It is fair to call Matthew Patrick, the host of the Game Theorists YouTube channel, one of the smartest people in the YouTube community. Patrick doesn’t just wax philosophical about hidden themes within popular video games; he’s also an online video expert who often shares his knowledge with his fellow creators.

Now, Patrick is bringing his smarts to a new subject: film. He has teamed up with his partner network, Defy Media, to launch The Film Theorists, which brings Patrick’s in-depth analysis to the world of movies.

In each episode of Film Theorists’ main series, Patrick dives into a specific work and sheds light on elements that less careful consumers may have missed. Despite the channel’s title, it isn’t limited to movies; instead, Patrick is taking on all sorts of pop culture franchises, including Game of Thrones and Harry Potter.

The first episode of Film Theorists links Patrick’s old channel to his new one. It explores the degree to which movies could become more like video games by adding in interactive elements:

Beyond the primary Film Theorists series, the new channel will also feature a pair of other programs. In Did You Know Movies, Patrick will share interesting facts about well-known films. In an upcoming series called Frame By Frame, he provide provide a film school-style analysis of specific scenes.

The Film Theorists was launched as part of Defy Media’s Creators Program, through which it works with its top partners to create new formats. As he does on The Game Theorists, Patrick will collaborate with other creators from within the Defy Media network and the YouTube community at large. Defy Media’s Screen Junkies channel is The Film Theorists’ most logical collaborator, and sure enough, a release states that those two channels will indeed team up.

“Being a ‘Theorist’ means taking the hobbies you love, such as video games, TV and movies, and approaching them in a new way, turning them on their head and deepening your appreciation as a result,” said Patrick in the release. “It’s about discovery, learning, and being part of a community who share your passion. Our audience of loyal “Theorists” have been overwhelmingly requesting that we expand into Film Theory and I cannot wait to show the audience what we’ve been working on over the last few months.”

Patrick’s fans can catch videos from the new channel by subscribing to it. Keeping tabs on The Film Theorists is probably a good idea–at this point, I’d listen to Patrick dissect the world of household chores if he promised he had something interesting to say.

Filed under: Articles, Defy Media, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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Through its Vimeo On Demand program, Vimeo has given its users the opportunity to make some money off their work without sacrificing artistic integrity. The video platform’s latest step toward powerful monetization for its users is the launch of subscription tools that allow content creators to offer entire channels behind paywalls.

The new subscription service differs from existing offerings on Vimeo On Demand because it applies to entire channels rather than individual, a la carte videos. At the same time, the monthly subscriptions share several key elements in common with Vimeo On Demand’s offerings. Specifically, users can set their own prices, sell their work through Vimeo On Demand’s recently-launched publisher network, and window their content in certain geographic regions.

The subscriptions are notably favorable for creators, who will keep 90% of all returns after transaction fees. That generous split is in line with Vimeo’s reputation as a creator-friendly video platform that efficiently gathers revenue for its users.

“Subscription video on demand (SVOD) is a natural extension of Vimeo’s transactional VOD platform, giving creators a new way to sell content to viewers worldwide,” said Vimeo CEO Kerry Trainor in a release. “Online video is entering an exciting new stage where creators don’t have to rely on pre-roll advertising alone to earn money, and Vimeo is building the open global platform for paid video distribution.”

The release describes these subscriptions as the “first phase of Vimeo’s SVOD offering.” More details are expected later this year.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, Vimeo by Sam Gutelle
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Netflix’s ad-free presentation is perhaps the most significant part of its appeal. The streaming video platform won’t be implementing ads anytime soon, but it may sneak some trailers for its own original content into its videos. The Verge notes that some Netflix users on mobile devices have seen ads for other Netflix programs at the beginning of videos.

These tests have not sat well with many of the users who have experienced them; some Netflix subscribers have sworn to drop the service entirely if it ever incorporates pre-roll ads. Showing trailers, however, would likely not be the end of the world. HBO GO, for example, already shows previews for upcoming series before rolling its episodes.

Netflix made sure to stress that its pre-roll offerings would be limited to previews for its programs. “They’re not ads in the traditional sense,” a company rep told The Verge. “They are trailers for Netflix originals. As you know, we test hundreds of potential improvements to the service every year. Many never extend beyond that.”

Netflix’s ad-free, subscription-based service starts at $7.99 per month.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Netflix, News by Sam Gutelle
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FTI Consulting is predicting an upswing in digital ad spending at the same time dollars spent on traditional broadcast television slow down. The business advisory firm wrote in its annual study U.S. Media Industry Forecast that media ad spending in the digital realm will hit $41.8 billion in 2015, finally surpassing the spending in broadcast television, which includes online TV services.

