streaming A Fascinating Take on YouTube Productions and Prospects…

This video encapsulates everything I've been saying the whole time. Lots of small products, regular interval distro, diversified portfolio, ballpark 30k for live action narrative, etc. You need a big audience to break even or succeed, and it takes sustained effort even if the product is good. Think in terms of producing a BB every day, rather than a cannonball every month. Secondary and tertiary income streams are key for many channels.

If you come in with a lot of money at the start, and then spend like you have no money, you can probably win, dependent on content. Most people either come in with money and spend it all at the going rate, which is millions per episode, or come in with no money and fail, or make a grand an episode. What people aren't trying is the hybrid, take in a few million dollars, and spend it 3 grand at a time, building up fanbase and analytics data over time. Spend a fifth of your money per episode, you only get to make 4 course corrections.

I'm personally going to roll out hundreds of videos per year, each one fairly cheap, with all of them interconnected to encourage chain viewing. With investment, I could probably stage up output to almost 1000 per year, and that's a lot of fishing hooks in the water. More videos mean more paths of ingress for potential viewers on search, and more opportunities to pick up ad revenue and sponsors.
 
Also, I'd note that I've watched a lot of this guys videos before, and he's pretty good. He does a lot of Star Trek reviews which is how I found him. His show occasionally offers a bit of insight into the studio process as well.
 
Thanks, Indietalk, for giving me the reference.

He could have added that, around the time The Guild was being shown, Youtube spent over $150 million on professional videos, before it went Youtube Red, and those videos fell flat.
 
YouTube is dated and clunky. Anything new they do feels like a modern addition on a traditional home. It's risky to totally innovate and modernize, but they really need to stop hedging. Be classic YouTube, or new YouTube. Not this weird Frankenstein. The identify crisis is evident to everyone, and the interface is as dated as eBay.
 
@sfoster but most creative productions lose money anyway, so that's nothing new. That said, you're right to warn about the risks of going into film.
IDK what is true or not. the internet is full of contradictions...


I just think maybe youre being a bit too unconventional.
You said most creative productions lose money -- but what about the ones that are successful and don't lose money

What was the last huge successful indie movie that was released on youtube?
How many success stories have there been in the 17 years youtube has existed?

And finally I would ask this question -----

If a product is extraordinary enough to find success on youtube then shouldn't it be good enough for a distributor to pick it up? and sell it instead of putting it for free on youtube.

Every youtube success story i've ever heard is about someone getting noticed on youtube and then making a big boy deal afterward
Youtube is indie film school, it's for people that want to dick around in the kiddie pool.

Nate is a believer in youtube but he isn't even approaching it as a content producer.
He is approaching it as a software developer creating a product that can mass produce content.

It's a very important distinction.
Like how in The Boys Vought internationals product isn't superheroes. its the serum that produces superheroes.
 
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@sfoster, thanks. I'm not convinced that I agree with the guy, who claims most movies don't lose money - where are his statistics to back him up? That said, I will keep an eye on him, to see what I can learn.

In the meantime, if not Youtube, what do you suggest as a business plan?
 
YouTube is dated and clunky. Anything new they do feels like a modern addition on a traditional home. It's risky to totally innovate and modernize, but they really need to stop hedging. Be classic YouTube, or new YouTube. Not this weird Frankenstein. The identify crisis is evident to everyone, and the interface is as dated as eBay.

@indietalk and @mlesemann, Youtube is approaching its third decade, and, in high tech, that's a long time. Do you have an alternative business plan to what's suggested?
 
@sfoster, thanks. I'm not convinced that I agree with the guy, who claims most movies don't lose money - where are his statistics to back him up? That said, I will keep an eye on him, to see what I can learn.

In the meantime, if not Youtube, what do you suggest as a business plan?
I've only read about this stuff so take it with a grain of salt - but -

There are traditional avenues of success.. such as going to a film market, building a relationship with distributors and finding what kind of content they want. and then producing that content for them. Thats one avenue. Probably the best one.

You find out exactly what kind of movies they are buying, you make that movie and then you pitch it to them.
If its good and they buy it you are now a success story;.


Sometimes people produce a pilot and then pitch it to networks

Sometimes people write a book and then once they build an audience they turn it into a movie.

Sometimes people produce a short film - and then parlay that into a feature.
You *could* try to use youtube for this but IDK if it is going to have a better chance of success than a festival or a direct relationship with distributors.
 
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Do you have an alternative business plan to what's suggested?
For YouTube? They need to abandon serving the "viral clips" community (that's TikTok now) and focus on the distribution/promotion/revenue/discovery of serious content via modern tools and partners.
 
For YouTube? They need to abandon serving the "viral clips" community (that's TikTok now) and focus on the distribution/promotion/revenue/discovery of serious content via modern tools and partners.
Agreed on Youtube. But what would you suggest as a business plan for starting producers?
 
For YouTube? They need to abandon serving the "viral clips" community (that's TikTok now) and focus on the distribution/promotion/revenue/discovery of serious content via modern tools and partners.
They do that for black creators I believe. but just if youre black to qualify for their black voices program.
 
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What's your goal?

Is it to tell stories that are meaningful to you and have them seen by as many people as possible?

Is it to become super successful and rich?

How much of your own money are you willing to invest? I'm not asking you to tell a number, but I think it's an important question for your to think about.

How much of the project do you want/need to control?

I'd certainly suggest that you look for filmmakers in your region who you could collaborate with.

Get to some good film festivals (particularly in your part of the world) and network with up and coming directors who might be open to working with you but who aren't (yet) super expensive.

If producing per se is your interest, network with folks at those festivals who might be looking for an associate producer to come on board and give you some experience with what goes into actually producing a movie. Look for a low budget production that needs something that you can offer to them for free in exchange for a credit & access to the set. Maybe they need an office or a house to shoot in, and you can offer them the use of something of yours for free. That's more contacts as well as more experience.

I think you need to actually DO some of this.
 
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