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.

When it comes to the lives of celebrities, YouTube stars, and viral video subjects, Michael McCrudden is about as good a historian as anyone working today. After first making an impression on YouTube thanks to his work with InformOverload, McCrudden has branched out to launch his own channel, on which he shares video profiles of famous people. His most famous series, Before They Were Famous, offers exactly what it says on the tin. McCrudden’s channel, which is partnered with BroadbandTV, now has more than one million subscribers, which made it time for us to profile the profiler.

Tubefilter: How does it feel to have more than a million YouTube subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?

Michael McCrudden: The rise to one million subscribers was an exhilarating, whirlwind experience — it’s the biggest accomplishment of my life to date. I was able to celebrate with my team, my family and friends and I gotta give some major love to each and every person who subscribed to my channel. YouTube changed my life! Hitting a million subscribers has left me feeling really optimistic about the future and looking forward to what milestones I can accomplish next. Watch your back PewDiePie, I’m coming for ya! Seriously though, thanks to everyone who tunes in daily, the notification squad, and those who leave a like or comment. All of the praise, support and engagement that the show receives doesn’t go unnoticed.

TF: As someone who got work on TV before coming to YouTube, what would you say are the chief advantages and drawbacks of online video?

MM: What I struggled with originally was putting content online that wasn’t perfect in any way, shape or form. With television, there’s a big budget. Not only are there writers but a writers room, set, crew, massive post-production team, and all the other bells and whistles, including craft services. When jumping into YouTube with no budget, you have to be a one man (or lady) video making machine.

There were videos with some major technical flaws that I uploaded in the beginning but due to the faith I had not only in myself but also the future of YouTube, I pressed forward with content that was below my artistic standards. At the time it was embarrassing because I knew I could do better. The upside now is that everyone can look back at the progress Before They Were Famous has made. The transformation and growth of the channel has been remarkable!

Once my channel got off the ground and I was able to produce content that I’m 100% proud of, I became a kid in a candy store. Every day I get to create content that entertains hundreds of thousands of people (on a good day, millions). I now choose to create and enjoy YouTube content over television, seven days a week. I do miss craft services though, not gonna lie.

TF: What made you decide to post content on your own channel as opposed to InformOverload?

MM: I gotta give a major shout out to the team at InformOverload for introducing me to the world of YouTube. I spent three years with the channel, writing and hosting videos. It was there I learned everything about YouTube and the emerging online culture that surrounds it. Breaking out on my own was inevitable because I’m a workhorse who will never stop. Actually I’m more like the Terminator, so let me use a quote from the film to explain:

Kyle Reese: “Listen, and understand. That Terminator is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.”

Replace the word dead with “entertaining and educating an audience” and that’s who I am as a content creator. Also, I do have emotions. Other than that, this is how I feel I am as a content creator. A time traveling video making monster looking for Sarah Connor, or whoever the most popular celebrity is on a given day. I’m an ambitious guy and I like to move fast, so to do this I needed to step out on my own.

TF: How much research goes into any one video and how long does one video take to make?

MM: I’ve had videos that have taken me a full week to research and write. Videos about YouTubers are the trickiest by far, sometime you gotta watch their entire catalogue of videos to try and string together their story. Other videos can be made in a day’s work.

Before They Were Famous is a biography channel but it’s also topical. When an iconic person passes away, my team and I make it a priority to produce a Before They Were GONE video as quickly as possible to feed all of the requests. Other weeks there are memes going viral like “Cash Me Outside” and those videos are too fun and topical to wait around on. These types of videos need to be made in a day, meaning four hours of scripting and four hours of editing with the hosting and uploading squeezed in somehow. With me releasing 10 – 15 videos a week on my various channels, none of this would be possible if I didn’t have a very talented team working under me.

TF: How often do you get in touch with the subjects of your videos while researching them?

MM: My goal for 2017 has been to reach out to the many stars I document while I’m scripting their video. Before They Were Famous works off suggestions from the viewers and my team and I move pretty quickly, so the majority of time I don’t hear back from the celebrity until the video has been posted. I typically tag the celebrity on Twitter or Instagram when the video goes live and every week. [Editor’s note: Michael provided us with a list of subjects who have contacted him. It includes DJ Khaled, Nelly, Lilly Singh, Russell Brand, and Dr. Phil.] Overall the majority of responses have been extremely positive.

