Crash Course (YouTube)

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For other uses, see Crash Course (disambiguation).
Crash Course
File:Crash Course Youtube logo.png
Genre Educational
Created by John Green
Hank Green
Written by Various
Directed by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Creative director(s) Thought Café (formerly Thought Bubble)
Presented by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Theme music composer Jason Weidner
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 17
No. of episodes 494[n 1]
Production
Executive producer(s) John Green
Hank Green
Producer(s) Stan Muller
Danica Johnson
Production location(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Editor(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Stan Muller
  • Mark Olsen
  • Brandon Brungard
  • Nicholas Jenkins
  • Nicole Sweeney
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 10–15 minutes
6–10 minutes (Government)
2–4 minutes (Kids)
Release
Original network YouTube
Picture format 1080p
Original release January 26, 2012 (2012-01-26) –
present
Chronology
Related shows SciShow, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Crash Course (sometimes stylized as CrashCourse) is an educational YouTube channel started by the Green brothers, Hank Green and John Green, who are notable for their VlogBrothers channel.[1][2][3] Originally, John and Hank presented humanities and science courses to viewers, respectively,[4] although the series has since expanded to incorporate courses by additional hosts.

Crash Course was one of the 100 initial channels of YouTube's $100 million original channel initiative. Crash Course launched a preview on December 2, 2011. As of April 2016, the Crash Course YouTube channel has over 4 million subscribers and has received over 370 million video views.[5] In November 2014, Hank Green announced that a partnership with PBS Digital Studios would allow them to produce more courses, starting in January 2015.

To date, there are 17 seasons of Crash Course, with Hank hosting six and John hosting five. Together with Emily Graslie, they co-hosted Big History. Alongside the PBS partnership, and with John commencing a year-long hiatus from the show in 2015, additional hosts were brought in to increase the number of concurrent series: Phil Plait (Astronomy), Craig Benzine (Government), Adriene Hill and Jacob Clifford (both Economics), Shini Somara (Physics), and Andre Meadows (Games). A second channel, Crash Course Kids, is hosted by Sabrina Cruz and has completed its first series, Science.

Series overview

Series Episodes Current episodes Season premiere Season finale Host
World History
World History 2		 42
30		 42

30

 January 26, 2012
July 11, 2014		 November 9, 2012
April 4, 2015		 John Green
Biology 40 40 January 30, 2012 October 29, 2012 Hank Green
Ecology 12 12 November 5, 2012 January 21, 2013 Hank Green
English Literature
Literature 2
Literature 3		 8
16
TBA		 8

16

0

 November 15, 2012
February 27, 2014
TBA		 January 24, 2013
June 12, 2014
TBA		 John Green
U.S. History 48 48 January 31, 2013 February 6, 2014 John Green
Chemistry 46 46 February 11, 2013 January 13, 2014 Hank Green
Psychology 40 40 February 3, 2014 November 24, 2014 Hank Green
Big History 10 10 September 17, 2014[n 2] January 9, 2015 Hank Green
John Green
Emily Graslie
Anatomy & Physiology 47 47 January 6, 2015 December 21, 2015 Hank Green
Astronomy 47 47 January 15, 2015 January 21, 2016 Phil Plait
U.S. Government and Politics 50 50 January 23, 2015 March 4, 2016 Craig Benzine
Kids: Science 95 95 March 3, 2015 March 16, 2016 Sabrina Cruz
Intellectual Property 7 7 April 23, 2015 June 25, 2015 Stan Muller
Economics 40[6] 34 July 8, 2015 TBA Adriene Hill
Jacob Clifford[n 3]
Philosophy 48 15 February 8, 2016 TBA Hank Green
Physics 48 9 March 31, 2016 TBA Shini Somara
Games 20 8 April 1, 2016 TBA Andre Meadows

Production

The science series (and Philosophy) are filmed in Missoula, Montana, in a studio building that also houses SciShow.[7] The Biology and Ecology series were filmed in front of green screen. From the Chemistry season onward, these series were filmed on a new custom-built set. These series are produced and edited by Nicholas Jenkins, with sound design by Michael Aranda, while Blake de Pastino serves as script editor.

