In 2014, Steve Adams and Sean Horlor launched a channel called SHIFT, on which they “test different styles of popular YouTube videos to prove if there’s a formula to YouTube success.” After several months of gathering data, Adams and Horlor have put together a documentary short about their work on YouTube. “Shift: YouTube Star,” which shares details about the duo’s work online, also includes plenty of tips for aspiring channel owners and includes interviews with YouTube success stories like Pamaj, Convos With My 2-Year-Old, and IFHT.
Adams and Horlor, who are based in the Vancouver area, based “Shift: YouTube Star” off their personal experiences on YouTube. On their SHIFT channel, they have posted everything from travel vlogs to celebrity gossip, with varying levels of success. Their biggest hit was their “Dog On A Roomba” video, which has scored more than 1.5 million views and figures prominently in “Shift: YouTube Star.”
SHIFT, though, is a small channel, and in order to more accurately reveal the best practices for success on YouTube, Adams and Horlor sought insights from local YouTube stars. In interviews, Pamaj, Convos With My 2-Year-Old’s David Milchard and Matthew Clarke, and IFHT’s Jason Lucas and Matt Dennison discuss their origins on YouTube, their tips for maintaining healthy channels, and the next steps that have assisted their respective rises. Adams and Horlor also seek out execs from YouTube Canada and BroadbandTV, who provide perspectives from outside the community of creators.
Channels owners who hope to strike it big will find a lot of interesting information within “Shift: YouTube Star.” The 22-minute documentary can be found on the SHIFT YouTube channel.
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