- Behind the scenes Director Kane Parsons is the latest YouTuber to helm a big screen project
- The online video sharing platform has become a breeding ground for new horror filmmakers
- Parsons shared his thoughts on why this is happening
The A24 filmmaker Behind the scenes The film shared his thoughts on why YouTube has become fertile ground for a new golden generation of horror creators.
Kane Parsons, making his feature film directorial debut with one of this year’s most exciting new films, is no stranger to the online video-sharing platform. Indeed, the 20-year-old made a name for himself with a series of low-budget viral videos based on The Backrooms, aka the popular internet horror legend from which this A24-produced film and his own YouTube series are heavily inspired.
However, the burgeoning filmmaker isn’t the only YouTube grad Hollywood has recently taken a gamble on. From the Philippou brothers (Talk to me, Bring her back) and Zach Cregger (Barbarous, Weapons), to Michael Shanks (Together) and Curry Barker (Obsession), the world’s biggest studios are using the Google-owned social media platform to discover the next generation of nightmare storytellers.
They are not the only ones either. Let’s gamers – a collective term for content creators who record or live-stream video games themselves – like Markus “Markiplier” Fishbach have also found success with their film adaptations of horror games, such as Iron lung. Additionally, some YouTube-based film critics, including Chris Stuckmann, have turned to making their own crowd-funded horror films, like Stuckmann’s. Shelby Oaks.
As YouTube turns 20 later this year, you have to wonder why entertainment giants have been sleeping on the platform to find the next big group of talented creators. After all, it is not only the most popular online video sharing service, but also considered by many to be the only way to pursue their ideas and bring them to life.
So what does Parsons think about studios going after horror-minded YouTubers — and why has it taken them so long to see YouTube as this hotbed of untapped talent?
“I haven’t gained the necessary knowledge about the industry to address the true depth of this conversation,” Parsons told me exclusively. “But I like to talk about YouTube as a means in itself, rather than a means to an end.
“Creatively, I am very happy financially [on YouTube]but you must understand that these [YouTube and the wider entertainment industry] are distinct entities. You can’t build the same standalone engine on YouTube as you can in Hollywood, especially if you want to create things on the kind of budget we had for this movie.
“If you don’t have those resources, the second best place to get exposure for a lot of people, myself included, is often YouTube,” he continued. “It gives a very strong and immediate feeling of being listened to, you can interact with your audience in real time as soon as you put something online, and it’s been a really fun place to develop my understanding of my own art and build a relationship with my community.
“And I think the big studios are realizing that,” Parsons added. “A common trait shared by a lot of these YouTube filmmakers is having an established contract with their audience and treating fans like they’re a little smarter and more aware than the average entertainment fan. So I can’t explain why studios are finally paying attention to us, but I’m glad they are.”
Behind the scenes is now available in theaters worldwide. Before watching it, check out our Behind the scenes review and see why Parsons thinks some film and TV adaptations have failed in their duty to fans of their source material.
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