atrocityguide

Video Progress Update 6/30/2024

Hey everyone,

Hope you all are well. I wanted to drop in and let you all know how this upcoming video is progressing.

Those of you who recall last month's update may remember that the focus at the time was revising an early section of the video, namely chapters 2-3. I'm happy to report that a lot of the problems have been alleviated, and this section no longer loses the steady pacing and momentum that the video starts with, due to a pre-prioritization of information. Ryan is currently updating the phenomenal score for these chapters so they can be watched in a more final form.

For the past week or so, I've been re-working chapter 4. This chapter has been another tricky one, as I take a detour from the main story in order to provide some historical context, and going back in time a few decades to do so (similar to what was done for the Sri Chinmoy section in the Rama video). I've had to go through a lot of versions of this chapter before I found one that felt right, but I believe I'm finally there.

As you may remember from the last update, this video contains 9 chapters. To give you an idea of where I'm at: the narration has been recorded and the visuals edited for the first 5 chapters (although 4 and 5 are undergoing revisions). Chapters 6 and 7 are partially finished, and chapters 8 and 9 still need to be written although they are heavily outlined.

By the next progress update, I expect to be finished with chapter 4 and working on revisions for chapters 5-7. The finish line is in sight although the distance to it is difficult to measure. I am working as quickly as I can, but as you know, the goal is the best work I can make, not the most punctual.

Thank you all very much for your support in this. I could not ask for a better audience to make these videos for.

If you haven't already, feel free to check out our Discord. The link is in the pinned post.

Til next time,

AG

Til next time,

AG

Video Progress as of 5/31/24

Hey everyone,

Just finished a day of recording some narration for the upcoming video and thought I would drop in and write a progress report.

So in my last update, I wrote about how I was returning to some earlier sections of the video for revisions before moving forward. I have made much progress on that front in the last few weeks, but I have not completely moved past these early sections in the way I'd assumed I would have by now. For reference, this video contains 9 distinct chapters (they won't be labeled this way in the video--I just do this for my sake). Chapters 2 and 4 have been by far the most difficult, and I find myself running into storytelling issues down the road having not fleshed these sections out well enough, despite the entire story being quite clear.

Basically, I'm trying to paint a vivid picture of a subculture based around an esoteric philosophy, one in which I've spent nearly a year researching. It's my belief that the more the viewer knows about it, the better the story will be, but there's a limit. Long explanations will bog down the story's pace, so there's a sweet spot that is taking me a little while to find. That, in a nutshell, has been the source of my struggles. But my will prevails.

By the end of this weekend, I'll have a new draft of these earlier chapters to be able to watch and think about. Following this I'll return to work on chapters 7-9.

When I've needed to take some distance from it, I've been doing some preliminary research and outlining on the topic of my next video. I may have said this previously, but it's a topic that I discovered while researching my current video. It'll be the oldest topic I've ever covered (it takes place during the late 1890s and early 1900s) and, much like this current video, is ultimately a tragedy.

Thank you guys so much for sticking out this production with me. Thank you to all the new Patrons. It has been very heartening to see you all, especially since it's been so long since my last release. I can't wait to share my new work with you all once I believe it's worthy of your time and attention.

Til next time,

AG

Video Progress 4/30

Hey everyone,

Wanted to drop in and write a progress update on the upcoming video and to thank all the new Patrons who have subbed recently.

Progress is going well. I've been making daily, steady progress at a pace which feels comfortable and natural. Lately I've been doing a round of revisions on early sections of the video. As I've mentioned previously (I believe), the story takes place within two separate and unique cultures, and attempts to balance them both as the story progresses. I realized recently that I needed a bit more work done on introducing one of these worlds, as the foundation was feeling too unsteady the further into the video I got. Once this is caught up, I expect I'll be back to moving the story toward its conclusion.

I've said previously that I expect the video to be around one and a half hours by the time it's finished. I still think that will be approximately the runtime. But even at that length, the narrative is very densely packed, and I don't want to leave anyone lost or confused throughout the story, so I'm spending a lot of time making sure the trickle of information flows naturally and sensibly, so there's a lot of re-watching, note-taking, re-writing, and re-editing. I've known for a while that my creative process isn't exactly the most efficient, but I believe it is the process that allows me to make my best work.

