PDK Films
PDK Films | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Paul Kousky November 28, 1995 Bangore, Main | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Filmmaker, producer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| YouTube information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Channels | PDK Films | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2009–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subscribers | 5 million[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total views | 1.5 billion[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Updated January 15, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Kousky (born November 28, 1995), also known by his online alias, PDK Films, is a American YouTube personality. His main YouTube channel, PDK films, has 5.6 million subscribers, making it the most subscribed "Nerf War" channel on YouTube.[2][3]
Personal Life[edit]
Paul was Born in Maine, and currently resides in San Diego. He has two brothers Eric, and Chad, as well as his sister Anna. All of whom has assisted in the creation of his videos. Anna is the owner of Goober Media, a PDK Film styled YouTube channel that currently has over 400k subscribers.[4][5]
Early life[edit]
Paul Kousky was born in Main. At the age of 15 while still in high school Kousky began creating YouTube videos with his brother Eric as a hobby. The videos started out as a hobby, and was never intended to become an internet sensation.[6]
Career[edit]
Early Beginnings[edit]
Following the success of the PDK films channel Paul launched the a similar channel that featured airsoft guns instead of nerf gun. This channel was originally called the USN channel, but was later renamed to Wolfpack Films.[5]
Controversy & Increase in Popularity[edit]
On January 13th 2013, several local news outlets ran several stories sensationalizing the PDK film channel, and comparing its action to that of School Shootings. A police investigation was launched, that eventually resulted without consequence. After about a 5 day media frenzy, Paul told a local reporter that he was grateful for the coverage as it resulted in a large spike in traffic.[5]
On August 7th, 2013 Paul helped his sister Anna launch her own YouTube channel. A similar themed “Nerf War” channel titled Goober Media.[5]
1 Million Subscribers[edit]
On October 7th 2016 Paul uploaded a video featuring Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton. This video gain attention from several press outlets. Paul followed up on this success by releasing a follow up on October 27th.[7][8]
YouTube Channel[edit]
| 2009 | Nerf War: Insane Nerf War 1 (9m) |
| 2010 | Nerf Squad 6: Drug Bust (5m)[1] |
| 2011 | Nerf War: Insane Nerf War 5 (4.1m) |
| 2012 | Nerf Squad 11: The Escape (21.5m) |
| 2013 | Nerf Squad 9: Osama Bin Laden (14.1m) |
| 2014 | Nerf War: First Person Shooter' (61m) |
| 2015 | Nerf War: The Underdog 2 (50m) |
| 2016 | Nerf War: 1 Million Subscribers (110m) |
| 2017 | Nerf War: First Person Shooter 9 (84.4m) |
Stats[edit]
As of February 1st 2018 the PDK Films channel has:
Earnings[edit]
As of January 1st 2018 it is estimated the PDK Films channel earns:
View Counts[edit]
PDK Films is very unique, in that all of their videos eventually surpass 1 million views. As of February 2018 the channel has uploaded 127 videos w/ each of them eventually surpassing 1 million views. The channel as a whole as a 10.53million average views for non sponsored content, and a 4.3 million average views for sponsored content. The channels highest view count is a 146 million views video uploaded in July 1st 2010.[1][10]
Net Worth[edit]
Paul join the YouTube partner program and started collecting ad revenue from his videos in 2010. In 2013 Kousky stated that he makes about 60,000 dollars from each video. As of 2018 SocialBlade estimates that Paul makes up to 2.2 million per year.[1][9][5]
Partnerships[edit]
Despite its use of nerf guns, the channel is not related to Nerf in anyway. Instead, Paul relies most on AdSense revenue, but occasionally will partner w/ developers to advertise their FPS games.[11] [12] [13]
PDK also has a public relationship with the beanbag chair company Sumo, who has dedicated a portion of their website to advertising the PDK Films channel.[14]
Content Style[edit]
