Hello, friends, and welcome to another video. :)
Today, I'm gonna be investigating and trying ASMR for the first time.
(oh no oh no) I've hit the mic.
One quick thing before we get started though.
I know there are some people out there who know what ASMR is and do not enjoy the whispering sounds,
"That's torture in some countries."
So for all of you who are in that boat,
The first half of this video will be full voiced and will have not that many ASMR sounds,
But for people in the other camp who are here only for the ASMR,
"oh my god, bitch, I'm turning this up."
This is the timestamp that you can head to, right now to watch and hear my attempt at an ASMR video. (16:39)
It smells a little questionable right here
Okay, so now that is out of the way, let's talk about what ASMR is.
Just in case you've seen these letters floating around and don't know,
ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response
Which refers to the tingly and relaxing response that people can have to certain "triggers".
This feeling can range from a staticky or warm feeling in the back of your head,
To a chilly or goosebump-y feeling you can get when someone does that egg cracking thing on you.
*put a knife in your back and the blood is gushing down* "I'm sleeping with Pam's mom. Sometimes, dinner."
And essentially ASMR videos on Youtube are trying to do to you what Dwight is doing to Michael here.
just with audio and visual triggers through the screen
*Hey boss, you seem tense.*
Triggers like whispering, tapping, breathing, chewing, painting, etc.
Usually noices that are quiet and repetitive
and some people experience these tingels and some people don't.
Now I'm sure most of you have seen atleast one ASMR video around youtube before,
as it has been sort of moving into the mainstream recently.
With many non-asmr youtubers, making asmr video's in the last few months.
*Ookurrrrrrt Ookurrrrt*
Now I'm actually a frequent viewer of ASMR.
I discovered the term back in 2014, when I was looking through backstage.com. (#NotSponsered)
where there was a casting call for a youtube channel called Quiet Cat ASMR,
In which they were looking for a woman to dress up as a cat and pretend to do cat things like
scratch a scratching post, meow and purr softly.
I did not choose to audition for this, but i searched up asmr on youtube
clicked on a ASMR make-up collection vanity tour and the rest is history.
Now I use asmr videos as kind of like a advanced white noice machine.
I do get the tingles, but that's not always the primary reason why I watch.
I like to play them in the backround when I'm doing busy work, or writing a script for a video, or winding down to go to bed.
That being said, I definitely
don't know everything about ASMR,
and I really don't know how to make an ASMR video
besides the obvious, like, tap on things and don't scream.
But I am very interested in trying it out.
So to help me in my quest, I decided to seek out the advice
of a real ASMR YouTuber who could show me the ropes
and then try and make an ASMR video of my own.
Okay, let's do it
So this is Gibi, also known as Gibi ASMR
as you can tell by her finger fluttering that she was just performing. (oh god)
So Gibi started her ASMR channel back in 2016
and she has over 1.6 million subscribers and over 350 videos
which range from general trigger compilations to more intricate role playing videos
Hello everybody, it's Gibi if you can see me under all this hair.
Gibi thank you for coming,  I have a lot of questions that I have written down on my phone
I'm ready to answer them
Great. Amazing. Alright, let's just jump right in shall we?
So Gibi discovered ASMR in 2010
back when the community was still in its early stages
I was watching, like, a massage video, like stumbled into that realm
and someone in the comments was talking about ASMR
I ended up Googling the term, and it had its own Wikipedia page
and I was like, 'Oh my god', like, I've experienced this my whole life
like as a little kid I remember feeling like the ASMR tingles that they were talking about
and i didn't know that it had a name
I didn't know anyone else felt that
so i started looking up ASMR videos and way back in the day
it was actually called 'The whisper community'
and I literally have not stopped watching them since.
like everynight
now ASMR as a feeling may actually have ancient origins.
its not 100% proven but some people hypothesize
that asmr could be evolutionary related to bonding behaviors
like grooming
nonetheless, talking about ASMR is definitely new
people cite that it was first openly discussed online in 2007
in a thread on steadyhealth.com titled "Weird Sensation Feels Good."
and from there, forums were created, whispering videos were produced, and
the term ASMR was coined
and while at first it was definitely classified as a "weird sensation that feels good,"
since about 2014ish people have been talking about it in the public sphere more and more.
