The Trial and Error channel celebrated its first year as YouTube Hong Kong named the team its 2021 top creator, first place, a milestone that turned three friends into a recognized production group.
The channel was launched by Yau Hok-sau (游學修), So Chi-ho (蘇致豪) and Hui Yin (許賢), who built the program from a kitchen table idea under the slogan “try being serious, be serious about trying.” From a home unit the group moved into an industrial studio, expanded to a team of more than 10 people, and staged sold out live shows that were filmed for a behind the scenes special.
“I have always believed professionalism is an attitude”
About a week before this interview, YouTube Hong Kong officially named the Trial and Error channel its 2021 top creator, first place, an acknowledgment the founders said surprised them.
“Channel just won ‘YouTube Hong Kong 2021 top creator, first place,’ can you share how that feels?” a reporter asked. The three burst into easy laughter, then described shock and gratitude.
Hui Yin said, “I saw audience responses and one struck me. We never made the trending list, yet the award is called top creator. That made me think, ah, there is a clear difference between a single video and a creator.”
So added, “I am very happy to get first. I have never gotten first before in anything, so this is a new feeling.”
Their first broadcast on October 26, 2020 used the channel motto and launched to cheers. But the early days were not free of doubt. So and Hui recalled a phone call from Yau that asked the trio to regroup. At the time each had other projects, and the idea of diverting focus was a serious decision.
“I remember saying I was excited, but after agreeing there was a period of hesitation, then once we started it felt like we had to go all in,” So said. Hui recalled near breakdowns during the first production, saying they missed internal deadlines and feared the channel would not survive.
“The one people call the troublemaker is Yau Hok-sau, the other two are the good ones, and that is enough for the audience to keep supporting Trial and Error,” Hui said with a smile.
Hui noted the numbers do not lie. Regular releases that include a test theater series and weekend thank you sessions built a loyal audience. For the three creators, data helped steer operations, but the team still prizes ideas and conviction above analytics.
Over the year Yau said he learned to shift focus and bring concentration to the channel. “I have always believed professionalism is an attitude,” he said. “Skill varies, but attitude is what you train for through practice.”
Hui said he picked up the idea from a popular artist’s social profile line, “Go Hard or Go Home,” and it changed the studio culture. “Now no one wants to go home. They eat, rest, and work here like a family,” So said, laughing that staff have even started napping under desks.
“The world is too harsh to be overly serious, so adding the word try makes life easier”
On the channel’s one year anniversary the group moved to a live stage for two performances. They sold tickets with a Dutch auction style sale, an experiment in keeping the creative spirit alive. Both shows sold out in two days.
Hui admitted he was initially resistant to the name Trial and Error. He had past production experience and hesitated to rebrand under a name built around trying. After hearing Yau’s plan and the level of certainty he offered, he agreed to move forward.
So said hesitation is natural when no one else on the street is doing the same thing. “If you think you have a reasonable chance, then you should try,” he said.
Yau described “try” as an adventurous spirit. “Often people will say maybe you should not do it, but the key is review. After each try, review what can be improved and what should be dropped.”
“Being serious while trying, and trying while being serious, are the same thing,” Yau said. He and his partners argued the two attitudes must coexist to make the work meaningful.
The anniversary shows were followed by a documentary style special that tracked the group for 40 days. The footage showed the creators and the team at their most candid, with no staged drama, and revealed the intensity of the preparation for a live audience.
So said the tension between seriousness and relaxation creates the best performances. “When you tell a story with conviction, you risk overexerting. If you remind yourself to enjoy it, the audience will follow,” he said.
Yau, who trained as an actor, said comedy has taught him to both enter and step back from a scene, to critique and to land the joke. That balance is visible across Trial and Error’s work, which often blends humor with a dark satirical edge.
“This will be the place we remember when we think about future pathways”
Asked what they would tell themselves looking back after this first year, Yau chose to answer with a piece of work. “I would tell myself to stay calmer, to be calmly angry, because there are more things to manage now and I am still learning restraint,” he said.
Hui said he wants to be bolder and to delegate more, admitting he still carries too many responsibilities. So agreed, saying he often scatters energy across many ideas and needs to plan more carefully.
All three said the last year involved real losses of time and energy, but they value having the opportunity to invest fully. “Not everyone in our generation gets the chance to use their full strength,” Hui said. “We have been going hard every day, and being able to direct that energy is a blessing,” he added.
“I think it has become my hope,” Yau said, when asked how much the channel means to him.
So added that the channel now feels larger than the three founders. “When you open your eyes to a crowd after a show, you get a lot of power back from the audience. This channel is not just ours. It is a kind of hope.”
Looking ahead the group said they do not want to rest on one achievement. Yau said he hopes the channel becomes a kind of capital that can change the industry, whether that capital is reputation, money, people or influence.
Hui said the team is already testing new formats. At the time of this interview Trial and Error had released a new variety episode inspired by a popular South Korean drama, with a larger cast and greater scale.
“If you ask if success will make us afraid to try new things, actually we are more afraid of not trying,” Hui said. “Attack is the best defense, ha ha.”
So compared the team to an investigative brigade in a popular comic, willing to go beyond the walls and take risks. “Everyone raises their hand to be part of the investigative team. That is Trial and Error’s happy place,” he said.
The interview ended on a quieter note. Each founder agreed the channel carries weight in their lives and careers and that they would treat the next year as another experiment to be taken seriously.
Credits: Executive Producer Angus Mok, Producer Vicky Wai, Photography Ken Ngan, Videography Andy Lee and Man Tam, Styling Vicky Wai. Makeup for So and Hui by Agnes Yeung. Makeup for Yau by Yvonne Yeung. Hair for So and Hui by Lupus Chui. Hair for Yau by Vic Kwan at ii Alchemy Hair. Video Editors Andy Lee and Man Tam. Editor Carson Lin. Designer Edwina Chan. Wardrobe Club Monaco, Carhartt WIP, Harvey Nichols, Solid Homme, NOMA, PERKSANDMINI, H&M, Shek Leung, Swarovski.
