Interview with Sean Astrakhan for Power Platform Weekly

In a Power Platform Weekly Special Edition, we highlight stories and tips on content sharing. This post contains an extended version. The title could have been Making Magic with Videos, Turning Makers into Architects, The YouTuber who ALMOST became a TV celebrity or just Selfish Pricks, but I’ll just call it Interview with Sean Astrakhan for Power Platform Weekly.

Summary

Did he just call me a selfish prick?! Yes, he did, but he is totally forgiven. It was tongue in cheek to make a bigger point. As I was talking to Sean about sharing and video making, he had an interesting approach trying to make me do videos! Jokes aside, he had lots of great tips on making catchy video intros, as well as video making in general. Summary of tips:

• Spend time finding a topic that is not common
• Make it as short as possible (max 10 minutes)
• Complex topics are ok to have longer
• Use the recording tool’s pause button
• Don’t ramble, don’t think out loud
• Assume people already know some things
• Make your thumbnail really interesting

Meet Sean Astrakhan

Sean is a Solution Architect based in Baltimore. He runs a company that has an Architects Accelerator program, turning Makers into Solutions Architects. He is a newly rewarded Microsoft MVP. Last, but certainly not least, he does MAGIC with his videos, those editing skills needs to be broken down into how-to tutorials! HOW does he do it?

Sean has an interesting background. He holds a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in psychology and Spanish. He worked as a teacher in the past, and psychology still fascinates him. He says he is fairly active and likes to move—sports, hockey in particular, and dance. He loves to be creative!

I like to call myself an extroverted listener, I care about people, and I’m more interested in what people think than in the technology itself.

He thinks he is a pretty good engineer, but a better teacher, and feels most fulfilled in his life when teaching and explaining complex topics. His goals are:

• Making it easy to understand
• Make it entertaining
• Audience doesn’t just get it, but walks away still remembering it

He loves the creative process of making videos, talks about it as art.

I’ve never been good at painting, but I see video making as an art. Yes, they are technical, but I get to be creative, which I love!

Fun facts

Besides the two facts that Sean is a former Spanish teacher and a summer camp salsa instructor (!), he told me something I did not know. He’s not only a YouTuber—almost a TV series celebrity too, almost!

The popular series Squid Games had a reality show in the UK, they took what happened in the fictional show and made a really show of it. They brought in people who competed and there is an upcoming follow up season. Sean applied to be on it and got a call back where they interviewed him.

I did not get accepted but I almost did! I got enough of their attention to ALMOST be on Squid Games – The Reality Show!

When asked if he would have done it, the answer is – “Without a doubt!”

Another hidden secret of Sean is that one of the most impactful experiences of his life, was that he used to volunteer with an organization that taught young adults life skills through hip hop dance. Although Sean says he was the worst dancer of the volunteers, he said it was more about mentorship than just being good at dance. 

About inspiration

For his most recent video Sean heard a song by the band Kiss in a movie, and he knew he wanted to use the song in a tutorial. He started to think what tutorial could go with that beat, remembered the idea from the past, content types, and the rest is history. Unexpected inspiration source for completing the video! 

Sean mentions the famous music producer Rick Rubin, who once said something similar to—the more rounded you are, the more at piece and the more you meditate, the closer you get to the center of where inspiration comes from.

I don’t know how true that is, but I know that good ideas come from unexpected places, like in the shower or out on a walk.

Finding a topic

We talk about strategies for finding topics. Visit forums, see what people write about, then do a video on it. That is a very mathematical approach, a great one, Sean says. He adds that you’ll get at least two views form the people whose questions you are answering. Sean’s topics usually come from elsewhere.

I pick a topic that I get asked about a lot or a topic that I see misused a lot. Most of my videos come from my own experience. If people are messing it up, it seems like I want to go and educate them.

Make content on stuff no one else is, don’t make videos on the same topics that are already out there, he mentions in addition.

Is it a good topic?

We talk about the complexity of the topic. The more complex, less change there is a video about it already. If you do more complex topics, higher likelihood people will watch it, but harder and longer to make.

Think about what kind of views you are after—quality or quantity. Even if a topic is on a forum, even if complex, even if a video of the topic does not exist yet, even if asked for—is it something a lot of people will want to know about?

It goes back to – do you want quality views or quantity, most people, including me, wants quantity. I try to make videos that will be impactful for others.

Keeping videos short

You have ideas of topics, it’s time to start recording. What should you think of? Sean mentions the importance of not rambling. Keep sentences short, don’t think out loud. He adds that most people say something in 15 minutes that they could have said in six minutes.

