YouTube teamed up with Bollywood filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s film academy Whistling Woods International (WWI) to launch YouTube space where creative Indian content creators can be trained about video production and empower them to collaborate with other creators.
Mumbai is the eighth city in the world to get a YouTube Space followed by Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, New York, Sao Paulo, Berlin and Paris. Creators of content will be able to produce creative digital content for their YouTube channels and access the latest audio-visual and editing equipment at no charge.
YouTube Space, Mumbai is in the interior of WWI’s production room and occupies a 1400 square foot space for the creators. The 400 sq foot studio is open five days a week and comprises of a lounge room, an edit bay with two systems with 4k video editing capability.
Additionally, to train the coming creative generation of film-makers, in collaboration YouTube and WWI are developing courses and has already commenced the first course for YouTube for 120 students.
YouTube Spaces Director and Global Head, Lance Podell, said, “The new YouTube Space Mumbai at Whistling Woods International marks the latest milestone in our efforts to support the incredible wave of creativity we have seen develop in the Indian YouTube creator community over the last few years. We’re excited and proud to be partnering with a premier institution like WWI, who is truly industry torchbearers in their commitment to their students and quality programming. By working with them, we hope to empower India’s next generation of digital creators and WWI students to learn, connect and to create new content. We look forward to seeing what video content will emerge from the Space and the community it fosters.”
Whistling Woods International Founder and Chairman Subhash Ghai said, “Without doubt, digital platforms are the present and future of content creation and consumption in India. We, at Whistling Woods, have always endeavoured to bring the future to today’s film and media industry and, by partnering with one of the largest and most respected companies in the world to set up the YouTube Space Mumbai, we have just taken another big step towards making India the content creation powerhouse that it deserves to be.”
YouTube asserts that the content uploaded on YouTube in India has shot up by 90% and watch time by 80% over the years. It signifies that ever since the beginning of YouTube Space in 2012, more than 150,000 creators have visited the facility and created above 10,000 videos gathering over 1.25 billion views.
The launch event featured a performance from Indian creator Aakash Gandhi, pianist, composer and founder of 88 keys to Euphoria and his collaborators Ash King and Shashaa Tirupati. Their latest video ‘Billie Jean/ Jiya Re (Mashup Cover) was released on YouTube. Other speakers included Lance Podell, Global Head of YouTube Spaces; Ajay Vidyasagar, Regional Director of YouTube Partnerships for India and Southeast Asia; founder and Chairman of Whistling Woods International Subhash Ghai; and David Macdonald, Head of YouTube Spaces, Asia Pacific.
