What’s your ‘Brief but Spectacular’ take on life?

Two years ago, I attended VidCon — the largest gathering of online content creators featuring the biggest stars in web video. I didn’t recognize anyone.

I was covering the event for what would be the pilot episode of “Everything But the News” — a PBS Digital Studios show that comments on tech culture.

Fans (mostly teenagers) mobbed Internet stars that they were used to seeing on YouTube through vlog videos each week. You may not be familiar with vlogs; I certainly wasn’t. Here’s what they involve: one person speaking directly to camera using a series of jump cuts to make their points quickly and effectively.

There was one frustrating theme shared in many of the vlogs I watched: the hosts had nothing to say. I didn’t care where they ate, what movies they liked, or what vacations they were about to take. I seemed to be the odd man out at VidCon.

My impression changed after watching the videos created by John and Hank Green, the founders of the conference. Known as the Vlog Brothers, they offered smart analysis on world events in rapid-fire succession. And their reach was extraordinary. In one notable video, John Green offers an explanation on rising costs in American Health Care that, to date, has reached 6.5 million people. I found these videos — and other like it — arresting and inspiring.

The format worked exceptionally well on people who had a lot to say. I wanted to see vlogs from the type of guests featured each night on the PBS NewsHour.

The style crammed in so much information and could be produced to reflect the subject’s personality. Whether they were loud and confident or smart and inward, the format played perfectly to the nuance that makes people fascinating.

This is the backstory for “Brief but Spectacular” — a new weekly interview series that premiered this morning on Facebook, and tonight on PBS NewsHour’s broadcast.

Each week these short segments will feature some of the brightest minds of today, offering passionate takes on topics they know well.

Subjects include director Jill Soloway (Amazon’s original series “Transparent”) on gatekeepers in Hollywood; journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates on police reform in America; Marina Abramović on the art of performance; author Michael Lewis on finding disruptive characters; performers Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, on the rise of their hit Comedy Central series “Broad City”; engineer Jason Dunn on creating the first 3-D printer in Space, and many more.

My partner Zach Land-Miller and I have had the privilege of conducting these interviews and sharing their stories.

What I find most attractive about this series is the lack of interference from the interviewer. There are no cutaways of pensive looking reporters or interjections with long-winded questions. The videos are all 2 to 4 minutes in length and get right to the point. Think of them as little protein bars in video form to consume and share throughout the day.

The title stems from an old saying of my grandfather’s: “brief but spectacular.” He said it all the time and so I want to thank Dick Goldbloom of Halifax, Nova Scotia, for his contribution.

You can watch the first installment of “Brief but Spectacular” featuring the poet Sarah Kay above, and on Thursday’s PBS NewsHour. And tell us, what’s your brief but spectacular take?