After breaking into podcasting and book publishing, Tyler Oakley is now ready to make his charge into the world of film. The YouTube star is the focal point of Snervous, a documentary that is now available on video on demand (VOD) platforms.
Snervous, which was directed by filmmaker Amy Rice and produced by Awesomeness Films, follows Oakley as he embarks on his 2014 Slumber Party tour. Along the way, we meet his fans, friends, family members, colleagues, and many of the other people who are part of the popular YouTube star’s eccentric life. A trailer for the film, first released in November, gives potential viewers a taste of what to expect.
As Snervous’ release approached, Oakley made sure to set his personal publicity train in motion. He hosted a premiere party for the film at LA’s Bruin Theatre, and a lot of familiar faces from the YouTube community showed up to support their fellow creator. Oakley vlogged about the whole experience in a video he released on his YouTube channel.
Fanfare aside, is Snervous worth watching? For Oakley’s devoted fans, the answer is surely yes, though some publications that have seen the film were unsure of its general appeal. The LA Times called Snervous, “part of the phenomenon, not an examination of it,” while The Hollywood Reporter termed it “a valentine for Oakley fans.”
Targeting Snervous to Oakley’s fans is a sound idea; after all, he has more than seven million subscribers on YouTube. If you would like to pick up a copy of the film, you can purchase it from several VOD platforms, including iTunes and Vimeo On Demand.
The Young Turks (TYT) has produced a daily live stream show for the last ten years. To celebrate, the millennial-focused political news network and YouTube channel is live streaming for ten hours on December 11, 2015.
The Young Turks’ celebratory ten-hour broadcast will air live from the network’s new Culver City studio on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Periscope, Firetalk, and Meerkat. The first hour of the broadcast, which started at 9 AM PST, was led by TYT Founder Cenk Uyger and co-host Ana Kasparian. The live stream will then host four hours of The Young Turks flagship show, followed by segments from other shows like ThinkTank, PopTrigger, TYT Sports, and NerdAlert. The ten-hour live stream will also feature interviews with long-time TYT members. Live stream guests will include TYT co-hosts Ben Mankiewicz and John Iadarola, Think Tank co-host Hannah Cranston, PopTrigger co-host Samantha Schacher, and comedian Jimmy Dore.
In addition to ten years of daily live streams, The Young Turks has plenty of other accomplishments to be proud of. The network recently launched TYT Next, a crowdsourcing project to collect related videos from TYT viewers and offer regular contributors the chance to join the network’s team. Plus, back in July, the network reached two billion collective lifetime video views. TYT currently claims 66 million unique video views each month and over 2.4 million subscribers on its channel.
You can catch the rest of the Young Turks’ ten-hour live stream celebration by visiting www.tytnetwork.com/live. The broadcast will run through 7 PM PST.
Are anonymous haters harassing you on the Internet? Are their threats so malicious that you are worried about your health, safety, and/or emotional wellbeing? Do you live in the UK? If you answered yes to all three of those questions, then insurance company Chubb has a plan for you. It is now offering “troll insurance,” which protects purchasers from damages caused by cyberbullying.
Chubb’s cyberbulling policy, as explained by the UK’s Telegraph, covers its purchasers for up to £50,000. That money is most likely to go toward counselling, but the insured can gain assistance if they get doxxed and need to relocate, and they can also recoup any income they lose if they are forced to miss work.
The Telegraph says the policy is targeted at “worried parents” whose children are suffering from cyberbullying, though Internet users of all ages can be victimized by hostile trolls. John Oliver discussed some of the more extreme cases of online harassment in a Last Week Tonight segment released earlier this year:
Some readers may see cyberbullying insurance as silly or frivilous, but Chubb doesn’t view it any differently from any other type of coverage. “We see insurance as helping our clients get back to how they were before the incident occurred – whether it’s an incident that affects their home or as a person,” said Tara Parchment, Chubb’s UK and Ireland private clients manager. “So we still help to restore homes, cars and belongings that have suffered physical harm or damage, but increasingly it’s about the person and how they cope.”
