It’s hard to believe that YouTube turns 10 this year. The site, founded in 2005 by three former PayPal employees, has not only become one of the most-visited sites on the internet, but it also symbolizes the new age of user-generated content. In only a decade, it has become one of the largest search engines in the world (along with parent company Google), with wildly popular celebrities — dubbed “YouTube influencers” — and has even formed the basis for newer companies seeking to aggregate and monetize the millions of hours of uploaded YouTube content. In addition, the website’s ease of use as a distribution platform has had a huge impact on independent filmmakers who would otherwise have had no opportunity to showcase their incredible work.
Indiewire has been covering YouTube news, content and stars pretty consistently since 2012, and we’ve compiled a list of all the articles we’ve written for your reading pleasure. Scroll down to take a trip through our YouTube memory lane, organized by category.
YouTube Filmmaking News
As YouTube grew and grew, traditional filmmakers and media companies began to take notice of it, giving the site the opportunity to become newsworthy in and of itself. Here’s a selection of our more newsworthy stories:
‘Video Game High School’ Breaks Kickstarter Film Fundraising Records
Do We Need Another Subscription Streaming Service? YouTube To Enter the Game
YouTube Animated Hit ‘Dick Figures’ Becomes Crowd-Funded Online Feature with Digital Distribution
Independent Filmmaker Project Opens Up to Narrative Web Series
Guillermo del Toro and YouTube Use Halloween to Bring In Young Filmmakers
Calling All Web Series Creators: IFP Has Big Plans for You
Exclusive: Attention, Web Series Creators: Apply to This New Fund
YouTube Filmmaking Tips
A culture of friendly educational and tutorial videos soon came out of the crowd-sourced, user-generated atmosphere on YouTube. Here’s some advice for aspiring filmmakers looking to get their start online:
Attention Filmmakers: Get Your Free Music from New YouTube Audio Library
From Teen Welfare Dad to YouTube Icon: Casey Neistat Tells SXSW How He Did It
Attention Filmmakers, Here’s Why You Need a Storyworld for Your Film
Guest Post: Here’s How To Get A Web Series Off The Ground
Here’s How To Make A Viral Video: ‘American Horror Story’ Teaser Creator Tells All
Attention, Filmmakers: Here’s How to Create Web Content That Will Build Your Careers
7 Things to Consider Before Launching Your Web Series
How To Get Attention for Your Web Series
Watch: Here’s How to Create the Magic Behind Cloud Tanks
10 Reasons You Should Make a Web Series (Instead of an Indie Film)
YouTube Filmmaking Think Pieces
As with any new content today, YouTube has also generated a host of think pieces which seek to analyze its current and future state in the entertainment and digital landscapes. Indiewire’s own analyses are listed below:
Are YouTube’s Premium Partners the Studios of the Future? Behind the Scenes at Mahalo
Four Ways YouTube’s The Space Could Help the Company Survive the Netflix Wave
Can Web Series Creators Turn Their Work Into a Career?
Finding Web TV’s ‘Louie’: Why Views Don’t Matter for Indies
The 6 Best Comedy Web Series Hubs You Need To Know About
Rooster Teeth’s Burnie Burns On Why Massive Crowdfunding Success Shouldn’t Hurt Its Brand
What You Need to Know About VidCon, and the Creators Who Are Taking Over the World
‘I Ship It’: Why Short Film and YouTube Make Such a Good Match
YouTube-Hosted Web Series & Channels
Over the past few years, many filmmakers and content creators have moved projects from more traditional media outlets onto YouTube in the hopes of finding a platform that didn’t require network greenlights. Here’s our coverage of a few of those transitions, most notably a “Battlestar Galactica” prequel and a “Dredd” sequel.
Watch: The Onion Takes on Reality TV in Web Series ‘Sex House’
The Onion Launching ‘Onion Talks,’ a New TED Talk-Mocking Web Series
With No Pick-Up From Syfy, ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Prequel ‘Blood & Chrome’ Heads to YouTube
Exclusive: SundanceTV Launches Animated ‘The Red Road’ Companion Web Series
Can’t Wait for a ‘Dredd’ Sequel? That’s Why the Producer Went Bootleg
Exclusive: Award-Winning Indie Filmmakers Adapt Dreams for Web Series
The Muppets Team Up With Top YouTube Talent For Celebratory Videos
YouTube Original Web Series & Channels
In the post-YouTube age, creating and distributing your own original content has never been easier. Everybody — from big names like Bryan Singer (“X-Men”) to amateur indie filmmakers — can upload to YouTube, making it into, essentially, the melting pot of the internet. Here’s our original content coverage:
Will Bryan Singer’s Upcoming Sci-fi Project ‘H+’ Offer a Look at the Future of Web Series?
The Growth of Original Web Series: What’s Working and Why
Don’t Know Which Web Series to Watch? Here are the Best of 2012.
10 YouTube Original Channels You Should Be Watching
Will My Damn Channel Grow Into YouTube’s Biggest Comedy Network?
Experiencing ‘Girls’ Withdrawal? Here are the 14 Best Female-Centered Web Series
Beyond ‘Orange Is The New Black’: The Summer of the Lesbian Web Series
Four Web Series Explore How (Not) To Make it in Hollywood
Critic’s Picks: 2013’s Best Comedy Web Series, and 18 More You Need to Watch Now
15 Women-Driven Web Series That Could Be the Next ‘Broad City’
‘East Los High’ and 32 Other Web Dramas Upstaging TV With Their Diversity
Review: For a Celebration of Female Friendship, Check Out Web Original ‘Dibs’
Tired of the Food Network? Indie Cooking Shows Online Feed Hungry Niches
YouTube Fan Culture – Parodies
Fandom subculture has taken up residence on YouTube as well, with many fans taking advantage of their editing skills to create parodies of iconic shows and trailers. A few of the best ones which have caught our attention are listed here:
From ‘L.A. Girls’ to ‘Bros’ to ‘Sqirls’: Ranking the Internet’s ‘Girls’ Parodies
Watch: ‘Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens’ Trailer Parodies Roundup
Watch: ‘Mad Men’ Final Scene Parodies Feature Don Draper’s Other Big Ideas
From YouTube to Television
Because we’re still in the process of discovering the pros and cons of YouTube-based distribution, many creators still come to YouTube with the eventual goal of ending up on the big (or the small) screen. Our coverage of those creators and series who have made the jump (in both directions) is below:
‘Tiny Apartment’ May Expand From Web Series to Comedy Central
‘Awkward Black Girl’ Creator Issa Rae Heads to ABC With a New Comedy Series
Comedy Central Orders Amy Poehler-Produced Pilot For Web Series ‘Broad City’
AMC’s Developing Chris Hardwick’s ‘All Star Celebrity Bowling’ as a TV Series
How Does A Web Series Jump to TV?
Lionsgate Releasing YouTube Sensation SMOSH’s First Movie
‘They Alive, Damnit!’: How the Unbelievably Catchy ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ Theme Song Came To Be
Watch: Let YouTube Stars Get You Ready for ‘Penny Dreadful’ Season 2
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