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What It Really Takes to Grow as a Creator with Calgary's Dan Olson of Folding Ideas | AVOLA Extended

AVOLA

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In the first episode of AVOLA Extended, journalist Carter Blatz sits down with Dan Olson, a Canadian video essayist and filmmaker known for his in-depth documentaries on internet culture, media criticism, and online communities, best known for his ‪@FoldingIdeas‬ YouTube channel, for a conversation on internet culture and what it takes to build a career in the digital age.

Olson discusses the psychology behind Flat Earth beliefs, his path into film and video editing, and how creators can think beyond YouTube when building a long-term social media strategy.

AVOLA Extended explores longer conversations with creators, thinkers, and voices shaping the online world.

Video Producer: Gabriel Staley

Listen to the Full Episode on Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7CHj...

ABOUT AVOLA: AVOLA is a media platform focused on music, culture, and conversation, spotlighting emerging and established voices through interviews, features, and original content.

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20 Comments

@owenshirrell1150 5 months ago

did you ask how he builds fandom

@ampersand64 5 months ago

Dan Olson loves to talk. Thankfully, he's got stuff to say.

@Zr0Bites 5 months ago (edited)

That hoodie has seen some shit

@theoneandonlysoupemporium 5 months ago

Had I known when I made my channel that Dan Olsen would one day mention it on a podcast, I would have probably put more thought into the name

@KathyClysm 5 months ago

Great interview! I am so happy that the interviewer clearly took Dan seriously as an expert and asked complex, well-researched questions. This might be the first interview I've watched of Dan that got this much into the technical details of production, script writing and filmmaking

@TheHermesLP 5 months ago (edited)

I really loved the part where the interviewer is trying to say the puppet was a bad prop and was a ridiculous thing to do alone and surely that's why Dan stopped using it and Dan goes on a passionate rant about how he discovered how much Jim Henson suffered for his craft and how he kind of regretted tossing it because of an injury that made it hard to continue doing it... The puppet is still the channels logo. Of course he liked it at least a fair bit.

@Artemunicato 5 months ago (edited)

Dan Olsen taught me to go on a press tour when you upload a youtube video. Also 9K to 100K is an insane jump

@PramTheOracle-n2m 5 months ago

LMAO the moment where Dan is really, REALLY trying not to name names but you can tell it’s about a really specific YouTuber

@albal9462 5 months ago

About Dan’s advice to recreate other people’s videos: it’s like painting a copy of a master work of art for a painting class. You learn so much from analyzing great artwork and trying to reverse engineer it. I’ve had to paint so many landscapes, still lifes, and copies of master artwork and photographs for assignments, and it’s made me a much better artist (even if I hated it half the time). It’s good practice, but I’m also honing my artistic eye and my brain and in the process finding my own style. My style comes through even if I’m trying to recreate someone else’s work. Very good advice, thanks Dan!

@Narokkurai 5 months ago (edited)

00:15 "Back in the 90s..." he says as his brain auto-fills the ending theme to Bojack Horseman.

@1998_MIN 5 months ago

Wow, I didn't realize how niche Dan's channel was prior to the Suicide Squad video. Most people, including myself, weren't around for the paper puppet days. Those are really good!

@1998_MIN 5 months ago

Very heart-warming hearing Dan's story about learning calculus after saying he was bad at math for years. Finding the ideal method of learning is absolutely key to grasping a subject that confuses you

@sirpikapika1129 5 months ago

One of my favorite of Dan's introduction sequences is on the Mantracks video. It's a compelling story with a good animation and writing, but there's also a small amount of anxiety. You get invested in this person's story, but you also know what the video is about, so you're hoping it doesn't end with "he couldn't find any fossils, so he faked them".

Even after the mantracks reveal, it grabs interest again by mentioning sauropod footprints and their significance, then uses simple but fitting music and good writing in the voice-over to make you feel the same accomplishment as the person you're following.

(I'm not being vague on purpose, I'm just bad with names :P)

@belsamethtaken4107 5 months ago

I totally understand the deeper meaning but I totally would buy a ticket to see the next Folding Ideas in theatre.

@chibiktsn3 5 months ago (edited)

As someone who has been watching Dan since the Channel Awesome puppet days, watching this interview felt rewarding. Seeing someone who is great at their craft, how they've grown, and seeing others regognize it always feels special.

@1998_MIN 5 months ago

48:06 I can tell Dan is really trying to talk about the stuff he talks about in the Mr Beast video without mentioning Mr Beast by name

@the_newt_nest 5 months ago

I totally found out about Dan through Lindsay Ellis' interview with him about film school. So he was my favorite YouTuber's favorite Youtuber!

@westhefitting4105 5 months ago

Nothing makes me feel old like discovering the Suicide Squad video is most people’s first exposure to Dan

@peterf9006 5 months ago

Dan is a treasure. Never thought I’d feel so strongly connected to a “YouTuber/Documentarian” I’ve never met.

It’s insane how intellectualism fell so far off of the mainstream that him just being smart and a great writer is such a breath of fresh air.