Fandango has released a very meta web series. On June 10, 2015, the movie ticketing service launched the first episode of Movieclips Mini Movies: Featuring Brian the Minion, which finds the lovable Minions from the Despicable Me movies responding to classic films.

The Movieclips Mini Movies series features the new Minion character Brian, who goes to the movies with his brothers. Things get a little crazy when the Minions, a la Mystery Science Theater,  start reacting to classic Universal Pictures’ films like Back to the Future and E.T. The debut episode of Movieclips Mini Movies features Brian and his siblings watching Jurassic Park, just in time for the June 12 release of the film Jurassic World.

Fandango’s Movieclips Mini Movies is also timed to promote the upcoming film and Despicable Me prequel Minions, which will premiere in theaters on July 10. The Minions-themed web series is a joint production between Universal, Illumination Entertainment, and Fandango’s Movieclips department (which owns rights to classic film footage and was acquired by Fandango from ZEFR back in April 2014).

“Minions is one of the most anticipated films of the summer, according to our Fandango fans, and we wanted to do something special for them across our massive Fandango Movieclips digital platform,” said Fandango Chief Creative Officer Sandro Corsaro in a release. “We pitched the creative minds at Illumination the idea of showing Minions reacting to classic films in a movie theater setting. Their talented team delivered a series of exciting and original digital shorts – and we are thrilled to share them with our movie-loving audience.”

You can watch the Movieclips Mini Movies series on Fandango’s website, its corresponding YouTube channel, or any other Fandango platform available on the web or through Hulu, Roku, and Samsung Milk Video apps.

Filed under: Articles, Fandango, News by Bree Brouwer
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Marriott International will bring more movies and TV shows into guests’ hotel rooms. The hotel chain has partnered with Netflix to bring in-room video streaming to six of its U.S. establishments.

Marriott had previously tested Netflix and Hulu streaming in eight of its American hotels. Now, Netflix subscription and streaming access is available in San Jose Marriott, Princeton Marriott, Dallas/Fort Worth Marriott Solana, Newport Marriott, New York Marriott East Side, and Bethesda Marriott Suites.

Six more hotels will offer in-room Netflix support by the end of summer 2015. These establishments will include San Francisco Marriott Marquis, Anaheim Marriott, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Dayton Marriott, San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, and Marriott Marquis Washington, D.C. Marriott hopes to provide in-room Netflix to 100 of its U.S. hotels by the end of 2015, with almost all of its 300 establishments running the service by the end of 2016.

“Our collaboration with Netflix responds to changing consumer preferences in the way our guests access and watch content, while recognizing the leading role Netflix is playing in driving this transformation,” said Matthew Carroll, Marriott’s VP of brand management, in a statement as reported by Variety.

While the financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, the agreement between Netflix and Marriott makes sense. Marriott has had its eye set on the future of entertainment for a while now. The hotel chain launched a digital video studio in fall 2014 and has been steadily investing in both short-form and long-form content for the enjoyment of consumers. Marriott’s content studio even won the Brand of the Year award from MIPTV for all its branded entertainment projects.

Marriott claims up to 26% of its guests in a few of its hotel locations use internet apps on in-room TVs, with many choosing Netflix.

Filed under: Articles, Branded Entertainment, Netflix, News by Bree Brouwer
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Bernie Su and Pemberley Digital’s The Lizzie Bennet Diaries will live on, but this time in another book. The story of the hit web series, which garnered over 58 million views on its channel, will continue with an original book called The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet, based on Lizzie’s rambunctious youngest sibling.

The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet will pick up where Lizzie Bennet left off. Now that Lizzie and Jane are out of the house, Lydia (played by Mary Kate Wiles in the web series) must take charge of her own future after being humiliated online by her ex-boyfriend. The youngest Bennet sister has matured, is working to finish her college degree, and is learning how to become an adult by figuring out who she can (and can’t) trust.

The newest addition to the Lizzie Bennet franchise will be the first book to tell the Bennet family story after the web series’ completion, and the second book to come out of Pemberley Digital’s deal with publisher Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. The first book, The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, re-told major plot points of the web series with additional twists and information not revealed in the show.

Kate Rorick and Rachel Kiley penned The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet. Rorick is a television writer who has worked on shows such as Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Terra Nova; Rorick is also a historical romance novelist under the pen name Kate Noble. Kiley worked as a writer and producer on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and the spin-off The Lydia Bennet!!