I'm going to refrain from giving any more release windows until I feel I can give one that won't be missed. I used to think that publicly giving a predicted date would motivate me to work harder, but in reality it just creates stress, and I don't really have a problem working hard without a deadline, so hopefully you'll forgive me for leaving the release date ambiguous at the moment. I said previously that I think it will be out within the Spring season of this year, and as of now, that still feels realistic.

I've also settled on the subject of my following video. It'll be another historical story, something I actually discovered while researching my current topic, and I've begun conceptualizing it with a few notes here and there.

A big thank you to everyone who has supported the channel, either here on Patreon, or by writing kind words of encouragement on my posts, or by simply just watching. It is for you that I keep making videos, so thank you so much for the motivation.

I'll be writing another progress report in a few weeks. These updates serve more as a therapeutic outlet for me than anything else, but to those of you who take the time and interest to read them: thank you.

Til next time,

AG

Video Progress 3/31

Hey everyone,

I hope all are well. I’m overdue for a progress update, so I wanted to take a bit to let you all know where I’m at in the video, and how much left there is to complete before it’s finished. The script is at 14K words at the moment, and I expect it’ll be around 17K by the time it’s totally finished. I’ve also got about 50 minutes of completed video edited, and Ryan has scored much of it. Most of this completed video is ready to go, some need a bit of re-working, but that’ll be revisited at the latter stages..

It might seem weird that I begin recording and editing before the script is 100% complete. I know most creators don’t do it this way, but I like to start seeing what the video will look and sound like pretty early in the process, and I don’t mind going back to rearrange earlier sections at a later stage once I get further into the story. I’ve been pretty much doing it this way since the beginning.

But what's left to write is heavily outlined and I know exactly where the story is going. I expect the finished video will probably be in the ballpark of an hour and twenty to an hour and thirty minutes. At the pace I’m going, I should be finishing by mid-spring.

I’m happy to announce we’ll be having another ending credits song by Prisoner’s Cinema, the band of Atrocity Guide composer Ryan Probert, as well as May Chi and Luke Deane. It’s been created for this episode as a capstone to the experience, and I’m very excited to show it.

Thank you all for sticking with me through these long productions. I wouldn’t take this long if I didn’t think it would lead to something truly worth your time.

Talk soon,

AG

Video Progress 2/14/24

Hey everyone and happy Valentines Day!

Just wanted to write an update and let everyone know how the video is coming along. The end is very much in sight, although it's a bit farther than I previously judged. But I am approaching it. 

The story takes place within two very rich American subcultures, so there's been a lot of worldbuilding (at times I've felt like a novelist writing this script). Determining what aspects of these subcultures to include in order to immerse the viewer into the world vs what feels more like a tangent/distraction from the main story is something that takes a bit of trial and error--there's a lot of putting things into the video, watching it, thinking about it, then taking it back out again or reframing it. 

The script has crossed over 11K words--by the far the longest script I've written. Part of the reason is that this story is much more narration-heavy, as opposed to incorporating lots of cut-away clips, than many of my past videos. The time period in which the story takes place (1930s, 40s, 50s) means there aren't many of these relevant clips available, so I'm doing a lot more writing for this video than I have for ones in the past. I'm grateful for the interviews I've conducted which will help break up these long stretches of narration and help the story feel more alive rather than mostly monologue. 

I'm just trying to make as much progress each day as I can, make sure it's the best work I can possibly do, and trust that I will finish as soon as I can. Like all my past videos that have had a long production time, I'm gambling that the time and energy spent will be evident in the finished product, and my viewership will feel the wait was worth it. 

I hope everyone's 2024 has had an auspicious beginning, and I am more than grateful to everyone here. Thank you for taking the time to read, and I'm so excited to share the new work with you all. 

Til next time, 

AG

Getting there...