FTI’s study compared the ad spending between core internet advertising (which didn’t include advertising revenues from traditional media like magazines), cable TV with online access, and broadcast television. FTI found internet spending will rise 11.4% this year to reach the $41.8 billion mark, while broadcast TV will only gain 0.9% to hit $38.9 billion. Cable will gain a 6.2% raise this year to reach $33.4 billion.

And digital will only continue to grow, according to FTI. The firm believes digital will be the largest ad class by 2016, and will claim 30% of the market by 2020 and 35% by 2040. This means that by 2018, digital ad spending will reach $55.6 billion. Broadcast, on the other hand, is only expected to rise bit by bit to hit $45.5 billion, a difference of $10.1 billion in favor of digital ad spending.

“While it is difficult to completely isolate one factor that is driving changes in ad spending from the historical trends, our model suggests that digital substitution is the primary driver contributing to changes in the television ad ecosystem today,” said FTI Media & Entertainment Team co-leader Philip Schuman in a statement as reported by Deadline. “We believe that effective data-driven targeting, low CPMs and vast inventory, as well as a direct feedback loop that enables advertisers to calculate a return on digital advertising dollars spent, has enabled them to allocate less to get more.”

FTI’s other team leader, Luke Schaeffer, seconded the findings that online and digital ad spending won’t be slowing down anytime soon. “In fact, we are closely monitoring the possibility that digital’s penetration of the advertising market may be accelerating,” explained Schaeffer. “If that does indeed prove out, we estimate the digital video ad trend could eliminate much of the forecasted growth in television advertising over the next five years.”

You can learn more about FTI and its digital ad studies at fticonsulting.com.

Filed under: Articles, Industry, News by Bree Brouwer
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Popsugar, which runs a network of verticals across categories like beauty, entertainment, and food, purports to be “the #1 independent media and technology company for women.” Now, with its latest vertical, Popsugar is honing in on a particular subsection of that female audience. It has announced Popsugar Latina, on which it will distribute English-language content for Latina women.

A quick journey to the newly-minted Popsugar Latina homepage reveals everything from updates on Hispanic celebrities to Tex-Mex recipes. In an accompanying press release, Popsugar explained how Popsugar Latina will appeal to women who are “200% – 100% American and 100% Latina.”

“Popsugar’s mission is to deliver joyful, irresistible, and inspiring content, and we are always looking to reach our audience in unique and compelling ways,” added Popsugar editor-in-chief Lisa Sugar in the release. “We are excited to expand our irresistible content to serve the modern Latina with tips and tricks that fit her complex multicultural lifestyle. We want to help her live a happy and stylish life while celebrating her heritage and individuality.”

Alessandra Foresto, a former editor at O, will work with Sugar on the new Latina vertical. JCPenney has signed on as a sponsor.

Popsugar joins several other media companies with their own Latina-focused verticals. At the recent Newfronts, for example, Conde Nast Entertainment announced a channel called Vida Belleza, while Maker Studios announced a content deal with the MiTu Network. Popsugar presented at Newfronts, too; it announced its upcoming content slate, which includes contributions from the likes of Ingrid Nilsen and Above Average.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, PopSugar by Sam Gutelle
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For years, BuzzFeed has created online video based on the experimental idea of seeing what resonates most with viewers. This approach has earned the media publisher one billion video views per day across its entire site. And now BuzzFeed has its Motion Pictures department, which launched back in August 2014 to start specializing in both short-form digital content and long-form films.

Obviously, BuzzFeed and its Motion Picture division know what they’re doing in terms of online video. Much of that success is thanks to Ze Frank, the President of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures (BFMP). Frank started one of the Internet’s earliest viral stars; since then, the BFMP president has helped produce more than 3,000 videos for BuzzFeed and mold the site’s online video strategy to what it is today.

At a panel for Social Media Week Los Angeles, Tubefilter’s Drew Baldwin will sit down with Frank to talk about BFMP and its goals (the media division currently pumps out 65 different pieces of content each week). Frank will also discuss how digital publishers can use data, psychology, and sharing goals to create video content which will get seen in a more busy, complex online world.

Social Media Week Los Angeles takes place from June 8-12, 2015. You can purchase your tickets to the week-long event here, and view a complete schedule of panels and sessions here.

