As online video stars look to expand onto new platforms, several of them have landed roles in feature films, and AwesomenessTV is one of the companies leading that trend. The digital media studio and multi-channel network, which recently announced its plan to produce multiple feature films in partnership with YouTube, has named Matt Kaplan the President of its new Awesomeness Films division.

According to a press release, Awesomeness Films plans to produce between 12 and 15 films for theatrical and digital distribution, though AwesomenessTV revealed no timeframe for those films. Kaplan, who previously served as the CEO of Chapter One Films, will oversee this production push. “At Awesomeness Films, we’re excited to take on material that traditional studios just aren’t making and it’s helping us attract top-notch directors and talent to our projects,” he said in the release. “Add in the formidable power of digital creators plus AwesomenessTV and we have an unrivaled ability to connect young adult audiences to feature films like never before.”

At Chapter One Films, Kaplan created “elevated genre films,” including recent horror thriller The Lazarus Effect. His previous work experience also includes roles at Lionsgate and CBS Interactive.

AwesomenessTV has made feature films led by digital stars a major priority since the release and success of Cameron Dallas vehicle Expelled, which it produced. Two other projects in the Awesomeness Films development pipeline are Shovel Buddies, a coming-of-age story that will co-star YouTube vlogger Kian Lawley, and The Smosh Movie, which will be led by its titular duo. The latter of those pictures will be the next Awesomeness Films production to premiere when it arrives adjacent to VidCon on July 24th.

Filed under: Articles, AwesomenessTV, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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In 2014, Hispanic multi-channel network MiTu brought a pair of programs to TV thanks to a deal with Discovery. The partnership proved successful, and it has encouraged Discovery and MiTu to team up once again. The two companies have pacted for a deal that will bring MiTu programming to Discovery’s Hispanic TV channels, with additional content arriving across the social web.

The first TV deal between MiTu and Discovery covered a pair of shows–Casa Linda and Gurús de Belleza–both of which premiered on the Spanish-language Discovery Familia channel. Both programs generated strong numbers; in their respective timeslots, viewership among women ages 18-34 more than tripled. More generally, viewership in the female 18-49 demographic rose by 42%.

The new deal looks to continue this upward trend with a new complement of long-form series and digital programs in Spanish and English. In addition to Discovery Familia, MiTu shows will also come to Discovery’s other Spanish-language TV channel, Discovery en Español. Digital offerings will see release across a variety of platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Vine, Pinterest and Periscope.

“Partnering with such a respected brand as Discovery is a great example of MiTu’s ongoing mission to provide our audience with compelling, culturally relevant content wherever they are,” said Beatriz Acevedo, President and Co-Founder of MiTu, in a press release. “We develop our digital content based on data and insights and are excited to roll out these new formats featuring mitú talent that has been previously incubated on our MiTu platform.”

Details about specific shows born from the MiTu-Discovery partnership will be available at a later date.

Filed under: Articles, Discovery Channel, Discovery Digital Networks, Featured, News, Studios by Sam Gutelle
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Get ready to learn more about the Malibu-based life of Barbie. The iconic Mattel doll and character just launched her very first vlog on June 19, 2015.

Barbie’s first vlog introduces viewers to ten different things they may not have known about her. She is apparently in school, as she notes that her favorite topics are English and science, and she sings while doing homework to remember what she’s learning. And she seems to hate soda just as much as she loves honey (seriously, she even says she’ll put it on broccoli).

BeautyCon introduced the new vlogging Barbie in a blog post on June 19, after writing about the doll’s new, diversity-driven Fashionistas line. BeautyCon connects cosmetic brands with digital beauty and fashion stars across YouTube, Instagram, Vine, and Snapchat. And according to the company’s website, BeautyCon also aims to bring fans “the heartbeat of the internet,” so it makes sense the company would highlight the vlogging venture of Barbie, one of the most well-known fashion toys for the past 55 years.

You can follow Barbie’s future vlogs by subscribing to the official Barbie channel, which currently boasts over 640,000 subscribers.

Filed under: Articles, BeautyCon, Branded Entertainment, News by Bree Brouwer
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Channel Frederator’s expansion has reached two new milestones. The animation-centric multi-channel network now claims 24 million total subscribers across all its partners, as well as 293 million views per month.