Hey everyone, 

Still got a bit to go, but I wanted to share some progress with you, and since I've never posted a timeline screenshot before, I thought it might be a nice way to show how the video is coming.  What you're seeing is just the completed portions with narration and music from Ryan (except the last few minutes), and there is much left to record and edit, and some left to write. I'm aiming to have about 40 minutes completed by the end of this month, which should be around 2/3 of the total video. The rest should go much more quickly as the hard parts are mostly over and now I'm putting pieces into place.

I wish there was more to report at the moment, but I've just been working on this project and making plans for upcoming videos once this one is finished. This has been a very creatively rewarding albeit taxing historical story, and I hope everyone will be okay with something lighter for its follow-up. This will be my third feature-length project in a row, and I will need to switch gears after.  Thank you all for your patience and encouragement, and I'll write another update in a couple weeks once I'm closer to completion.

Talk soon,

AG 

Thank you for a great 2023

Hey everyone, 

As we near the end of 2023, I just want to thank you all for a wonderful year. The first half was spent working on the Rama documentary, which is among the videos on my channel I’m most proud of, and the second half has been dedicated to the new video, which I am beyond excited about and I feel is really forcing me to grow as a storyteller. So thank you all for allowing me to do this. 

Speaking of the next video, progress is still good, although perhaps slower than I’d like, but I’m making a conscious effort not to rush it and allow myself the time to unfold the narrative naturally. This story inhabits two separate subcultures that I will be bouncing back and forth between as we follow our protagonist through their journey into each. Both have required a lot of research, but it’s paying off now that I’m far into the video. 

One of these subcultures is an essentially endless rabbit hole that could be plumbed to whatever depth I want, and it's not obvious how much is too much for the story. I’m mostly just following my own curiosity and interest as a guide.

I’m still planning on a very early-2024 release. I was really hoping to finish before the end of this month but the video would not have reached its full potential if I tried too hard to meet that timeframe, so I'm at peace with that.

I hope everyone has a safe holiday with loved ones. Til next time, 

AG

Video Progress as of late-November

Hey everyone,

Production on the upcoming documentary continues with a couple milestones I’d like to share with you all.

The most recent interview has been completed to great success. Lots of unique information about the subject has been revealed, and I’ve already begun integrating it into the story. There were a couple of unfortunate audio pops where I believe the interviewee’s mic (maybe?) had an electrical short in it, but this isn’t as devastating as it might sound. My interviews tend to be long anyway (many of them last more than an hour), and I typically only end up using a fraction of what was recorded, so there is still tons of usable material, and the most essential stuff was luckily unaffected by the hypothetical short.

Another exciting development in production is that Ryan has begun work on the music. He’s only a few minutes in so far, but I must say, the vibe he’s striking is not only appropriate for the story but very unique for Atrocity Guide. I intend to work more closely with the music for this episode and really use the score to accentuate moments of tension and emotional catharsis. I’ve been working with Ryan for about 4 years now (since the beginning of production on the Phoenix Jones video in late 2019), and I’m happy to see that our creative collaboration is only deepening as time goes on.

At this point, the full story is in focus and the path to completion is clear, I just need to continue to work hard and make daily progress. I’ll check in again with another update sometime in mid-December when I hope to be even closer to the finish line. The ETA is likely to be very early 2024-- ideally mid-January--but I’ll touch more on this in a future update.

Thank you all for everything. I hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday season, and I’ll see you in Discord.

Talk soon,

AG

Video Progress Update 11/9/23

Hey everyone!

Video production continues to go well as we get closer to the end of the year. I've got another interview scheduled for Tuesday, and I think this will cover all areas of the subject with appropriate perspectives, with the caveat that I will likely choose to seek an additional interview later in production to cover some more areas of discussion. I don’t want the video to rely too heavily on voices that are not my own, so the plan is to use each interview much more sparingly than I did in the Zen Master Rama video. I enjoy incorporating interviews into the documentary as it gives it a feeling of active investigation, but the vast majority of this story will still be told through my own independent research.

