Have you ever spent a solid two hours watching the most bizarre and pointless videos that make you ask yourself, “Why am I watching this? How did I get here?” YouTube has had the masses glued to their laptop screen or mobile devices wondering the same thing since its launch in 2005. And let us take a moment to remember Harry Potter puppets, Charlie biting a finger, Smosh, and of course, “Chocolate Rain.” YouTube serves as a pillar in new media with its wide variety of entertainment and capability of appealing anyone and everyone. In an accelerating technological age, YouTube has become a medium that average Joes, celebrities, and companies alike use to brand themselves. Orange County will be acquiring a new production house, known as Mindstream Studio, that can help make your dream of YouTube stardom come true. It is considered the world's first crowdfunded YouTube Studio and will be open to the public in March 2017.
The multichannel network (MCN) and digital production house will provide OC with its largest space of 7,200 sq. ft. in Irvine. At Mindstream Studio, creators have access to five studio sets, an editing lab, creative services, sales, and staging areas. The five studio sets include those for beauty/lifestyle, vlogging/entertainment, tech and gadget, gaming, and food and can be rented for half a day or a full day. You can show the world what you got on your Sephora haul, hacks to the latest video game, or how to bake a mean apple pie. The choice is yours.
Founder and executive producer, Mark Thimmig, describes his MCN as “unique” in the sense that not only do they offer very distinct studios, but also a full kitchen and beauty set, product review, editing stations, talk show, and green screen for complete customization. A creator with just about any interest can make their vision come to life at Mindstream considering the significant amount of resources that are provided. Don’t know how to film or edit or you just don’t have the necessary equipment? Not a problem. You can have the creative team film and edit your content for you!
“That’s really the vision behind Mindstream Studio – to create a really cool place that people in Orange County can get all the services, the support, as well as all the custom studios,” Thimmig tells the Weekly.
Mindstream Studio has their own channel on YouTube where they host two shows (Crowdfunding Voice, The Crowd Gadget Show) and have picked up over 6,000 subscribers and hundreds of thousands of views within two months.
Because Google owns YouTube, users have a higher Google search standing if they share videos. It has also been proven that if people incorporate video into their social media, they get anywhere from 10-1,000 times more engagement from viewers compared to a basic text post. Notice how we’re quick to watch a video that’s only a minute long but contemplate whether or not we should even care to watch if it’s longer than five? Ain’t nobody got time for that. Or perhaps our attention spans are shortening due to all this information or as Thimmig puts, “edutainment,” our minds process on a daily basis. Viewers are open being educated, but they want to be entertained simultaneously.
All interested parties can fill out an application as a creator on Mindstream’s website. On average, 2-5 aspiring YouTubers apply per day to team up with Mindstream Studio for a chance to be the next Jenna Marbles or PewDiePie. From that pool of people, Thimmig will determine who will earn a contract. When someone receives a contract for X amount of time, they get their own dashboard consisting of descriptive analytics, custom-integration, and a list of what’s trending on YouTube. Creators will have 100 percent ownership as well as 100 percent of the money they make from their content. Mindstream Studio will also help creators gain access to big-name brands and sponsors in order to make even more money. Any copied content from other users will be taken down to ensure the material remains original. What's not to love? These benefits are vital to creators and should be especially considered during the technological revolution our society is in.
“I just feel really blessed to lead an organization with a bunch of young people that are super creative…It's fun for me because I get to see something even better than I imagine come to light, and it's fun for them because they get to use their full, creative talent and not feel constrained. We're building a really fun and exciting place…Our ultimate vision is that we want to be able to represent thousands of YouTube creators,” Thimmig says.
For more information, visit Mindstream Studio's website here.
Yvonne Villasenor is often in a sleep deprived daze daydreaming about ’90s heartthrobs, dogs, upcoming album releases, and what she’s going to eat for dinner. When she snaps back to reality, she writes about OC’s latest music and artists.