Butterworks, or not?

Barely four months old, Butterworks TV has captured the attention of many. As local YouTube channels have seen a recent surge in popularity, the standards have since skyrocketed; do not bother if you are not good enough.

Butterworks, formed by a group of seven friends, sets itself in a different direction. Unlike the usual fare of “list” comedies, such as “Top 10…” or “12 types of…”, the dynamic team slants towards narrative productions that can either melt your heart or trigger hysteria.

For instance, have you imagined how things would be if girls were the ones who serve the army? If you have not, save the hassle.

With more than 170,000 views, Butterworks’ recent ‘If Girls Were the Ones Who Serve Army‘ has been widely circulated on Facebook. The antithetic concept was initiated by Mabel Yap, 22, an accounting and finance student at Singapore Institute Management (SIM), who was inspired by her brother enlisting into the army.

Banking on gender stereotypes that are relatable to every Singaporean, the comedy satisfies a local audience that is craving for a uniquely Singaporean farce.

While all seven from the team appear on-screen, Chong Yu Lun, and Rachel Toh, both 23, are the primary dwellers of behind-the-scenes production. Aside from corporate videos produced under their brainchild Walk and Roll Studios, they regard Butterworks as a channel that better reaches out to local youths.

Affective films, as part of the “#ButterHeartwarming” series, are the niche productions of Butterworks. More notably, their 10-minute short story ‘First Duty of Love‘ has been well-received and even journeyed beyond our shores, making its cyber rounds in Taiwan.

Mabel and 23-year-old Yichao Teoh, a Chinese language major from National University of Singapore (NUS), are the main characters in the romantic anecdote. As undergraduates, they regard acting as a passion and pleasurable pastime.

“I joined this to have fun with my friends, and spending time together,” said Mabel.

“The trade-off is sleep,” joked Yichao, when asked if he had difficulties juggling his tasks at hand.

If you have been anticipating for collective productions between local YouTube channels, remember to visit Butterworks’ playlist in the coming months.

“We will be collaborating with a popular local YouTube channel, and it will be a heart-warming film production,” said Yu Lun.

“If all goes well, we can expect it to be up by July,” added Rachel.

While we can soon expect a joint effort with an unnamed popular channel (Butterworks will soon release news about their upcoming collaboration), coupled with new videos every 11^th and 22^nd of the month, we may someday appreciate their productions on our local cinema screens.

“Eventually, we aim for a feature film in cinemas before we hit 30,” said Yu Lun.

As the cinematic appetite for local films has risen over the years, it is about time to spot Singapore’s future representatives to Cannes, perhaps on YouTube. In the meantime, feel free to drop them any suggestions or ideas that you hope to see.

Catch Butterworks’ updates on YouTube and Facebook.