Rubik's Cube stunt video earns Edmonton man $50,000 grant for web series
Up next: operating a car with dance pad from Dance Dance Revolution
An Edmonton man who filmed himself solving a Rubik's Cube puzzle while skydiving has won a $50,000 grant to produce a web series called How to Learn Anything.
Stephen Robinson's bizarre video was shot as the pilot episode of a web series he can now make with the money from STORYHIVE, a Telus video production grant program.
STORYHIVE announced Robinson, 23, as the Alberta winner of its web series contest this week.
"I've been getting a whole bunch of people reaching out to me since we got the grant," Robinson said Thursday. "It's kind of overwhelming — in a good way."
Robinson said he intends to skim off a little of the cash for living expenses, and use the rest to keep making videos in which he learns two unrelated skills in "interesting and entertaining ways."
He said he'll continue working on How to Learn Anything with his older brother Lindsay.
Previously, he had worked as a solo act on his earlier web series, 52skillz. He challenged himself to take on a new challenge, learning opportunity or unique experience every week for a year.
"That was me on my own, complete and total control over how the video looks, how it feels, the editing of it, how it's shot, the scripting," he said. "Bringing another human being into that was really interesting."
Brothers had 'goofy' relationship
He and his older brother had always had a "very goofy" relationship. But working together on the pilot for How to Learn Anything made them get more serious, he said.
"This was the first time we ever had to have tough conversations, and say 'Hey, you're not pulling your weight,' or whatever. So that was really interesting."
Robinson said he doesn't necessarily plan to "top" his Rubik's Cube video, since the Learn Anything series isn't only going to be about stunts.
"I don't know if we can top it, but we can match it in a whole bunch of different ways without trying to be like 'That Stunt Show."
But he did allow that one episode in the works is verging on a stunt.
It will feature Robinson learning how to drive a car via remote control.
The twist will be that instead of a typical controller, he'll be using a foot-operated dance pad from the music video game Dance Dance Revolution.
"It will be dangerous," he promised, "but what has ever been fun that isn't at least a little bit dangerous?"