{{Use American English|date=September 2015}} {{Infobox film or theatre festival | name = Buffer Festival | logo = Buffer Festival Logo.svg | logo_alt = Logo of Buffer Festival | play_type = Online Video | location = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | language = International | founded = 2013 | founders = Corey Vidal | website = {{url|https://bufferfestival.com/}} }}
'''Buffer Festival''' is an international digital video festival, held annually in Toronto, Ontario. The festival, founded in 2013 by Corey Vidal, Corrado Coia, and Samantha Fall of the ApprenticeA YouTube channel,<ref name="Variety">{{cite news|last=Tangler|first=Todd|title=YouTube Gets Its Own Film Festival|url=https://variety.com/2013/digital/markets-festivals/youtube-gets-its-own-film-festival-1200600071/|accessdate=September 16, 2015|work=Variety|date=September 5, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/en/newsroom?m=getPress&pid=2129|title=Press Releases - Canon Canada Inc.|website=www.canon.ca|access-date=2016-07-07|archive-date=2016-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222020630/http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/en/newsroom?m=getPress&pid=2129|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.canculture.com/2015/11/02/the-2015-buffer-festival-gala-brings-youtube-to-the-big-screen/|title=The 2015 Buffer Festival Gala brings YouTube to the big screen {{!}} CanCulture|last=Elisio|first=Luke|access-date=2016-07-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818193108/http://www.canculture.com/2015/11/02/the-2015-buffer-festival-gala-brings-youtube-to-the-big-screen/|archive-date=2016-08-18|url-status=dead}}</ref> showcases the talent of online video creators who have debuted their work on YouTube. Buffer Festival has been called "The Digital version of the Toronto International Film Festival"<ref name="Variety" /> and "The World's first festival dedicated to YouTube content".<ref name="NDN">{{cite web|url=http://www.nowdigitalnetwork.com/cfc-and-buffer-festival-launch-first-youtube-industry-conference/|title=CFC and Buffer Festival Launch First 'YouTube Industry Conference'|work=Now Digital Network|date=August 22, 2014|access-date=September 21, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083825/http://www.nowdigitalnetwork.com/cfc-and-buffer-festival-launch-first-youtube-industry-conference/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==History==
===Beginnings=== The concept for the festival was conceived in 2011, and was inspired by the Toronto International Film Festival.<ref name="TheStar">{{cite news|last=Barnard|first=Linda|title=Buffer Fest: YouTube in the spotlight at Toronto festival|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2013/11/08/buffer_fest_youtube_in_the_spotlight_at_toronto_festival.html/|accessdate=September 16, 2015|work=TheStar.com|date=November 8, 2013}}</ref> Vidal's vision for the event was sparked specifically by his visit to red carpets at TIFF in 2011.<ref>{{cite news|last=Twiss|first=Jordan|title=YouTube film festival to launch in November|url=http://mediaincanada.com/2013/09/05/youtube-film-festival-to-launch-in-november/|accessdate=September 16, 2015|work=Media in Canada|date=September 5, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Playback">{{cite news|last=Ng See Quan|first=Danielle|title=Buffer Festival starts the YouTube conversation|url=http://playbackonline.ca/2013/11/08/buffer-festival-starts-the-youtube-conversation/|accessdate=September 18, 2015|work=Playback|date=November 8, 2013}}</ref> He describes leaving the festival and wanting a communal viewing experience focused on YouTube videos, saying that "traditional Hollywood and television have these experiences, and now it's time for YouTube to have these experiences too."<ref name="Announcement">{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=322f2XEyZiU/|title=BUFFER FESTIVAL - Announcement Video - Corey Vidal and ApprenticeEh|work=Youtube|date=September 4, 2013}}</ref> "YouTube is moving toward a direction of professionalism," said Coia, "Some of these YouTubers have feature-length films in episodic format, and they do actually rival Hollywood quality. So they need to get the proper treatment — get them in a nice theater."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.michigandaily.com/section/arts/buffer-festival-2015-youtube-new-media-all-grown|title=Buffer Festival 2015: YouTube new media all grown up|date=November 2015 |access-date=2016-07-07}}</ref>
