Reddit AMA Recap: Zack James talks Animeme

animeme

Zack James came back not once or twice, but like four times to answer a bunch of questions for a recent Reddit AMA that was unplanned BUT was highly sought after by Redditors. The online video entrepreneur was very honest and open about the current state of Youtube cartoons, and was even awesome enough to post his email address for aspiring animators and voice over actors. Over the course of the AMA we garnered a few of the highlights:

On why Zack started his own Youtube channel

I started YouTube knowing I would make a living, and that it would put me on the right path. Life was pretty much figured out for me coming out of high school, and it didn’t excite me. So, I took a step back and asked myself, “How can I do anything I want, and be focused?” Sure enough, I went to high school with DeeFizzy, a fellow YouTuber.

That story is pretty long, but as said, I knew what I was doing. The same thing with animation. I knew exactly what needed to be done, how to do it, and when I would see results. That’s my TLDR thought process behind every step that’s taken.

On how you can make money from a Youtube channel

Sustainable means we’re making money back from our video to continue producing the videos. This is rare when expensive animation means low paying ad dollars.

-We achieved this by a sheer number of factors. Everyone works in their homes, low overhead. Videos are short, affordable budgets. Assets are reused, quicker turn

Any celebrity voices on the way?

We’ve come close a few times. Most of it comes down to schedule conflicts. Example: lead singer of New Found Glory would love to do voiceovers with us. He’s actually an aspiring voice actor who did an animated pilot, I believe with Jack Black. Sadly, our production pipelines tend to conflict with his tour dates. So, we’re always working with him and a few others to make this happen in the future.

Read more of the Reddit AMA here.