More than 1 billion people visit YouTube per month, 100 hours of video are uploaded to it every minute and millions of subscriptions are made each day, according to YouTube statistics. About 500 of those subscriptions have gone to the YouTube channel of junior Kyndal Hutchinson.
Hutchinson created her channel last May, and makes video blogs (vlogs) and skits about various topics.
She tries to keep a variety of different videos on her YouTube channel.
“I usually try to put short films in and just have a good mix of videos,” Hutchinson said. “I have two comedy films that are currently in progress.”
Not only does Hutchinson create vlogs and comedic skits, but some serious videos as well.
“I feel like if I put in a few more serious videos it will help me with filmmaking as a serious professional thing, but it also changes things up,” Hutchinson said. “Sometimes I like to be a little bit more serious with things so people can either relate or just watch.”
Some of those serious videos are more personal, including “Stone Home,” a video posted in honor of her grandfather.
“‘Stone Home’ was a really personal video about my grandpa passing, so being able to put his legacy into a video just made me more open,” Hutchinson said.
Knowing that anyone around the world can see her videos has not been a problem for Hutchinson.
“It’s weird, but kind of cool that people are willing to sit and watch me make a fool of myself or try to get people to laugh,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson’s channel has grown from zero subscribers to over 500 within the year that she has started posting videos.
“It’s been really interesting [to see my channel grow], because every video that I make, I can always make better the next time I upload, so I’m always learning with the channel,” Hutchinson said.
She hopes for a bigger YouTube audience in the future to further spread her views and opinions over the Internet.
“I just want to be able to help people get a good laugh for the day and open up their minds to different opinions,” Hutchinson said.
YouTube has grown substantially since its creation in 2005. Over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube, according to YouTube’s statistics.
“I think YouTube is one of the fastest growing Internet communities,” Hutchinson said. “A lot of people are willing to make a channel for the laughs, but a lot of people make channels just to get subscribers.”
Hutchinson says she did not start posting on her channel just to get “YouTube famous.”
“I don’t think people should create a channel just to be famous; I feel like they should do it for their own fun or to help them with their career or whatever they choose to do in life,” Hutchinson said.
Most of Hutchinson’s editing and lighting skills have come from her Technical Theater classes at Northwood.
“[Technical Theater] has taught me a lot with lighting and how to make a person look better on camera,” Hutchinson said. “I want to do cinematography and filmmaking, so hopefully YouTube will help me get a little bit further with that.”
Editing the videos takes a lot of time and commitment to make them interesting and worth watching.
“The editing process can go anywhere from two hours of peace and quiet to four hours of absolute craziness, but I do put a lot of time into editing them so they look cool,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson gets a lot of support from her subscribers, but receives hateful comments on her videos occasionally.
“I remember one really bad comment,” Hutchinson said. “It bugged me for 10 minutes, then I was just like, ‘It’s just a comment from a person I don’t even know, and there are so many more comments from the people that actually care.’”
There are a few ways Hutchinson deals with negative comments.
“I’ll usually ignore them, but sometimes I’ll be sassy,” Hutchinson said. “I can do whatever I want, and I’m just being myself. There’s a lot more love than there is hate.”
Despite the few negative comments, Hutchinson is glad she started posting videos on YouTube.
“This channel has had a big impact on my life,” Hutchinson said. “It’s made me become a lot more open minded. I make videos for my own fun.”
— Katie Robbins
