So You want To create Content

“Creators are critical sources of information, support, and solidarity for billions of people, as well as the engines of a $200 billion economy,”

-Amanda Yarnell-
Harvard.EDU

It’s been exactly a year since I learned that the school where I had started my film and media program was shuttering its door after 13 years. With only a few months left in the school year my wife and I, yes we both worked there, would be without jobs. My wife found a new job, and two days before we would be moving our pup, Bronson, passed away at 15 years old.

As you could imagine, losing all of your income, and family pet while also moving and buying a car over a few weeks is quite high stress. This included with the research I have been doing around the economics of creativity had taken me down a rabbit hole of negativity. So much so, that I had told everyone I was about to step away for a few weeks to reset, I could tell I was running on empty.

As a new school year started in August, I decided to take my education to the internet. I was very intrigued to see what it actually takes to monetize a YouTube channel. As I start my seventh month, I have grown to roughly 1300 subscribers and hit the halfway mark of 4000 watch hours that are needed to be in the partner program. While offering free education and entertainment videos, I have also been researching how these platforms work. A new set of information, that weighed heavily on my mental health.

Intheblackmedia.com

When I hit the 1000 subscribers milestone I received an email from VidIq, a youtube analytics platform informing my that my channel was in the top 10% in the world. While this was exciting to learn, I started researching what that actually means.

According to Global Media Insight there are roughly 114 million YouTube channels, with around 2 million in the YouTube partner program. The average monetized channel takes between 12-18 months, requiring between 50-100 videos to reach partner status. Upon monetization, creators receive a 55/45 split of ad revenue for all qualifying views. Before monetization the creator will receive none of the ad revenue.

While this is not new to the world of capitalism, it was news to me and most of the creatives I have been talking with. According to NeoReach, a content creator marketing agency, over half of all content creators are making under $15,000 per year. Honestly, I assumed it wasn’t great, but I was surprised that some of the creators getting millions of views might not actually be monetized, therefore they do not share in the financial success of their work. So what other options are there?

capthttps://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/14/more-than-half-of-gen-z-want-to-be-influencers-but-its-constant.htmlion...

What are you looking at?

Netflix's biggest competition is sleep, says CEO Reed Hastings
“The Independent”

In 2017, Netflix’s prior CEO Reed Hastings said their biggest competition is sleep. This statement has been a catalyst for the past 10 years as our new economy is one of time over money. Everything is fighting for your eyes. Everything is free, because most are making for free. Your work doesn’t have to be good as long as it stays on the screen. Netflix has stated this in newer interviews that explain why their dialogue is spoken out loud multiple times. They know people aren’t watching, and they don’t particularly care because you are on their app.

Gary Vaynerchuck, a huge voice in this space, has said many times that you are only one post away from changing your life. While true, this gamification leads to a world where content creators chase fads, pulling a slot machine handle over and over until it pops. All at the expense of their mental and physical health. This is what I was doing until a recent accident.

At the beginning of March 2026, a piece of sawdust landed in my eye leading me to urgent care. What seemed pretty routine went south about 4 days later when my eye had swollen close and I had to return. It was at this meeting that I learned that I had shingles. Up to this point in my life, shingles was a virus reserved for the elderly, but the doctor informed me that more millennials are experiencing this virus due to high stress levels.

When I found out the school was closing down, there were no film education jobs in the United States. As you may or may not know, film and media courses are considered a luxury in education. Students and educators continually cite a need for more media literacy in education, but the marketing around these programs are that they are high expense. As someone that has started multiple programs, you can create with what you have in your pocket. These industries make you think it costs an arm and a leg to start and everyone can be a millionaire if they just work hard enough. I’m still not completely sure how this has permeated our society, as both are factually inaccurate. While you can make a lot in media creation, history would disprove that this is financially viable for most. This is unless you are taking free content and running ads on it, I’m looking at you YouTube.

We need to do better.

I’m Taking The Stick Out Of My Eye

This experience has taught me a lot, including I’m not willing to lose sight of whats important. This is figuratively and metaphorically, Thankfully I just finished my follow up eye appointment and thankfully there is no long term damage from the virus.