TF: I noticed most of your videos are under ten minutes. With that restriction, do you ever struggle to figure out which information to cut?

MM: Each and every video is scripted differently due to the available content for each star. We have certain points we need to find for each video but after that, they are only as long as they need to be to make an entertaining summary of the person’s career. If we find something interesting, we always include it, so what’s been cut out is what I believe people have already heard a million times or is boring for this type of fast paced online video programming.

TF: Have you received any requests from fans that have proven too difficult to adequately research?

MM: Yes, Filthy Frank is an example. 99% of the time I can get it done, but a tricky request means that I don’t get to take time off over the weekend.

TF: What would you say is the most important part of your presentation style?

MM: YouTube is filled with vloggers or strong personality types where the content is all about them. I’m the complete opposite, my show is about everyone else. Taking into account the platform I’m working with, I do tend to share comedic tidbits about myself in every video as well as my own opinions. I think my show serves as a great gateway for viewers crossing over from mainstream media to new media and I feel I do a good job of meshing the two together.

TF: What’s next for your channel? Any fun plans?

MM: I hope to become the Ryan Seacrest of YouTube, a Hollywood host who has the latest scoop on everyone and everything. I plan on doing many more collaborations and interviews in 2017 and I welcome anyone who is “famous” to get in contact with me so we can make their Before They Were Famous video. I also hope to make more FAKE interviews, those are my favourite videos to produce. It’s a good thing that I can time travel or else I wouldn’t be able to get all of this done.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Millionaires, News by Sam Gutelle
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Awestruck, the AwesomenessTV-run network that defines its audience as “millennial moms,” is gearing up to share its first original series. It has shared the trailer and release date for Confess, an adaptation of a romance novel that will arrive on Verizon’s Go90 platform on April 4th.

With Confess, Awestruck and co-producer Lifeboat Productions are taking an approach that mirrors that of Awestruck’s parent company. Just as is the case with most AwesomenessTV originals, the cast features a mix of traditional actors (Katie Leclerc and Ryan Cooper portray the two romantic leads) and digital media stars (look for Amy Pham and Brittany Furlan in supporting roles.) The show itself is also hyper-targeted to its primary audience. For AwesomenessTV originals, the viewers are teens, but for Awestruck, they’re moms. Therefore, Confess seems to have taken some stylistic pages out of the Fifty Shades of Grey book, if its trailer is to be believed.

Confess is based on a book by author Colleen Hoover. “We’re so excited for Confess to be the first romance novel we bring to life,” said Executive Producer Lisa Berger in a press release. “We have the opportunity to embrace this underserved genre, and we can’t wait to partner with more fan-favorite authors to give millennial women the content they crave.”

The forthcoming show is branded as Awestruck’s first “limited series,” but the network has shared other serial projects in the past. Shortly after partnering with YouTube star Kandee Johnson, for example, it launched a show with her called Kandee Unwrapped.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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[Editor’s Note: Tubefilter Charts is a weekly rankings column from Tubefilter with data provided by OpenSlate. It’s exactly what it sounds like; a top number ranking of YouTube channels based on statistics collected within a given time frame. Check out all of our Tubefilter Charts with new installments every week right here.]

Scroll down for this week’s Tubefilter Chart.

It’s another installment of the weekly Tubefilter Chart of the Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide and and Indian entertainment is still a hit on the internet.

Chart Toppers

T-Series is in first place on the worldwide chart for the twenty-seventh week in a row. The channel that self-identifies as being a part of the largest music label and movie studio in India dipped 2% in its weekly YouTube views, but still amassed almost 226.1 million views on the week. In an increasingly closer second place is Ryan ToysReviews. The preadolescent’s toy unboxing channel shot up 16% in views to take home just about 218.9 million of them in the week.

In the #3 spot is still Ed Sheeran. The British singer-songwriter who initially gained popularity by his collaborations with Taylor Swift is having a great run on YouTube thanks to peppering the world’s largest video sharing site with a ton of recent uploads. Sheeran’s online video music library stayed relatively constant on the week, up 1% at almost 172.8 million views. Up next in the #4 spot is, once again, Canal KondZilla. Brazilian pop music’s home on YouTube hopped up 4% to top out at more than 159.4 million views.