According to Ars Technica, Chubb clients can sign up for troll insurance beginning on January 1st.
For 22 years, the Nobel Peace Prize Concert has been held to celebrate the renowned Nobel Peace Prize Award. And this year, YouTube is live streaming the entire event for the first time ever on December 11, 2015, starting with an exclusive pre-show hosted by YouTube star Derek Muller of the Veritasium YouTubechannel.
Muller, who boasts over 3 million subscribers on his channel, will take live stream viewers on a backstage tour of the Nobel Peace Prize Concert to show the behind-the-scenes preparations. This year’s event, airing live from Oslo, Norway, honors the National Dialogue Quartet from Tunisia for helping build democracy in their nation. The Nobel Peace Price Concert itself will feature performances from singers and bands like Jason Derulo, a-Ha, Kygo, Aurora, Emel Mathlouthi, and MØ. The concert will also include special guest hosts throughout the event such as talk show host Jay Leno, who Muller managed to snag a picture with:
I’m hosting the Nobel Peace Prize Concert live on YouTube! 10:30am PT 1:30pm ET – Jay Leno is hosting the TV show pic.twitter.com/peH5gHkznb
You can catch the Nobel Peace Prize Concert starting at 1:30 PM EST on December 11 via youtube.com/NobelPeaceConcert. On other social platforms, you can follow the events by searching for the hashtag #NobelPeacePrizeConcert.
For some film buffs, yesterday’s Golden Globe nominations marked the first important event of the annual awards season, which will lead up to the Academy Awards on February 28th. As per usual, online ticketing site and digital video publisher Fandango is taking awards season very seriously, and this year, it is getting some help from a major fashion publication. Fandango and InStylewill release a special edition of the former company’s I Love Movies web series, in which notable individuals will comment on the style within their favorite films.
I Love Movies, which launched earlier in 2015, asks its guests to talk about the flicks that have had the biggest impact on their lives. Here’s one of the recent episodes, featuring social media star Nash Grier:
The upcoming fashion edition of I Love Movies will specifically focus on familiar faces from within the world of fashion as they reveal which movies most influenced their respective careers. Legendary designer Isaac Mizrahi, for example, will explain the significance of the 1967 horror film Rosemary’s Baby within his life and work.
“Awards season is the time of year when we celebrate the intersection of film, fashion and style on the big screen and on the red carpet,” said Sandro Corsaro, Fandango’s Chief Creative Officer, in a press release. “So it was a natural for us to team up with the experts at InStyle and produce a special fashion-themed edition of our ‘I Love Movies’ series with some of the greatest fashion and style icons of our time.”
The fashion edition of I Love Movies will arrive on January 6th, four days before the Golden Globes. Check it out then across InStyle and Fandango’s respective distribution networks.
Scripps Network Interactive is investing more effort into digital content production. The cable television company has launched the Scripps Lifestyle Studios to produce branded content for distribution across digital platforms.
Scripps Lifestyle Studios will work to produce millennial-focused branded and editorial videos, photos, and articles which can then be spread across Scripps’ own digital outlets, as well as on platforms like Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Verizon’s go90 service, and the Apple News app. On December 11, for example, Scripps Lifestyle Studios will use Facebook’s new live-streaming feature to broadcast a live “cookie party” onto the official pages of Scripps’ owned properties The Food Network and HGTV.
The idea for Scripps Lifestyle Studios came after The Food Network started posting 14 stories a day to its Discover channel on Snapchat. Vikki Neil, SVP and GM of Scripps Lifestyle Studios, toldAdAge the Snapchat content “pushed us beyond our comfort zones.” “For me it was a watershed moment when we started that much content so quickly within a day and for a different audience,” Neil explained. “It was largely an impetus to how we wanted to go to market with the studio.”
Scripps Lifestyle Studios will work with its parent network to help complement Scripps’ TV projects. Scripps talent will also cross over into content for Lifestyle Studios, like how the Food Network chef Bobby Flay recently appeared in a series of videos for the network’s Snapchat channel. “The amount of that content creation really requires a dedicated effort as opposed to asking the people who create linear programming for us to also create that,” said Scripps Networks Chief Revenue Officer Steve Gigliotti. “It’s becoming too big a need and too big an opportunity.”
