September Progress Report (Patreon)

Published:

2023-09-30 16:00:06

Imported:

2023-10

Content

This has been a surprisingly big month, even though I didn't manage to get a video out! So I get to simultaneously experience the two emotions of "excited about the big things that have happened" and "guilty for being unproductive"! My favorite combo of emotions.

WHAT'S NEW ON PATREON?

- Sept. Livestream Info & Poll for Oct.
- SETTING UP A SHOOT | Sept. Process Stream
- MAKING ICE CREAM | September Goofy Livestream

And there have been some bigger changes to the Patreon layout! If you haven't seen it, there is a "Member Posts" tab, which has replaced the "Community" section. We also have a "Collections" tab, which will hopefully make it easier to find older posts. I'm still in the process of updating those collections, so please let me know if there's any specific collection you'd like!

I've been hoping to do a Patreon refresh—swap around some perks that might not be worth it anymore, tidy up the whole place—but it's been on the back burner for MONTHS. I have too many other projects on the front burners. And the middle burners. Too many burners and not enough spatulas. This metaphor is getting away from me, but I will give the Patreon the attention it needs sometime soon!

WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO ON VIDEOS?

There's no video this month. I spent the first two weeks of this month working on Codename Chaka Khan, and it was eating me alive. I had the full lyrics, and I was working on the song itself, but nothing clicked, and the only way I could have gotten it out in time would have been to rush it and end up with something I hated.

When it became clear to me that I was figuratively slamming my head against a wall every time I sat down to work on it, I realized I should step back and work on something new. And I had that realization at 11:30pm, so I started writing a script. Here's a little excerpt of the intro:

So with all the pent up inspiration of a guy who took a nap at 5:30 and can’t get to sleep anyway, you rush to the couch and start writing a script for a new video. One you’re really excited to make. You’re gonna start making a video about making a thing.

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But there, at 11:41 p.m., you realize you’ve got a problem. In order to make a video about making a thing, you’ll have to make a thing. That’s the first hurdle: What’s your craft?

I have ~80% of the script done now! It's tentatively called "making a video about making a thing" and I will, indeed, be making a thing in said video. Most likely a weird plushie. I'm gonna wrap up the script and start filming soon. It's gonna be another longform video, probably at least 15 mins, depending on how much I cut out in the edit. I expect it to be out in November!

I also managed to film the next cooking video (see the screenshots above), and I sent it off to Jeremy so he can work his magic on it. I can't wait to see where it ends up. That one will probably be my end of the year vid, since I love to post cooking-related videos in December.

WHAT HAVE I BEEN UP TO OTHERWISE?

Hey let's start with the fact that the WGA STRIKE IS OVER AS OF THIS WEDNESDAY! The SAG-AFTRA strike is still ongoing, but they will be resuming negotiations this Monday! Things are moving! Unions are making big strides! It's great to see!

Speaking of SAG-AFTRA, the big voice roles that I mentioned in the last Progress Report came out this month, and since they're part of the non-struck work, I can tell you about them. You may have caught me streaming Starfield for 12 hours while raising money for the Entertainment Community Fund, all while trying to find the NPC I voiced, Phil Hill. We raised $17,000 dollars! Unbelievable!

I was also the Winter King in Fionna & Cake! To say that it's a dream come true would be an understatement. It's wild to think that I get to be part of a show that meant so much to me as a kid.

Outside of that, it's been a lot of other work on Dropout productions, and that work is only going to become even bigger in the coming month, which is a great segue into—

WHAT AM I UP TO NEXT?

October will be a LOT of Dropout stuff on my end. Can't wait to talk more about it, but for now I'll just leave you in mysterious suspense.

Since the WGA strike is over, Karen and I will be jumping back into some projects that got paused all the way back in May. We'll also need to get our mind back into PITCH MODE, since we had to stop after one single pitch meeting we had the week before the strike.

As for videos, THE TOM CARDY COLLAB WILL BE OUT IN OCTOBER. I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU ALL TO SEE IT. We just need to do a little final mixing and mastering and get it ready for publish on streaming services, but it will be out by the end of the month. (It turns out it won't be screened at SXSW in Australia, which means we'll just have to screen it on your screens. On YouTube. The standard way that I normally screen things.)

ANYTHING ELSE?

Part of that Patreon refresh I mentioned earlier will most likely include me admitting that one video a month is a little creatively stifling these days. I'll often focus so hard on getting something out that I don't devote enough time to an idea that might be better served with a longer video, more in-depth research, or just more effort in the polishing stages. (See the unpublished Disney Park video as an example.)

I'm excited to know what the final three videos of this year will be (Tom Cardy, Making a Thing, Cooking Video), and I'm glad I'll get one out every month, but the main reason those will be coming out once a month is because A) I already finished the Tom Cardy collab and B) Jeremy will be editing the cooking video, which means C) I can spend most of my time in October and November on the Making a Thing video.

This might mean going to an every-other-month video release schedule in 2024. Or if Karen and I somehow luck out on our pitch meetings and sell our perfect TV idea for a Young Sheldon prequel (tentatively titled Even Younger Sheldon), I might convert the Patreon to "per creation" as opposed to "per month" billing. I'm so grateful for what this Patreon has allowed me to create, and there's no way we would have survived going indie without it, but if our career path changes, the Patreon should change, too! I'll be sure to keep you in the loop.