Video ideas from what's breaking out on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook

Video ideas by topic

These are formats you can copy: each one groups channels on Radar that make the same kind of video, with what they have in common. Written video ideas replace them here as each weekly update adds more.

• 10 channels

  HistoryArchival photo history documentary explainers

  Faceless history channels built on archival photographs have become one of the most recognizable formats in online documentary storytelling.

  For example Ricks Clips

• 1 channel

  HistoryAnimated stick-figure human origins explainers

  Faceless animated explainers about human origins have become a recognizable corner of online video. Their defining trait is simple: no presenter appears on camera.

  For example BrainZap

• 8 channels

  Film, gaming & sportsAnimated what-if hypothetical shorts

  Animated what-if hypothetical shorts are a faceless video format built around a single question. A narrator, usually heard but never seen, poses a scenario that begins with "what if" or "your life as" and then plays it…

  For example DOOMPERK

• 1 channel

  Film, gaming & sportsAI-generated sci-fi movie adventures

  Faceless entertainment channels built around AI-generated sci-fi adventures have become a recognizable corner of online video.

  For example NEXORA CINEMA

• 1 channel

  Film, gaming & sportsGTA 6 news and gameplay guides

  Faceless video channels are YouTube channels that publish commentary, explainers and guides without ever showing the creator's face or voice in the frame.

  For example Quinfy

• 5 channels

  Motivation & self-improvementAnimated discipline and self-improvement short films

  Animated discipline and self-improvement short films form a corner of online video that rewards patience and a steady hand.

  For example Wallace

• 4 channels

  Nature & animalsApex predator dark illustrated creature shorts

  Faceless animal channels have become a recognizable corner of online video, and the format behind the "apex predator dark illustrated creature" style is a good example of how a simple idea can turn into a repeatable…

  For example ApexMorph

• 2 channels

  Science, space & tech3D reconstructions of real aviation disasters

  Faceless video formats have become a familiar corner of online media: channels that publish polished, narrated videos without ever showing a host on camera.

  For example TALEYE

• 2 channels

  Mystery, horror & true crimeAnimated creepy instruction horror shorts

  Animated creepy instruction horror shorts are a faceless video format that blends two familiar things: the calm, step-by-step tone of an instruction manual and the slow dread of a horror story.

  For example CA Daily English

• 1 channel

  Mystery, horror & true crimeAnimated zombie survival day-by-day stories

  Faceless channels are video channels that tell stories, explain ideas or present commentary without ever showing the creator's face or voice.

  For example Melvin Wont Die

• 2 channels

  Kids & bedtime storiesAnimated family English-learning story shorts

  Animated family English-learning story shorts are a faceless format built around a simple promise: a short, cartoon-style story told in slow, clearly pronounced English, designed to help learners follow along by ear.

  For example Little Oops English

• 1 channel

  Geography & countriesCountry power rankings and geopolitics shorts

  Faceless video channels are YouTube and short-form projects that publish polished videos without ever showing the creator's face or voice.

  For example GeoGlobeTales

• 1 channel

  Money & businessGrocery brand exposé and product comparison shorts

  Faceless channels built around grocery brand exposés and product comparisons have become a familiar corner of short-form video. The format is simple to describe.

  For example Hungerwise

How to turn a trend into a video idea

Four checks decide whether a breakout video is worth copying.

1. 1

   It took off within days.

   The YouTube board shows how many days each video has been up. A video near the top after a few days is the strongest signal.

2. 2

   Views beat subscribers.

   A video with many times more views than its channel has subscribers reached people who did not follow the channel.

3. 3

   Viewers ask the same question.

   Read the comments: when many people ask the same thing, that question is your next video.

4. 4

   It works as a template.

   Keep the format and change the subject. If you can see ten more episodes in the same shape, it is worth making.

Make one like this on any YouTube card opens Studio with the niche and Style filled in, and quotes the price before anything is made.

What Radar tracks (and what it does not)

Radar tracks faceless channels on YouTube: channels whose videos never show the creator.