I have this thing that's a very real response
it's called ASMR.
with 'W Magazine' launching their 'celebrities try ASMR' series
*Hello, I'm Jake ASMR Gyllenhaal*
and brands like 'Lush' and "Ikea' using
ASMR in their sponsorships and advertisements.
(light tapping sounds)
It's been very quickly a thing that
none of us used to talk about it at all
it's kind of embarrassing.
You know?
'cause you are like I don't know how to explain this so I'm just gonna not.
But now kids know about it:
it was on Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel
shoot! i don't remember which one. -one of the Jimmy's
So, ASMR.
And this is, it's supposed to do what?
Now one of my theories as to why ASMR has become more mainstream recently
is the huge popularity of oddly satisfying videos.
Like slime mixing
kinetic sand cutting,
and just like, generally squishing stuff.
* pop blop pop *
* sQuIsH *
* wet crunch *
And although these videos are not all necessarily ASMR,
they are kind of like gateway ASMR.
* CrUuuUUUnnCHhhhhH  (squish) *
-Take it out! Squeeze it out! Oh, it's gonna come out. Yeahh.
YeeAHHHHHH!
I love ASMR videos, so that kinda like
same kinda feeling.
Regardless of how it's become so popular though
with the attention has come a lot of opinions
What misconseptions do people have about ASMR that frustrate you
as an ASMRtist?
mhm, there's two.
the first one is that people say it's a fad and
I just have to point them to the fact that like, it's been on YoutTube for 8+ years,
you know, people are falling asleep to ASMR every night.
And then the other thing, people usually assume
off hand, that it's sexual.
- Is it sexual?!    - I mean, it, no!
(crowd laughs)
What you're saying sounds sexual to me.
They see something that
you know
is weird or whatever.
They just, like, brush it off as that's definitely a sex thing.
Admittedly,
The case for ASMR is not a sex thing,
isn't helped by the fact that when it was first described online,
it was consistently referred to as a "brain orgasm"
but according to a recent study,
less than 10% of participants reported feeling aroused after watching ASMR videos.
To be fair, ASMR can be intimate.
Though, in a different way.
As some people link ASMR feelings
to caring and nurturing triggers that are often experienced in infancy.
With the idea that ASMR is kind of like what a baby feels when its being soothed by its parent
or what a cat feels when it's being pet.
*adorable purring*
I'm sure Freud would have a field day with that,
but I think it's supposed to be like an instinctual feeling of being cared for.
Are you interested in, like, the science behind it at all?
Like are you interested in, like, doing science?
- Yes.
Overall, ASMR science is still in its early stages.
A lot of recent studies are just out to prove that it's real, and what biologically is happening when you experience it
But a lot of people note that they actively use ASMR as a way to treat their stress, anxiety, and insomnia.
- There was a study - the University of Sheffield played my videos and another artist and another artist's called whispersred.
They played our videos to people, and they studied their brains. They definitely saw a real physical response and a real sensation.
- So people who experience this feeling aren't just making it up. It's a real response.
- It truly helps our cause, like, if people are like, "this is just a fad, this is weird, this is xyz," it's really nice to be able to point to studies.
So, the more people that do it - like, we're very excited about anything that comes up.
- Okay, so now that we've covered a lot about ASMR as a sensation, I wanted to talk about how to make ASMR content.
As I still have to do that.
So, like, what would you consider to be "good ASMR"? If that makes sense.
- Yes. It's kind of like a trick question, I would say. Because everybody has different triggers.
You know, some people's favorite ASMR creators are just somebody with Apple headphones just doing it with their iPhone.
in a dim room, you know? So it really depends on who's watching, and what they're looking for.
