ArTorr

Lost in The Last of Us Has Arrived

Lost in The Last of Us is officially live on ArTorr!

An ArTorr video on the first The Last of Us game has been in the works since before my video on The Last of Us: Part II almost 3 years ago. I originally wrote a 4 page script in June 2020 called "A Love Letter to The Last of Us," connecting the game's emphasis on emptiness and despair to my experience with seasonal depression. The video made it as far as the first stage of editing before I scrapped it, realizing both that the script g...

ArTorr Updates: February 2023

Hey folks! I've kept so busy lately that I completely forgot to do the monthly update post that I usually share at the start of the month. Nevertheless, here's the rundown on what I worked on in January and thus far in February, and what I expect to work on in the month ahead...

Two weeks ago, I made it official on the channel's YouTube community tab that the next video is about The Last of Us. This video has consumed 75% of my attention since the start of the year, going from script co...

Writing The Legacy of Mass Effect 3

From the start of working on the Mass Effect videos, the video on Mass Effect 3 was the project I was most excited to work on. Getting there was a creative rite of passage-- from establishing the foundation for a trilogy-long discussion with the first video, and navigating the ungovernable structure of the second game-- but now that we were here, I was going to go all-out with it every sense of the word. 

2023-01-19 18:07:04 +0000 UTC View Post

ArTorr Updates: Happy New Year 2023

Hello and WELCOME to the first post of the New Year (it's a big one)! Although 2022 flew by maddeningly fast, I still find myself excited and inspired by the prospect of a "new beginning" that every January brings. In this post, we're going to be reflecting on what we accomplished in 2022, what could've gone differently, the GOALS I have for ArTorr in 2023, and my strategy for achieving those goals. We'll talk about what's next in terms of videos, and tease some farther-off projects... so buc...

Writing The Brilliance of Mass Effect 2

Happy Holidays! I apologize for how behind I've been on posts. But now that I'm over my cold, and Christmas is over, I can finally tell all about the writing of The Mass Effect 2 video...

After finishing the Mass Effect 1 video in August 2021, a choice was presented to me. Do I go right into writing the video for Mass Effect 2, or do a take a small break with another video first? While it might be harder to maintain consistency and momentum between the Mass Effect videos by taking a bre...

Writing The Legend of Mass Effect

A series of videos about The Mass Effect Trilogy was truthfully one of the handful of projects I started ArTorr for. From the outset, my goal was to explore in-depth why the Mass Effect Trilogy is so compelling and resonant for the many that have played it, utilizing the various aspects of the YouTube medium to create an epic exploration of characters, themes, and heart. It wouldn't be as st...

The Legacy of Mass Effect 3 Has Arrived

The Legacy of Mass Effect 3 is officially live on ArTorr!

Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing goodies and behind-the-scenes material related not just to this video, but all three Mass Effect videos on the channel. That will include excerpts from rough drafts, deep-dives into the writing of each video, a special look at my approach to editing, and of course, three separate video commentaries, giving you insight into my 17 month-long journey to create the best Mass Effect Trilogy r...

ArTorr Updates: November 2022

Welcome once more to the monthly update post! An exciting month is upon us. Let's talk about what I worked on over the last few weeks, and what I expect to be doing in the month ahead...

Earlier this week (on N7 Day!), I released a short promo video on the channel to announce the official release date for The Legacy of Mass Effect 3: Monday, November 28th! This is a safe date for me, as I expect to be done the video a good bit before then. However, as per what tends to happen-- especial...

ArTorr Updates: October 2022

Hey everyone! Checking in once again to let you all know what I worked on over the last month, and what I expect to work on in the month ahead...

Last month, I made it official on the channel's community tab that the next video is indeed Mass Effect 3. Since then, I finished the final draft of the script, recorded it, and have been working my way through the audio pass for the video. I've described my process in one of the commentaries before I believe, but when it comes time to edit a ...

ArTorr Updates: September 2022

Hello everyone! Checking in to let you all know what I worked on last month, and what I expect to be working on in the month ahead...

First thing's first: Mass Effect 3.

Back in February, right after finishing the video for Mass Effect 2, I started working on a video for the third game in the Mass Effect Trilogy. As I recorded and took notes from my Paragon Playthrough, I conducted research on the development behind the game, scattered across various interviews, reference books, a...

Writing A Gunslinger's Odyssey

Writing is usually either my favorite part of making a video, or the thing I loathe the most. There's rarely an in-between. The subtle difference between feeling that your video is going to convey absolutely everything you wanted to do with it from the start, or that you're merely fumbling your way through every point hangs on the words, content, and structure you balance throughout. This was no different with A Gunslinger's Odyssey, which was poised to be one of my longer, slower-paced video...

Alternate Thumbnails for The Mandalorian: A Gunslinger's Odyssey

When I make thumbnails for a video, I usually work through 2 or 3 entirely different iterations before I land on a design that really works for me. At that point, I make small tweaks to it all the way until the video releases, sometimes seeking input from close friends, or my MCN (multi-channel network) manager. 

In the case of The Mandalorian video, I went through far more iterations than any other thumbnail to date. It speaks volumes to the aesthetic of the show (and it's lead ch...

A Gunslinger's Odyssey Has Arrived

The Mandalorian: A Gunslinger's Odyssey is officially live on ArTorr!

Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing a whole bunch of goodies related to the video exclusively here on Patreon. These will include alternate looks at thumbnails, excerpts from earlier drafts of the script, and coolest of all, a full behind-the-scenes commentary of the entire video, giving you insight into the writing, editing, and creative battles that were fought over the last 4 months and near-500 hours it too...