And rounding out the Top 5 is still SET India. The YouTube and Indian iteration of Sony Entertainment Television stayed level at just about 141.5 million views throughout the week.

Top Gainers

The honor of one of the Top Gainers on the chart this week goes to The Ellen Show.

CBS’ syndicated daytime talk show hosted by the one and only Ellen DeGeneres had a great week on YouTube thanks to its usual steady supply of interview clips and snippets of daytime tv hijinks. This week was better than the one before thanks to the ongoing popularity of some revealing Jennifer Lopez interviews and a talk where Jimmy Kimmel discusses retirement and his perennial feud with Matt Damon. The uploads helped The Ellen Show’s channel to an 83% week-over-week increase in views, just about 55 million views, and the #48 spot on the worldwide chart.

Channel Distribution

The top 50 most viewed YouTube channels worldwide this week amassed a total of 4,281,608,853 views. Here’s the distribution of a few of those channels by multi-channel network:

• VEVO: 8 channels in the U.S. Top 50, with Chainsmokers the highest-ranked channel of the network at #8.
• BroadbandTV, ONErpm, Studio71, WMG, XMediaDigital: 2 channels each in the Top 50, with BBTV’s WorldStarHipHop at #33, ONErpm’s Canal KondZilla at #4, Studio71’s Webs & Tiaras – Toy Monster Compilations at #24, WMG’s Ed Sheeran at #3, and XMediaDigital’s mashamedvedtv at #21.

And here’s the distribution of the this week’s Top 50 YouTube channels by country of origin:

• United States: 21 channels in the Top 50.
• India: 7 channels in the Top 50.
• Great Britain: 6 channels in the Top 50.
• Brazil: 3 channels in the Top 50.
• Canada, Russia, Thailand: 2 channels each in the Top 50.
• Argentina, Netherlands, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey: 1 channel each in the Top 50.

As always, keep up to speed with the latest Tubefilter Charts and all of our news at Tubefilter by following us on Twitter, becoming a fan on Facebook, and watching our videos on YouTube.

OpenSlate is a video content analytics platform that tracks more than 800,000 YouTube video channels and measures their ability to attract, engage and influence an audience. By providing one consistent measure of quality – the SlateScore™ – OpenSlate helps marketers, producers and agencies hone their online video marketing strategy.

Filed under: Articles, News, statistics, Statistics, YouTube, Youtube Chart by Joshua Cohen
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In our coverage of online video, we’ve encountered several robots that have watched YouTube videos and learned how to recognize patterns within them, and Google’s latest tech innovation is another step forward in that field. The team from Mountain View has shared its Cloud Video Intelligence API, which can visually recognize specific search terms within videos.

With the new tool, users can enter terms such as “tiger,” “dog,” “jump,” or “fly,” and Google’s AI will be able to identify points within a video where those words appear on screen. It is also able to specify additional details about the search term. For example, as a video shared by Mashable shows, the tool can correctly identify a dog as a dachshund after recognizing it on screen.

Google just showed off a new Video Intelligence API that lets you search for objects within video clips, here’s an bit of the demo pic.twitter.com/wOPwsmnAfe

— Karissa Bell (@karissabe) March 8, 2017

A Google blog post positions the Cloud Video Intelligence API as a business-facing product for companies that want to manage large video databases. That said, the API could also be an interesting tool for individual viewers. Perhaps, for example, users could employ it to comb through live streams in search of specific clips. As long-form videos become the norm on YouTube, keep an eye on Google’s new product.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News by Sam Gutelle
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Leading digital talent management outfit Big Frame, which represents some of YouTube‘s most illustrious creators including Tyler Oakley, Kian And JC, and Amanda Steele, is adding to its roster.

The company, which was acquired by AwesomenessTV for $15 million in 2014, has signed Ranz Kyle and his younger sister, Niana Guerrero — both of whom boast massive followings in their native Philippines, and who are seeking to broaden their followings stateside. Ranz, 19, and Niana, 11, post comedy and dance videos together, and will henceforth be repped at Big Frame by talent manager Amron Lopez.

Ranz, who launched his YouTube channel in 2008, rose to fame with dance videos choreographed to popular songs by Chris Brown and Trey Songz. Today, he counts roughly 924,000 subscribers. Niana herself has amassed over 2.2 million likes on Facebook. The duo also posts content together on Facebook and Instagram under the name Ranz And Niana.

