William Explains! (AUS) is a web series on random niche facts found on the Internet, explained with simplicity and humour. Each episode deals with a different topic, ranging from Disney World almost becoming a Capitalist dystopian dictatorship, to explaining the subtle and nefarious use of “anchoring” in our everyday life by demonstrating just how susceptible we are to irrationality – through a game show.
Melbourne WebFest spoke with William He, director and showrunner of the 2020 Student Selection web series, about the creation of the series and its protagonists.
What inspired your series?
I have a background in Behavioural Economics, and I wanted to do something a little fun with it! And I’ve been meaning to do something a little fun and silly with science communication for a while, so I leapt at the opportunity when I got it.
Did you make the puppet yourself?
No! It was actually at the VCA prop shop, and apparently it was supposed to be Tony Abbott.
How did you pick the contestants of the show “The Price is (about) Right”?
Honestly, some of them I literally just pulled from the edit suites at VCA, others were just friends and friends of friends. You don’t find a lot of complete strangers that are willing to just randomly take part in a filmed and now publicly available experiment.
William Explains! “The Price is (about) Right” episode
When are you planning on releasing the next episodes of your series? On which platform?
A lot of the stuff that goes on this page is pretty much on a whim, but expect a few more things popping up in the coming months – there’s not much to do around here in lockdown, so may as well make stuff!
What was your greatest challenge creating the series?
Pushing through my social anxiety and putting my dumb jokes on the internet!
How did you fund your series?
I work and then pay for it. It’s not particularly expensive.
Has the end product strayed far from your initial vision?
Not really – this was really just going to be a repository of all the small silly things I wanted to do, with no structure, and that’s what it is!
FOLLOW WILLIAM EXPLAINS!