The humanities series (except Philosophy and Economics) are filmed in a studio in Indianapolis, Indiana, which is also home to The Art Assignment and Healthcare Triage. They are produced and edited by Stan Muller, Mark Olsen, and Brandon Brungard.

Crash Course Kids is filmed in a studio in Toronto, Ontario. The series is directed by Michael Aranda, and produced by the Missoula Crash Course team.

Crash Course Economics is filmed in the YouTube Space in Los Angeles, California, and produced by the Indianapolis Crash Course team.

Graphic design for all of the series except Biology and Ecology is provided by Thought Café (formerly Thought Bubble).

Funding

Craig Benzine, host of U.S. Government and Politics, was brought on as part of the PBS Digital Studios funding deal.

The Crash Course YouTube channel was teased in December 2011,[8] and launched in January 2012 as one of the initial original, YouTube-funded channels.[9][10] In April 2013, John Green detailed that Crash Course was going through financial hardships.[11] In July 2013, Hank Green expressed his frustration with the ways YouTube had been changing and controlling its website.[12][13]

Funds from Google eventually ran out, and shortly after Green's A Chat with YouTube video, the VlogBrothers decided to launch Subbable, a crowdfunding website where viewers can donate, monthly, to channels in return for perks. Donating is optional, as Hank Green stated, "We ascribe to the idealistic notion that audiences don't pay for things because they have to but because they care about the stuff that they love and want it to continue to grow".[14] Crash Course was the first series and channel to be offered on Subbable, and from this point onward, would be funded by the website.[15] In March 2015, Subbable was acquired by Patreon, and Crash Course's crowdfunding was moved over to Patreon.

In 2014, Crash Course announced a partnership with PBS Digital Studios.[16] The partnership will introduce Benzine and Plait, who will host U.S. Government and Politics, and Astronomy, respectively.[17] Hank Green also announced he will be hosting an Anatomy & Physiology series, and that another host will host an Economics series, as John takes a year-long break from the series.[16]

Humanities courses

John Green, one half of the VlogBrothers, began his Crash Course series on January 26, 2012, with World History. As a collective, John has referred to the courses he teaches as "Humanities."[18]

As a result of a partnership with PBS Digital Studios, as well as John's decision to take a break from Crash Course in 2015, new hosts have been introduced to host the humanities courses: Craig Benzine (Government), Adriene Hill and Jacob Clifford (Economics), and Andre Meadows (Games).

Hank's sixth series, Philosophy, is also a humanities course, although it is produced by the team in Missoula who have traditionally produced the science series.

World History / World History 2

Author John Green, co-creator of Crash Course and host of World History, English Literature, and U.S. History.

Crash Course World History[19] was the first series launched on the Crash Course channel, running from January 26 to November 5, 2012.

On January 26, 2012, the series launched with "The Agricultural Revolution", and a new episode aired on YouTube every Thursday. Throughout an episode, Green, the show's host and executive producer, elaborates on the topic presented at the beginning of the video. Raoul Meyer, an AP World History teacher and Green's former teacher at Indian Springs School, writes the show, with revisions and additions by Green.[20]

Crash Course World History features recurring segments such as "The Open Letter," where Green reads an open letter to a historical figure, period, item, or concept. Occasionally Green converses with a naïve, younger version of himself whom he calls "Me from the past"; this character usually has naïve or obvious questions or statements about the topic.[4][21] A running joke is that the Mongols are a major exception to most sweeping generalisations in world history. Mentions of this fact cue the "Mongoltage" (a portmanteau of "Mongol" and "montage"), which shows a drawing of Mongols shouting "We're an Exception!" followed by a three-second clip of a scene from the 1963 film Hercules Against the Mongols depicting a village raid.