In a release, Frederator attributes much of this growth to a focus on helping individual channels reach their fullest viewership potential. The network, home to fan-favorite series such as Bravest Warriors and Simon’s Cat, facilitates cross-promotion projects and collaborations between its talent partners. Frederator also offers expert-led live streams and workshops for creators to better understand the animation industry.

These development initiatives have helped Frederator increase viewership on its partner channels an average of 12.69% month-over-month. Overall, the network’s roster of talent has collectively increased global organic viewership by 69.37% since Frederator’s inception in January 2014.

“Our goal with all our network channels is to help them grow their performance with viewers, while also making Channel Frederator Network a top global destination for animation fans,” said Fred Seibert, head of Frederator Studios, in a release. “We are truly building a one-stop solution for discovering and fostering emerging talent, while providing fans with the best and widest range of animation content from across the globe.”

Frederator recently added 77 new channels in the month of May 2015, including the Spanish-language channel HBruna (100,000+ subscribers) and the cartoon-based KawaiiPiranha (over 150,000 subscribers). The MCN has recently expanded its international efforts by adding Chilean and Korean-produced animation series.

Channel Frederator now boasts 1.9 billion total views across the entire network.

Filed under: Articles, Channel Frederator, News by Bree Brouwer
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YouTube just completed one of its biggest live streams of all time. The Google-owned video site’s live stream of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) pulled in a whopping eight million views within the first 12 hours of coverage on June 15, 2015.

Though YouTube’s E3 stream began broadcasting E3 coverage on June 14, the official live stream event, hosted by Focus Features’ Self/less, kicked off the next day with hosts Geoff Keighley and Rooster Teeth. The hosts covered game play content, trailers, and interviews with game developers and creators, including Telltale Games (the studio behind The Walking Dead titles) and professional skater Tony Hawk.

Overall, the YouTube E3 live stream on June 15 pulled in over 500,000 comments from viewers, who watched roughly two million hours of live content over the course of the day. Like a true geek and game professional, Keighley quantified that watch time by saying it would allow someone to travel to Pluto and back a total of 12 times.

“Producing The Game Awards opened my eyes to the size of the audience that’s out there for digital video game programming,” Keighley said in an email. “But even that success didn’t prepare me for the result of partnering directly with YouTube for live programming about E3. Not only did we reach an audience that rivals the scale of basic cable —  it was an audience that stayed with us all day and kept engaging with the content. E3 was a nice validation of the opportunity that exists for big scale live programming on YouTube.”

You can watch the replay of YouTube’s E3 coverage on the GameSlice channel.

Filed under: Articles, News, YouTube by Bree Brouwer
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How long could you survive in a horror movie scenario? A new video created by Interlude for MTV looks to answer that question. The interactive technology and media company, perhaps best known for the impressive Bob Dylan music video it created in 2013, has designed a choose-your-own-adventure experience to promote the upcoming release of MTV’s Scream TV series.

The video puts viewers in the position of a young man whose sexual encounter with his girlfriend is interrupted by one of Scream’s signature hooded killers. As the character flees for his life, viewers are invited to choose between two potential decisions at crucial junctures. No matter how the viewer chooses, though, death is always right around the corner. In three attempts, I never made it past four split points before meeting a grisly fate. Can you do better?

The interactive video is one of several projects MTV is using to promote Scream, which will bring the popular horror film franchise to TV beginning on June 30th. The channel’s “Killer Party” video, in which the stars of its other shows suffer their own gory deaths, has accumulated hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.

The choose-your-own-adventure genre is hard to pull off in video form, though several content creators, such as The Fine Bros, have managed to design their own choice-based games by using YouTube’s annotations feature to their advantage. Interlude’s take on the format, which uses the company’s technology to its advantage, is much more seamless. It’s a brilliant little piece of advertising that reminds its viewers just how hard it would be to survive a slasher scenario. No matter how much of a quick thinker you are, at some point, you’re probably going to choose wrong.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, MTV, News, Studios by Sam Gutelle
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In May 2014, YouTube star Grace Helbig announced Grace’s Guide, a self-styled guide book. In the months since that book’s publication, Helbig has continued to grow her fanbase (and has launched her own TV show), and as books authored by YouTube stars continue to serve as hot commodities, she will return to the literary world. On February 2nd, 2016, Simon & Schuster’s Touchstone imprint will release Grace & Style, a tongue-in-cheek fashion guide authored by Helbig.