- Now, there are a lot of ASMRtists out there who do a variety of different things.
Talking videos, no talking videos, hands only videos, animated videos.
In fact, there are currently over 13 million ASMR videos on Youtube
of people trying different things, as there seems pretty much any sound can be a trigger as long as its soft, slow, and repetitive.
*soft, slow, and repetitive sounds*
As for the triggers we're going to do, I'm probably going to lean towards sounds that I like personally,
I don't like a lot of super intense like mouth sounds or like, licking. Like that stuff I'm not super into.
Hair cutting is okay, scalp massaging is okay.
I love hair brushing.
*soft, slow, repetitive hair brushing*
"Ok."
Finger fluttering I'm down with, but I really like the slower sounds, kind of like this kind of sound I like a lot.
Yeah, exactly. Paper sounds, like book sounds, are good.
*paper sounds*
- I sort of think of it like, it's definitely like dry sounds versus wet sounds. Like, you definitely prefer dry sounds.
- Dry sounds.
- You know what I mean?
- Mmhm.
- It's so polarizing. People will like - the eating sounds, licking, or anything like - people are very against or for.
- Yeah. No, I think I'm - I think I'm dry.
Next, we have to figure out how to present the triggers.
Now, even though there are a ton of different ASMR videos, I would say that most of them fall into three rough buckets.
First off, you have just, like, a straight up trigger compilation with no conceit, like a "ten triggers to help you fall asleep,"
or a, "tapping on 10 different items," sort of thing.
The second bucket contains videos that have a little more artifice.
The ASMRtist sets up a specific scenario or activity that contains tingly or triggering instances.
Like doing a makeup collection or haul, coloring in a coloring book, or giving someone a head massage.
An organic yet unintentional example of this is Bob Ross's painting tutorials,
where all he's doing is painting on a canvas on screen, but it has all the ingredients to trigger ASMR.
Good brush sounds, relaxing visuals, and a chilled-out presence.
*brush sounds from the chilled-out presence*
The third bucket is what I would call an immersive story or roleplay.
Where the ASMRtist sets up a scenario where they can perform actions on the camera as if it were you, the viewer, like giving you a spa treatment or giving you a haircut.
-  I personally like roleplays. That's why I think I tend to do more of that. Like, I do what I like most of the time.
- This category also often includes the ASMRtist pretending to be a different character.
Coincidentally, people love to do roleplays as Bob Ross.
Sometimes where you are the canvas.
Now, I think that bucket number is probably the best one to try and make as a beginner, but I am interested in trying out a roleplay segment
because they seem kind of fun, and people can get pretty creative with them.
I've previously mentioned one of my favorites: the "1300s A.D. You Have the Plague" nun roleplay.
"No, it's okay. I can drink holy water. I'm a nun."
Those ones are hard to put in the background, though, because there's a lot happening.
Like, there's a lot going on. And you're like, "what is that noise?" And it's a rosary she's, like, swinging around, and you're like, "why is this happening??"
So after learning a little bit about how we could present our triggers, I wanted to know more about the movie magic that goes into  ASMR.
I think with some ASMR, you can mostly tell how they're produced, and you can see how the person is making the sounds.
But with other videos, it's not quite as clear. Especially with roleplay videos where things are kind of happening around the camera.
Like, do you ever like put things on your camera...wigs or googly eyes - I don't know, something that would help you but would also, like, simulate the sound for the audience.
Yeah, I've done that before whenever...if you're doing any sort of hair brushing or hair cutting, like I will stick a wig on the camera, You know, like
because you're correct that you have to look in the camera like you're talking to the camera. Like, I'm talking to you right now.
I remember doing like a dentist roleplay, and I sort of like messed up in doing the mouth around the top and bottom of the lens, and people were like, "you're cleaning my eyes."
You know? So...
Now, in terms of audio, Gibi mentioned that she tries to make all of the sounds naturally from their source but there are some hacks that she's found.
- When I do head message videos now, I have a wig inside of a mesh bag. It gives more of an intense scratching sound than just touching, like, a wig on top of the camera might.
