From an early age, Jake Roper knew he wanted to express himself. But he wanted more than the traditional creative mediums to convey his personality. “I was never really good at painting, animating, or photography. I like telling stories with 24 frames a second instead of just one,” he said. It was through film and digital media that Jake began to explore the true potential of what the internet offers.
After graduating with a degree in film studies, Jake first worked in television production and directed commercials for advertising agencies. But his desire to have more control over his own content drove him to experiment with different online platforms. That’s when he met Vsauce creator Michael Stevens in 2011. Soon thereafter Roper launched Vsauce3 and over the past five years has gained over 3 million subscribers and a total of 325 million video views.
What first started as a comedy and gaming channel later transformed into an education and information platform providing commentary on the science of movies, TV, and video games. From examining whether someone could actually survive the homemade traps in the movie Home Alone, to analyzing the power of Captain America’s shield, Vsauce3 brings real life applications to fictional worlds. Even some of his video segments like “DONG” — which features interesting games and apps from around the internet — has spun off into its own channel. It takes Jake upwards of one month to research, film and produce a single video.
While Jake boasts his largest following on YouTube, his brand has also amassed influence on other social media platforms. He has more than 96,000 Twitter followers, 120,000 Instagram followers, and 22,000 Facebook followers.
“YouTube is the best place to express who you are and the stories that you want to share,” he said. “Everything that you show online is curated, and there are many avenues to curate different parts of your life.”
With his extensive use of movie and TV clips as the basis for his commentary, Jake recognizes the importance of adhering to copyright laws – as complex and confusing as they may be. He has not been the subject of a DMCA takedown notice, but partly credits that to extensive training and guidance he has received.
As Roper moves forward, his online success with Vsauce has transformed into even larger success in other areas. One example is The Curiosity Box: a quarterly subscription gift box launched by Roper and the Vsauce team. Each box contains 6-9 items ranging from t shirts to puzzle games to different gadgets designed to challenge one’s mind.
When Roper is not busy researching, writing and creating content for Vsauce or The Curiosity Box, he works as Director of Production at Beme, a social media app acquired by CNN from a fellow YouTube star in 2016.
Learn more about Jake Roper and his work by visiting him on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and http://www.vsauce.com.