Toronto TikTok creator makes use of viral video to indicate views alone will not make you cash

Kevin Parry, a Toronto-based artist and social media guru, has been exploding online for about a decade, but he says “going viral” doesn’t always result in a paycheck – at least in Canada.

His latest compilation received over 100 million views across all platforms, but the views didn’t make him direct money.

A collection of mine that turns into random objects. pic.twitter.com/ValPdPNJIj

– Kevin Parry (@kevinbparry) July 13, 2021

Although he willingly shares the background to creating well-watched videos, this “Stop-Motion Animator + Video Wizard” (as his Twitter bio reads) attributes his success to decades of experience in the film animation / production industry.

“I’ve done a lot of thought and research. It looks like someone is making videos in their house, but that is very conscious,” he said. “People like to toss the term ‘going viral’ around in my opinion and I think it’s relative to everyone, but getting a lot of views is no longer enough.”

Since the web is so saturated, “going viral” for him would mean having significant cultural relevance, such as being turned into a meme.

I think we need to define what ‘going viral’ means these days 🤔

My video last week received 100 million views across all platforms, but I wouldn’t even say it’s viral. I think it has to be a meme or have some kind of cultural impact?

Many views are no longer enough these days.

– Kevin Parry (@kevinbparry) July 26, 2021

As you scroll through Parry’s feed, you’ll find that his videos are all very similar. It looks like it is falling and suddenly turns into an inanimate object.

“The idea arose out of a desire to make the liveliest, shortest video that has the greatest potential to be shared. When you see someone surrender to Plant, it’s pretty hard to scroll away from, ”he explained.

“Basically, I’m just showing off my editing skills and distilling everything I know about making a shareable video in just five seconds.”

Parry grew up in Sault Ste. Marie and first moved to Toronto to study animation at Sheridan College. After graduating in 2010, he moved to the United States to work on animation films. It was there, while he was working on films, that he started getting engaged in social media. Then, in 2018, he moved back to Toronto and got into social media full time.

Now he’s using his platform to warn young people that social media is a tough job.

“When I started doing social media full-time, I already had a platform and an agent and was doing branded deals so I wasn’t blind,” he said.

“With the transitions I do, I’d say it’s 25 percent visual effects knowledge and then 75 percent animator, so I’d just warn kids that it’s not as easy as it seems.”

To stay up to date or see what object he’s become today, follow Parry on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.

Comments are closed.