Jamaican YouTubers have been upping the

ante all quarantine, from Quite Perry’s cake-decorating fail and The Carter

Family’s unsparing pranks, to sibling challenges with RolleySoEasy, doses of

motivation with Iandra Babooram and Atlas-starring vlogs with Tami Chin

Mitchell.

Though the local entertainment scene

has been indefinitely disrupted because of the faceless coronavirus, life for

video content creators goes on, even when it means filming indoors.

“I still have to get stuff done as

I have to live; I have stuff that I want to do for my family and if I slow down

or stop it’s gonna take me longer to do it,” well-known YouTuber Jason

Whyte told BUZZ. “I want to be

the best YouTuber there is and I’m nowhere near there so I have to keep working

regardless.”

Whyte, who has three channels (Razablade

TV, Razablade TV Vlogs and The Razablade family), is famed for his outdoor

content, from daring social experiments and public interviews to daily vlogs.

Needless to say, ‘quarantine and film’ has proved challenging.

“I started my YouTube journey

doing videos inside but I’ve evolved into that person who is always out and

about,” he said. “As YouTubers, we can’t really keep a fan base doing

videos inside all the time because people get bored easily… My audience has

gotten used to me doing videos outside so to come back inside and try to think

of creative ways to keep them entertained is very hard. It slow down the production

but I’ve managed to keep people hooked right through.”

Among his offerings are three web

series, the latest of which is dubbed Unlucky. The four-part drama wrapped up

production two days ahead of the first curfew order in March.

“I knew that something was gonna

come up that would prevent us from going on the road based on the lockdowns I

heard about in other countries. I had to do the smart thing and keep it short

but good. People a seh dem wish it was longer but I can come up with something

else.”

While 2020 has become a sinister meme

on social media, Whyte is still optimistic.

“I had a lot of collabs lined up

and stuff I wanted to get done and I definitely wouldn’t want to miss the

opportunity to still make this my year on YouTube. As soon as me hear seh the

place free up and we can go outside, I’m outside.”

Staying consistent

Leading YouTuber Sue-Ann Gordon-Pitter

(Petite-Sue) continues to be the consistency queen despite the new normal,

taking viewers into her daily world on Petite-Sue Vlogs, and serving all things

skin, beauty and hair on Petite-Sue Diviniti.

“This pushes me to be more

creative with being at home and finding something to vlog as restaurants and

movies are closed, parties aren’t being held…and that’s what a lifestyle

vlogger does,” she said. “Business has also dropped as a lot of

places are not experiencing certain sales so certain ads aren’t running through

the channel. If they are, it’s not the same amount of revenue.”

On the flip side, Gordon-Pitter said

her ‘Diviniti nation’ has been requesting more content to stay entertained

during this period. She has also had time for self-introspection.

“Before I had really serious

goals, but they just got ten times more serious with this reminder that we

don’t have much time on earth,” she said. “I’ve recently found myself

writing down my schedule for the day and I stick to it…I make sure I get up

at a certain time to workout…I make sure I’m eating right and then I get to

filming. I immediately go to editing afterwards and still find time to vlog in

between. It’s a lot of work and sometimes it’s stressful but I have goals that

I want to achieve by the time I’m 30. I feel this is God giving us a second

chance.”