Creator Spotlight with Storm Chaser & Musician Pecos Hank
This week, we’d like to introduce storm chaser and musician, Hank Schyma (also known as Pecos Hank). Hank’s footage includes original storytelling, narration, and music, which is shared with over 1.1 million YouTube subscribers. His clients include National Geographic, Disney, TWC, CNN, Discovery, and more. Hank’s footage has also been featured in the major motion pictures “The Last Witch Hunter,” “Supercell,” and Netflix’s original “TAU” as well as BBC’s “Seven Worlds.” After reading his spotlight blog, subscribe to his YouTube Channel, and follow him on both Instagram and X.
Can you talk through your creative process? How long does it take? Does everything you produce make money?
As a storm chaser, Mother Nature is largely responsible for my creative process. She does most of the work for me. I just try to capture her in all her pomp, glory, and anger and then package her beauty or mood swings into a documentary that makes viewers feel as if they’re there witnessing the tornado, scary clouds, or swarm of sharks firsthand. From the array of camera gear and extensive travel, the expanses often stack higher than the profits. Thank goodness for Patrons.
When did you first become aware of copyright, and why? Have you experienced copyright infringement and, if so, how has it affected you personally and financially?
I was aware of the necessity of copyright at a very young age as a musician. Most artists I know are paranoid of someone stealing their work and learned to jump through the few hoops it takes to protect their intellectual property. I hadn’t experienced copyright infringement until the social media boom and man did that boom hit hard. When you invest a month of travel and risk your life to capture that one rare tornado up close only to have someone rip it and repost it with a slew of spammy lies and BS, it’s frustrating to say the least. There are records of my stolen content in aggregate acquiring over a billion views… That we know of.
What do you do when you encounter someone stealing something you’ve invested your intellect, time, and money into?
My content is now being watched over by the company Viral DRM. Their tools uncover a plethora of thieving channels and profiles that steal our stuff. As storm chasers and content creators themselves, they understand the frustrations and are relentless in not only taking down hundreds of YouTube channels and Facebook profiles, but are also working to file lawsuits around the globe as well as change legislation. Without the Viral DRM team, it would be an anarchy free-for-all for thriving thieves.
What is the best piece of advice that you would give other creators in your field about copyright and how to protect themselves?
I would encourage everyone to copyright their works. The first time might take 45 minutes, but after that it’s a breeze… About as easy as selling something on eBay. Once you’ve jumped through the few hoops to register your works, you’ll rest easier. Most important is to not let the thieves drive you mad. Fight em, but set the emotions down at the end of the day. Be the waterproof duck.
What is your biggest copyright-related challenge?
Imagine if Netflix produced and aired a documentary and the next day Hulu, HBO, and FX ripped it off and aired it on their platform. Sounds ridiculous right? There are laws that would crush any entity attempting such tomfoolery. So how is it possible that social networks not only tolerate this, but often go to bat for the thieves and get away with it. YouTube has been pretty good at yanking the carpet out from underneath thieving channels with low subscriber counts. However, if your thieving channel has acquired 5 Million subscribers, it’s a different story. Watching mighty YouTube waffle over to the thieves side of the court is by far the biggest challenge we’ve faced. However, a much, much smaller company, Viral DRM, has a powerful serve. To be continued.
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