PDK Films publishes live action, scripted videos, that are either based on original scripts, or reenactments of popular movies and videogames. The video’s can range in tone from serious action drama to slapstick comedy.[5]
Early videos were shot in main w/ out any official production crew, as stated by Paul a 2013 interview:
"All of our videos have been filmed in various parts of Maine. Everyone in the PDK Films crew has been in at least one of our videos. In fact, we have no permanent camera man, but instead whoever is not in the current scene will operate the camera.”[5]
Other Ventures[edit]
Paul has not updated this channel since December 2014.[5] he has a store he maintains on Amazon in which he sells PDK Film related merchandise.[15] Paul often tours or makes appearances at organized Nerf War events throughout the United States.[16]
Nerf War[edit]
Paul is credited with popularizing the online video category of “Nerf War.” Nerf War’s are characterized by content creators simulating real life situation with harmless nerf guns. Sometimes these videos are scripted seriously, and other times they are scripted as parody. It is a common practice for these videos to include digitized special effects to simulate gunshots and explosions. A popular sub-genre of Nerf War includes simulating first person shooter video games. Some other popular Nerf War channels include Aaron Esser, Twin Toys, and Matthias’s Battle Universe.[3]
Controversy[edit]
Paul’s channel has drawn controversy from several media outlets for promoting violence among children.[17]
2013 Portland Media Frenzy[edit]
In January 2013, after an anonymous tip, the local Portland news media began running several news stories chronicling the PDK Films channel, and its related USN channel. Many of these pieces were accompanied by sensational headlines that included “Horror all around!”, "Bloodbath!", "Graphic Violence Depicted!" and “Kids Shooting Kids.” Many of these stories included making comparisons with the nationalized coverage of past school shootings. In an interview for The Times Record newspaper, Paul Kousky was asked if he was capable of a Newtown, Aurora or Columbine-style rampage.[4]
The news coverage led to a local police investigation, in which it was claimed that all members of PDK Films would be charged with trespassing (over an abandoned Naval Facility) and expelled from school. However, eventually all charges were dropped when PDK Films revealed that they had video permission to by police officers and school officials to film. After about a 5 day local media frenzy Paul stated that he was grateful for the coverage as it increased the traffic to his channel. Shortly after words William Boardman published an article on Reader Supported News condemning the media coverage.[18][19][20][5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "PDK Films SocialBook Profile". socialbook.io.
- ↑ "Top 100 Most Subscribed Action Films YouTube Channels List". viralvagon.com.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "10 Nerf Channels on Youtube You Should be Watching!". nerfguns.com.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Kids Shooting Kids". timesrecord.com.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 "Focus Kids Shooting Kids". readersupprtednews.com.
- ↑ "Getting Rich From YouTube". lifezette.com.
- ↑ "Trump vs Hillary Nerf War". viralviralvideos.com.
- ↑ "3 Outrageous Moments From This Nerf War Battle=". thelisttv.com.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 "PDK Films SocialBlade Profile". socialblade.com.
- ↑ "PDK Films Videos Sorted By Most Popular". youtube.com.
- ↑ "Nerf War: The Underdog 4". youtube.com.
- ↑ "Nerf First Person Shooter: Deathmatch". youtube.com.
- ↑ "Nerf War: First Person Shooter 15". youtube.com.
- ↑ "Another Amazing Nerf Battle With PDK Films For Our Chair". sumolounge.com.
- ↑ "PDK Merchandise on Amazon". amazon.com.
- ↑ "Jared's Epic Nerf Battle 3 in Arlington Texas at AT&T Stadium". 2event.com.
- ↑ "Nerf Wars Have Police Officials Worried About Safety". mprnews.com.
- ↑ "Kids Shooting Kids by William Boardman". opednews.com.
- ↑ "Violent Youtube Videos Made By teens Lead To Warnings By Police". wmtv.com.
- ↑ "Horror all around over teen filmmakers' bloodbaths set in Brunswick". pressherald.com.
External links[edit]
This article "PDK Films" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:PDK Films. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
