ANNA AKANA

I still get very emotional when a girl - 13 or 14 - comes up to me and says, 'Your videos really helped me.'

I started doing stand up when I was 19. Because I was underage at the time, at certain clubs I would be forced to wait outside until it was my time to go on stage. Then I would do my set, walk off, and be kicked out again.

My YouTube channel is kind of a library of all my issues I've lived with. To process it emotionally, it's been good and bad.

The more you create, the more ambitious you become with your projects. Short films were a direct result of over 200 web series sketches and vlogs. After you create enough 2-minute videos, you start to wonder what else there is. Deadlines and discipline and quantity with a focus on quality have always been what keeps me going.

One thing that I really like to do is, I'll look in the mirror, and I'll imagine that I'm rapidly aging, until I'm just a skull.

When our bodies are sick and people extend their sympathy, bring us soup, offer up solutions. When our minds are sick, people tend to shy away from you, be afraid, or call you outright crazy. I'm fascinated by the way society and individuals view mental illness, and most of my shorts comment on that.

The power of makeup is incredible, but the power of you is cray cray.

I do believe I was put here to tell stories and be creative in that way. It's given my life so much purpose and meaning, and it's ultimately what I live for.

I'm making 20 times more with Vessel for doing the same amount of work, if not less, than with YouTube.

Being a filmmaker in the digital platform has given me complete creative control. I can make what I want, when I want. I don't have to wait to book an audition.

I started doing stand up when I was 19. Because I was underage at the time, at certain clubs I would be forced to wait outside until it was my time to go on stage. Then I would do my set, walk off, and be kicked out again.

The more you create, the more ambitious you become with your projects. Short films were a direct result of over 200 web series sketches and vlogs. After you create enough 2-minute videos, you start to wonder what else there is. Deadlines and discipline and quantity with a focus on quality have always been what keeps me going.

The power of makeup is incredible, but the power of you is cray cray.

Being a filmmaker in the digital platform has given me complete creative control. I can make what I want, when I want. I don't have to wait to book an audition.

One thing that I really like to do is, I'll look in the mirror, and I'll imagine that I'm rapidly aging, until I'm just a skull.

I attribute the black tones in my films to Stephen King, Tim Burton, Joe Hill and Richard Matheson. However, most of my writing is influenced by mental health. I'm incredibly passionate about shedding light on the stigmas associated with mental illnesses.

When our bodies are sick and people extend their sympathy, bring us soup, offer up solutions. When our minds are sick, people tend to shy away from you, be afraid, or call you outright crazy. I'm fascinated by the way society and individuals view mental illness, and most of my shorts comment on that.

I still get very emotional when a girl - 13 or 14 - comes up to me and says, 'Your videos really helped me.'

My YouTube channel is kind of a library of all my issues I've lived with. To process it emotionally, it's been good and bad.

'Loose Ends' was an all-female crew and one of the greatest on-set experiences I've ever had. We were ahead of schedule every day, and there was a laid-back, calm, supportive vibe that was entirely new to all of us.

I'm making 20 times more with Vessel for doing the same amount of work, if not less, than with YouTube.

I've always wanted to be in comedy... growing up with Asian parents and not seeing yourself represented in media - it was always just a daydream.

I do believe I was put here to tell stories and be creative in that way. It's given my life so much purpose and meaning, and it's ultimately what I live for.