The paperback of The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet will arrive in digital and retail stores on September 29, 2015 for $16.00. You can pre-order your copy through the book publisher’s website.

Filed under: Articles, News, Pemberley Digital, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries by Bree Brouwer
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Kin Community has a new creator among its talent roster. The female lifestyle multi-channel network has signed YouTube beauty vlogger Casey Holmes (who also goes by the nickname itsbl0ndie).

Holmes is a Georgia native who describes herself on her YouTube channel page as “makeup and hair obsessed.” Repped by Scott Fisher of Select Management Group, the 23-year-old vlogger is popular for not only her videos on beauty and fashion, but also her daily routine, product haul, and DIY and home decorating clips. Since uploading her first video in 2012, Holmes has garnered over 946,000 subscribers and more than 63 million total video views.

“My channel has always focused on all things girly!” Holmes explained in a release. “As I’ve grown-up, I’ve started to focus on other things in my life including relationships and home decor. Kin Community is the perfect partner for me to expand my content and continue to grow my audience.”

“At Kin, we strive to find creators who are on the cutting edge in the women’s lifestyle space,” said Jennifer McDonnell, Kin’s Vice President of Partnerships, in a release. “Casey’s channel has the unique voice and creative style we love and are ecstatic to welcome her to the network as our partner.”

Holmes joins several other well-known YouTube creators who are part of Kin’s network. Rosanna Pansino (who was just featured in a new web series from home retail store Wayfair) is partnered with Kin, as are Ann Reardon and Lauren Riihimaki (aka LaurDIY).

Kin’s website claims its entire creator network reaches more than 33 million YouTube subscribers and has garnered 435 million+ collective video views.

Filed under: Articles, News, Web Series by Bree Brouwer
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Just one day after it revealed its plan to distribute Pentatonix’s tour documentary, Vimeo has announced another deal centered around a film that captures YouTube stars on the road. Vimeo On Demand is the new home of #O2LForever, Fullscreen, Rockstream Studios, and DigiTour Media‘s documentary about YouTube supergroup Our2ndLife (O2L).

#O2LForever director Michael Goldfine (who Fullscreen has since hired as its Chief Content Officer) tagged along with O2L as the supergroup–composed of members Connor Franta, Kian Lawley, Jc Caylen, Ricky Dillon, Trevor Moran, and Sam Potorff–performed across the US as part of The Digitour, a cross-country series of live events featuring social media stars. Along the way, Goldfine and his team gleaned all the information they needed to create what a Vimeo press release calls the “final account” of O2L; the group split up at the end of 2014.

“This film takes a special look at fandom in the social media age and explores how online video has transformed the way creators and fans connect,” said Goldfine in the press release. “These guys developed an incredibly unique and remarkable relationship with their audience, and we were lucky to ride along on the tour bus to capture these moments. We’re excited to share this with O2L’s community and Vimeo’s global audience.”

#O2LForever, which premieres on June 23rd, will retail for $9.99. O2L superfans can add to their order by purchasing a $44.99 premium bundle that comes with an #O2LForever hoodie and a copy of the film. And for the most eager O2L supporters, the film is available for preorder two weeks before its premiere.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, Our2ndLife, Vimeo by Sam Gutelle
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During VidCon, Anaheim will be a hotspot for feature films starring members of the YouTube community. The yearly online video convention will run adjacent to the world premiere of The Chosen, a horror thriller led by social media star Kian Lawley.

The Chosen is the first feature film produced by Supergravity Pictures, which teamed up with Terror Films for the project. Lawley stars as a young man who must strike back against an evil force that is haunting his family. The trailer for the film debuted at another YouTube convention–Playlist Live–where it was shared in February 2015.

The film’s premiere event, which will take place on July 24th, will include interactive events and screenings for fans, Supergravity co-founder Max Benator told The Hollywood Reporter. The Chosen is not the only movie timed to arrive right around VidCon. One day before it premieres, fans in the Anaheim area will be among the first people to see Smosh: The Movie, a feature film starring its titular comedy duo.

Lawley, at just 19 years old, is a major star across social media. After attracting attention as part of the YouTube supergroup Our2ndLife (O2L), he has amassed millions of subscribers across his personal channel and the collaborative outlet he runs alongside fellow O2L alumnus Jc Caylen. His feature film career is not limited to The Chosen. He has also been cast as one of the three stars of Shovel Buddies, a coming-of-age story produced by AwesomenessTV.

The Chosen will look to capture much of its viewership from among Lawley’s subscribers. Those fans will be out in full force at VidCon, and many of them will be eager to check out Lawley’s film debut.