Check them out in action below:

Filed under: News by Geoff Weiss
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One of the NBA’s biggest stars has teamed up with one of social media’s most prominent voices for an uproarious new music video. Titled Best Roommate Ever, the Brita-sponsored clip sees Stephen Curry and Andrew ‘King Bach’ Bachelor, jamming out like best friends to an original tune.

In the spot, which was written, produced, and directed by digital studio Portal A (perhaps best known as the masterminds behind YouTube‘s annual Rewind montages), Bachelor daydreams about life without his current roommate, who leaves the Brita pitcher unfilled in their refrigerator, and instead envisions what his day-to-day would be like if he lived with Curry — complete with secret handshakes, cooking sessions, and mini-basketball games in the living room.

Check it out below. Brita has also released behind-the-scenes footage right here, as well as a 30-second version of the clip that will live on the company’s YouTube channel. Brita is owned by Clorox. There are also custom edits that will air on Bachelor’s Instagram and Facebook pages.

Curry and Bachelor count a combined 55 million followers across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Bachelor, who hosted last year’s Streamy Awards and signed with the influencer network Collab in June, is currently shooting a feature film entitled Where’s The Money alongside Method Man and Logan Paul.

Curry’s wife, Ayesha, headlines a YouTube channel dubbed Little Lights Of Mine, where she posts cooking videos and vlogs. It counts roughly 461,000 subscribers and 26 million lifetime views.

Filed under: King Bach by Geoff Weiss
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Fullscreen is making several programming additions to its burgeoning SVOD service, including a 25-minute film featuring the hip hop duo Rae Sremmurd, a talk series headlined by popular YouTuber Timothy DeLaGhetto called Goin Raw, and a video version of comedian Joe Santagato’s popular weekly podcast, The Basement Yard.

First up, Fullscreen will partner with Rae Stremmurd’s label, Interscope Records, as well as music producer Mike Will Made It and director Dave Myers on Sremmbreak, in which the two brothers seek out the ultimate spring break experience. The 25-minute special is available today on Fullscreen, which is priced at $5.99 per month.

Check out a trailer below:

Fullscreen is also expanding its talk show slate with DeLaGhetto and Santagato. Goin Raw is described by the company as “if Wayne’s World and BET’s Rap City had a one-night stand in Pee Wee’s Playhouse,” and will see DeLaGhetto and sidekick Ricky Shucks sitting down with guests like King Bach, Jimmy Tatro, DashieXP, and Shannon Boodram. The 35-episode order premieres on March 22. Meanwhile, The Basement Yard, in which Santagato and friends discuss sex, sports, and family out of his New York apartment, bows March 27. Each of the 26 episodes will premiere on Fullscreen one week before the audio podcasts are released.

In addition to its original shows, Fullscreen will debut Laid In America, a feature film starring Casper Lee and Olajide ‘KSI’ Olatunji, on March 27.

And finally, as part of a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, Fullscreen will become the exclusive U.S. streaming home of Undateable, a sitcom about a group of friends in search of relationships that originally ran on NBC from 2014 to 2016.

Filed under: Fullscreen by Geoff Weiss
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Shaun “Shonduras” McBride is one of Snapchat’s top influencers, and along his path to digital stardom, he has incorporated plenty of sponsored content into his feed. Now, McBride is taking his brand-friendly approach to the next level. He has partnered with Viacom Velocity for a year-long deal that will see him both creating and consulting on projects for the studio.

Viacom Velocity is a branded content shop under the banner of media conglomerate Viacom, and through the terms of its latest deal, it will add McBride and his digital media savvy to its team. His official title is Creative Strategy Consultant, and he’ll work alongside several Viacom-owned channels, including MTV and Spike. The projects he consults on will earn an “Approved By Shonduras” stamp, according to a press release.

“I jumped at the opportunity to work with Viacom because I’m genuinely a longtime fan of their shows and talent that shape pop culture, and I see how the Velocity team translates that energy to make the best creative branded content out there,” said McBride in the release. “I’m excited to get started and bring my fans along for this amazing ride!”

