Filmmaker urges monetisation push as digital creativity booms

Barbados has no shortage of digital creative talent — but a filmmaker who came up making videos on a mobile phone has claimed that too many of the island’s content creators are still working for free, and that advertisers, not just government, hold the key to change.

 

Stockton Miller, a facilitator of an Easter filmmaking camp at the Queen’s Park Steel Shed, hosted in partnership with the National Cultural Foundation, described the initiative as both timely and necessary.

“I believe it’s something that was and is very needed,” Miller told Barbados TODAY, noting that he was eager to get involved when the idea was first proposed by CEO Carol Roberts. “As a filmmaker myself, I started out using a cell phone — a Nokia cell phone — so we all have to start somewhere.”

 

Many creatives share similar beginnings, he added, making the camp’s focus on mobile content creation especially relevant.

 

“I’m pretty sure I’m not the only filmmaker in Barbados that started with a cell phone, so having the children start using a cell phone is a good start,” he said. “This is a great initiative, not only for the students, but for content creation in Barbados as a whole.”

 

Miller’s film credits include the 2022 one-hour action adventure film The Barbados Project, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. His 2025 horror feature, The Silence After was released on the Plex streaming platform in the US earlier this year. 

 

Reflecting on the industry’s growth, Miller pointed to a significant increase in digital creators compared to when he began over a decade ago.

 

“Back in 2012 and 2013, there were not a lot of us creating content, but now I’m seeing content creation everywhere,” he said. “People are doing ads for businesses, food reviews, travel content…there’s a lot happening, and that’s a really good thing.”

 

He stressed that the rise in creativity underscores the need to broaden traditional views of career paths.

 

“Not everybody is going to be a doctor or a lawyer,” he said. “I see people doing music videos and even movies with cell phones. The level of creativity is really high in Barbados, and I’m always excited when I go on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube and see what fellow Bajans are producing.”

 

But Miller expressed concern that many creators, though gifted and amassing a following, are still unable to earn a sustainable income from their work.

 

“I’m hoping to see monetisation on these social media platforms become a thing here in Barbados,” he said, noting that while he operates Board House Productions full-time, many others must balance content creation with other jobs. “Because they’re not making money from creative content, they have to have a second job.”

He added that improving monetisation will require collaboration beyond government intervention.

 

“I don’t think the government alone can make it happen,” Miller said. “It has to do with advertisers and who they’re selling ads to. I don’t know when it’s going to change, but I believe it will, and it’s going to help create a lot of entrepreneurship here in Barbados.”

(SB)