DISCLAIMER: Supergravity co-founder Marc Hustvedt is also a co-founder of Tubefilter.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Featured, News, Web Series by Sam Gutelle
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Move over, 4K. There’s a new high-definition sheriff in town. Over the past few days, YouTube users have begun to notice a few videos that are available in 8K (4320p) resolution.

The video receiving the most attention is “Ghost Towns,” a short film released on a channel called Neumannfilms. Tech vlogger Marques Brownlee discovered “Ghost Towns” the day after its arrival on YouTube, and he shared it on his Google+ page, where his fans marveled at the extraordinary resolution.

For most viewers, though, the ultra-HD format will be accompanied by seemingly endless buffering. 4K quality, which began to pop up on YouTube at the beginning of 2014, is already a stretch for most personal computers, and 8K, as its name implies, is twice as sharp.

“Ghost Towns” is embedded below. Go ahead and see if you can get it to work. I only managed to get a few snatches of 8K before being greeted by the spinning buffer icon, but they were indeed a glorious few seconds.

When tech blog 9to5Google reached out to YouTube for comment, a representative for the video site explained that 8K has been supported since 2010. It is only popping up now thanks to new cameras on the market that can support it, and YouTube added the labeling for 8K quality “earlier this year.” As those cameras become more common, 8K videos will hit YouTube in greater numbers. If you want to watch them, start investing in your souped-up PC now.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, YouTube by Sam Gutelle
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Ingrid Nilsen just revealed a very personal and powerful piece of information. The YouTube celebrity, boasting over 3.3 million subscribers on her channel, has released a video in which she announces she’s gay.

In Nilsen’s video, the 26-year-old vlogger sits down in front of the camera, and after a few nervous starts, she directly tells viewers about her sexuality. She gets emotional and tears up, noting how it feels “so good to say that.” Nilsen uses the rest of her video to explain how she first knew she was gay, why she kept her sexual orientation hidden from public knowledge, and how she avoided friendships with women because she was afraid to see what would happen afterwards.

But the most salient part of Nilsen’s announcement is at the very beginning of her video. The vlogger tells her viewers, “This is not something that I chose. This is something that is a part of me and has always been a part of me.”

Nilsen shouldn’t need to worry about what people will think of her announcement. So far, the response from fans and fellow YouTubers (some who have also come out as gay recently) has been overwhelmingly supportive across social media:

so happy for my queen @ingridnilsen for sharing her story and truth. you’re making the world a better place! 💫 https://t.co/eR8A56Uu9A

— Tyler Oakley (@tyleroakley) June 9, 2015

Big ❤️ and 🎉 for @ingridnilsen today! — mamrie hart (@mametown) June 9, 2015

@ingridnilsen all the love headed your way girl. 🙌🏼💗💕

— Jenna Mourey/Marbles (@Jenna_Marbles) June 9, 2015

Nilsen no longer has to hide who she is, and hopefully, her video inspires other individuals to be themselves, as well.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, News by Bree Brouwer
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After a short delay, Wil Wheaton’s long-awaited web series has finally arrived only a week after its intended release date. The actor debuted his new role-playing game show Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana on the Geek & Sundry website on June 9, 2015.

Titansgrave is based on the original role-playing game of the same title, created by Wheaton over three months using a fantasy version of the Adventure Game Engine created by independent publisher Green Ronin. The Geek & Sundry web series will show the live-action gameplay of Titansgrave with Wheaton and his fellow cast members Hank Green (one-half of the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel), Laura Bailey (actress for Avengers Assemble), Alison Haislip (from G4’s Attack of the Show), and Yuri Lowenthal (actor for Big Hero 6).

Each of the ten episodes of Titansgrave will follow the adventures of the cast members’ characters as they work their way through game’s unique world, which combines both science fiction and fantasy elements. Geek & Sundry has released the first episode of the series, with an additional “Chapter 0” which details the Titansgrave gameplay basics, characters, world, mythology, and more.

“I wanted to bring something to the forefront of the roleplaying world that maybe not as many people are familiar with as I want them to be,” Wheaton said in an earlier video revealing the name of Titansgrave. The ex-Star Trek actor also said he wanted his game to be like the way it was when he first fell in love with RPG games, by “sitting around on a couch and chairs with my friends… and just work together to use our imaginations to tell a story.”

New episodes of Titansgrave will be released every Tuesday exclusively on Geek & Sundry’s website.