Have 100% focus on making your videos as short as possible. A lot of times, a video gets picked because it’s the shortest one.

The only time length is an advantage for you is if it’s a complex topic or if you in a title indicate it’s a massive amount of content, he adds. Also assume people know some things already, e.g. don’t explain how to properly format JSON when you are doing a tutorial about AI builder, just because JSON is a part of the process you are explaining.

The video making process

It is hard to find your own personal twist for your channel and videos. Sean knew he wanted to stand out, how was the learning process? He mentions it’s like with tech – you learn when you need to know something.

I started throwing in different icons on the screen, throwing in words and screenshots. That eventually progressed to doing more advanced stuff, with green screen and animations.

He also mentions that it just came, kind of step by step. As he needed to do something, he would go and search and watch a tutorial. He says that now he can do a fair amount of whatever he would want to do.

When Sean gets the question, “What’s more fun—Recording or Editing?”, the obvious answer is to use the paint!

Editing, absolutely! It’s so much more fun. When you record it’s like you become the paint. When you are editing, it’s like you get to actually use the paint and use the things you did.

Did you notice the Easter egg in his latest video? We hope to see more of those in his upcoming video editing.

About tools

Sean uses Premiere Pro, which is overkill for almost everyone, he says. He prefers Premiere Pro because he can just do whatever he wants and loves that full control. A lot of people use Camtasia and Descript, he continues, and then adds: To all aspiring film makers—don’t use Premiere Pro, use Camtasia instead.

Dream video co-maker quest

Does he have a dream guest? Turns out, a long list! He mentions Tiyani Magomani, from South Africa, who puts a lot of work into editing and whose channel is underrated, according to Sean.

Then he brings up all kinds of famous faces, April Dunnam, Scott Durow and more. From the experts, to having people who does not work with technology at all to talk confident about it.

April Dunnam would make an awesome dream guest, Scott Durow too. I’d love to have Paul Dano, my favourite actor. Or an even more familiar face, like Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air! Or my friend Ben, who does wood working.

Sean adds that he would love to see his friend explaining Dataverse Field Level Security, in his wood shop, using wood as part of explaining it!

Tips for aspiring video makers

Just start, don’t overthink it. Your first might not be what you had expected, but in the end you’ll get there.

Your first 10 videos are going to be garbage! So don’t overthink it. From what I have heard from other very successful people, you have to make about 40 videos or podcasts until you start to find yourself and figure out how to do it well.

Humbled Sean then said that he is not an exception. Here is an early video he did for you to decide for yourselves. Power Automate: Group By, SUM, COUNT in 6 steps! No Apply To Each | Runs super fast.

We get into talking about why people might not do videos and then, Sean, the psychologist appeared! We discuss camera on versus not. Sean has it on for two reasons—recognition and for people who are not perfect at English, it’s easier to follow if they can see a face as the presenter talks. Sean, the teacher, came to visit as well!

What I understand of psychology is that most people spend 90 % of the time thinking about themselves. No one is thinking about you!

If you are too scared of being on camera, or nervous about it, don’t be on camera, just start, make some content, and see how it goes. Then Sean had an advice for me…

You have a lot of knowledge in your head and if you want to make a video on it, that video probably does not exist, or does not exist in the way that you are explaining it. So, stop being SELFISH, and SHARE, go give to the world, you SELFISH PRICK! That’s my advice to you!

Well, perhaps we should just keep doing what we love and are passionate about, use the paint we prefer. Be it making videos and turning them into art, or formatting thoughts into text, ideas into words, and sharing through language.

The future

This year, 2024, was just him trying to prove if the Architects Accelerator is something that people want and something that could exist in the world, Sean says. He’s happy about the turnout. With 160 people having done it, and at least 80 the full version. Fantastic numbers! What about the future?

There are plans for expanding the business and community engagements around the program. He already has a few others involved, but would like to bring in more people, for the community edition of the program as well as having them getting paid to be part of it. He wants to bring in people with expertise in areas he doesn’t know that well, one example is governance.

Next year is all about me not being the only face of it. I want to bring in other people. I want to share it.

The Accelerator Program is split in two different versions. You can do a free 3-day course, which is hosted 4 times per year for the community. Or you can do the full 8-weeks program.

And what more…

Will we see a video where Sean explains the video making process and a how-to tutorial explaining the editing magic? Will we see April, Scott or Carlton on his show? Only time will tell!

Thanks Sean, for the chat, it was fun catching up with you!

Original Post https://carinaclaesson.com/2024/12/23/interview-with-sean-astrakhan-for-power-platform-weekly/