Category: Indie Film & Video
Leesa Dean: Adventures of a Web Series Newbie
Chapter 45 – The YouTube Conundrum
by Leesa Dean
Last week, there was an article in the New York Times about Olga Kay, who’s a really successful YouTuber and it contained a lot of food for thought.
Essentially, it breaks down exactly how much work Ms. Kay, who has about a million subscribers, puts into her multiple channels (a TON). She posts at least 20 videos a week to her main channels—something I can’t even fathom. Yes, the shows are typically make-up reviews or fashion tips, series that don’t involve much writing, but believe me, you can’t just turn on a camera and expect people to watch these days.
She works at home (mostly), filming/editing/producing and starring in her vids. And she’s been doing this since 2006. She averages around $100,000 to $130,000 a year which is a really good salary to make from videos, but considering all the work she does and the years she’s put into it? Not very much. Especially since she sinks most of it back into production.
Peer Production: JUSTE DE L’EAU
Nice still, huh? You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. JUSTE DE L’EAU is, to us, nothing less than beautifully inscrutable.
Hint for those looking for meaning: Ever get that feeling that you’re alone, oh-so-alone, even when you’re in a crowd? (Or, if you’re like most writers we know, especially when you’re in a crowd?)
Peer Production: PLATOON OF POWER SQUADRON
A web drama series that we actually enjoy. (And we say that as people who are much more likely to want to watch something and laugh our butts off instead of worry about, you know, something bad happening to the heroes.
Oh, we also like the way this series pretends to deconstruct the whole heroic saga notion while actually injecting it with fresh, and vibrant, life.
Check out the first episode. (Don’t worry. There are plenty more.)
The Birth of Video Art
Gizmodo has made a video that’s required viewing for everybody who thinks peer production started because of YouTube. What a terrific – and essential – history lesson this is: