I am writing to apply for future video producer vacancies at The Guardian.

The publication’s high standards and values align with the principles that have shaped my work to date. Over the past three years, I have produced political and historical documentary videos on my YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/@IMPERIALYT), building an audience of more than 424,000 subscribers and garnering 25 million views by making complex topics accessible and engaging. The channel’s founding principle was that viewers should be able to see how I drew my conclusions, so I published detailed footnotes for every video. I hoped that, through the simple act of making my research transparent, I could foster conversation and build trust. I made myself more vulnerable to criticism by doing this, but in the end, it helped improve the standards of my coverage. I believe these values mirror those of the Guardian’s.

Running my own channel, a one-man operation, gave me a strong work ethic. It made me versatile, dynamic and focused. It prompted me to learn After Effects, Premiere Pro, and the rest of the Adobe suite as well as Cinema 4D so I could better communicate my ideas. It gave me the opportunity to familiarise myself with the entire video production pipeline, from story-boarding and shot lists to voice-over, audio editing and video packaging (titles and thumbnails). It led me to adapt the academic style of writing I learned at university to one that was more accessible to a wider audience. I developed an understanding of viewer tastes and trends: an intuitive barometer for popular appeal.

I believe my values and my background position me well to contribute to The Guardian’s ambition to innovate its journalistic coverage, increase its digital reach and speak directly to younger audiences. My academic background as a Bristol University history graduate and my practical experience growing a large, global audience give me a clear understanding of how serious journalism can thrive on contemporary platforms. I would welcome the opportunity to bring these skills to your video team and help develop content that is both compelling and faithful to The Guardian’s standards.

As my YouTube success has shown, I’m a motivated self-starter, and I would be happy to produce a video based on an existing article to show you what I can do.

Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Alexander Casse