COVID & CHRISTMAS PLANS for DIGI and BYAMPOD

Hi y'aaaaall. 

Covid is weird. I'm a lot better. I feel fine most of the time, and then if I do anything I get absolutely floored; shortness of breath, light-headed, all that. I was meant to be seeing my grandson this weekend, but there's no way I can manage the three-hour drive. So you know I'm not 100%, because normally there's no way I'd pass up a chance to see him. 

Other than that, it has been a pretty light bout of it compared to the first time. I did have to work throughout it though; I was even still working on a job until 11pm last night. I didn't have the luxury of taking a day off; we're still too broke from the last couple of years - and an October where nobody paid me for anything - and we need to buy a turkey. Freelance life, eh? It's both blessing and curse.

Anyhow. Christmas.

So, our live stream on the 21st might have to move. The short of it is, it's family stuff, and trying to fit in time to see everyone. It might end up moving to the 19th, but we need to confirm with Paul, Eli and the Studio. I'll aim to get an update to you next week.

We'll have some Christmas treats peppered throughout the stream, including a Digi Level 2 preview. I'm currently aiming to launch the series at some point in January. No promises!!!

If I'm up to it, we'll be filming our Digi Christmas ep next Wednesday. No spoilers, but we hope to have some guests in it. 

We'll also have some news about Biffo's Brain and Writer's Club Christmas plans as well. We're just trying to juggle our calendar and fit everything in. With a billion children between us, and other family to consider, December just becomes a nightmare of organisation. We're always short on time.

BYAMPOD... we will have for you next week, but due to this week being full of blecccch we'll record either over the weekend or Monday, so it'll be a tad late. We'll see if we can get some bonus content to you to make up for it.

But... we have something BIG lined up for our special Christmas episode; a guest I've wanted on the podcast since day one. I'll be interviewing him next weekend. It's a big get, and I'm very excited.  We also - at some point (waves to Stephen and John and Craig) - want to do a crossover with the lovely Planet Marzipan boys. There is a plan, we've just been rubbish at replying to emails.

Think that's it for now. Oh no. Wait! This'll amuse you...

MASHED

Over the past year, I’ve done a bit of writing for a YouTube channel called Mashed. It’s all animated shorts, mostly tongue-in-cheek video game spoofs. It’s aimed at a VERY different audience to Digi; much younger, very sort of Fortnite-savvy. They’re actually funded by Channel 4, though you wouldn’t know it to look at the channel.

They get huge views; their most popular video – CUPHEAD CARTOON RAP BATTLE – has had 204 million views. Insane numbers, though videos about the Mario and Sonic characters seem to be their bread-and-butter, and generally do better for them than any other.

They’re a good bunch to work with, and it’s pretty easy work. They do tend to take what I’ve written and tweak it, which I’m fine with. Princess Peach always ends up somehow being hypersexualised in the finished videos somehow, but y’know. It’s paid work.

Anyway, get this: the three vids I’ve written for them to date have done REALLY well. Mario’s Anime Moustache, which came out about 7 months ago is on 5.4 million views. The prequel to that, Mario’s Monster Moustache, is at 2.4 million. Even my most recent one – Peach’s Waifu Wonder Crown (not my title) – is at 867,000 views. For some reason, my videos are bigger than the majority of what’s around them on their channel.

I find it weird. I mean, for lots of reasons; it’s weird to be writing this sort of stuff anyway, for that sort of audience, but weird that it seems to have clicked. How have 5.4 million people seen that one video? That’s bigger than anything I’ve ever done, with the exception of EastEnders. It’s nuts. It’s no wonder than CBBC is struggling when it’s up against that sort of competition.

I mean, I get excited when a Digi video breaks 4,000 views! 

WATCH IT

Talking of... if you've not watched the latest one, please give it a view this weekend. It's not doing terribly well for some reason, and it was a ton of work. And it's bloody great. And I edited it while I was ill!!!

It'd be helpful if it got enough early views for the algorithm to start pumping out out. 

Admittedly, we do see the new format as timeless slow-burners - we know not everyone has time to watch - and the Sellafield video, which hadn't done all that well, this week suddenly started picking up loads of views. So we'll see. But yeah. Watch it.

Bye!

Paul