Part of the Lifestyle Studios’ task is to also create branded and advertising opportunities for marketing partners. “Advertisers turn to us because of our unmatched ability to deliver high-quality audiences who want ideas, information and inspiration about home, food and travel,” said Neil in a release. “With the Scripps Lifestyle Studios, we’re going to be able to reach even more people with high quality original content designed specifically for the platform on which it is delivered.”
The new Scripps Lifestyle Studios already boast 100 employees, split between Knoxville and New York City. In each city respectively, the team members are able to use both HGTV’s studio and the Food Network Kitchen to work on future content for the Lifestyle Studios.
Turkish Airlines has established itself as a brand that sponsors high-quality, relevant videos on YouTube. Now, for its latest project, it is buying into the recent trend of feature films led by stars from the YouTube community. Turkey’s national airline is behind Non-Transferable, an upcoming film that will be led by actors known for their work in web series.
Non-Transferable stars Ashley Clements (known for her leading role in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries) as Amy, a woman who plans an elaborate vacation with her boyfriend. When he dumps her, she must find another man who shares his name, in order to make use of the travel preparations she has planned. Enter Brendan Bradley, who has appeared in several web series over the past few years. Bradley plays Josh, who Amy ultimately chooses as her travel companion. Their chemistry in on full display in the film’s trailer, which can be viewed on the Turkish Airlines YouTube channel. Other YouTubers, such as Shanna Malcolm, show up as well.
Bradley, in addition to acting in one of the film’s lead roles, is also its director. “The themes and story of Non-Transferable center around the spirit of the sharing economy and a Millennial approach to social currency. In the film, a young woman trades something she has in abundance to gain something she needs,” he said in a press release. “We honored this spirit when it came to finding Sponsors to produce the film.”
For updates about Non-Trasferable, keep an eye on its official website.
On the day of the annual Golden Globe nominations, Glamour has released a web series that puts a new spin on award-winning films. The Conde Nast-owned publication is behind Role Reversal, which imagines female actors in roles made famous by men.
The three movies featured in Role Reversal’s initial slate of episodes are all modern classics: Fight Club, Silence of the Lambs, and There Will Be Blood. Instead of highlighting the performances of Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Daniel Day-Lewis, Glamour’s series turns to a trio of actresses, who put their own signatures on the films’ famous monologues. Abigail Breslin delivers Tyler Durden’s generational manifesto, Julia Garner tells her audience “I drink your milkshake,” and, in the cleverest casting of the three episodes, Golden Globe nominee Uzo Aduba performs her own version of Hannibal Lecter:
For Role Reversal, Glamour worked with Cailin Yatsko and Ani Simon-Kennedy of Bicephaly Pictures, who produced and directed the series. “In a time when women actors complain of the absence of meaty roles to sink their teeth into—and women make up only 30 percent of characters who even get to speak in top-grossing films—Glamour is proud to showcase some of this generation’s most talented young women taking on these memorable roles,” said Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive in a press release. “Each one of these scenes is riveting in a new, wholly unique way—and Uzo Aduba makes an unforgettable Hannibal Lecter.”
The “gender-flipped classic: has emerged as its own subgenre in the world of online video, but few series have inhabited that space as smoothly as Role Reversal. You can check out all three current episodes on Glamour’s website and YouTube channel.
Yahoo has a new way to help you discover streaming video content. The internet tech giant and publisher launched the Yahoo Video Guide app on December 10, 2015.
The new Yahoo Video Guide app is currently available for iOS and Android users in the U.S. The mobile app lets users search for movies and TV shows they want to watch across a variety of digital entertainment services, including Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Video, HBO Go, YouTube, ABC, Fox, and more. After a user installs the the Yahoo Video Guide, the app analyzes which streaming apps from these entertainment brands are already installed on a user’s phone. A user can then view titles he or she has access to via the Guide. Once a user selects a title, the Video Guide launches the applicable app on the user’s device.