“As one of the earliest influencers to organically emerge on Snapchat, Shaun has an innate ability to craft stories across various social platforms that create meaningful interactions with fans, and this aligns perfectly with what we do at Viacom Velocity where we make powerful connections among our fans, content, and marketing partners,” added Thomas De Napoli, Senior Director of Content & Platform Strategy at Viacom Velocity. “Shaun’s pioneering spirit and innovative approaches will no doubt yield innovative collaborations with us.”

Viacom Velocity, launched in January 2014, has often incorporated the work of influencers into its approach. Other creators who it has featured in its projects include What’s Up Moms and Todrick Hall.

For his first Viacom Velocity project, McBride where travel to SXSW in Austin for the Woodies, an award show hosted by MTV that selects the favorite bands of college students. McBride will serve as a special correspondent at this year’s show, which will take place on March 16th.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, News, Viacom by Sam Gutelle
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With its original series, Netflix has tended to have a high success rate. Even the shows it ultimately gave the axe, such as Marco Polo and Hemlock Grove, found a few admirers before their respective cancellations.

Netflix’s latest show, however, has yet to receive any praise from critics. Iron Fist, the fourth chapter in Marvel’s franchise of Defenders TV shows, has been panned more resoundingly than any Netflix show before it.

Marvel’s other superhero shows on Netflix — Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage — have all received praise for their acting, atmosphere, and action, but Iron Fist began to attract negativity long before its premiere. The decision to cast Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones in the titular role rather than an Asian actor drew complaints of whitewashing, even though the original Iron Fist character is white.

These concerns would surely be allayed if Iron Fist was a good show, but it doesn’t seem as if that’s the case. All of the reviews that have rolled in so far have been negative, with the show’s glacial pacing and uninspired action sequences serving as particular sticking points for critics.

The most negative review of all, from Variety’s Maureen Ryan, linked some of these issues to Netflix itself. “Quite a few dramas in the streaming arena have pacing problems, and even Netflix’s better Marvel programs have displayed an affinity for contrived, time-killing subplots,” she wrote. “But Iron Fist is the most frustrating and ferociously boring example of Netflix Drift in some time.”

If, in spite of this widespread panning, you still want to check out Iron Fist, all of its episodes in its first season. will be available on Netflix beginning on March 17th.

Filed under: Articles, Featured, Netflix, News by Sam Gutelle
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Popular webcomic Cyanide & Happiness, which counts roughly 7 million subscribers on YouTube, is set to branch out into the increasingly crowded emoji app business.

A new emoji and avator creation app is available now via iOS and Android. A keyboard features Cyanide & Happiness emojis, GIFs, filters, and stickers that users can insert into any text conversation, or share via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and more. Additionally, an avatar generator enables users to turn themselves into Cyanide & Happiness characters.

While free, the app features add-on purchases. At launch, a Geek Pack and a Club Pack are available. The former will feature magic wands, gamer accessories, and other nerd-related items, while the latter will offer popped collars and shades.

“I think fans are going to dig the hell out of this,” Cyanide & Happiness co-founder Dave McElfatrick said. “Our characters have always been fun and simple to draw, and they apply themselves so well to every situation, so why not take it to the next level? Now you can add C&H to your messages, make yourself C&H style, everything.”

The app is a collaboration between Cyanide & Happiness, messaging company Fotobom Media, and multi-channel network Studio71.

Cyandide & Happiness, which debuted in 2004, is published by a trio known as Explosm Entertainment, comprising Rob DenBleyker, Kris Wilson, and McElfatrick. The Cyanide & Happiness franchise also includes comics, animated series, and card games. Last February, the team launched a Kickstarter campaign for Joking Hazard, a tabletop party game, which became the second most successful card game in Kickstarter history, raising roughly $3.2 million in 30 days and selling 65,000 games.

“Cyanide & Happiness has built an amazing brand, capable of extending envelope-pushing creative across multiple platforms and products,” said Javon Frazier, EVP of strategy and business development at Studio71, the comic company’s partner network.

Filed under: Studio71 by Geoff Weiss
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FremantleMedia, the London-headquartered production company behind The Young Pope, The X Factor, and Family Feud, has upped its investment in European multi-platform network Divimove, following its acquisition of the company in January 2015.

As part of the deal, Divimove’s co-founders, Brian Ruhe, Philipp Bernecker, and Sebastiaan van Dam, will remain in charge for at least the next two years. While the terms of the investment were not disclosed, Fremantle’s stake in Divimove will remain at 75%

“The investment enables us to pursue our strong growth strategy by expanding our team and opening further local Divimove offices across Europe,” Ruhe, who serves as Divimove’s CEO, said in a statement.