Filed under: #SMWLA Previews, Articles, Buzzfeed, News by Bree Brouwer
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Amazon Studios is promoting one of its digital series in physical locations across Los Angeles. The production company is running an Emmy-focus ad campaign for its critically-acclaimed original series Transparent by putting gender-neutral stickers on the doors of single-stall bathrooms in various restaurants.

Amazon’s Transparent Emmy campaign asks restaurant patrons to celebrate their authentic selves, thus hitting on a relevant theme in the life of the original series’ lead character, Maura (played by Golden Globe-winner Jeffrey Tambor). The show’s stickers will show the hashtag #BeTransparent and cover up any gender-specific signs on the bathroom stall doors.

Deadline, who originally broke the news of the Transparent Emmy campaign, also said Amazon plans to install traditional billboards near roads where Emmy voters are likely to drive. This includes signs at the intersections of Sunset and Vine, Sunset and Doheny, and Santa Monica Blvd. and Highland in Los Angeles. A series of four different Transparent billboards will be placed around the city over the next few weeks as Emmy campaigning picks up.

Transparent is a strong contender for this year’s Emmy Awards. The series has been a hit with both fans and critics since its launch back in September 2014. Based on that feedback, Amazon ordered a second season within two weeks of Transparent’s release. The series took home a Golden Globe in January 2015 not just for Tambor’s performance, but also for best comedy TV series.

Deadline also noted Tambor just won a Critics’ Choice TV Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series on May 31, 2015. We wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon adds an Emmy to its already-impressive lineup of awards for Transparent.

Filed under: Amazon Studios, Articles, News, Web Series by Bree Brouwer
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AwesomenessTV, which recently announced a film-focused partnership with YouTube, has already produced several movies that will bring online stars to the big screen. Among other projects, the multi-channel network and digital media studio’s upcoming feature film pipeline includes a coming-of-age story called Shovel Buddies, which was revealed in March. Two months later, Shovel Buddies now has a principal cast: AwesomenessTV announced that Kian Lawley, Bella Thorne, and Alex Neustaedter will portray the film’s three main characters.

Lawley, Thorne, and Neustaedter will star as three friends of Sammy, a teenager who dies of leukemia. After finding a note from Sammy specifying how he would like to be buried, the three teens set off on an adventure to grant their friend’s last wish. The film’s screenplay, written by Jason Hellerman, appeared on the 2013 edition of the Black List, which notes the best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood.

Of the three leads, Lawley’s name will be most familiar to readers of this blog. The 19-year-old vlogger has amassed millions of fans thanks to his membership with the Our2ndLife supergroup, his personal channel, and his recent collaborations with fellow vlogger Jc Caylen. In addition to Shovel Buddies, he has also landed a starring role in The Chosen, a feature-length thriller.

Thorne is a social media star in her own right, with six million followers on Twitter and 4.6 million on Instagram. In addition to her roles on several TV shows, she has also scored a hit with the song “Call It Whatever.”

Compared to his two co-stars, Neustaedter doesn’t have a huge social media presence, but the 17-year-old is a young actor who will appear in the upcoming film Ithaca.

No release date for Shovel Buddies has been announced, though a release from AwesomenessTV states that shooting for the film began in late May.

Filed under: Articles, AwesomenessTV, Channels, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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Mashable is expanding its business strategy and content offerings. The digital media publisher has debuted Mashable Studios, and brought on Eric Korsh as the division’s new director.

Mashable Studios will work to develop original video programming and branded entertainment for distribution across a variety of platforms, both for Mashable and its advertising partners. Korsh is charged with leading Mashable’s new studio initiative; he has over 25 years’ experience in TV and film production and worked most recently as DigitasLBi Studios’ Senior Vice President of Brand Social and Content.

Korsh will report to Mashable’s Executive Editor and Chief Content Officer Jim Roberts, as well as the media company’s Chief Strategy Officer Adam Ostrow.

“With the addition of Eric to our team, we have a great opportunity to diversify our storytelling voice with compelling videos that our global audience can engage with and share,” Roberts said in a release.

“We see branded video entertainment as core to our long-term strategy, and Eric brings a tremendous track record of both innovating for clients and creating original programming that resonates with audiences like ours,” added Ostrow. “Mashable Studios will build on the company’s history of telling stories that inform, inspire and entertain the digital generation while working with our brand partners to tell their stories in new ways.”

Mashable isn’t a new player in the online video realm. The media publisher already has two original series with Elliott Morgan, and a weekly comedy series in partnership with Above Average. Now, Mashable will take this previous video experience and up production on its own original content.

Mashable currently reaches 42 million unique monthly visitors and 23 million followers across all its social media accounts.