Users of the Yahoo Video Guide can browse recommended features from the home screen, or look through the “Movies” and “TV” tabs for specific selections. Each title comes with a summary, a rating pulled from Rotten Tomatoes, and the title’s streaming cost, as well as places to watch the selection for free (if available). Users can also choose movies and TV based on their mood thanks to the app’s “Mood Picker” feature, which presents different GIFs to help users discover related content. For example, a user who selects a GIF of a fire might be shown action movies, while another user who taps a GIF of two people kissing will be shown romance options.
“As your favorite movies and TV shows continue to migrate from the cable box and into a variety of streaming services, it’s becoming increasingly painful to actually find and watch them,” wrote Yahoo’s Senior Director of Product Management Robby Stein in a company blog post. “That’s why we built Yahoo Video Guide – it’s our first step in bringing you an easier, faster way to find and stream your favorite movies and TV shows in the cord-cutting age. This is an exciting step for us as we move towards a day when we all watch TV and movies exclusively from our mobile phones, iPads and connected TVs.”
If you’re a U.S. citizen, you can download the Yahoo Video Guide app from the iTunes App Store or Google Play.
Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments of YouTube Millionaires here.
After spending five years making videos on YouTube, Nikki Phillippi has reached a major milestone. Phillippi, whose fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and music videos resonate with her fans, has reached one million subscribers. Along the way, she’s shared dozens of looks, offered a plethora of useful tips, joined forces with fashion and beauty network StyleHaul, and maintained a cheery attitude along the way. Here’s how she defines her career in her own words:
Tubefilter: How does it feel to have one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?
Nikki Phillippi: It honestly feels surreal! I’ve been thinking lately that if I tried to count to one million it would take me a long time. To think that each of those numbers are people, with their own lives and families…It’s just mind blowing.
I think what I have to say to everyone is thank you! When people subscribe to my channel they are supporting me.. And their support means so much to me because they’ve been a part of drastically changing me and my husband’s lives. I get to make videos for a living and that’s CRAZY to me! I used to do this as a kid on my parents video cameras! Mind blown.
TF: What achievement are you most proud of within your career on YouTube?
NP: Honestly, I know this is really businessy and a lot of people do this now…but making YouTube into my job has made me really proud. I have been making videos since I was like 10, so I’m extremely happy, grateful and proud of the fact that I was able to make this into a job. I recognize this isn’t something I did solely by myself, but I just think it’s so cool! It’s really exciting to me to get to do this as more than just a hobby.
TF: On a similar note, what do you think is the most interesting way in which YouTube has changed since you started making videos?
NP: Along those same lines I think the professionalism has changed a lot since I started making videos. Not only has everyone’s quality continued to go up, but also big companies have stepped into the space to advertise. They have really allowed a lot more creators to make a living off the content they make.
Also, YouTube viewers have become so much more comfortable with creators working with brands. For the most part, I think our audiences trust us and trust that we’re only working with brands we enjoy and think they would too. They understand that it now takes a significant amount of time to make content, and so we have to get paid so we don’t have to work another job. We wouldn’t have time to produce content. When I first started YouTube though, I remember that subscribers would feel cheated just by people joining the partner program and running Adsense on their channels. Now that’s standard practice for practically anyone that uploads a video.
TF: Do you think your own personal videomaking style has changed in any significant ways as you’ve grown older?
NP: I would say that my content has just continued to improve. My equipment and knowledge of filming and editing has slowly improved over the years. As far as the type of content I make, that’s always evolving and will continue to evolve as I “grow up,” but I’ve always created lifestyle content from the beginning, so in that sense it’s the same. I’ve just become more comfortable talking by myself to a camera, and like I said, the quality has gone up.
TF: How would you describe your basic “philosophy” about beauty and makeup?
NP: I think that beauty and makeup are such personal things. I like to share what I do to feel beautiful, but I like to share it from the perspective of “this is MY taste and how I express myself in case you’re interested…but do YOU! There is no right or wrong!” I think it’s just important to try and be the best YOU you can be and to feel comfortable and confident in the choices you make. I don’t want people to feel the need to conform…I TRULY believe that there isn’t one definition of beauty.
