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The documentary “I’m Vlogging Here” tells the personal stories of some of YouTube’s top vloggers, including Wheezy Waiter, CharlieIsSoCoolLike, Prank vs. Prank, Chris Pirillo, Hank and John Green and others. The filmmakers – Shay Carl and Corey Vidal – stopped by What’s Trending to talk about their goals for the project and the ongoing Indiegogo funding campaign. They also make some special exclusive announcements on the show, including fascinating news for anyone who has already invested or plans to invest in the project as well as insight into some of the crew coming on board to work on the film.
Jackson Harris, What’s Trending co-host for the week and Associate Producer of “I’m Vlogging Here,” is also on hand taking fan questions for Shay and Corey. And YouTuber Ava (Halt! I Am Ava) joins us over Google+ Hangout to share her take on the project as an up-and-coming vlogger.
Last year, after vlogging every day on YouTube for a full three years, ShayCarl felt that it was time to shake things up with a new project – a documentary about the hard work that goes into making a career on YouTube. “This is a new viable option for a lot of people that are going to school right now to come up and to be in the new media space,” he says. “I wanted to tell that stories.”
And Shay would know – as he was a key part of the creation of Maker Studios, which now employs over 350 people and recently announced the acquisition of a huge $36 million from Time Warner.
“This documentary is the story of how this became not only our life, but the lives of others,” YouTube’s most famous dad – the patriarch of The Shaytards – says. “There’s so much good that’s happening,” citing the VlogBrothers having raised over $500,000 dollars for charity.
In that vein, Corey says that he makes YouTube videos “to influence positive change,” and that’s also what this documentary hopes to inspire.
Even though ShayCarl’s received criticism over trying to raise money for the project instead of funding it based on his own means, he explains that he didn’t want to  “I wanted this to be a personal project. I want this to be something that I have 100% control over,” he notes. By collaborating with a studio, he’d be letter an upper hand have creative control. “This is an idea that I am passionate about and a story that I want to tell more than anything, so I need to make sure as few hands are in the decision pot as possible.”
Of course it would be cheaper to have all of the YouTubers come to L.A., but Shay and Corey decided it would be more powerful if they filmed these creators in their natural environments.
Despite having vlogged every day for over three years, there’s still a lot for Shay to open up and be honest about, and he knows his fellow YouTubers have similar stories to expose. “There’s this fear that if you say the wrong thing or if you come across the wrong way, that suddenly you fear that you’re going to lose this dream,” he says. It’s a brutal jungle, that YouTube comments section. But the truth is, a ton of work goes into all of these videos that real people take the risk to share with the world.
Shay quips that RockTard, his son, is “like the real life Truman baby.” He was on YouTube when he was still in Katilette’s stomach!
Now, for the EXCLUSIVE announcement! ShayCarl reveals that if the movie does make money, they will refund all of their donors at double the amount that they donated!
One of the immediate perks will be weekly news updates about the progress of the film, with the teaser set to fully be unveiled at VidCon. By the end of the year, the team plans to tour the documentary in theaters throughout the country, with the end goal being for the movie to be free on YouTube for everyone to see. After all, Shay says, “It has to go back to where all this originated.”
Donate now to “I’m Vlogging Here” on the Indiegogo page. Subscribe to ShayCarl and Corey Vidal on YouTube!
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