11 11 2016 - Media release YouTube creatives Skip Ahead
Screen Australia and Google today announced the four recipients of this year's Skip Ahead initiative, a partnership which has supported the next generation of Australian creatives over the past three years. The videos made from this program have amassed more than 5.5 million views on YouTube and catapulted the likes of Aunty Donna and Mighty Car Mods to bigger audiences and global notoriety.
Now in its third year, Skip Ahead offers Australian YouTube creators the opportunity to make longer, more narratively ambitious content to better demonstrate their storytelling abilities and take a bold step towards a professional career.
The funding is for successful applicants to make a longer narrative-driven film of at least 30 minutes in length, which may be a one-off film, or could act as a pilot for a series or proof of concept for a feature, provided it can be viewed as a standalone piece of entertainment.
Adelaide brothers Danny and Michael Philippou better known as famechangers' Racka Racka, whose Marvel VS DC video last year racked up more than 37 million views on YouTube will deliver RackaRacka: LIVE (working title), a one-off 30-minute comedy presented as a live stream vlog featuring the filmmakers on a rampage in a haunted, abandoned theatre. Triptych (The Babadook) will produce.
Skip Ahead has provided us with the perfect next step in our careers, said Danny and Michael Philippou. We were so psyched once we heard we got the funding. LET'S DO THIS!!
Brothers Theo and Nathan Saidden, AKA Superwog, present the story of Superwog and his best mate as navigate life as adults and Superwog's dysfunctional family, in the half-hour comedy The Superwog Show (working title). The show will be produced by Princess Pictures (Summer Heights High, Jonah from Tonga, It's a Date).
Kitchen princesses Charli and Ashlee Kelly a sister duo who present one of YouTube's most popular kids-only baking shows Charli's Crafty Kitchen will invite viewers along on delicious adventures in the animated series Crafty Kingdom. The show will be made in partnership with up-and-coming Brisbane animation studio Like A Photon.
And proving you don't have to be siblings to skip ahead, science educator and communicator Vanessa Hill will serve up the 45-minute documentary Mutant Menu exploring how genetic manipulation can create superheroes, on YouTube channel BrainCraft. The project will be produced by veteran Margie Bryant (Who Do You Think You Are?).
The four recipients will be awarded funding from a total pool of $725,000 to realise their projects.
Mike Cowap, Investment Manager at Screen Australia, said: Skip Ahead has grown year on year, and we're thrilled to continue to partner with YouTube who are such a powerful force in online video and the advancement of technology and storytelling generally.
These successful creators have great instincts for filmmaking and engaging with large audiences. They have earned this opportunity to make longer, more challenging narrative work, and we're excited to see the result. We're sure their audiences are going to love it.
Kristen Bowen, Head of Top Creators, YouTube Asia Pacific, said: We're proud to work with Screen Australia for the third Skip Ahead to help turbocharge the next generation of Australian online storytellers.
We've been consistently impressed by the projects from the talented alumni of Skip Ahead and we're sure that this year's crop of creators will continue to make projects that delight and inspire. We hope this next wave of funding will allow these Aussie creators' voices to be heard at home and abroad on YouTube.
2016 SKIP AHEAD RECIPIENTS:
RackaRacka: LIVE (working title)
A live stream vlog from wannabe filmmakers on a rampage in a haunted, abandoned theatre What could possibly go wrong?
YouTube channel: RackaRacka *(3,250,931 subscribers 412,875,755 views)
Creators: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
Producer: Triptych Pictures
Genre: Comedy, Horror
THE SUPERWOG SHOW (working title)
A half-hour comedy following the dysfunctional Superwog family. While the parents deal with a marital breakdown, Superwog and best friend Johnny must learn to deal with adulthood and independent life.
YouTube channel: Superwog *(613,312 subscribers 114,543,283 views)
Creators: Nathan Saidden, Theo Saidden
Co-Producers: Princess Pictures, Century Entertainment
Genre: Comedy
CRAFTY KINGDOM
An energetic animation series that follows the adventures of princesses Charli and Ashlee in their candy kingdom as they bake together fun, imagination and deliciousness, based on their hit YouTube show Charli's Crafty Kitchen.
YouTube channel: Charli s Crafty Kitchen *(675,401 subscribers 697,218,868 views)
Creators: Charli Kelly, Ashlee Kelly
Producer:Like A Photon
Genre: Animation
MUTANT MENU
There are individuals walking among us with something very close to superpowers: immunity from disease, extreme longevity, speed, stamina. Now brand new science may let us harvest their unique genetic gifts and make them our own grab a booth and together let s choose the next generation of humanity from the MUTANT MENU.
YouTube channel: BrainCraft *(321,257 subscribers 15,646,928 views)
Creative team: Vanessa Hill, James Hutson
Producers: Serendipity Productions
Genre: Documentary
* YouTube channel views and subscribers at 10 November 2016
SKIP AHEAD ALUMNI
Project title
Recipient
Genre
Year
*YouTube channel
subscribers
*YouTube channel views
1999
Aunty Donna
Comedy
2015
129,518
17,204,141
The Tale Teller
Draw with Jazza
Animation, Documentary
2015
839,736
57,713,315
Traffic Jam
The Musical
SketchShe
Musical comedy
2015
818,831
94,263,386
The Sweetest Thing
How to Cook That
Documentary
2015
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
11 11 2016 - Media release YouTube creatives Skip Ahead 
