From: officialflagrant
The “Squid Game” video marked a significant milestone for the channel, representing a substantial investment and a groundbreaking use of new production techniques for the team [00:00:30].
Conception and Investment
The idea for the Squid Game video was inspired by an individual from Dubai, who hired a private investigator and flew to North Carolina just to deliver a list of video ideas. While the ideas were initially dismissed as not good, including opening a free gas station, the Squid Game concept, which was written out by him, was ultimately used [02:22:14].
The project involved a “mega Giga crazy Trend” [02:23:34] and a significant financial commitment. Prior to “Squid Game,” the most spent on a video was around 4.2 million [00:00:35], [02:23:43]. It was an “all hands on deck” effort, with the team scrapping all other videos and dedicating 30 minutes of “heart and soul” to its production [02:23:51].
Production Challenges
The video was produced in a challenging 45-day timeframe [02:25:52], with 150 people working on it [02:25:54]. Being in North Carolina, the team faced a lack of traditional studio space, necessitating the use of unconventional locations such as a rodeo station (where cows are wrangled) for the “Red Light, Green Light” set [02:27:27]. They also sought out churches for sets due to the scarcity of warehouses [02:27:51].
The project was the first time the channel extensively used CGI [02:23:37]. For the “Red Light, Green Light” game, the sky and everything above the “blue” line was entirely CGI [00:00:39], [02:29:41]. This required installing a grid system with angled lights to mimic sunlight within the studio [02:29:48]. The team also used black screens and blue screens for various effects [02:32:56].
Technological hurdles included managing 456 individual devices for “killing” contestants (using squibs that created smoke) [02:26:06]. On the first filming day, the Wi-Fi system in the stadium crashed due to too many devices [02:26:15]. This incident added 1,000 to return the next day after the system was upgraded to handle the load [02:26:24]. A custom app was developed to remotely “kill” players by triggering their squibs [02:28:13]. The squibs were initially red but changed to another color to avoid looking like blood [02:28:47].
The “Glass Bridge” scene involved a real foam pit for the fall, but the depth below the pit was a dramatic CGI enhancement [02:36:12]. For the final game, “Musical Chairs” was chosen for its simplicity and universal understanding, avoiding the need for complex explanations [02:39:41].
Impact and Reception
The Squid Game video was a massive success, breaking world records for views on a single YouTube video [02:24:46]. The channel gained 10 million subscribers in the English channel alone the month it was released, and across all platforms, it amassed 25 million new subscribers [02:24:26].
To build hype, the team promoted the video on TikTok by showing parts of the sets, garnering 30 million views on those preview clips [02:25:00]. Millions of people were refreshing the channel, waiting for it to go live [02:25:29].
Despite the intense production and challenges, the video’s success reinforced the understanding that universal human emotions translate across cultures, as the “Squid Game” video, like other top-performing videos, resonated similarly in dubbed versions across various languages [02:43:55]. The actual Korean show Squid Game cost approximately $9 million [02:27:01].
Storytelling and Memes
The channel understands the importance of memes in driving online culture and views [02:7:29]. They avoid forcing memeable moments, recognizing that organic virality is key, as demonstrated by the success of “Baby Yoda” from The Mandalorian [02:7:35]. They also note that a movie like Morbius saw re-release success due to its viral meme status [02:28:19]. The channel’s content strategy emphasizes understanding human psychology rather than just optimizing for algorithms [02:49:13].