TF: How have you approached brand partnerships as your channel has grown?
NP: As time has gone on I have found myself wanting to be more and more transparent with my subscribers. I think I always have been in some ways, but now, I go so far as to open the videos by announcing that it is sponsored by a certain brand. I want my viewers to know that I’m going to be straight up with them. Plus, I feel like they’re actually going to be more receptive to the brands I’m repping if I just tell them “yo. I’m working with this brand!” I think this prevents people from feeling tricked or used.
TF: How did you feel about your recent appearance on Good Day Chicago?
NP: Omg! That was so much fun! To be honest it was kind of surreal. Walking into the newsroom was like walking onto a movie set. I couldn’t believe I was there. I love working with Birchbox and it was so cool I got to go rep them on the news.
I think it went well! Darlene the anchor was so sweet and helpful and supportive and the whole PR team and Birchbox was just amazing. It was such a great experience.
TF: Any plans to make more music videos in the future?
NP: Actuallyyyy, I have a new music video coming out In January! We filmed it a couple months ago. I know it sounds strange to film something so early and then hold it for a few months, but it’s specifically for a series I do on my channel every year called How To Be Happy January where I talk about happiness (obviously). This video is a charity video, because I think working to help others is an important element of happiness. It’s aimed at bringing awareness to human trafficking, which is a cause I’m really passionate about. It’s a collaboration with Kylan Road and Rachel Talbott and I have a full orchestral band behind me. It is SO amazing and I seriously can’t wait for it to come out!
TF: What’s next for your channel?
NP: This year I want to work on improving my content, both aesthetically and also in terms of the value I’m bringing to my viewers in each video. I have so many ideas, but executing them when I’m so busy is hard, so that’s a goal for this year. Also, my blog The Gang is relaunching, and I want to make videos that go hand in hand with content on the site. The Gang is going to be an inspirational lifestyle blog and I have contributors I’m working with on it. I can’t wait for it to relaunch in conjunction with #howtobehappyjanuary. Hopefully, we will be able to inspire people to live out the life they most desire and by the end of 2016 I’ll be able to say that’s what I’m proudest of for the year.
Netflix has complete confidence its subscribers want more episodes of one of its original series. The streaming video service has renewed the comedy Grace and Frankie for a third season.
Netflix has officially given the greenlight to a develop a third season of Grace and Frankie, which stars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda as two frenemies who must lean on each other for support after they learn their husbands are gay and want to marry each other. The streaming service could already be working on pre-production for Grace and Frankie season three, even though the show’s second season has yet to debut on Netflix at some point in 2016. The streaming service made the season three announcement via the official Grace and Frankie Twitter account:
The nominations for the 73rd Golden Globe Awards arrived on December 10th, and they affirmed the streaming video industry’s growing influence within the world of television. Shows distributed by Netflix and Amazon combined to receive dozens of nominations, and for the first time, Hulu scored a significant nod of its own, thanks to Casual’s presence among the nominees for Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical.
Casual, which comes from oft-nominated director Jason Reitman, premiered on Hulu in October to modest critical praise. Its Golden Globe nomination represents a big step forward for Hulu, which is hoping to compete with the established original series lineups of Netflix and Amazon.
Those two companies have their own nominated comedies, too; in fact, the entire Comedy or Musical category is a testament to the advancement of streaming video. Just two years after Netflix scooped up its first Globes win, four of the six nominated comedies–Orange is the New Black, Transparent, Mozart in the Jungle, and Casual–are distributed by Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu.
It’s not just the comedies, either; the entire nominee list is filled with digital contenders. Beyond Orange is the New Black, five other Netflix shows–Bloodline, Grace and Frankie, Master of None, House of Cards, and Narcos–are up for awards. Netflix also earned its first film nomination thanks to Idris Elba, who was recognized for his role in Beasts of No Nation. Perhaps, in a couple years, the Globes’ movie categories will be similarly saturated with flicks distributed by streaming platforms. For now, we can only marvel at the speed with which Netflix and its ilk have gone from experimental outsiders to awards season stalwarts.
