When it comes to outdoor live streaming, many people’s ingrained impression may still be stuck on pranks, flirting, shocking stunts, or showing off...Either lacking in creativity with unremarkable content, or resorting to exaggerated stunts just to grab attention, outdoor live streaming has never gained recognition from mainstream media, and has even been criticized for being vulgar and in bad taste.
As one of the earliest streamers on the Douyu platform to venture into outdoor live streaming, Ye Zi, a streamer with millions of fans, can be said to have considerable authority in the field of outdoor live streaming.As a KOL. In the past, Ye Zi also experimented with various forms of outdoor live streaming, but as the audience grew, he realized that beyond his role as a streamer, he bore greater social responsibility as a window to the outside world, and ought to convey meaningful and positive content to the public. How to maintain the freshness and interactivity of live streaming while ensuring the content is valuable? That’s a question he has been constantly pondering.
Hailing from a rural background, Ye Zi grew up in poverty and took on the burden of supporting his entire family at a very young age, but he never complained about life. With his optimistic outlook, he infected countless viewers with his smile —“Only after watching his streams for a long time did I realize this streamer not only had a tough life but also a physical disability. Yet in his livestream, there was always an overwhelming positive energy, as he worked doubly hard for the better life he aspired to. Ye Zi is awesome!” said one viewer. Perhaps it is this resilience and passion for life that won Ye Zi the deep affection of his audience.
After becoming a somewhat well-known outdoor streamer, Ye Zi did not forget those difficult days of the past. What he wanted to do was to use his camera and his own strength to help more people and inspire more people. Thus, the column "Leaf's Documentary" was born, and this documentary-style live streaming program also pioneered the trend of programmatic and content-rich streaming in the industry. He stayed true to his outdoor style, using documentary live streaming to show his audience places they wanted to go but couldn’t reach, leading everyone to explore beyond their usual realms of knowledge.
Liangshan Cliff Village, Luding Hailuogou, Zhongdong Miao Village in Guizhou...These place names, which often dominate the headlines of social news, have had their most authentic realities presented in their most unfiltered form through Ye Zi’s live streams. Poverty, backwardness, poor transportation, and scarce resources... These conditions hit viewers head-on through the streams, leaving many shocked. The local youths also learned about and started using live streaming—a new way to communicate with the outside world—thanks to Ye Zi’s arrival. Ye Zi also used this novel form of internet social interaction to open another window for the local youth.
In the past, the outside world only had fragmented imaginations about these places, and only vague impressions of how people there lived. The real conditions were distant and blurry. But these living conditions were once part of Ye Zi’s own life; he understood that feeling. He wanted to bring authenticity and change to their world by stepping into these places and getting close to the people there, and he also wanted to change people’s ingrained bias against outdoor live streaming.
Through Ye Zi’s lens, what unfolds bit by bit is the most down-to-earth local customs and cultural landscapes. Each place name becomes a vivid face. Because Ye Zi shares similar life experiences with them, his interactions and conversations with various locals during the streams are the most genuine and unguarded. He is able to use his most sensitive and unique perspective to help viewers discover a different side of the world. Through the program, we see not only the raw living conditions of various places, but also Ye Zi’s reflections on the world — reflecting a positive, world-embracing attitude toward life.
Inspired by Ye Zi, several viewers in his live stream spontaneously formed the Ye Zi Studio, helping him realize his streaming dreams. Thanks to the long-term camaraderie built in the live stream, the coordination among roles such as director, broadcast operator, and post-production made each episode seamless and more engaging. They also introduced multi-camera switching to deliver a greater amount of information to the audience. This group of dedicated fans, through continuous effort, has even begun using equipment like drones and underwater streaming gear—previously only seen in professional TV production teams.
For us, live streaming might be entertainment, but for Ye Zi, it is a career pursued with heart. He changed his fate through live streaming, and in turn gives back to the public because of that change. We hope that "Leaf's Documentary Live" can bring a cool breeze to today’s bustling live streaming platforms, filling the industry with more public-minded, positive energy.