In a previous post, I mentioned editing myself out of credit, which was actually a fun experience. If you haven't read that post, check it out here:
https://blacklight.zone/blogs/news/nobody-knows-i-edited-this-video
Now, it looks like it's happening again. So, Leah Halton, who most people on TikTok know from the 1 billion view car video, posted this:
https://www.tiktok.com/@looooooooch/video/7332342275151760642
I watched the video and thought, wouldn’t it be funny if someone outside the car was screaming like a ‘Karen’? Totally random, but I wanted to try it. After some searching, I found the perfect clip to match the vibe:
https://youtu.be/KTU5W-LQDtc?si=rmApStoO9Y8NJAKr
In After Effects, I edited out the windows and did some motion tracking inside the car. Then I leaned into the joke, a bit like my previous drone videos where people aren’t sure if it is. real. So I added ‘original video’ text to playfully suggest this was the actual original video.
The result turned out great, so I uploaded it to TikTok. As usual, nothing happened at first. I was a bit worried about getting a ‘not original’ flag (which happens when TikTok thinks your video isn’t unique, sometimes even if just one scene matches another video).
I also uploaded it to YouTube and Instagram, both didn't perform also.
I optimized the title for SEO (Search engine optimization): Leah Halton Car Video Original #leahhalton #leahhaltoncarvideo So that every person looking for the original would end up at my upload.
Then I forgot about it… until this week (a year later), when I checked TikTok and saw the video at 7.5M views and 150K likes. Big surprise, but definitely a welcome one.
https://www.tiktok.com/@blacklightzone/video/7367086834389716256
Also on YouTube it got 1M views in a pretty short time frame. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eDOellWPXtQ
Instagram is a bit behind with 20k views currently
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6woZ0FM6l6/
What’s funny is that more people now realize the video’s not real, which I consider a win. Most comments are along the lines of, “huh, is this the original?” or “this is not the original,” while some people don’t notice the edit at all. But many people seem to spot the edit in the video which is nice.
Optimizing for search worked really well. I currently rank 2nd for the main keyword, and when you search ‘Leah Halton Car,’ my video’s thumbnail shows up in the results.
Overall, I think this experiment was a big success. People recognize the edit, appreciate the effort, and some even question what’s real. It’s a harmless bit of fake news that gets people thinking, and maybe we’ll push for 1 billion views next?
If you want to improve your TikTok or video content, check out my products: https://blacklight.zone/store
Want to see behind the scenes or how I set up the project? Leave a comment or send me a message