sounds fun. How do I watch it?
As mentioned above, the simplest way to watch Episode 1 is to click this link [link]. If you’re discovering “LearningTown” after the first week, we’ll be putting up a link so that you can watch them all in order. You could also go to LearningTown on the Geek and Sundry website, and you’ll see the newest episode at the top of the page. You’ll also see links to the previous episodes, and any bonus videos, just underneath.
What exactly is the Geek and Sundry Channel?
Geek and Sundry is to YouTube what HBO or Discovery are to cable TV: a branded “premium” channel that creates, packages, and promotes content under its own banner. Geek and Sundry has its own Channel Page on YouTube where you can find all of their programs and videos, including LearningTown. They also have a website with links to those same programs and videos.
Most importantly, Geek and Sundry worked with us to produce “LearningTown”, from the initial story generation to hiring the director, cast, and crew, to marketing it to the world. “LearningTown” might have existed without Geek and Sundry; but it probably would just have been us in a garage with sock puppets, filmed on a smartphone camera, and not the top-quality Hollywood production that the actual “LearningTown” is. So please also check out Geek and Sundry’s other shows!
What’s all that other stuff surrounding the video? (i.e. Things You Can Do to Help Us Get a Season 2)
We’re glad you asked! Just like with TV shows, the most important gauge of how a show is doing is the total number of people who watch it (and how many times). But if you enjoy LearningTown and want there to be a Season 2, there are a few other things you can do that would help A LOT:
- Watch each video all the way through to the end of the credits!…because YouTube tracks the total number of minutes watched. Watching ads that appear before the video starts all the way through helps, too (though they always give you the option to skip it).
- Subscribe to the Geek and Sundry Channel! It’s totally free, so if you already have a YouTube account, when you’re on the Episode 1 video page just click where it says “Subscribe” (info on signing up for a YouTube account—totally free—is further below. But if you already have a Gmail account, it’s SUPER easy.) fyi when you Subscribe, YouTube will keep you informed when your Channels upload new videos (and you’re given control of how they inform you); and we’ll win all kinds of brownie points from our Geek and Sundry overlords.
- “Like” each video! That’s the little “thumbs up” symbol. You’ll need to be signed in to a YouTube account, but then all you have to do is click on the symbol. It may seem like a small thing, but it makes a BIG impact.
- Share the videos! If you hit the “share” button, you’ll be given every option under the sun to bring it to everyone you know, with just one or two clicks: email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Or just do it the old-fashioned way and make it the only thing you to talk to people about for a month.
I do in fact have a Gmail account. How do I get a YouTube account?
Click on the “Sign In” button in the upper-right-hand corner. Enter your Gmail name and password and hit “Sign In”. Done!
I don’t have a Gmail account. How do I get a YouTube account?
Click on the “Sign In” button in the upper-right-hand corner. Then click the red “Create an Account” button. This will take you to a page where you’ll enter information to create a Google account (YouTube is owned by Google.) It’ll take a minute or two, but it’s completely free and you only need to do it once (just be sure to write down your new account name and password.)
If you have a Gmail account but can’t remember it, you can either click the “Can’t Access Your Account?” link on the sign-in page, or just create a new one.
Can I buy the music, and will there be a soundtrack recording?
Most definitely. On the day each show goes online, the songs will be available for purchase from iTunes and Amazon and from our website (as well as numerous other online sources). Once the entire season is out, we’ll compile them all into a single downloadable CD that we will probably get physically manufactured as well.
If there’s enough demand for it, we would LOVE to put Season 1 on DVD. Mostly because we shot so much awesome, funny footage that we just couldn’t include in the episodes for time reasons.
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