The company also plans to develop more sophisticated media-buying capabilities and performance tools for brands, as well as launch live events and book publishing divisions. And Divimove will now work more closely on creative and commercial opportunities with the RTL Digital Media Hub — the entity comprising all of the digital businesses of Fremantle’s parent company, RTL Group, which also owns StyleHaul, BroadBandTV, and programmatic ad platform SpotX.

Divimove was founded in 2012 and today represents some of Europe’s most popular influencers, including Dutch vlogger Enzo Knol, German food creator Sallys Welt, beauty creator NikkieTutorials, and Italian vlogger Leonardo Dicarlie. The company represents the largest influencer network in Europe, across Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, and France. Its portfolio comprises 1,200 partners who boast 350 million fans on social media and generate 1.5 billion views per month.

“In less than five years, Divimove went from a startup digital business to become one of the leading European media companies in online video,” FremantleMedia’s CEO of digital and branded entertainment, Keith Hindle, said of the deal.

Fremantle boasts a massive digital presence in its own right, including for its television brands as well as original digital properties like The Football Republic and Munchies. It clocked 19 billion video views in 2016, and counts 228 million fans across YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Filed under: DIVIMOVE by Geoff Weiss
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[Editor’s Note: Welcome to Diary of a Web Series, the column that offers you an entertaining look into the machinations of a zero-budget web series made possible by an idea, fortitude, and democratized tools of production. For all the background on why we started publishing Diary of a Web Series – and why we think it’s great – check out the first installment right here. You can watch the web series the diary is about, too. It’s called STRAY and it’s good. Click here to watch it. And you can catch all the installments of Diary of a Web Series right here.]

Rule number one: Don’t kill the actors.

We were planning to shoot at a friend’s apartment at the end of July. Days before the shoot, he informed me that he had no air conditioning. Up to that point, the summer had been relatively mild, only to skyrocket into the high 90s that weekend.

As I later found out, the lights we used on set raised the room temperature by at least 10 degrees, and, in order to reduce ambient noise, we had to shut the windows and close the door, stemming airflow. I’m pretty sure that constitutes a human rights violation.

“Don’t kill the actors,” Alison, the director, implored. “That’s rule number one.”

“Technically, rule number one should be, ‘Make sure the actors show up,’” I quipped. “You can’t kill them if they don’t show up.”

“And I’m going to be selfish and add, ‘Don’t kill the crew,’” she replied, ignoring my attempt at humor.

That weekend, I ran around Astoria trying to find small window or portable AC units, but, alas, inventory was depleted that deep into the summer, leaving only hulking pieces of semi-modern machinery that weren’t feasible last-minute solutions.

I canvassed my friends on Facebook for any spare air conditioners, but the only thing my Facebook post yielded was a “like” from my aunt from Argentina who speaks no English. She “likes” every single thing I post.

Alison had warned me how much hotter those lights could make a room, but having shot mostly in the winter and spring, I didn’t fully appreciate how much a summer day could compound the heat emanating from the set lights.

Failing to secure an AC, we brought a window fan and did some reconnaissance. The room we were shooting in wasn’t oppressively hot, especially since there was an AC in the adjacent living space. Still, the room could become unbearable once the door and windows were shut and the lights were on.

With the lives of my actors hanging in the balance, I decided to Macgyver air conditioning by placing a tray of ice in front of a fan. We turned the lights off and turned the fans on in between as many takes as possible, keeping the temperature at a manageable, albeit not quite comfortable, level.

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t perfect. But we managed not to kill the actors.

Pablo Andreu is not a creator or a scriptwriter. He’s certainly not a filmmaker. He’s just a guy who decided to make a web series called STRAY. It’s a bromantic comedy in which a brash gay dude and a nerdy straight guy talk sex and relationships while reconnecting in New York City years after college. He hopes it’s funny. By some inscrutable alchemy, his scribblings have wormed their way into The New York Times, McSweeney’s and some others. Usually, you can find him babbling here: https://medium.com/@pdandreu

Photos by Alison Bourdon.

Filed under: Diary of a Web Series by Pablo Andreu
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