{"id":1011256,"date":"2026-01-11T09:49:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T09:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=469454"},"modified":"2026-01-11T09:49:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T09:49:30","slug":"how-one-of-youtubes-biggest-asmrtists-created-her-shot-for-shot-shrek-remake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/how-one-of-youtubes-biggest-asmrtists-created-her-shot-for-shot-shrek-remake\/","title":{"rendered":"How one of YouTube\u2019s biggest ASMRtists created her shot-for-shot Shrek remake"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ASMR videos started as a fringe section of YouTube, but the industry has grown exponentially in the last decade \u2014 rough estimates say there are at least 25 million ASMR videos<\/a> on YouTube alone, coming from at least half a million channels dedicated to the craft. In the last five years or so, ASMR videos and their creators have increasingly entered public consciousness<\/a>, despite common misconceptions about what ASMR really is. <\/p>\n

For some creators and viewers, ASMR just means whispering \u2014 but ASMR videos can be anything designed to elicit autonomous sensory meridian response, a tingling feeling in the brain that some people have in reaction to specific visual or audio triggers. ASMR fans (myself included) say that response helps them relax, stave off panic attacks, and most notably, fall asleep. A note on vernacular: The ASMR community uses the acronym in a lot of ways, including as a noun that refers to any content that elicits ASMR. For instance, I might tell my husband, \u201cNo, I can\u2019t watch TV with you tonight; I\u2019m falling asleep to ASMR.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gibi ASMR<\/a>, aka Gina (who does not share her full name online), found early success with her ASMR YouTube channel, which she launched in June 2016<\/a>. Known for her funny role-play<\/a>, her costumes and cosplays<\/a>, and her fast-paced videos<\/a>, 29-year-old Gibi (pronounced \u201cjee-bee\u201d) has amassed a huge community over the last eight years. Her videos often turn up on YouTube\u2019s homepage, or you might see her pop up as a guest in other YouTubers\u2019 videos. Now, as her channel exceeds 5 million subscribers, she\u2019s releasing her magnum opus: The entire movie Shrek<\/em><\/a>, but in ASMR.<\/p>\n

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The full-length, live-action fan film premieres on YouTube on Wednesday. Gibi said that ideally, fans can set up Shrek<\/em> and Shrek ASMR<\/em> side by side and they\u2019ll be perfectly in sync, shot for shot. For instance, where DreamWorks animated Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Shrek (Mike Myers) walking through a sunflower field together, Gibi and her team filmed B-roll with paper cutouts in a diorama-like setup. <\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time Gibi has made an entire movie in ASMR. Her initial feature-length film, which premiered on YouTube three years ago, should give you an inkling of her and her fandom\u2019s taste \u2014 it\u2019s Bee Movie<\/em><\/a>. She started that project after hundreds of days of one of her subscribers asking for it in the comments, then she figured out what she was doing during the process of making the film. Gibi told Polygon that Shrek<\/em> was a natural next full-length for her and her subscribers. But for this production \u2014 which Gibi said she lovingly considers to have \u201cschool play vibes\u201d \u2014 she had a much better idea of how to make the project work. <\/p>\n

She told us that she and her team \u2014 editors, assistants, and her husband\/manager, Ben \u2014 spent months scripting out the ASMR version of the film, creating shot lists, and determining which roles Gibi herself would play. Then, she cast her fellow ASMRtists (a common term for ASMR creators) in the important roles. She and her team spent the summer filming, with her as Shrek, of course, and a few in-person shoots with other important roles, like Batala from Batala\u2019s ASMR<\/a> <\/strong>as Donkey. <\/p>\n

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She\u2019s kept her fans up to date throughout this process, including a video of her practicing her Shrek makeup<\/a> and Instagram posts about the editing progress<\/a>. She\u2019s also opened up to her fans about her pregnancy along the way. She\u2019s spent the last several months racing to finish editing the film before her first child is born: \u201cNO, PLEASE STAY IN THERE LITTLE BUDDY, WE\u2019RE NOT DONE WITH SHREK YET\u2026 KEEP COOKING\u2026\u201d she wrote in the description of her Oct. 2 upload, \u201cASMR What\u2019s in my Hospital Bag?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Polygon sat down with Gibi \u2014 who also co-owns ASMR-focused talent group Mana<\/a> with her husband \u2014 for a video interview in August. We talked about ASMR\u2019s recent growth in popularity, the monoculture around Shrek<\/em>, her success as a YouTuber, and of course, Shrek ASMR<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n

Polygon: What\u2019s it been like to watch ASMR become a familiar, common word after spending so much time having to explain it every time you talk to somebody about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gibi:<\/strong> It\u2019s been really refreshing to finally have ASMR be a household term. [\u2026] I remember that vividly as a high schooler, figuring out that ASMR was a thing. And then even when I started my own channel, which was maybe six years after I even discovered what [ASMR] was, I had to explain what it was to so many people. I mean, my parents, my parents\u2019 friends, my friends, my boyfriend at the time, who\u2019s now my husband \u2014 and it\u2019s his full-time job, working with creators and ASMR people.<\/p>\n

I frequently find that when I talk to people about ASMR, they think it\u2019s a sexual thing. Have you found this? And can you speak to why there\u2019s that misconception?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I first started doing interviews talking about what ASMR was, that was 100% the second question I would get: \u201cIs it a sex thing?\u201d Because people just aren\u2019t used to a lot of vulnerability and feelings and being comforted and having closeness with somebody without it being sexual. [\u2026] And the ASMR industry, I guess, does tend to be dominated by women, which, again, is not common in anything in the world. And I think, again, we kind of get targeted as, Oh, well, if it\u2019s a bunch of women, it must be a sex thing<\/em>. \u201cAll we\u2019re good for\u201d kind of thing, which is really unfortunate.<\/p>\n

I can definitely describe it as a virtual massage. If someone had never heard of what a massage was in their life and you said, \u201cWell, you get into a dark room with a stranger, you take off your clothes, and then they rub your body. It feels really good. It\u2019s not sexual, though,\u201d you\u2019d be like, \u201cNo, I don\u2019t believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s such a good point.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A couple of actual studies have been done that show that people who experience ASMR have physiological responses to it, including a lowering of heart rate and things like that, that are quite literally the direct opposite of sexual arousal. So it\u2019s nice to have science back that up.<\/p>\n

Right. You\u2019re trying to fall asleep, not the opposite. So on to Shrek<\/em>. Let\u2019s talk about the origin of the Shrek videos. I think maybe six years ago was the <\/strong>first time you posted a Shrek video<\/strong><\/a>. Tell me about the process of deciding to do that, specifically undertaking such a huge time investment in terms of the makeup.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a very long story. Oh, let\u2019s see \u2014 the highlights. I really love challenging projects and kind of following something that sounds fun to me. And I also really love interacting with my community. And there was one viewer years ago who started a comment thread, I guess, or trend. He said, \u201cDay one of asking Gibi to do the entire Bee Movie<\/em>.\u201d [\u2026] I\u2019m like, That\u2019s actually really funny<\/em>. And he kept it up for over a hundred days.<\/p>\n

I think he just wanted me to do a Bee Movie<\/em> role-play. But I was like, I\u2019ll do the whole movie shot for shot<\/em>. [\u2026] I don\u2019t think anyone had ever, before that, recreated an entire movie in ASMR, but it\u2019s fun to explore something that we all like, or are interested in, in our own medium. [\u2026] I made the Bee Movie<\/em>, and because there were so many parts in the Bee Movie<\/em>, I thought it would be a really good time to invite other people in the community to play cameos and play roles.<\/p>\n

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