Online Auteurs: Lifestyles of the Poor and Famous

Media coverage of online video-makers is no longer in short supply. The Wall Street Journal, WIRED, NPR, Time Magazine and the Boston Globe are just some of the mainstream outlets that have covered the explosion of "online auteurs" – to borrow the title of the latest roundup of video-makers that was published in the New York Times Magazine's "Movie" issue over the weekend.

But while there's been no shortage of press, writer Matthew Klam alludes to the fact that making the big time is another matter altogether.

The article points to just a few of the latest batch of online filmmakers seeking fame, fortune or both on the web -- with a focus on comedy, arguably, the web's largest genre -- from askaninja.com's Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine to videoblogger Ze Frank's The Show. While both sites might not have a best-selling sense of humor (too quirky or profane for mainstream TV, perhaps?), each has cultivated an intimate relationship with a sizeable online audience, using viewers' responses to feed back into the content.

But even with plenty of fans and media coverage, these video-makers are still struggling to make a living. In the article, Nichols and Sarine said they've just gotten agents and managers and are now selling ringtones, "Ninja" hats and T-shirts through their site. But Nichols said he had refused low-ball offers from Hollywood. "We’ve got an audience larger than a lot of cable shows — and they offer you $2,000 per episode, we’re like, ‘What are you talking about?’ With 20 million-plus downloads over the last year, and a strong brand and a strong Web site, that’s crazy.”

Meanwhile, one of The Daily Reel's top ten entries “Chad Vader” had its latest episode premiere on ABC's “Good Morning America," but one of its creators, Matt Sloan, is still working in a bookstore.

Klam also notes that Ze Frank's award-winning vlog "The Show" typically receives more than 200,000 views each week, but his only revenue source remains small ads on his website. "You can’t make money off of YouTube," he told Klam. "Unless you are YouTube."