Good morning. I've loved browsing #Oscarsathome on TikTok this week. It has over 5 billion views with creators imitating past award show speeches and breaking down their favorite movies. Come Sunday when the Oscars air, I can't promise I'll tune in, but I'll definitely check TikTok.

–Hannah Doyle

TikToker Competes in Netflix Short Film Competition

Comedy creator Jonny Morales is one of three winners who made a short film for the streaming platform’s competition, The Great Untold. For the series, Netflix partnered with Adobe to supply each creator with a crew and advisors. The films were released on Netflix’s YouTube channel, which has over 23 million subscribers.

Morales is 20 years old and based in Wilmington, North Carolina. He started on TikTok in 2019 and has built a following of over 3 million, posting cooking videos with his mom and comedy videos on Hispanic culture.

For the competition, Morales made The Refugee, an eight-minute film about a teenage Colombian refugee who comes to America and meets a boy (played by Morales) who helps her adjust to American culture. Morales was mentored by Ryan O’Connell, who wrote, directed, and starred in the Netflix series Special. 

“I have never written a script, never been a director,” Morales said. “Being able to watch a film and see every shot and all those locations shot for hours and hours at a time, then turn into the seconds that we see–I don’t think I'll ever look at filmmaking the same.” 

Our Take

Social platforms are becoming talent incubators for streaming platforms like Netflix. It seems like every week a new show or movie is announced that features a digital creator. Netflix is smart to embrace this trend and help usher the next generation of storytellers to their platform.

Attorney Quits Six-Figure Job to go Full-Time as a Creator 

Cece Xie, a Yale and Harvard Law educated attorney, quit her job last month to write a book and continue creating weekly lifestyle and career focused videos, as well as an email newsletter.

How did she get here?

• Xie started creating on TikTok in April 2020, making videos on life as a lawyer and tips for getting into law school. She quickly grew a following, and secured brand partnerships that paid her up to 30,000 in one month.

• Later that year, she started YouTube where she began vlogging and posting Shorts.

• This month, Xie nearly tripled her subscriber total on YouTube, going from 6,000 to just over 17,000 according to Social Blade.

“I realized that I’ve always taken the path of near-guaranteed financial success rather than a riskier path that might’ve made me happier,” Xie said in the video. “I’m 30 and I’m still at a place in my life where I can take a risk, and it’s ok if I don’t make 350,000.”

Our Take

When a creator makes the jump to full-time too early, they often find themselves creating with fear. Although Xie gave up a stable paycheck as an attorney, she mitigated her risk by waiting until her revenue was diversified and significant enough to make the transition easier.

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Chronicles of Narnia YouTube Channel Launches a Patreon

Last week Into the Wardrobe, a channel that dissects The Chronicles of Narnia book and film series, started a subscription program to fund filming equipment, editing, and create a space for subscribers to communicate in a Discord and get early access to videos. 

The channel, which was recently featured as a Creator On The Rise on YouTube, launched last year and has 24,000 subscribers with 50 supporting the Patreon.

Our Take

Despite having little movement in mainstream entertainment, extremely niche content like the Chronicles of Narnia can grow a healthy following on social platforms. These niche communities thrive on the internet because the demand is high for content, but the supply is often nonexistent. 

🔥 Press Worthy

• Khaby Lame stars in Pepsi’s latest campaign.

• Liza Koshy is on the cover of Women's Health.

• YouTube creators Adventures With A Purpose solve an 18-year-old cold case.

• Apple podcasts will provide follower metrics starting next month.

• YouTube adds TV shows to its free-to-watch library.

• Auto YouTubers Donut Media are acquired by media company Recurrent Ventures.