For any sort of skin, I will either use this leather, sort of like jug that I have, it's just
- A leather jug?
- I'll have to show you.
I brought it.
Rags work really well for skin. When I did a shaving roleplay, I was doing a razor with shaving cream on a rag
and just sort of like, on the rag. You know, so you just sort of like test things out before you start filming.
What about, like, wet stuff? Like, when you're trying to simulate, like, washing a face?
- It's kind of experimental. I've definitely a lot of times, just put my hand up near the camera and just wiped on my hand.
But you have to make sure that your shoulder is down, so that it looks okay to the viewer.
Cuz you don't want to put a wet towel on the camera.
No
No, that's bad.
I've done that before; it was not great.
I've sprayed cameras, I've sprayed mics, I've ruined two.
You've ruined two mics?
- I've ruined two mics.
- How?
I wanted a more intense spray sound.
- Straight down the middle.
- I really just went for it and the next day my mic didn't work
and I was like...that was probably my fault?
So I think the answer for us for now is probably to leave the water alone.
I am going for drier sounds, anyway.
Alright! So with that, um, let's set up.
Now, Gibi had brought a bunch of equipment for us to use so we could simulate her setup that she has at home.
She usually films standing up with like a table of props next to her, but she uses a variety of microphones depending on what she's filming.
So we have the 3DO, which is the ears that you see right there. He's got attached earlobes, which I believe is a recessive trait.
I don't if that's relevant to anyone out there.
- It's interesting, actually.
- It's science.
And then we have that guy down there which is the Blue Yeti.
-Yeah.
And then these guys are like the road mics.
The ones I'm subtly groping.
She's got a lot.
- I wanted to give you options.
For my first go, I wasn't quite ready for the ears but I wanted to use something more advanced than the Yeti.
So we went with the two standing road mics.
Gibi also brought us a suitcase full of ASMR props.
As well as costume pieces she uses for roleplays.
Do I look good as an elf?
It kind of works with your haircut.
Really?
It really suits you.
Oh, that's pretty good.
I decide not to go with the elf vibe, but I did pick out a few of Gibi's props to tap on, as well as some of my own props from our old videos that seemed like they had ASMR potential.
*whisper* Oh yeahhh
It is, actually.
To top it off, Gibi also gave me an old choppable wig for the roleplay segment.
- You can go to town on this. This is a trash wig.
ok so welcome
to the ASMR portion of this video
If you are not into ASMR
You can now not watch
and i wont be offended
But if you're only here for the ASMR, welcome.
Was that too close? I'm sorry.
So we have, like, a decent amount of triggers
that Gibi has brought for us that are, like, common triggers that ASMR channels use
Um, so I'm gonna start with some of those.
And then I'm gonna go for, um, some triggers that you may remember, if you've watched any of our other vides.
Okay. I've got a short and stout brush, and a sort of, like, long and skinny brush.
It's kind of like a Timon and Pumbaa situation.
Maybe I can , uh, brush the top with this.
Was that too much?
I guess you guys will tell me later.
I nudged something on the table next to me, ignore that.
There's nothing there.
So that was brushing.
Alright, so next up I've got a cork piece of toast. A coast! A coast.
A toaster coaster.
This one is very popular on Gibi's channel, so I thought I'd give it a try.
Gibi, do you, like, kinda, like- you scratch it a lot, right?
Oh, "go to town", she says. She says to "go to town."
I was gonna say, this is the kind of sound that I like.
Like that kind of sound, you know what I mean?
You could also, like, scratch it
Or, like, I guess, tap it. I'm not a huge "only-tapping" fan. I prefer stroking.
Hehehe.
It smells kind of good. It smells like... wood.
Alright. Toaster... coaster... done
So, next up, I have something that I feel like I'm gonna be pretty careful with: the clear plastic pants.
So I feel like you could stroke it.
morphe palette
which came out
after I made the Frankenguru eye shadow palette video
so unfortunately
it was not included
But I felt like we could scrape it a little bit today
Yeah?