As I transition back in the full time creator space, so much had changed. Social Media was not what it was pre-pandemic and I knew I had to make a change if I want to do this long term. So, in December I removed social media from my phone. Over the holidays I created self-led courses that will be coming out soon, allowing filmmakers and photographers access to education not currently available in most schools. After the detox I attempted to come back online only to find out that my IG and TikTok had gone completely stagnate. This is how most of social media currently works. You don’t search, so the algorithm sorts content to what you look at the longest. This system incentivizes trend chasing over depth of connection. I do believe this won’t last forever, but for now I have to remove myself from that conversation for the benefit of my mental health. This experience made me realize that I need to protect my eyes. Both from sawdust and content that adds no value to my life.

3“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother,

‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there

is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye,

and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:3-5

I Will Need Your Help!

If you are still reading, I really appreciate your time and support. I truly would do this even if no one watched or read, but it does make it less lonely to know you are out there on the other side of this screen. As I move into the next phase of Bronson, I want to find ways to create together and this will happen in a few different ways.

Over a lifetime of creating I have had some good takes, some bad takes, and some takes that stay to myself. But now, I find it imperative for us who are creating to share what we have learned. Instead of telling everyone what is wrong, I’m just going to start doing what I know is right. So here’s what I am working on as we move forward.

Content Creators

If you are looking to start a creative venture, be it YouTube, UGC (User Generated Content), or a traditional art career then feel free to check out the free tutorials on how to edit and write. This is completely free, and hopefully very helpful as you start your journey. I wanted to make some opportunities for those that didn’t have access to film and media education. One of the screenwriting tutorials has over 15,000 views, meaning that one lecture I did in class has now been seen all over the world. Totally surreal.

If there is a tutorial or skill that would be helpful to your practice, just let me know and I will make a new video. It’s literally the least I can do for all of the help I have been provided in my career.

If you decide to make a film, please share it with me. I am currently partnering with visiting artists on my channel, where I will split the ad revenue and make you a collaborator as you start to build your own channel. There’s no reason you should have to wait 18 months to monetize your work, let’s do it together and see what happens.

I’ve also had a lot of asks for script feedback and 1:1 meetings so you can schedule a meeting with me online or in person at the link below. I don’t want to change your idea, instead I want to help you tell the story you want to tell! If you are interested in working together then click HERE and head to the bottom of the page for more info.

Viewers

I am roughly halfway to the 4000 watch hours on youtube, and there are currently 1300 subscribers. It would me the world to me if you would check out a few of the videos and like/share if they resonated with you. A few minutes here and there really helps to move the needle and once the channel is monetized I will be giving away my first feature “THE HORROR” on the channel.

I’m also about to release a new series called The Creative Process, where I collaborate with artists around the world using their creations to inspire a film. Coming up later this month is my collaboration with composer Oleksandra Shevchenko. Check out the trailer below and make sure to subscribe to get notified when the interview and episode drops.

Filmmakers

I have been talking with filmmakers that have had up to millions of views on their films and still haven’t made any money from those views. In most cases its because their channel was not monetized when they uploaded, so that success in views is not translated. You never know which video is going to be the one that launches your channel, so maybe collaborating together we can make sure you get seen and you can share in the financial success or your creation.

Using our collective reach, I will be sharing ad revenue as soon as it starts making. Think of it as a distribution deal that will help you build your own channel. Check out www.bronsoncreative.us/vhf21 to learn more.

Bronson Creative is self-funded by, Jerry J White III. If you find value in what I am creating then please consider a becoming a member on youtube by clicking HERE These contributions allow me to continue creating without paywalls. Thank you for your support!

This past few weeks have shown me that I need to take better care of myself, and pay attention to what I let my eyes see. These eyes were made for creating, and It was truly terrifying to even think that I may lose my sight because of this. Please take care of yourself, make what you want to see, and stop worrying about these platforms. They change daily and I am now more optimistic than ever that our continued conversation will help to move the needle a little bit each day.

Jerry

P.S. If you are interested in learning more about what I am creating then check out this interview I did with Morgan Markowski for her podcast Dear Creator. It’s a deep dive of everything Bronson. Huge thanks to Morgan for having me on board and asking some great questions!