News

Eleven prominent YouTube content creators just met one of the most important people in the world. During the Scholas World Congress in the Vatican, social media stars hailing from 10 different countries all met Pope Francis, who hosted his guests for a conversation about promoting diversity.

As was the case for the YouTube creators who got a chance to speak at the United Nations, the video-making community’s Papal visitors are an international bunch. Here’s the list, according to a press release from YouTube: Hayla Ghazal (United Arab Emirates, 1M subs), Dulce Candy (United States, 2.4M subs), Matthew Patrick (United States, 6.3M subs), Louise Pentland (United Kingdom, 2.4M subs), Lucas Castel (Argentina,1.9M subs), Matemática Río (Brazil, 330K subs), Jamie and Nikki (two YouTubers from Australia and Africa, 660K subs), Greta Menchi (Italy, 815K subs), Los Polinesios (Mexico, 11M subs) and anna Rf (Israel, 69K subs).

In meeting a handful...

Ahead of its Brandcast presentation this evening, which will be hosted by leading creator Lilly Singh, YouTube has released a brand new trailer touting the original series that have already debuted on its subscription service YouTube Red, as well as a handful of shows to come.

The action-packed clip teases two series set to premiere later this month: Sing It, an American Idol spoof from The Fine Brothers, and Bad Internet -- a series from Iac-owned comedy site CollegeHumor that’s described as “10 darkly comedic stories about technology and the Internet failing in surprising ways.” Both projects arrive on Wednesday, May 25.

The trailer also features the first glimpse of two as-yet-unseen YouTube Red projects: MatPat’s Game Lab and Escape the Night with Joey Graceffa. Matthew Patrick, of the popular YouTube channel The Game Theorists, will a host a forthcoming 360-degree virtual reality show that explores the real-life science behind popular video game scenarios.

YouTube and Sundance Institute have announced an expansion of their multi-year collaboration to support the development of emerging storytellers. New initiatives in 2016 include a curated festival experience and storytelling intensive workshop for YouTube Creators and a joint Sundance Institute | YouTube Lab to discover and support new artists creating episodic content.

“On YouTube, there are no limits to creative freedom and we are committed to actively advancing the work of innovative, risk-taking storytellers worldwide,” said Danielle Tiedt, Chief Marketing Officer, YouTube. “Our extensive collaboration with Sundance Institute furthers our mission to connect with, inspire and support independent creators.”

"The Sundance Institute | YouTube Creators Intensive and New Voices Lab will discover and nurture a new class of visionary independent artists creating episodic content. Together with our broader Episodic Storytelling Initiative, these programs will support the next generation of artists who are shaping the very nature of the form and bringing fresh, original series to audiences,” said Michelle Satter, Founding Director of Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program. .

The YouTube and Sundance Institute 2016 collaboration includes the following five elements:

Sundance Institute | YouTube New Voices Lab

For over thirty years, Sundance Institute has supported and championed many leading independent storytellers through their year-round Labs program. The

Sundance Institute | YouTube New Voices Lab will take place November 16 - 18, 2016 at YouTube Space La. Fellows who are accepted into the program will work with an accomplished group of creators, showrunners and episodic producers to develop projects in an environment that encourages risk-taking, experimentation and innovation. Afterwards, Fellows will have access to Sundance Institute’s Alumni community, along with customized, year-round creative and strategic support. Visit sundance.org/episodic to apply for the Lab beginning February 15, 2016 through March 27, 2016.

Sundance Institute | YouTube Creators Intensive

A class of YouTube Creators have been selected to participate in this inaugural ‘Intensive’ -- a two-part program that begins on-site at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, followed by a three-day workshop at YouTube Space La from March 31 - April 2, 2016. With the Institute’s world-renowned Labs serving as a model, this immersive experience will support YouTube creators in developing new series and films. Upon completion, participants may be eligible for a first look deal with YouTube Originals. The creators selected for this workshop include Anna Akana, The Gregory Brothers, Devin Graham of DevinSupertramp, Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn of Just Between Us, Yulin Kuang of YulinIsWorking, Nikki Limo, Franchesca Ramsey, Jus Reign (Jasmeet), and Adande Thorne aka sWooZie.

YouTube Presents the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Shorts Program

For the fourth year in a row, YouTube presents the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Shorts program that showcases short-form independent cinema. As part of this sponsorship, YouTube will host the opening reception for the Festival Shorts directors.

YouTube Panels and Screenings for 2016 Sundance Film Festival Attendees

YouTube presented the two panels during the festival which included: Global Head of Original Content, YouTube, Susanne Daniels, YouTube stars Lilly Singh ( "A Trip to Unicorn Island"), Gavin Free ( "Lazer Team" ), Awesomeness Films head Matt Kaplan ("Dance Camp") Todd Shaiman , Co-Founder and Cto of Vrse, Aaron Koblin and Matthew Patrick from The Game Theorists.

Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour, Presented by YouTube

YouTube will present the Sundance Film Festival Shorts Tour, a theatrical program of each year's award-winning shorts from the Festival, playing in art house theaters in over 50 cities in the Us and Canada.