See look I'm unleashing my inner ASMR-tist
Mindblown
Mindblown
And by mind I mean your mind
See this is like
the kind of sound that I really like
Kinda like pencil on paper sounds
Okay I'm gonna open it now
Alright so um
I'm going to scrape it with my eyeshadow scalpel
Just a little
Here I'm gonna hold it like a violin
Like right under my chin
It's quiet
We're gonna have to turn that up
There you go
Oh yeah
The thing is, since I have to hold it like this
I can only scrape in that ear.
Okay.
I think that this palette got sister scraped.
So I can put it away.
Let's move on to the final portion
of the ASMR, which is the
role play.
That's right folks,
It'll be sort of a self aware roleplay, but we're gonna do it.
So, ah, Gibi has gifted me this, ah,
"trash wig" as she calls it.
So, I'm allowed to do whatever I want with this wig.
So, what I though is that,
we would just recreate the scenerio from my
hair cutting tutorial video,
but it's just me cutting someone else's hair.
Without a tutorial.
uh
Ah yes and by someone else I mean you!
You.
You lucky dog, you.
So I have very little equipment besides
*snip*
some scissors,
and a hairbrush.
But I figure that's all we need
to get you a kickass bob.
Alright. so I'm going to brush her hair first
oOoo
This wig's pretty soft for a trash wig
Sorry, the other side of your hair is hard to brush
because that's where the view finder is
But I can just sort of like
carry this side over
Or brush your bang softly
Oh, there we go
Oh, your hair is nAugHty
Ya look nice
um, yep
you're looking good
everything's great
you do need a trim though
more than a trim
I'd say complete style change :)
ahAHhahah
Don't worry this is relaxing, it's relaxing
Oh here, lemme grab some of this
oh yeaaaahh
That's pretty good
okay,
so now that all the knots are out of your hair,
It's time for a friendly
*another sSniP*
I'm gonna go for that side first
and I'm gonna cut it like
this length okay?
we can be matching o.O
it'll be great
everything's okay
ah, yep
oh yeah, oh yEh
look at thaaaat
that's what i'm talking about
you're bald :)
sNipysniP
Alright, so i'm gonna cut the rest of your hair on this side too
yeeee
oh yeeah
there we go
oh is looking good
honestly,
that's probably more even
than when I tried to cut it on myself so
it's all good
that's someone's stomach
there's a lot of people in this room
or it could be yours
oh yeah, okay, there we go
we're getting somewhere
im gonna go to the side now
because Gibi said it was okay
alright, yeah see
I gotta get the back layers of your hair
Tyler, did you just cross the frame?
It's just like you're here filming with us
okay. here we go
oh yeeeeeaaaah
see when you're cutting someone else's hair,
it's just so much easier
that was a pretty big chunk
alright, let me take a look
you kinda have a mullet thing going on right now
but I can fix that
I just gotta get to the back of your head
here we go, alright
let me hold it on like this,
There we go
alriight
now that's what I'm talking about
I mean,
I think your hair looks pretty good at this point
there's no extremely jagged parts
you kind of have like um
cousinette kind of thing going on
just because your bangs are so long in the front
but besides that,
you're looking pretty good
I would say,
that you should still probably get it fixed by a professional but,
you could last a few days in public without that
so,
you're welcome
do a little turn
yeah okay,
one sec, at the back leave something to be desired but
it's not that bad
Tyler: This could've been your haircut
it wou- it is
Tyler: it is your haircut
thank you guys so much for watching
if you like that video, make sure to
shamash
that like button
and if you wanna see more videos
not neccassarily like this
make sure to
shamash
that subscribe button
Once again a big thank you to Gibi
for helping us do...
this
whatever this ends up being
and you can check out her channel
which is linked in the description below
here are my social media handles
and a big shoutout to cocobean for watching
thanks for watching cocobean
and I'll see you guys
ahnext time
