When YouTube Stars Make a Movie, Superfan Marketing Is Baked In

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By Matt Silverman2014-02-21 18:05:56 UTC

A straight-to-DVD or video-on-demand movie might raise suspicion. But in the maturing world of digital-first talent and production, it's the only logical way.

YouTube stars Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart and Mamrie Hart just made the leap from small screen to slightly less-small screen in Camp Takota , a feature film released on Feb. 14. For $10, fans can download or stream the movie, with extras including a behind-the-scenes documentary, movie posters and t-shirts packaged at incremental price tiers. And like many in the music, comedy and gaming worlds before them, its producers felt empowered to bypass traditional studio distribution because legions of rabid fans were already baked into the balance sheet.

Grace Helbig, Mamrie Hart and Hannah Hart star in Camp Takota.

"Our entire idea going into this project was that we wanted to respect our digital audience and give them the full look at what it's like to make a film," Helbig tells Mashable. After shooting 12 hours a day, Helbig and her co-stars brought that experience back to their vlogs. "All of the crew became characters in this vlog world. We really wanted to create an environment that the community lived in while the movie was getting made."

This cycle of personal engagement is the engine powering Camp Takota's marketing, and it seems to be working.

"The Camp Takota debut has been successful beyond even our most optimistic projections," says Michael Goldfine, president of RockStream Studios, which produced the film.

According to RockStream, pre-sales, merchandise and other perks have made the film profitable on day one, though Mashable is unable to independently verify this at the time of publication.

"One thing we're really proud of is we didn't Kickstart this project. We didn't ask people for money to create this," says Helbig. "We've done sort of this reverse-Kickstarter." Fans who pay more than $10 to own the movie get additional perks, like Google Hangouts with the stars and personalized thank-you videos. "We really set out to make a film by having a two-way conversation with the audience."

The business model is not unlike other Internet experiments. Helbig cites Louis C.K.'s gamble on direct, DRM-free downloads as an inspiration for the venture. "We're not trailblazers in this space, but we wanted to push it further to see if total digital distribution would be successful," she says.

Grace Helbig on the set of "Camp Takota."

The other perk of a passionate community is that they're extremely protective of their idols' work.

"They made a rule on Tumblr that there was no GIFing of the movie for the first 24 hours," she says. "And they all stuck to it."

Helbig cites instances where fans have thwarted pirated versions of the movie. "They've organized this community watch thing where they report when someone's pirated [the movie], which is so great, because that was one of our biggest worries. I think it's only been pirated a handful of times, and instantly it's been taken down because these kids all swarm on it."

If this hybrid Internet-movie venture pays off, what's next for Helbig?

"I don't have a five-year plan," she says. "My trajectory moving forward is saying 'yes' to projects that make sense for the Grace Helbig brand and to work with friends and people who make me feel good about what I'm creating. That's really my only goal. Right now, I'm working on a book and a television show, and I want to get into the more traditional pieces of media, but infusing it with Internet. I'll never go away from YouTube. I think I would die if I ever went away from YouTube."

BONUS VIDEO: Grace Helbig Stop by for #5facts About YouTube

Topics: Camp Takota, Entertainment, Film, Grace Helbig, Video, YouTube