16
The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, March 15, 2012
Eye Street Editor Jennifer Self | Phone 395-7434 | e-mail jself@bakersfield.com
Index Guitar Shorty ............................................ 18 ‘Around the World of Wine’ .................... 19 Arts Alive.................................................. 20 Rock and Gem Rendezvous ...................... 21 The Lowdown with Matt Munoz.............. 22 Bakersfield in Nashville .......................... 24 New Gaslight show.................................. 25 Calendar .............................................. 28-29
Finding groove on YouTube Millions follow local couple’s parodies BY ASHLEY FISCHER Contributing writer
A
long time ago, before “The Dark Knight” brought cinematic street cred to comic book films, before “The Walking Dead” brought the zombie apocalypse into people’s living rooms, before every teen, tween (and their moms) dreamed of dating a vampire, a werewolf (or both) — being called a “nerd” wasn’t meant as a compliment. But Bakersfield couple Chad Nikolaus and Angie Griffin proudly wave the “nerd” banner. And judging by the popularity of their YouTube channel, which showcases the couple’s parodies of music and pop culture, it looks like they have some company. “We checked the other day and our channel had 100,000 subscribers and something like over 20 million individual views, which is really shocking,” Nikolaus said. “We never expected to get that many.” The video-making duo began contributing their own particular brand of “nerdery” to the Internet in 2008 after meeting each other online a few years before. While initial interest in their posts was slow, they managed to find a regular audience, much of it scattered around the globe. Gradually, their popularity began to snowball, thanks in large part to a little 8-bit ape named Kong. “Probably our first video to gain any sort of popularity was ‘Donkey Kong Song,’” said Nikolaus. “We have a very good following of Nintendo fans, and that was the first one that got over 1 million views.” “Donkey Kong Song” now stands at well over 2 million views, but the couple was just getting started. A video parody of the now infamous song “Friday,” by teen (and fellow YouTube sensation) Rebecca Black, was aired on NBC’s “Today” show. “Yeah, we had no idea until we started getting all of the calls from our friends and family telling us about it,” Nikolaus said. “It’s crazy to even think about it. We consider our videos, especially the Rebecca Black one, just kind of silly, goofy fun. So it was really incredible when we ended up on this show we used to watch when we were kids.”
ALEX HORVATH / THE CALIFORNIAN
Chad Nikolaus and Angie Griffin have found a way to share their pop-culture obsessions with the rest of the world by posting video parodies to their own YouTube channel. One of their videos, “Donkey Kong Song,” has received northward of 2 million views.
Screen Team screenteamshow.com
There are nearly 200 videos on the Screen Team YouTube Channel, all featuring the couple's visual ruminations on various aspects of popular culture (specifically, movies and videogames). Their posts vary in style from their simple “Screen Team Sunday” videos, in which the couple answer questions from their many followers, to their much more elaborate musical parodies, or “geekidies,” as they prefer to call them. The popular videos consist of Nikolaus and Griffin singing their self-penned lyrics, which poke fun at iconic franchises such as Batman and Pokémon, to the tune of other artists' hit songs, such as LMFAO’s “Party Rock.” Most of the videos are shot in the couple's apartment and are of a higher quality than the average YouTube effort, thanks to their willingness to appear in full costume and their extensive use of a
green screen they purchased with the intent of upping the production quality of their five-minute cinematic creations. Though they lack a certain random irony or sardonic satire, the videos are largely fun, up-tempo homages to the many pop culture franchises that have spawned fans around the world. Nikolaus and Griffin both freelance out of their home — Griffin doing online marketing and Nikolaus as a video editor. The flexibility of their work allows for a prolific production schedule; they write, shoot and edit as many as three posts a week. “We used to just, even only a year ago, put up a video whenever we could,” said Nikolaus. “But I think that in order to gain more success on YouTube, you really need to have a set schedule. That’s why we also started doing more sets of us doing lists or talking about videogames and movies. They’re smaller and easier to make, and we can put them up regularly every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.” While they approach their video-making as a second job, the
YOUTUBE.COM
Chad Nikolaus and Angie Griffin use costumes and a green screen to add flair to their videos, most of which are shot at their home.
two aren’t getting rich despite their popularity. “We do make money,” the two said in an email. “However the YouTube partner program doesn't allow you to discuss the amounts with anyone or they can take away your account. ... Some of the very biggest YouTubers make six figures a year. Of course, we're not at that level yet. “Right now, we consider YouTube a part-time job. Hopefully, sometime this year we can make it our only job.” But whether they’re able to parlay their side project into a
career or not, they’re committed to continuing their off-kilter homage to pop culture. “I think all my life I’ve had an interest in music, music and creating and entertaining, as well as geeky stuff,” Nickolaus said. “When I was a kid, I used to record myself dancing around in the basement and that sort of thing. We’ve just always had a love for music and videogames and pop culture, and even though it might seem like an odd combination, we figured we might as well combine the two — and it just worked.”