In 2012, the ApprenticeA Productions team (led by Vidal) applied to the Canadian Film Centre's media accelerator programme, ideaBOOST, in order to produce the festival, and the application was successful.<ref name="Playback" /> The team was one of seven teams participating in the ideaBOOST programme in its inaugural year from 2012 to 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Buffer Festival|url=http://ideaboost.ca/archive/fall-2012-cohort/the-buffer-festival|publisher=ideaBOOST|accessdate=18 September 2015|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219183856/http://ideaboost.ca/archive/fall-2012-cohort/the-buffer-festival|archivedate=19 February 2014}}</ref> The ApprenticeA production team approached both YouTube and TIFF from the outset, to ask them to be partners for the event.<ref name="Mac">{{cite news|last=Nowak|first=Peter|title=The 2013 Buffer Festival: YouTube filmmaking celebrated in Toronto|url=https://www.macleans.ca/authors/peter-nowak/the-2013-buffer-festival-youtube-filmmaking-celebrated-in-toronto/|accessdate=September 21, 2015|work=Macleans|date=November 8, 2013}}</ref> "If they're not on board, we shouldn't even bother doing it," said Vidal.<ref name="Mac" />
The festival was launched via an official announcement video on YouTube on September 4, 2013.<ref name="Announcement" />
===2013 festival=== The first Buffer Festival was held from November 8 to 10 2013 in Toronto's Entertainment District.<ref name="TheStar" /> The festival's screenings were spread across six different movie theatres, including TIFF Bell Lightbox, Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, Glenn Gould Studio, CN Tower Maple Leaf Theatre and Jane Mallett Theatre.<ref name="CTV">{{cite news|last=Ton That|first=Corinne|title=YouTube video creators in the spotlight at the Buffer Festival|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/youtube-video-creators-in-the-spotlight-at-the-buffer-festival-1.1535626/|accessdate=September 16, 2015|work=CTV News|date=November 9, 2013}}</ref> Theatrical-length shows (averaging 90 minutes of YouTube footage and host dialogue)<ref name="Announcement" /> were shown over the course of three days.<ref name="TheStar" /> The event also featured meetups at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre which gave fans the opportunity to meet their favourite YouTube creators.<ref>{{cite news|title=Second Annual Buffer Festival Celebrates YouTube Filmmakers in Toronto|url=http://girlworks.ca/?p=6585/|accessdate=September 18, 2015|work=Girlworks|date=September 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000200/http://girlworks.ca/?p=6585%2F|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Partners for the initial festival included YouTube, TIFF Next Wave, Cineplex, Canon, and Tim Hortons.<ref name="Variety" /><ref name="Playback" /> The festival hosted more than 70 well-known YouTube creators as part of the event's entertainment roster.<ref name="NDN" /> These included Andrew Gunadie, Charlotte McDonnell (formerly Charlie McDonnell), Chris Pirillo, Craig Benzine, Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, Jack Douglass, Jenn McAllister, Lilly Singh, Mamrie Hart, Matthew Santoro, Meghan Tonjes, Michael Aranda, PrankvsPrank, Tay Zonday, The Fine Bros, and Tim Deegan, among others.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dunn|first=Bryenn|title=Buffer Festival spotlights YouTube creators in Toronto|url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/361495/|accessdate=September 18, 2015|work=Digital Journal|date=November 4, 2013}}</ref> Over 5,000 tickets were sold internationally,<ref name="NDN" /> with around 2,000 people attending the event on its opening day.<ref name="CTV" />
===2014 festival=== The second annual Buffer Festival was held from October 16 to 19, 2014. The festival followed a similar format to the first, with the addition of new features and events, including an "Industry Day", co-produced by the Canadian Film Centre.<ref name="Industry">{{cite web|title=Buffer Festival Industry Day|url=http://cfccreates.com/programs/63-buffer-festival-industry-day/|publisher=Canadian Film Centre|accessdate=16 September 2015}}</ref> Additionally, the festival began accepting video submissions from the general public.<ref>{{cite web|title=UpList Short Film Selections in Partnership With Doritos Crash the Super Bowl|url=http://bufferfestival.com/2014/submit/|publisher=Buffer Festival|accessdate=18 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703041009/http://bufferfestival.com/2014/submit|archive-date=2015-07-03|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Events were held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and the Scotiabank Theatre, as well as the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.<ref name="Google">{{cite web|title=Not just cat videos: Buffer Festival Celebrates the Talent of YouTube|url=https://canada.googleblog.com/2014/10/not-just-cat-videos-buffer-festival.html|publisher=Google Canada|accessdate=22 March 2019}}</ref>
Some of the featured guests included Andrew Gunadie, Charles Trippy, Charlotte McDonnell, Chris Pirillo, Craig Benzine, EpicMealTime, Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart, Jack Douglass, Jenn McAllister, Lilly Singh, Mamrie Hart, Matthew Santoro, Meghan Tonjes, Michael Aranda, Olan Rogers, PrankvsPrank, Rhett and Link, Shay Carl, Tay Zonday, Toby Turner, The Fine Bros, and Tim Deegan.