In Crash Course World History, Green frequently encourages his viewers to avoid looking at history through Eurocentrism or "Great Man" History, but to be conscious of a broader historical context. Crash Course World History, filmed in Indianapolis, has a broad following, having attracted millions of viewers.[22] It has a particular appeal to American students taking the AP World History class and exam; many students and teachers use the videos to supplement their courses.[9][23][24] Various episodes were featured in online news publications.[25][26]

The series ended on November 9, 2012, after 42 episodes. However, on June 27, 2014, through the form of a video preview, John Green announced that World History would return for a second season, lasting 30 episodes.[27] Ultimately, the second season ended on Apr 4, 2015. He made a few predictions about the future and also quoted at his last sentence: "Also, thanks for watching this series. It has been amazingly fun to create, and we appreciate all of you."[28]

English Literature / Literature 2 / Literature 3

John's second series is Crash Course English Literature, which first aired as an eight-episode miniseries, from November 15, 2012. Works that have been covered include Romeo and Juliet, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and Emily Dickinson's poetry.

In February 2014, it was announced John Green would follow his US History series with Crash Course Literature 2.[29] This second season began on February 27, 2014, and ran for 16 episodes, covering ancient works such as The Odyssey and Oedipus and novels like To Kill a Mockingbird, Slaughterhouse-Five, Frankenstein, and Beloved.

In January 2016, John announced that a third season of Crash Course Literature would air in the summer. This season will cover The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Invisible Man, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Sula, Lord of the Flies as well as some Shakespearean sonnets.

U.S. History

On the January 24, 2013 finale of Crash Course English Literature, John Green announced that it would be followed by Crash Course U.S. History, beginning the following week on January 31, 2013 with "The Black Legend, Native Americans, and Spaniards". Following in the tone set by World History, Green puts an emphasis on maintaining an open and non-Western view of American History. A new segment called the "Mystery Document" replaces the "Open Letter"; Green takes a manuscript from the fireplace's secret compartment and reads it aloud, then must guess its author and the source work it is excerpted from. If he is incorrect, he is punished by a shock pen. Whilst the Mongoltage is largely absent, the "Libertage", photos associated with America overtop an American flag with an electric guitar sound effect opening and ending with an explosion, appears whenever America's great national pride is referenced. The series ended on February 6, 2014.[29] As with World History, Crash Course U.S. History is written by Raoul Meyer.

U.S. Government and Politics

As part of the partnership with PBS Digital Studios, Craig Benzine, known on YouTube as WheezyWaiter, was brought in to host the U.S. Government and Politics series.[16] Benzine said that the course will provide an overview of how the government of the United States is supposed to function, and how it actually does function. He also said that the course will teach about "the branches of government, politics, elections, political parties, pizza parties, and much, much more".

The series began on January 23, 2015 and ended on March 4, 2016.

Economics

In Hank's November 2014 announcement of the PBS partnership and the new series of Crash Course in 2015, he mentioned that a Crash Course Economics was in the works, but that it was not yet known who would present it.[16] In February 2015, John announced that Adriene Hill and Jacob Clifford will host,[30] and in July 2015, a preview video was released on the Crash Course channel. The series was launched on July 8, 2015.

Philosophy

On January 18, 2016, Hank Green announced he would be hosting a new series about Philosophy in February 2016.[31] On February 8th, the first philosophy episode was released. Philosophy is the first course to have a corporate sponsor; Squarespace will present each episode. The series was launched February 8, 2016.

While Philosophy is a humanities subject, the series is produced by the science-series team in Missoula, Montana.

Games

On March 25, 2016, the Crash Course YouTube channel uploaded a two-minute preview for Crash Course Games. It will cover several types of games, including board games, video games, card games, role-playing games, sports, and more. The series is hosted by Andre Meadows, and premiered April 1, 2016.

Science courses

Hank Green, co-creator of Crash Course, has hosted several science courses on the series.
Phil Plait, the host of the Astronomy series.