Filed under: Articles, Mashable, News by Bree Brouwer
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Levity Entertainment Group (LEG) has a new vertical for comedy fans to enjoy. The production company, which owns comedy venues across the U.S. and is backed by Madison Square Garden Entertainment, launched the comedy YouTube channel Wait for It on May 29, 2015.

Created by LEG Digital, Wait for It will feature names from LEG’s own network of 300+ comedians, as well as burgeoning internet entertainers. Shows on the new YouTube channel will include exclusive content, segments from LEG’s roster of talent, and collaboration clips with digital stars. Wait for It will even incorporate Twitter and its associated live streaming app Periscope for timely delivery of live comedy performances.

A few original series have already been announced for Wait for It. The first is called Just Riffing, an interview series where host Nikki Limo will talk to comedians just coming off the stage at LEG’s Hollywood Improv theater. Limo is set to interview Reggie Watts, Todd Glass, and Iliza Shlesinger.

Additionally, comedian Owen Benjamin will use Google searches to take audiences on a musical journey in the series The Internet Is Weird. Finally, Bert Kreischer will look for help in unexpected places after he finds himself stranded in Amsterdam in the series Bert Does Amsterdam.

In a release as originally reported by Variety, LEG’s digital officer Tad Ro explained how the Wait for It channel will help his company compete with similar comedy producers and will bring LEG’s talent directly to online audiences. “It allows established and emerging stand-up comedians to experiment and extend into a digital content platform that will be heavily targeted and marketed to comedy consumers given LEG’s live reach.”

“YouTube has always been a platform that fosters collaboration between artists,” said Tracy Bitterolf, who’s charged with programming the Wait for It channel. “It is exciting to be a part of LEG’s new digital initiatives given their live comedy assets and YouTube’s power to mobilize audiences to attend artists’ live events.”

Filed under: Articles, News, Production Companies by Bree Brouwer
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As Vox Media continues to devote more resources to its online video operations, it has launched a series that profiles creative, thoughtful individuals who have found success in the business world. The media company whose owned-and-operated sites include Curbed, The Verge, and SB Nation has launched Courageous Leaders, a docu-series in which notable entrepreneurs share their secrets.

The six episodes released across Vox’s network profile the people behind successful ventures in fields like tech, marketing, and interior design. Here’s one of those installments, featuring a chat between series host Hartley Sawyer and Thrillist co-founder Ben Lerer:

Hiscox, an insurance company that works with small businesses, sponsored the series. It enlisted Wilson Cleveland, with whom it has previously worked for projects like Leap Year, as the producer of Courageous Leaders. Cleveland in turn recruited Sawyer, a frequent collaborator of his over the past year, as host. “Creatively, I saw Courageous Leaders as a mashup of Kevin Rose’s Foundation, Alexis Ohanian’s Small Empires and Last Call with Carson Daly,” Cleveland told Tubefilter. “We made Courageous Leaders for those on the fence about making that leap for themselves.  Hearing successful people discuss their success is nice, but hearing their very personal journeys to success, identifying similarities between your journeys and knowing they’ve been where you are, is downright inspiring.”

Sawyer also highlight the “leap of faith” theme when discussing Courageous Leaders. “Each one of these individuals that gave me their time had a different journey, but the commonality is that they all, at one point or another, made the decision to embrace and invest in the journey,” he said.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Courageous Leaders episodes can be found on four Vox sites: Vox News, SBNation, Curbed and The Verge.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, Vox Media by Sam Gutelle
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Snapchat could be eyeing more funds along with a huge valuation. According to CNBC, Snapchat may be going after $650 million in equity, which would bring the ephemeral messaging app’s total value to $16 billion.

CrunchBase notes Snapchat has already received $848 million over the course of seven funding rounds. And Business Insider notes Snapchat is currently valued at about $15 billion, thanks to a $200 million Series E round led by Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba in March 2015. Snapchat also reportedly sought funds back in February 2015, which would have valued it at anywhere from $16 to $19 billion. Should Snapchat end up getting this new equity, Bloomberg noted the messaging app would be the third-richest company worldwide in terms of venture capital valuation, behind ride-sharing app Uber and Chinese phone manufacturer Xiaomi.

Evan Spiegel, Snapchat’s CEO, recently announced at the Re/code Code Conference on May 26 that his app company may pursue an initial public offering in the future. However, Spiegel kept all plans under wraps, but clarified he would not consider an acquisition offer should the app receive one.

Spiegel claims Snapchat now has almost 100 million global active users.

Filed under: Articles, News, Snapchat by Bree Brouwer
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