Reece is a Scottish creator behind The World According to Reece, a YouTube channel, Facebook page, and website sharing the highs, lows, twists and turns, and occasional funny moments of living with total blindness and an autism diagnosis.
Through his content, he shares his personal experiences, discusses accessibility, and helps others understand the challenges that people with disabilities encounter in everyday life.
For years, Reece wanted to create videos to share those stories, but producing them independently proved difficult.
'I'd wanted to do it for a while – start a YouTube channel, build a website and make Facebook Reels,' Reece said. 'If you can't see where you're filming, it's difficult.'
With HeyGen, Reece can create videos using a digital version of himself, giving him greater independence in the way he shares his experiences.
Creating whenever he has something to share
Before HeyGen, creating a video required assistance.
Reece needed someone to position the camera, check the framing, and make sure everything was recording correctly. His screen reader could also be picked up in recordings, and editing footage presented additional accessibility challenges.
He wanted to create videos whenever he had something to share, without having to arrange filming assistance each time.
Eventually, Reece turned to ChatGPT for help.
'I told ChatGPT, "Okay, I'm blind, and I really want to try to get my video content off the ground. Are there any services I could use? Perhaps I could type in a script and it would create a video for me,"' Reece said.
ChatGPT directed him towards HeyGen.
Reece created a personal avatar of himself and began turning written scripts into videos without filming himself.
'I'm glad I came across it,' he said, 'because I probably wouldn't have started creating yet if I hadn't found it.'
Making video production more accessible with AI
Creating his avatar was only part of the challenge. Reece also needed a way to navigate the tools used to produce his videos.
Because he relies on a screen reader, Reece has learnt that not every creative tool is designed with accessibility in mind. Unlabelled buttons can slow him down, and he sometimes works with a visual interpreter to help him understand a new interface.
Over time, his workflow has become more independent.
By combining ChatGPT with HeyGen, Reece can describe what he wants to create and ask ChatGPT to help guide him through the production process.
'I've been able to ask ChatGPT to handle much of the navigation for me, so I can concentrate more on creating the videos,' he said.
He can also ask ChatGPT to describe the finished video, including what his avatar looks like, what is happening on screen, and any expressions or movements.
Previously, reviewing those visual details might have required assistance.
Whilst ChatGPT and HeyGen have significantly reduced his reliance on others, Reece still occasionally needs visual assistance, particularly when checking certain elements of a finished video. However, compared with traditional filming and editing, he needs considerably less help, allowing him to manage much more of the creative process independently.
For Reece, this means devoting more energy to what he wants to communicate rather than the mechanics of video production.
Helping others to understand his experience
Through The World According to Reece, Reece shares what everyday life is like for someone who is completely blind and has an autism diagnosis, whilst discussing broader issues affecting disabled people.
His aim is to help others understand perspectives they might not otherwise encounter.
He's beginning to receive more comments on his videos and hopes to reach an even wider audience.
However, the impact extends beyond growing a channel.
Reece wants his content to show that blindness need not prevent someone from pursuing creative interests.
'You don't have to be able to see to become a creator or do the things that you want to be able to do,' he said.
He's also exploring ways to make his videos more engaging, including sound effects and demonstrations of the technology he uses in everyday life.
As his tools become easier to use, he sees more possibilities for what he can create.
Achieving independence and creative freedom
For Reece, HeyGen has made something he had wanted to do for years more achievable.
He can now write scripts, create videos featuring his avatar, review the results with AI assistance, and share his experiences with an audience. He no longer has to arrange for help with filming whenever he wants to create something.
That independence is also encouraging Reece to look beyond his own channel. Whilst continuing to grow The World According to Reece, he is developing plans to offer video creation services to individuals and organisations using HeyGen.
He has already launched a dedicated video services page on his website, setting out the types of content he hopes to create for others, including promotional videos and explainers. Whilst the service is still being developed, it marks a promising next step in turning his creative skills into new opportunities.
What began as a way to share his own experiences could eventually help others bring their stories and ideas to life through video.
When asked how it feels to create and share videos in a way he could not before, Reece gave a simple answer.
‘It’s quite empowering to know that I’ve been able to create something, that I own it and that I’ll hopefully be able to build on it as time goes on,’ Reece said.
For Reece, the greatest benefit isn't producing more videos or creating them more quickly. It's having greater independence to tell his story, share his perspective and build something of his own.
