When YouTube designed their new Manhattan office space, they aimed to dazzle with a multipurpose room that can serve as a conference room, posh restaurant or a funeral parlor.
The blueprint was a key element to the online video giant’s new “YouTube Space,” which will provide a backdrop for its creators in the metropolitan area to shoot their latest videos.
And due to limited space they even made sure that every room of their Chelsea Market digs – including the bathrooms – can be used as a film studio.
Adam Relis, head of the location that will open at Chelsea Market in Manhattan on Nov. 6 told the Daily News it will also provide an area for the city’s video artists to meet, interact and collaborate with each other.
“We think of this as a community center,” he said.
YouTube opened similar sites in London and Los Angeles in 2012 and Tokyo in early 2013. About 30,000 people have attended over 450 workshops in the YouTube Spaces. Video creators have made 6,000 videos and generated more than 750 million views at the studios, the company reports.
The space and its services will be open free of charge to any YouTube creator which has at least 5,000 subscribers on its channel. The facility will also host workshops and social events to YouTube creators.
The 20,000 square foot facility is smaller than the other global locations, and so each room can be used for shooting video. The lobby that a visitor enters after departing the elevator has a standard large desk, but it’s on wheels so it can be moved out and the room can be used to create a new set. The bathrooms have metallic mats so that the lights will be less reflective when filming.
The space has three standard enclosed black box studios that can be used with green screens, but there are also physical sets such as two diner booths for a restaurant scene. The location’s hang out room can also double as a cozy studio apartment.
The studio is also made to look like a New York building with exposed brick and other characteristics for a grittier feel.
“New York has its own flavor and style,” Relis said. “We want to focus on the community and let them drive the style of the place.”
‘A godsend’ for artists
YouTube Space will officially open next month but presently has creators and production teams trying out the location. Above Average, a digital production team that serves as the digital arm of Lorne Michaels’ entertainment company “Broadway Video,” plans to produce six web shows in the next month.
Having worked in New York, just the practical element of not having to locate space and drive around the city in a rented vehicle to pick up equipment will be a major benefit, producer Brendan McMorrow told The News.
“To not have to drive a cargo van around New York is a godsend,” the Harlem resident said.
There are meet up events and email groups for online video creators in the city but Production Manager Kelly Harper told The News she is excited about all of the possible new colleagues she could meet at the studio.
“You are constantly saying ‘wow what a small world,'” the Williamsburg resident said.
Relis said he does not know how many creators have 5,000 subscribers in the New York area, but the company will use the facility to connect with them. He added people from all over the region like Boston and Philadelphia have already asked about working there.
The addition is also a product of YouTube’s growth in the city. Relis was one of the first two YouTube employees Google put in the New York offices seven years ago, and there are now a few hundred YouTube employees in the city.
Learning to use a professional studio
Before shooting videos the creators can sign up for tutorials and learn how to use the equipment, which includes cameras, microphones, green screens and editing stations, Relis said.
“Not everyone is familiar with what to do in a black box studio,” he said. “We want everyone to feel comfortable with everything they are doing here.”
Relis said the studio is the company’s way of investing in the community.
Making YouTube videos has become quite profitable for many artists as there are currently more than 1 million channels earning revenue through YouTube. Thousands of channels are making six figures annually through selling advertising, and partnering with companies by making videos promoting their products. One billion unique users visit YouTube each month and watch 6 billion hours of video.
The space will also host a “Google BrandLab” that will host workshops for advertisers.
The 5,000 subscriber mark is also often surpassed by many Youtube channels. There are many local stars that have hundreds of thousands of subscribers, who have become famous enough to get recognized while on the subway or taking a shower at their gym.
But many of these creators have never had the luxury of working in a professional studio space before – often utilizing their apartments or shooting on the street with less than high-end equipment.
Alba Garcia makes the SunKissAlba channel, which has nearly 450,000 subscribers, that watch her give beauty and natural hair tips from her Brooklyn apartment.
Garcia told The News she plans to shoot her first video in the studio Wednesday, which will be the first time she has made one outside her home.
“I do think there’s an approachable factor (in her videos) and it’s relatable to see a girl giving tips from her home,” the Brooklyn resident said. “But doing something from a studio is not something I can do often. How can I not take advantage of it?”
Comedian Franchesca Ramsey, who posts videos on her channel “Chescaleigh,” told The News that audiences loyal to artists want to see them expand their craft and try new things.
“The audience is there for you,” the Brooklyn resident said.
She added the space can also double as offices to meet with advertisers and other people she could potentially collaborate with.
“I don’t want to take them to my tiny apartment,” she said. “This makes you look very professional. It makes you look like hot stuff.”
The facility will also be able to create sets like a special Halloween display inspired by film director Guillermo del Toro that Garcia will utilize in her newest video.
YouTube spokeswoman Zayna Aston told The News the sets can be modified for different creators, and they will use them differently so viewers will not be seeing the same sets in multiple videos.
“They can be used in dramatically different ways,” she said. “We want to encourage innovation and experimentation.”
YouTube’s philosophy is not to direct its creators on what to do, but supply the resources for them to create their videos, Relis said.
“They’re in control of their content,” he said. “It’s their channel.”
Mitch Lewis, a member of the Kloons comedy troupe, told The News the studio will allow them greater flexibility when making a video because they are not restricted by location.
When they want to film outside, Lewis said they previously had to use tactics such as guerilla filming on the street, or less legal methods such as walking into the bathroom at the Marriot Marquis hotel in Times Square while locking the door to film a stunt.
When asked if he was worried about publicly admitting their favorite bathroom location he replied “it doesn’t matter. I have a bathroom here.”
jlandau@nydailynews.com Follow on Twitter @joelzlandau
