Justin Poore | Lead Producer of Cleo Abram's Huge if True

Collaboration & Growth of Huge If True

• 💡 Justin Poore joined Cleo Abram's "Huge If True" early on, initially as an animator, after being recommended by Johnny Harris.
• 🚀 Their collaboration began with a Formula 1 explained video, followed by a successful partnership on an AI art story.
• 🌱 The channel experienced rapid growth, expanding from 200,000 subscribers to millions by focusing on an optimistic science and tech ethos.

Content Creation Process

• 📝 Cleo Abram leads scriptwriting, with Justin Poore providing script-editing to ensure visual flow and audience digestibility.
• 🗣️ The team conducts table reads for scripts, treating them like Hollywood productions, to refine dialogue and pacing.
• 🎯 Story ideas are generated through team pitch meetings, prioritizing topics that evoke a "childlike sense of wonder" or explain complex subjects.
• 🎬 For field shoots, a rough outline is used, with the final script often adjusted post-filming based on on-site discoveries.

Team Structure & Roles

• 🧠 The core team includes Cleo Abram (brain/face), Justin Poore (lead producer/animator), Logan (lead editor for long and short-form content), and Nicole (science producer/researcher).
• ✅ The team maintains journalistic integrity, ensuring interviewees do not have editorial control over the final video content.

Engagement & Content Strategy

• 📈 Early adoption of YouTube Shorts was crucial for growth, with a focus on making each short a standalone, self-contained story rather than just a chopped-down long-form segment.
• ⏱️ Key engagement principles include respecting the audience's time, meeting them where they are (short vs. long form), and delivering quickly on promises made in titles and thumbnails.
• 🎙️ "Huge If True" is pioneering a "podcast explainer" format, blending long-form interviews with high-profile individuals with interjected voice-overs and detailed graphics to explain complex concepts.

Animation & Design Philosophy

• ✨ The channel's design approach is flexible, utilizing brand guidelines for colors and fonts but allowing for diverse visual styles (2D, 3D, stop-motion) to best serve the story.
• 🎨 Justin emphasizes that good design with minimal animation is more effective than extensive animation on poor design.
• 🖥️ He primarily uses After Effects, Cinema 4D, and Photoshop, increasingly leaning into 3D animation for its flexibility despite long render times.

Future Vision

• 🚀 The team is fully committed to the continued growth of "Huge If True," aiming for 10 to 20 million subscribers.
• 🌟 Justin enjoys the dynamic nature of the work, animating diverse topics and participating in exciting field shoots, finding it a highly fulfilling opportunity.