THIS IS THE END

Blehhhh…brrrble… buhhh… My brain is squished.

If you’re a Kickstarter backer, you’ll know by now that Digi Level 2 is done (you’ll get it this afternoon, and will have until Friday evening to watch it, when it’ll switch to being a premiere). 

Well, barring the extra ep and fulfilling the rewards and that. The editing is all I’ve been doing – barring some day job stuff – since the start of the year. The UFO episode and these two final eps of DL2 are the three things I’ve done that I’m most proud of. And, probably, Trojan Arse Protocol. 

It's no secret that all three of these videos are big – like, over an hour big. They’re ambitious, more like TV shows than YouTube videos. They fly in the face of the received wisdom that people don’t have the attention spans for longer online content. Maybe they’d be better if they were shorter? People are busy. I mean, that’s probably all true, but that isn’t where my own tastes lie. 

I’m a maximalist. I like to go big or go home, which is likely why the old Digi desk videos didn’t entirely satisfy me. I’m at my happiest, at my best, when I make things that feel like an event. That’s a pain, because having learn the “rules” of YouTube, I’ve realised that it doesn’t reward that approach. The rules are sort of the antithesis of the kind of thing I like to make, where I’m driven by creative ambition, the process and the whims of my ADHD brain, rather than locking myself into a structure and a niche that’ll satisfy the algorithm.

I admire people who can do it, but it feels like anathema to my sort of creativity. I mean, it's a handicap; in the almost 10 years I’ve been uploading stuff to YouTube, I’ve never taken off, never really broken out, just kept paddling around in my own little pool with a core audience who seem happy to just let me do my thing.

I’ve never really cared about that, but the stuff I’m making now is such a step up from what we were doing a few years ago, that I do hope more people discover it. It deserves a bigger audience, and I’ll try, but I’m resigned to Digi remaining a cult thing that punches above its weight!

Something that might be controversial, but I hope it isn’t, is the use of AI in the episode. Last year, to avoid the hassle, I swore off using it… and… went back on that completely. Instead, I tried to change how I was using it – to find new ways to enhance our videos and give them extra value.

Since the UFO video, I’ve really aimed to teach myself to use AI in a way that it becomes just another tool in the process. I’ve used it to manipulate my own animation, artwork, performance, voice, and editing etc. I’ve taken footage and images that are in the public domain, or my own photographs, and used AI to manipulate it.

It’s already baked into Photoshop and Final Cut now, governments are investing heavily in it… it’s becoming a part of all our lives, so to ignore it – simply because it’s such a hot button issue – is starting to seem increasingly Luddite-esque. My favourite use of it in this episode is to digitally extend the existing sets. Suddenly, we’re not in a cramped corner – but part of a much larger bunker complex. It’s the sort of thing I could never have dreamed about doing a few years ago. My conscience is clear that I’ve worked with it here in a way that’s completely original and creative, rather than just use it as a lazy fallback. And I’m proud of that too. Which is nice. 

Right. The episode just finished uploading. Sanja and I are going to give it a final watch to check it’s all okay, then share it with you. Excited for you to see it.

 Speak soon, 

Paul