The creative partnership between YouTube and Sundance Institute builds upon YouTube’s long-standing commitment to investing in creative voices around the world. In 2015, YouTube’s Susanne Daniels announced a slate of YouTube Red Originals Series and Films that will premiere throughout 2016. YouTube also opened new YouTube Space production facilities in Berlin, Paris and Mumbai; announced plans for future Spaces in Rio and Toronto; and expanded creator programs at existing Spaces in Los Angeles, New York, London, Tokyo and Sao Paulo, including free workshops, community events and production resources. The YouTube Creator Academy also provides a myriad of online learning resources to help creators anywhere in the world build a community and a business on YouTube.

2015 is all but in the books, and as it wraps up, Matthew Patrick has delivered an “end-of-the-year meta-theory.” The man behind the Game Theorists YouTube channel has released a video in which he analyses the battle between Facebook and YouTube and predicts the future of the latter site.

When he’s not busy offering crazy theories about pop culture franchises, Patrick is an online video consultant who uses his deep knowledge of the industry to advise his fellow creators. Last December, he shared his knowledge with viewers by explaining PewDiePie’s “broken” subscription box, and 12 months later, he has returned with another theory about the state of YouTube. This time, he focuses his discussion on two projects released on the same day: The annual YouTube Rewind, and Facebook’s 2015 Year in Review.

Given their similar premises--they both recap the year that was in digital media--it would be easy to use...

It is fair to call Matthew Patrick, the host of the Game Theorists YouTube channel, one of the smartest people in the YouTube community. Patrick doesn’t just wax philosophical about hidden themes within popular video games; he’s also an online video expert who often shares his knowledge with his fellow creators.

Now, Patrick is bringing his smarts to a new subject: film. He has teamed up with his partner network, Defy Media, to launch The Film Theorists, which brings Patrick’s in-depth analysis to the world of movies.

In each episode of Film Theorists’ main series, Patrick dives into a specific work and sheds light on elements that less careful consumers may have missed. Despite the channel’s title, it isn’t limited to movies; instead, Patrick is taking on all sorts of pop culture franchises, including Game of Thrones and Harry Potter.

The first episode of Film...

Matthew Patrick is best known as the main host of The Game Theorists, a YouTube channel that trains a critical eye on video games and pop culture. On the side, Patrick works as a consultant for YouTubers, whom he advises on best practices for channel optimization. In his latest video, Patrick has combined his two professions by explaining the drawbacks of YouTube's subscription system.

Patrick was inspired to create his new video after PewDiePie, who has more YouTube subscribers than anyone else, post a video where he complained that his fans were not seeing his new videos. As Patrick explains, this lack of delivery isn't a glitch in the system; instead, it's the result of a phenomenon he calls "subscriber burn."

Here, in a nutshell, is Patrick's argument: YouTube chooses which videos to present on homepages and sidebars based on the previous videos each user has watched. For example, if...

Defy Media has a lot of properties at its disposal, and the network wants to make sure its creative partners take full advantage of these opportunities. The company born out of the merger between Alloy Digital and Break Media has announced the "Creators Program", which will give qualifying YouTube creators the chance to distribute content through multiple channels. The best way to explain the Creators Program is through the example of Prank It Fwd, the practical-joking charity series Defy Media launched for April Fools Day. Prank It Fwd was hosted through Break, it featured entries from pranksters like Mediocre Films' Greg Benson, who contributed a upscale homeless shelter dinner to the project. Future Creators Program projects will bring more notable YouTubers to new shores. For instance, pop culture commentator Kingsley will host a new series on Defy Media's ClevverTV channel, while Matthew Patrick of The Game Theorists will bring...

Do you think video games are lowbrow? Think again. For the past couple of years, Matthew Patrick has delivered critical, philosophical, and occasionally wacky monologues about the world of video games. Each of the videos on Patrick's Game Theorists channel dissects specific games and offers a theoretical discussion of each game's themes. Here's what Patrick had to say about his increasing popular YouTube home: Tubefilter: What do you have to say to your 1.7 million YouTube subscribers? Game Theorists: Something that I think every creator wants to say to their supporters: Thank You! Your enthusiasm for everything from sentient killer robots to killer rods from outer space (and even things that aren’t out to kill you!) has been overwhelming and life changing. YouTube can be an immature place at times, so I’m so proud of the loyal Theorist community we’ve been able to build, one that respectfully debates everything from religion to evolution.

With the exit from Iraq and the draw-down of troops in Afghanistan, the numbers of Americans killed continues to drop. Still, loved ones are mourning 311 lost, and as of Dec. 17, the wars' toll since 2001 now stands at 6,656. Edward Joseph Acosta, 21 Trevor Brandon Adkins, 21 Ahmed Kousay al-Taie, 46 Erica Paige Alecksen, 21 Tobias Christoph Alexander, 30 Joseph James Altmann, 27 Mabry James Anders, 21 Joshua Ryan Ashley, 23 Bradley Wayne Atwell, 27 Daniel Benjamin Bartle, 27 Jon-Luke Bateman, 22 Jonathan Batista, 22 Rayvon Battle Jr., 25 Taylor John Baune, 21 Jordan Logan Bear, 25 Clayton Ross Beauchamp, 21 Genaro Bedoy, 20 Bryan Richard Bell, 23 Russell Ryan Bell, 37 Jose Oscar Belmontes, 28 Kenneth Wade Bennett, 26 Keith David Benson,...