A DIY Halloween costume is what first brought Becky Wright and Kelsey MacDermaid to YouTube. In 2010, the Humber College film students uploaded their first video tutorial on how to make an easy, inexpensive highlighter-marker costume, complete with neon dress and hat. The rest, as they say in show business, is history.
Collectively called the Sorry Girls, the Toronto-based Wright and MacDermaid have since made more than 250 videos. Their YouTube channel has more than 500,000 subscribers, with over 81 million views.
“We now do all sorts of DIY videos – anything trendy, we show you how to make it,” MacDermaid says while hoisting a power drill. “We made this light-up cinema box, and we’re making it again today and filming in this space.”
The YouTube stars are setting up in one of two studios at the new YouTube Space Toronto, a creative incubator for online stars. The first Canadian location, located at 230 Richmond E behind George Brown College’s School of Design, is one of just nine global YouTube Spaces that include Tokyo, Berlin, Sao Paulo and Mumbai. The first one opened in Los Angeles in 2012.
“Toronto is a phenomenally creative city,” says Chris D’Angelo, the head of production and programming for YouTube Spaces. “It was important to have a large collaborative open space where our creators could come together. Community is a very big part of YouTube.”
The space was designed by George Brown students, with local elements added throughout. A red and grey pixelated print in the front entrance was apparently inspired by TTC streetcars. In another room, Toronto artist Alex Currie, who’s better known as Runt, has painted a replica of his famous Lee’s Palace mural. There is a lounge, event area, a foyer with a bar and two film studios. “You can take part in classes, and connect with other YouTube creators. We look at your subscriber count and try to offer the right help and solution, depending on what level you’re at.”
To that extent, the film studios – including professionally-built sets, cameras and lighting equipment – are free to use, but only open to YouTube stars with at least 10,000 subscribers. That isn’t a problem for the Domestic Geek, which boasts nearly a quarter million subscribers.
“I started the Domestic Geek just over two years go to share my passion for food with the world,” says Toronto’s Sara Lynn Cauchon. “I usually make cooking videos in my home kitchen, but it’s so cool that now I can come to the YouTube Space and film and collaborate with other creators here.”
Cauchon uploads several videos to her YouTube channel each week and has gotten more than 40 million views. Previously a broadcaster and TV host, she now runs the Domestic Geek as her full-time job. “You’re looking at the next generation of entrepreneurs,” she adds. “I think this space will help new creators evolve their channels. It’s really exciting stuff.”
DIY tutorials and healthy-cooking videos are just a sampling of Toronto’s online talent. A handful of YouTube stars hanging out in the space that day ranged from relationship experts (Ask Kimberly) and fashion gurus (AnthonyDelucV), to vegan chefs (Edgy Veg) and science educators (AsapSCIENCE).
“I think what’s really unique in Toronto is the patchwork. It’s so diverse, from all perspectives,” D’Angelo says. “They’re finding a lot of success in Toronto but also exporting that Canadian voice globally. This is a generation of young, uber-hip creative people. Everybody’s doing something different and pushing the platform forward.”
According to D’Angelo, the next frontier for YouTube creators – and viewers – is virtual reality and 360° video. In the studio next to the Sorry Girls, gadget geek Lewis Hilsenteger of YouTube’s Unbox Therapy, is performing a demo of what many are calling the next level of visual storytelling.
“Using a head-mounted camera, we can capture roughly a 270-degree field of view. What gives it its 360-ness is turning the video that’s captured spherical by stitching the images together,” Hilsenteger explains. “Once you upload them to YouTube, it does the work of interpreting the metadata so that your inputs and movements allow you to navigate that physical space.”
Creators at YouTube Space will be taught how to use this technology. “The coolest thing about 360° video is its rewatchability,” Hilsenteger adds. “There are so many cool perspectives within each frame. You could theoretically go back and watch a storyline in different perspectives.”
While all of the YouTube creators at the space that day are wildly successful online – some with subscriber counts in the millions and video views in the billions – D’Angelo assures that the incubator has something for everyone, even those just starting out.
“There are people getting on the platform and growing enormous audiences everyday,” he says. “YouTube is growing as a platform, watch-time is up and there are new users to the platform all the time. Don’t wait to start. There are plenty of views out there to be had.”
michelled@nowtoronto.com | @michdas
