Is the AI the problem—or is it you?

Boy, are you going to be glad you opened this newsletter. Because you are about to learn about the lone banana problem.

Now, you probably think the lone banana problem is some kind of crisis of despair in the tropical-fruit community. But in fact it is a very useful parable for understanding how AI creative tools work, and how to get the most useful output from them.

TL;DR last June a guy discovered it was impossible to get MidJourney to draw a picture of a single banana. No matter how he wrote the prompt, the AI always drew a bunch. Then some academics, who apparently weren't super busy, wrote a paper exploring what the lone banana problem could teach us about how AI works.

Their theory: AI doesn't know what a "banana" is, or even that a banana is a thing. It just sort of pulls together a concept of "banana-ness" from all the data in its model—and bananas are most often seen in bunches, so that's how it draws them.

Alright, so what? Well, if you've ever tried using generative AI tools to make images, write copy, or anything, you've probably encountered situations where you couldn't get it do what you wanted—basically, that's the lone banana problem.

And we can help you solve it—because we are friends with creator Briana Brownell, who gave us 6 ways you can refine your AI prompts to solve for the lone banana and get what you're looking for. To read them, and more about the lone banana problem, click this.

Okay, enough with the banana.

Also helpful, maybe

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How long should a YouTube video be?

It depends. Sorry, we know that's a lawyer's answer. But what did you expect, coming in here asking for legal advice? Sheesh. Anyway, trying to figure out the optimal length for your videos on a platform that imposes no time limits whatsoever is tricky! So we asked a handful of YouTubers for their advice. Here it is. And sure enough the answer is different for different situations—just like jail time, or child support.

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How they made it: The Dumb Zone

Speaking of the law, the podcasters who make The Dumb Zone had to fight a doozy of a legal battle just to get to make their show. Their story is helpful for any creatives worried their employer might try to keep them from going out on their own. There's also some great advice, such as this, on the courage it takes to put your work out there: "Anyone who says they're their own worst critic, go put out your stuff, and then look at Twitter. You're not."

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March is national script-writing month!

Now that all the barriers to making good video have fallen—you can film with your phone, edit like a doc (ahem), and publish anywhere, all that's left to do is communicate your ideas clearly, be engaging, and sound smart. Yeah, the hardest part. Here are some tips, from a master.

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Create mastery, live

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Clip it and rip it

Making social clips is one of those annoying things you almost certainly need to do. Luckily Descript just keeps making it easier. A few weeks ago our community bosses, Arielle and Christiana, took to the airwaves to demonstrate Descript's clip-making workflow. If you weren't there, the video is well worth your time. Watch it here.

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Get to know your clone

When Descript rolled out AI voices in 2018, it felt revolutionary: correct audio just by typing! Since then, AI voices have gotten waaaaay better. And we just rolled out a bunch of new stock voices. Learn how they work and how to work with them, live on Thursday, February 29. Register here; or catch the replay on YouTube.

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