As she did with, Grace’s Guide, Helbig will imbue her awkward-yet-wise personality into the pages of Grace & Style, which will specifically hone in on the world of fashion. As Helbig wrote on the new book’s website, “This book is one part parody, one part irreverent fashion fun, and one part personal experience…this book is about pretending you’ve got grace & style and it makes no apologies about having fun.”

Helbig initially announced her second book in a video she released on her YouTube channel in May. More recently, she nailed down Grace & Style’s February 2nd release date, which will give her plenty of time to write a book that will satisfy both herself and her millions of passionate fans. “I am kind of refueling my brain,” she explained in a video she released on June 13th, “and giving myself some time to really make it the book I want to make it.”

Even though Grace & Style is a long way from arriving on shelves, it is nonetheless available for preorder. Potential readers who wish to reserve a copy can do so from the book’s website.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Grace Helbig, News by Sam Gutelle
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Amazon Instant Video may grab a pilot from Walter White himself. The streaming video-on-demand service is reportedly in talks to pick up the drama pilot Sneaky Pete from executive producers and co-writers Bryan Cranston (of Breaking Bad fame) and David Shore (House M.D.).

Inside sources told Variety, who originally broke the story, Amazon is considering adding Sneaky Pete, originally produced for CBS, to its next round of pilots. Adding the title to the mix would allow Amazon Prime Instant Video subscribers to offer feedback on the series, which would inform whether Amazon decides to greenlight it for a full season.

However, if Amazon does pick up Sneaky Pete, the streaming service would be following the practices of competitors Netflix and Hulu. Both those video subscriptions routinely pick up cancelled shows from traditional television networks (as was the case with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and The Mindy Project).

Produced by Cranston’s Moon Shot Entertainment and directed by Seth Lewis Gordon, Sneaky Pete tells the story of a con man who, after serving time in prison, takes the identity of his old cell mate and starts working in the bail bond business run by the man’s family. Giovanni Ribisi leads the cast, which also includes Margo Martindale, Peter Gerety, Shane McRae, Libe Barer, and Marin Ireland.

Variety notes the Amazon deal to pick up Sneaky Pete is not actually finalized as of this writing.

Filed under: Amazon Studios, Articles, Channels, News by Bree Brouwer
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As he promised, Arnold Schwarzenegger is back. The actor, along with YouTube talent such as Machinima, Olga Kay, Lilly Singh (aka IISuperwomanII), Matthew Santoro, and Toby Turner, participated in a Terminator-themed web series dubbed Terminator Genisys: The YouTube Chronicles, which debuted on June 22, 2015.

Directed by Charles Paek and Rob Gilbert, the three-part Terminator Genisys series was created to help promote the upcoming Paramount Pictures film by the same title, which releases in theaters on July 1. In The YouTube Chronicles, a Terminator comes to Earth, takes the form of Turner, and starts trying to kill off influential YouTube stars to change the future. Schwarzenegger and the YouTubers band together to fight for their lives and eliminate the threat once and for all.

The Terminator Genisys web series was unveiled back in April 2015. At the time, little was known about the campaign other than what Santoro, Singh, and the other involved YouTubers posted on their social media accounts. But as with previous YouTube Space LA productions made in conjunction with movie studios, the Terminator Genisys series ended up involving sets, characters, and props from the upcoming film.

You can watch the first episode of The YouTube Chronicles on Machinima’s YouTube channel. The second episode is hosted on Toby Turner’s channel, and the final one is available on Singh’s channel.

Filed under: Articles, Celebrity, News, Web Series, YouTube by Bree Brouwer
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The man known as the Sauce Boss will soon make a major mark on the big screen. Harley Morenstein, who rose to prominence as the ringleader of the Epic Meal Time YouTube channel, will have a leading role in Moose Jaws, an upcoming horror film from director Kevin Smith.

Morenstein recently announced his starring role in Moose Jaws through a Facebook post he authored on his personal account. “Couldn’t really mention this before, but since it’s now on IMDB I guess it’s public knowledge,” he wrote. “This is an extremely surreal experience and I’m so excited I have this opportunity. Shout out to all my friends on Facebook that shared the first EMT videos. That opened this door for me. Shout out to my EMT colleagues for keeping the ship sailing even when I’m not at the helm!”