Hank Green began his Crash Course series with Biology, on January 30, 2012. John referred to Hank's series as "the science stuff" counterpart to his humanities courses.[18] As part of the partnership with PBS Digital Studios, additional hosts have been brought in to host recent series: Phil Plait (Astronomy), and Shini Somara (Physics).

Biology

Hank Green's first series, Crash Course Biology, launched on January 30, 2012 with "That's Why Carbon Is a Tramp", and a new episode aired on YouTube every Monday until October 22, 2012. The series used humor to blend entertainment into its educational content.[32] A recurring segment on the program is titled "Biolo-graphy", in which Green relays a short biography of a person who is usually associated with the topic of the overall episode. For the benefit of uncertain viewers, Hank Green links YouTube annotations to every specific subtopic he explains in the video at the conclusion of the episode (the annotations replay the video starting from the particular annotation the viewer selects). In July 2012, a Crash Course Biology episode discussing Comparative anatomy was featured on a Mashable article.[33]

Ecology

In the final episode of Crash Course Biology, Green revealed that the successor series, Crash Course Ecology, would follow in the spirit of the Biology series.[34] It premiered on November 5, 2012, and ran for 12 episodes.

Chemistry

In January 2013, Hank Green announced that his next series would be Crash Course Chemistry, following a similar style to his previous Biology and Ecology series. He talked about the importance of chemistry to the world, and talked about the series in a brief 2 minute preview video.[35] This series premiered on February 11, 2013.

Psychology

On January 3, 2014, Hank Green teased the launch of a series on psychology, before launching it on February 3.[36]

Anatomy & Physiology

On January 15, 2014, Hank Green announced he would be hosting a new series about anatomy & physiology in 2015. The series began on January 6, 2015.

Astronomy

Phil Plait began teaching a course on astronomy on January 15, 2015. Plait stated that the course, "will cover basic topics in astronomy like motions in the sky, naked-eye observing, the planets, eclipses, stars, galaxies, and the whole Universe."[37]

Physics

On January 29, 2016, the Crash Course Tumblr confirmed that the Physics course will debut in late March, hosted by Shini Somara.[38] A 2-minute preview video for Crash Course Physics was uploaded to YouTube on February 18, 2016. The series premiered March 31, 2016.

Other series

Big History

In May 2014, John Green mentioned an upcoming 10-episode Crash Course season on Big History, funded by a grant from one of Bill Gates' organizations.[39] The series first aired on the channel of the Big History Project, rather than the Crash Course YouTube channel.

On August 19, 2014, the Big History Project channel began hosting episodes of a new co-hosted series, Crash Course Big History. This outlines the history of existence, from the Big Bang forward into the evolution of life. Both Green brothers host the series, with Emily Graslie participating as a guest host.[40]

On September 17, 2014, the first episode of Crash Course Big History was posted on the Crash Course YouTube channel, one month after its première on the Big History Project.

Intellectual Property

In February 2015, John Green announced that Crash Course producer Stan Muller would host a seven episode miniseries on intellectual property.[30]

Crash Course Kids

On February 23, 2015, a new series, Crash Course Kids was announced through a video preview on its own YouTube channel. This series will be hosted by Sabrina Cruz, known on YouTube as NerdyAndQuirky.[41]

Upcoming series

In a Patreon live-stream event on April 29, 2016, John indicated the next series for the Indianapolis studio is planned to be on Human Geography.

Video release

DVD box sets of the complete run of the Biology series and of season 1 of World History were made available for pre-order on October 31, 2013.[42]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Count accurate as of April 25, 2016, and does not include outtakes, trailers, previews, and bonus videos. There are 548 videos including the outtakes, trailers, previews, and bonus videos.-
  2. ↑ Aired on August 19, 2014 on the Big History Project YouTube channel. Launched officially on the "Crash Course" YouTube channel on September 17, 2014.
  3. ↑ Clifford departed after the 29th episode, with Hill presenting the remainder solo.

References

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  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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