Over 10,000 tickets were sold for the 2014 festival.<ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/video/?clipId=469448/|title=Canada AM: YouTubers congregate for Buffer Fest|work=CTV News|access-date=September 16, 2015}}</ref> Partners included YouTube, HTC, the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Doritos, Canon, Blue Ant, Tim Hortons, and Just Eat.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brownell|first=Claire|title=How YouTube is making some of these Canadians millionaires|url=https://business.financialpost.com/fp-tech-desk/how-youtube-is-making-some-of-these-canadians-millionaires/|accessdate=September 21, 2015|work=Financial Post|date=October 18, 2014}}</ref> Star Wars also had an official screening for their Fan Film Showcase, hosted in partnership with Lucasfilm.<ref name="Google" /><ref>{{Cite tweet |user=@starwars |number=522156152868454400 |date=14 October 2014 |title=Tickets are available for the Star Wars Fan Films Showcase at @BufferFestival! 10/17, 8-9:30pm http://strw.rs/1w16BcL}}</ref>
===2015 festival=== The 2015 Buffer Festival was held from October 23 to 25, 2015. It featured the addition of a Creator Day to the programming—a day-long workshop featuring creators, industry members, and technical professionals focused on providing advice to up-and-coming YouTube creators.<ref name="CreatorDay">{{cite web|title=Buffer Academy One-Day Education Accelerator (Creator Day)|url=https://bufferfestival.com/creator-day|publisher=Buffer Festival|accessdate=17 September 2015|archive-date=19 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919141907/http://bufferfestival.com/creator-day|url-status=dead}}</ref> Venues included the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, the John W.H. Bassett Theatre, the CBC Building and Roy Thomson Hall. Partners of the 2015 festival included YouTube, LG, CBC, and Canon.
=== 2016 festival === The 2016 Buffer Festival was held October 20–23, 2016 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bufferfestival.com/events|title=Events - Buffer Festival - Oct 20–23, 2016|website=Buffer Festival|language=en|access-date=2017-01-20}}</ref> Events included multiple film screenings, a Gala Award Show, red carpets, workshops, and panels. Over 100 Featured Creators premiered videos at one of the screenings, including one by astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield. Sponsors included Adobe, YouTube Red, and the Canadian Film Centre.
=== 2017 festival === The 2017 Buffer Festival was held September 28-October 1, 2017 at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres in Toronto. A new feature at the 2017 event was an awards night. Ten awards were presented, for excellence in:<ref>{{cite news |last=Fitzgerald |first=Clare |date=October 2, 2017 |title=UK YouTubers Win At Buffer Festival Awards 2017 |url=https://teneightymagazine.com/2017/10/02/uk-youtubers-win-at-buffer-festival-awards-2017/|work=Ten Eighty magazine |location=London |access-date=January 24, 2018 }}</ref> *Cinematography – Marko and Alex Ayling *Comedy – Adrian Bliss *Cultural Experience – Melanie Murphy *Diversity – Ari Fitz *Editing – Ollie Ritchie *Inspiration – Chantel Houston *Production – Andrew Huang *Sound – Ciaran O'Brien and Sammy Paul *Storytelling – ''PrankMe'' (Hazel Hayes) *Writing – Tim Hautekiet and Dominic Fera
==Programme== Buffer Festival features several different types of programming: *'''Theatrical screenings''' of curated YouTube videos. *'''Meetups''', which allow fans to meet their favourite YouTube creators. *The '''Gala Red Carpet''', an outdoor red carpet with interviews and autograph opportunities.<ref name="Google" /> *The '''Gala Premiere''', a limited-seating screening whereby featured YouTube creators are given the opportunity to unveil new work in a theatrical setting.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gala Premiere Screening|url=https://bufferfestival.com/gala-premiere-screening|publisher=Buffer Festival|accessdate=17 September 2015|archive-date=21 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921135506/http://bufferfestival.com/gala-premiere-screening|url-status=dead}}</ref> *'''Industry Day''', a one-day conference aimed at "industry professionals" - brands, celebrity YouTubers, multi-channel networks, and those working in digital marketing and entertainment - to promote skill-sharing, networking and strategy amongst those who utilise YouTube as a key marketing or distribution outlet.<ref name="Industry" /> *'''Creator Day''', a day-long series of workshops that focuses on providing advice to up-and-coming YouTube creators, which debuted at the 2015 event.<ref name="CreatorDay" />
==References== {{reflist}} <!--- After listing your sources please cite them using inline citations and place them after the information they cite. Please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. ---> * * * *
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==External links== * {{official|https://bufferfestival.com}}
Category:Film festivals in Toronto Category:Annual events in Toronto Category:Film festivals established in 2013 Category:Web-related conferences Category:Internet culture