Filed under: Articles, Geek and Sundry, News, Web Series by Bree Brouwer
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What’s Trending is known for its Internet-savvy take on the news and its interviews with social media tastemakers, and with its latest series, it is expanding into the world of music. The media company has announced the return of #AskArtist, a series that combines live performances with interview segments.

#AskArtist began in September 2014 when Nick Jonas stopped by YouTube Space LA to perform a few songs and answer a few questions from fans. In bringing the series back, What’s Trending is once again occupying YouTube’s Playa Vista production facility, where it has teamed up with Dash Radio to host a series of concerts.

The first installment of the new round of #AskArtist episodes features Neon Trees. The alt-rockers will perform at YouTube Space LA at 4 PM PST on June 10th, and in an accompanying discussion, What’s Trending host Shira Lazar will ask questions submitted by the band’s fans via the #AskNeonTrees hashtag.

Future installments of #AskArtist will feature performers who gained much of their fame through social media, such as Lil Dicky and Jack and Jack. Each episode of the series will be released on What’s Trending’s YouTube channel (which has accumulated more than 73 million views since its launch) and the Dash Radio website.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, What's Trending, YouTube Spaces by Sam Gutelle
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Pixability has new evidence beauty brands are making an impact on YouTube. The video marketing company found that from January 2014 to April 2015, brand-produced beauty content on YouTube gained a whopping 78% monthly view increase.

In its new “Beauty on YouTube 2015” study, Pixability studied 215 different beauty brands and the videos of 182,621 creators. The study reveals a lot about the way the beauty culture on YouTube is changing and how brands are benefiting from those changes, even beyond the impressive 78% growth in monthly views on branded content.

Pixability found over the last year and few months, views of brand-produced beauty content on YouTube grew 35% faster than views on overall YouTube beauty content. Mentions of beauty brands on YouTube increased 53% year-over-year. Plus, ten of the top 25 most-viewed beauty videos published on YouTube in the first four months of 2015 were brand-produced or sponsored.

Increased interest in new beauty categories, like men’s grooming, has also allowed brands to capitalize on those trends. For example, monthly video views on mature beauty content, aimed at consumers over the age of 45, grew 62% faster than the overall YouTube beauty ecosystem. And crossover videos (which combine beauty with other topics like fashion or comedy) routinely attract 530% more views per video than beauty-only clips.

“Following the widespread adoption of our original study by beauty brands worldwide, Pixability recognized the need to reanalyze YouTube’s dynamic beauty industry and highlight significant shifts that brand marketers should be aware of,” said Pixability’s Chief Marketing Officer Rob Ciampa in a release. “This resource will position beauty brands for success as they increase paid spend and execute marketing campaigns on YouTube.”

Overall, Pixability found video views on beauty content from all brands and creators rose 50% from from January 2014 to April 2015. You can see more stats in this infographic from Pixability’s study:

Filed under: Articles, News, Pixability, YouTube by Bree Brouwer
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Netflix has saved another television show from cancellation. The video streaming service will bring a new season of the teen Canadian cable series Degrassi: The Next Generation to its platform sometime in 2016.

Starting in the ‘80s as after-school specials called The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi: The Next Generation follows the drama and joys of high schoolers attending Degrassi Community School. The show addresses issues young adults encounter in their lives, such as body issues, violence, sexuality, substance abuse, and racism. Viacom’s TeenNick cancelled Degrassi after more than ten seasons on Canadian cable TV.

Netflix’s new season of the show will be called Degrassi: Next Class. The episodes will pick up the same story threads and themes as the original Canadian series, and will be produced by the show’s original production company Epitome Pictures.

Degrassi graduates to Netflix. Meet the Next Class, coming in 2016 pic.twitter.com/FhUZJ3ZiiL

— Netflix US (@netflix) June 9, 2015

“For more than three decades, this groundbreaking show has been reaching teens with important stories and starting in 2016 our members around the world will be able to enjoy and discover the newest chapter of this great show,” said Netflix’s VP of Global Content Erik Barmack to Variety.

Degrassi: Next Class will be the most recent season of a television show released by a streaming platform. Netflix is also working on a new season of the popular ‘90s series Full House, and has also given A&E’s cancelled Longmire another round of new episodes. Plus, Yahoo revived NBC’s Community for a sixth season back in March 2015.

Netflix’s revival of Degrassi will arrive on the streaming platform in 2016.

Filed under: Articles, Netflix, News by Bree Brouwer
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