A Bangor graphic designer has become a character called Ozzie in a new series of YouTube videos for children, which are both educational and fun.
Ozzie is a knock-about Australian guy, who likes to learn new things and share them with kids.
He visits all sorts of locations to cover subjects ranging from garbage trucks, construction diggers and fire engines to surfing, sport, science experiments and even COVID-19.
The videos are aimed at children aged two to eight, but are also designed to be interesting for parents and carers.
Scott Richmond, who helped develop the character, and also plays Ozzie, is the father of three young children.
Mr Richmond worked on the project in his Bangor home during the coronavirus lockdown early this year.
The idea came from Dylan Bray, a stay-at-home dad with two children, who is a freelance producer.
The two men worked together on giving Ozzie a personality and developing story ideas.
"I took my experience in branding and graphic design and applied that to Ozzie," Mr Richmond said.
"Dylan and I wanted to give our kids quality television content so they have screen time which is educational as well as entertaining.
"There is a lot of stuff for kids on YouTube, but not a lot is Australian educational material.
"We shot the first video about three months ago and we made a commitment to put out one a week, at 3pm on Sunday."
The most popular video in the series so far has been garbage trucks, followed by fire trucks.
The fire trucks video was filmed with the assistance of the Rural Fire Service brigade at Menai.
High profile personalities, such as surfing champion Sally Fitzgibbons, appear in some of the videos.
Because YouTube is a free content platform, the only reward for the duo at this stage is satisfaction.
The opportunity to make some money will come if Ozzie becomes well-known.
"We are really excited about the level of positive feedback we have received from the initial series of Ozzie videos," Mr Richmond said.
"We've had an incredible response that we simply didn't expect. Now, we're focused on creating the next range of videos."
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Murray Trembath
St George and Sutherland Shire Leader reporter covering politics, urban affairs, council, development and general community news. Email: mtrembath@theleader.com.au
St George and Sutherland Shire Leader reporter covering politics, urban affairs, council, development and general community news. Email: mtrembath@theleader.com.au