Moose Jaws will be the third act of Smith’s “Canadian Horror Trilogy,” which began with 2014’s Tusk and will continue with 2015’s Yoga Hosers. Morenstein, who is Canadian, had a cameo in the first film and will have another in the second.

While Morenstein is only just now discussing Moose Jaws, he has been involved in the film for some time. In January 2015, Smith revealed he wrote the film’s lead specifically for Morenstein, who has collaborated with the director several times. Beyond the cameo appearances listed above, Morenstein also invited Smith to join him on Epic Meal Time, where the two men joined forces to concoct a “Burly Beaver Sandwich.”

Moose Jaws is slated for a 2016 release. The film’s plot, according to IMDB, is simple: “Like Jaws, but with a moose.” Honestly, what else do you need to know?

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, Web Series by Sam Gutelle
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In May, YouTube star Ryan Higa celebrated Mother’s Day by putting together a video collage in which he, his fans, and his fellow YouTubers all delivered messages to their respective mothers. The video became a viral hit, and as a result, Higa has engineered a similar video to celebrate Father’s Day. He encouraged his fans to say “I love you” to their dads, and he pieced together the best, funniest, and most heartwarming responses to accompany his own message to his dad.

As he did with his Mother’s Day video, Higa mobilized his fans through his TeeHee app, which he launched in April alongside Victorious. A month later, he once again turned to his followers and asked them to help him out with a little experiment. He explains his thought process in the resulting video:

“When you tell your mom ‘I love you’ for no reason at all, it’s a completely normal thing, and in fact, it’s a very nice moment. Most times she’ll just say, ‘I love you too.’ But for dads, on the other hand, and I don’t know if this is just a guy thing, but it’s not something you’d say to your dad randomly, at least not for me. And honestly, I know this sounds absolutely terrible, but I don’t even remember the last time I told my dad I love him.”

Higa wanted to see how dads across the world would respond to the phrase “I love you.” Sure enough, the fathers included in his video produced some funny reactions, such as “Why?” and “What do you want?” Higa’s own father mistakes him for his brother when the YouTube star calls to check in. Dads, am I right?

As with his Mother’s Day video, Higa’s Father’s Day offering has gone viral. It has scored 1.5 million views after its release during the holiday weekend.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, NigaHiga by Sam Gutelle
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We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now.  Read previous installments here. 

In Australia, the treatment of incoming refugees from other nations is a serious political issue. One web series, though, is attempting to tackle it through comedy. In Two Refugees and a Blonde, creators Osamah Sami, Rain Fuller, and Shahin Shafaei explore the topic of immigration through a classic odd couple setup.

Two Refugees begins with radio host Zoe Hunter (Fuller) debating a conservative opponent on-air. She explains her belief that refugees are normal people, and should any appear at her doorstep, she would happily welcome them. This belief is immediately challenged when a pair of Middle Eastern refugees (played by Sami and Behrouz Harvasi) show up at her house in search of the free shelter she promised on the radio. Multicultural hijinks ensue.

Two Refugees is trying to be much more than a funny web series.It is also attempting to use comedy to show the struggle of refugees, much like how Aasif Mandvi is using his web series Halal in the Family to explore the topic of Islamophobia here in America. A recent screening of Two Refugees raised money for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, an Australian organization that assists refugees.

“Refugees have been filling our news feeds. For the wrong reasons. But not for long — we hope. This series aims to remove the sombre stigma synonymous with refugees and to replace it with a dose of laughter, Iraqi-style hip-hop, and the occasional traditionally cooked sheep’s head,” said Sami in a press release.

Two episodes of Two Refugees are available thus far. They can both be viewed on the show’s YouTube channel.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Close Encounters of the Fourth Haim. This mockumentary follows a fictional fourth sister related to the members of Haim.
• F’d. Three survivors of the apocalypse live together in a trailer.
• The F-List. A long-running web series just dropped a Meghan Trainor parody.
• Escorts. A hip young man finds his business selling sex in danger.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Indie Spotlight, News by Sam Gutelle
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