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← All workALMATY · 2022–2023
PROOBRAZ/ A YOUTUBE MEDIA LAUNCH

22,800 subscribers.
Without ads.

I joined as a videographer, saw an opportunity to build a media product, and led its launch: from audience research and concept to production and channel growth.

CREATIVE PRODUCER
CONTENT STRATEGY · DIRECTING
Filming in church: camera and gimbal work.
FILMING IN CHURCH
FROM MY FOUNDATION WORK ARCHIVEDIRECTING THE EPISODE ↓
22,800+

subscribers by my departure in December 2023

18

videos released during my time on the project

0 ₸

spent on advertising

“A hundred views.
At most.”That was my colleagues’ prediction for the project I wanted to launch.

The first educational video reached 50,000 views. Then 100,000, 300,000 and, eventually, more than 800,000.

For me, Proobraz is a story about launching a media product: finding an audience, creating a language it understands, and building a production process that can sustain regular releases.

THE STARTING POINT / DECEMBER 2022

The charitable foundation affiliated with the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan had a well-equipped studio. It had little in the way of a systematic YouTube project for a broad audience.

When HR invited me to review the communications and suggest ideas, I proposed a contemporary Orthodox media project. The leadership approved it.

01 / STRATEGY

Start with people
outside the circle.

Studying major Orthodox channels, I noticed that much of their content spoke to people already familiar with church life. I wanted to reach those outside it.

Someone might want to visit a church but fear doing the wrong thing, being corrected, or asking a “stupid” question. That was the barrier I wanted to remove.

One idea.
Three ways in.

01

Educational explainers

How to visit a church, how to pray, what church traditions mean. Practical questions from newcomers became the backbone of the content plan and my main bet for organic growth.

02

Orthodox Unboxing

An original studio format combining a tech-style unboxing with a conversation with a priest. An unfamiliar object, honest questions, humour and improvisation. I created the format and hosted it.

03

Documentary stories

Human stories and films about church life offered a deeper perspective. I also took part in this strand and travelled to shoots. Marina handled most of the directing; Dmitry also worked on the documentary episodes.

ON LOCATION / MY FOUNDATION WORK ARCHIVE
On location with a camera: the work extended beyond the studio.
A church location: camera and participants.
02 / AN ORIGINAL FORMAT

Unbox an object.
Open a conversation.

Together with a priest, I would open a large white box and explore an unfamiliar church object. I asked the questions a viewer might feel too embarrassed to ask.

We filmed standing up, used coloured studio lighting, and eventually made blue a recognisable visual accent.

An actual episode: What Is a Kamilavka? Spoken in Russian.Full episode on YouTube ↗

Behind the camera: the priest and me on the Unboxing set.
The viewer’s questions

I approached the conversation as a curious viewer, rather than someone who already knew the answers.

A distinct visual language

Standing hosts, coloured lighting and an object on the table changed the familiar tone of religious programming.

My role

Concept creator, host and principal maker of the format, from preparation to the finished episode.

PRODUCTION

A small team.
The entire pipeline.

There was no dedicated production crew. I handled most tasks myself. To keep releases from depending on constant improvisation, I planned several weeks ahead, batched episodes into shoot days and booked guests in advance.

01 / PRE

Topic and script

Researching audience questions, structuring the episode and coordinating with priests.

02 / SHOOT

Organising and filming

Shoot planning, camera, lighting, on-camera direction and visual treatment.

03 / POST

Editing and publishing

Editing, colour grading, graphics, thumbnails and publishing.

04 / LEARN

Analytics and iteration

Retention, topics, traffic sources and thumbnails informed the next episode.

Dmitry helped on shoots when needed. Later, a dedicated writer joined script preparation and a designer took on some thumbnails. Documentary episodes were made with colleagues, with Marina handling most of their directing.

STUDIO → LOCATION → EDIT / MY FOUNDATION WORK ARCHIVE
The foundation’s studio: lighting, backdrop and a prepared set.
A location shoot: camera, lighting and working with a guest.
At the editing desk: assembling an episode and working through the footage.
WORKING WITH YOUTUBE ANALYTICS

The first success
was the starting point.

How to Visit a Church showed that the idea was finding an audience. From there, I studied where viewers lost interest, which topics and thumbnails worked, and where the audience came from.

Those observations led me to restructure scripts, strengthen openings, add supporting graphics and test thumbnails. Each new episode was a chance to improve the previous decisions.

Study viewer behaviourRevise the approachTest it in the next episode
The first educational episode. Spoken in Russian.Full episode on YouTube ↗

03 / DIRECTING SHOWCASE
10:56

A complex subject.
Eleven minutes.

Divine Liturgy: The Essentials in 11 Minutes is my favourite directing work from the project. It was not the most-viewed episode, but it best represents my approach.

We brought extensive lighting into the church, including Aputure 600 and 150 units, and built a multi-point setup. I directed the shoot, chose the angles and visual treatment, and guided the presenter. I completed editing, colour grading and graphics in DaVinci Resolve.

An excerpt from the finished episode. Spoken in Russian.Full episode · 10:56 ↗

BEHIND THE CAMERA / MY WORK ARCHIVE
Before filming in church: the camera in position.
Reviewing footage in the studio. A church scene is on the monitor.
AND THIS IS THE FINISHED EPISODE
Space: a wide view of the church
Presenter: a person in the church space
Story: action within the explanation
Visual craft should serve the story.

The goal was to explain the complex structure of the liturgy in 10 minutes and 56 seconds, clearly and without dragging out the explanation. This chapter combines working photographs from my foundation archive with stills from the finished episode.

04 / RESULTS

An audience arrived.
And stayed.

By my departure in December 2023, Proobraz had more than 22,800 subscribers. Eighteen videos had been released during my time there. Ad spend was zero, and systematic support from other social platforms remained limited.

Unboxing episodes drew from a few thousand to around 25,000 views each. Educational videos were the main growth driver; the experiment gave the project a distinct, recognisable format.

CUMULATIVE BY OCTOBER 2026
829K+

How to Visit a Church: The Rules

The first educational episode continued finding viewers after I left.

Watch the episode ↗
CUMULATIVE BY OCTOBER 2026
126K+

Divine Liturgy

A directing project that gave a complex subject a clear form.

Watch the episode ↗

22,800+ subscribers is the December 2023 result, when my involvement ended. Individual episode views are cumulative figures as of October 2026 and include the period after I left.

WHAT CAME NEXT

The project continued
after I left.

I wanted Proobraz to continue after my departure. I suggested that Alibek try hosting, and he went on to take part in the project. The channel survived and continues with a different team and editorial approach.

Today, I would keep the core content strategy, but focus earlier on distribution, community and integrating social media into production. I would also have clearer conversations with leadership about resources and goals.

MY APPROACH TO PRODUCING

A strong idea.
A system that works.

A creative producer builds a system that turns ideas into a sustainable media product and helps it find its audience.

Let’s discuss your media project ↗The Proobraz channel ↗
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