Behind the Scenes: Planning My Post-WWDC Video Series
After WWDC, my process always starts the same way: I list all the new topics I want to cover and begin designing small projects that showcase each feature in action. Once I have a rough outline, I record myself building out these projects, without narration, so I can revisit and refine them later. It’s not unusual for me to have four or five projects in progress at the same time, especially right after WWDC.
The early videos are usually straightforward. I start with focused, standalone APIs that don’t require complex integrations. That makes them ideal for concise, single-topic tutorials. I’ve now completed or am close to completing 10 of these videos, and so far, I’m happy with both the content and the feedback.
I’ve been working ahead intentionally so I can keep publishing videos through early October while I’m away on vacation in France. I won’t be coding while I’m away, so once I return, I’ll have to start from scratch again.
The challenge now is that the remaining topics are more complex. For instance, the Foundation framework is powerful, but it can’t be covered in just one video. It also requires macOS 26 and an iOS 15 Pro or later device to fully test. Because of this, I’ve decided to hold off on Foundation content for now.
I thought AttributedString in TextEditor would be an easier next topic. The new API allows you to apply formatting like bold, italics, underline, or color to selected text. It’s great, until you try to persist the data. That part is still a bit of a roadblock for me, so that video will have to wait.
Another exciting API is AlarmKit, which allows you to schedule alarms and countdown timers that can trigger even when your app is in the background. But to use it effectively, you need a solid understanding of App Intents. While I touched on App Intents in my My Tallies series, I haven’t dedicated any full videos to them yet. That’s something I need to tackle first.
So my tentative plan is to take a short break from WWDC content in October and release a couple of videos focused specifically on App Intents. Once that’s covered, I’ll circle back to AlarmKit and other more advanced APIs.
One thing to keep in mind is that single-topic videos tend to perform much better on YouTube than multipart series. My view count often drops off dramatically when I do a series. It’s a bit discouraging, but ultimately, these videos also serve as my own personal notes. They give me something to reference when I revisit these topics in future apps.
There’s still a lot to explore, but I’ll need to build out a few test projects before I decide how to structure the upcoming videos. I want to do these topics justice and that means investing the time to go deeper, even if it means splitting them into multiple parts later.
