August Update (Go West young B-Mask)

Hey gang! Quite a bit to update on before I set off for the next two weeks on a trip to the states- because your boy is heading to D23. Let’s get to it!

B23

Earlier this year I got a message out of the blue from my sister asking if I’d be up for going out to D23. I was initially going to say no, until I realised two things- that this was going to be the 100th year anniversary of Disney, which as a fan of its history felt like a fairly big deal, and that this would probably be the time they’d finally announce the cast and crew of the upcoming Fantastic Four film. I didn’t feel like this opportunity would come up again- and it felt fairly serendipitous that it should happen now.

Things were still up in the air for a while but everything has been booked and I’ll be at the convention and park over the next two weeks. I’m considering potentially documenting some of the experience and uploading that but, truth be told, I haven’t had a proper vacation in a looooong time, and I’m not sure how much I’ll really be able to speak on. Still, I’m keeping it in mind and will at the very least make an update about it here for all you lovely patrons looking for the inside scoop, so we’ll see what happens on the other side.

But, regardless, the work on all my other projects has continued around this, it just means I won’t be able to really make any edited videos until next month. Including…

Jak

Nothing terribly complicated to report on here- The Jak video is completely written and voiced. There’s always room for error and re-writes but I’m pretty happy with how it’s shaped out and the way it’s sounding, so I don’t anticipate a particularly difficult production. Obviously while I’m away I can’t really put together an edit, but I’ve been able to work on the audio and plan all the various bits and pieces I want to accomplish, so I’ve still been able to steal as much time as possible to keep it rolling. Feels good to finally be getting this one off my long list of plans!

Other stuff

Being away from the studio setup to make preparations before the trip, I’ve also used the time to shift gears back to writing and look at making shorter videos like the Cuphead DLC/Cartoon video. I really enjoyed putting that together, though in some ways I wish I could have had time to wait for season 2. It’s even stronger than the first and has some genuinely dazzling bits of work my friends were finally able to tell me they’d made, which was a great surprise and kind of added to my points. Always possible I’d return to the subject in the future!

With Better Call Saul finally over, I’d like to follow up on the final season with a video once again talking about the use of sound, but in my bones I feel like this won’t be a simple follow up video like the one I created on El Camino and Season 5. I’m almost considering doing a part 2 to the original and adding that to my list- I’m confident enough on what I want to say that I could fit it in without disrupting my plans. I’m also however aware that, if I do this, I will make no money from that video. Making my points is less effective without those songs and absolutely made the previous video work as well as it did. Luckily I have the generous funding you guys provide to tide me over so I’d still get it done, but likely only when the Jak video is complete just to give myself an extra sheet of security beneath future projects.

And of course other projects are still being looked at in order of priority. The next big video after Jak on a beloved sitcom character, some of the smaller ideas, and the ongoing progress on the major Marvel project. Lots of exciting things taking shape!

That’s all I’ve got at this point. Thanks once again for the support this month moving into the next- a pity I wasn’t able to get another proper video out before shipping off to the States, but I’ll be bouncing back before you know it with some long held B content. Was a slow start with some disruptions but I think after everything that happened last year it’s finally been picking up, signalling great strides into 2023. Will keep you all posted!

Right, Wagons roll. See you out west, pilgrims. Cowboy emoji.

-B