I just watched a few minutes of "Ryan disappear[s] through a Secret Portal in the house to the North Pole" and am thoroughly impressed. Clearly a lot goes into the concepts, sets, and overall production of these videos. I don't know all of the details, but I can imagine how building a business like this could be one of the cooler ways for a family to spend quality time together.
These YouTube families are great. I hope they keep perspective though and don't go all Disney child actor. I mean maybe they can have hollywood careers etc but kids need to be kids.
And they're still making shitty videos with the kids that weren't taken away. I think they were pulled off YouTube again and had to start their own site for their content.
I'm not sure if you're being serious, but that video was honestly minimal amount of effort when it came to effects, sets and production. There are channels on Youtube with a fraction of the following that produce content orders of magnitude more professional than that. This kind of video can be made by some amateur producer in their bedroom. Considering they make 22M, you'd really think they'd spend money on at least getting a single professional video editor, if not more.
I wasn't kidding at all! I once found my ~4yo niece watching a series of YouTube videos that were just close ups of adult hands unwrapping small toys. Zero animations. No audio or editing. The video had a million views or something. (I can't even find this video because I don't know what to search for.)
When I read the BBC article, I assumed it was something equally no budget. Little kids like weird stuff.
Considering they make 22M, you'd really think
they'd spend money on at least getting a single
professional video editor
I've heard it claimed that many youtubers get locked into their day 1 aesthetic and intentionally avoid changing their winning formula.
If your videos shot in your bedroom with a single fixed camera on a tripod, no staff and basic editing are making you $15 million a year, why fix what isn't broken?
The #1 counter-example I can give is MKBHD. Look at the evolution of his videos. As he has gotten more popular, he has continuously worked on improving his equipment and style. He know shoots and edits in 8K, with RED cameras, professional intro, and so on.
You can still keep your personality, your style and your quirks, but upgrade things such as video quality, editing, and overall production quality.
That's not my experience with Ryan's Toy Review videos.
My son watches these, a little less than he used to, but still.
They're mostly about him goofing off (using toys) with his family. I'm sure there're some that are scripted, but a large majority of them are just him being a kid.