I’m currently making excellent strides on the script, which is really starting to swell in size. It's probably safe to say that this will be another hour+ video. Often I’m constructing the visuals in my imagination as I’m writing, almost mentally story-boarding the video, which is when I know I’m truly in the zone. But one of the biggest storytelling challenges I’m facing is avoiding info-dump sections. Like nearly all complex stories, a lot of background knowledge is required of the viewer to fully understand certain events and concepts. And since I’m making this video for the general viewer with no experiential knowledge in this subject, I have to braid these concepts into the narrative in a way that doesn’t slow down the forward momentum. Done correctly, the story never seems to stop. Done incorrectly, there will be long boring patches, and the audience won’t receive the needed information anyway because they'll be disengaged.

Some of the things discussed in this video are controversial, and require a lot of attention in terms of tone management. The writing and editing of one section in particular feels like threading the needle–both in terms of taste, and compliance with YouTube community guidelines. So I definitely plan on seeking a beta watch from some trusted fellow YouTubers in order to synthesize their impressions with my own. 

Those are really the only sticking points I’m experiencing at the moment, and none of them are anything I haven’t faced before, so I’m optimistic this will turn out to be a great video. I'm leaving the tentative release date at the end of the year for now, as I still think this is achievable and I want to keep the pressure on. 

In other news, we should be reaching 500K subs in hopefully the not-too-distant future (probably in the weeks/months following this upcoming video), and I’ve been thinking about doing an AMA video to commemorate. I might reach out for questions via a YT community post, a Twitter thread, and here on Patreon. I've really enjoyed answering questions that you guys submit on our Discord server, and thought it might be a nice way of heralding in a half-million subs. What do you all think?

That's all for now. Thank you all for your support, and thank you for reading. Talk soon,
AG

Video Progress Going Well!

Hey everyone, 

I wanted to check in and write an update about how the video is going. 

So far, I've conducted one interview, and I must say it was a success. Lots of very good insights, and I feel very lucky that this person was willing to speak with me and share as much as they did. The other interview was postponed, but it's currently scheduled for next week, and I plan to conduct one of two more before it's all said and done. 

For the past two videos, I've been using this software to clean up the interview audio. It's been great at taking a low-quality Skype interview from a webcam mic, and making it sound as good as my narration (in my opinion). Although, I was unhappy to see that Adobe has updated this software since my last video, and have made it... worse. The voice almost takes on a quavering effect. But through trial and error, I've managed to get it sounding good again. The trick, for anyone interested, is to run it through once at 25% intensity, then again at 15%. Basically no distortion with this method, and the voice is clear and articulate. Still a very small amount of ambient hum present, but given the circumstances, it's entirely acceptable, and once music is in it shouldn't be too noticeable. 

As I mentioned in a previous update, the editing choices in this video are quite a bit different from nearly all of my recent videos. Due to the time period the story takes place, there are very few videos and audio clips to cut to--and most of the drama takes place in written correspondence between the characters. But these letters are amazing! We can clearly see into all the motivations and driving forces of events. There's an emotional depth here that I haven't really had access to in past stories, and I aim to rely heavily on these letters. 

For this video, I've been dealing a lot with historical archives, which are typically housed in University collections. I've had good and bad luck on this front. One archive has been fantastic, and sent me everything I requested within a few days. Another, not so much. Since COVID, many of these places are under-staffed and under-resourced, and can take months to respond to a request, and that's if I get a response at all. It's frustrating to know that key documents I need exist, but are out of reach. But I'm not blaming the staff, I know they're stretched thin. And I ran into this same issue with the Dolphin House video and still managed to scrounge up everything I needed, so I'm not letting it slow me down; I just wanted to rant about it. 

The current release date is still the end of the year. Progress is currently going well, and I see no reason to postpone yet, and hopefully will not have to. I'll write another update in a couple weeks after I've conducted another interview and progressed a little more. 

Thank you all for everything. 

'til next time,

AG

Video Progress Update 9/21/23

Hey everyone!

I wanted to write a progress update on the upcoming video, both for my own edification and for any who might be interested. I'm still conducting interviews. I have one scheduled for next week, and another one upcoming in the next couple weeks or so, after some preliminary discussions with the interviewee take place. As I've said in a previous update, gathering interviews has been much more challenging for this video than the last, and this has remained the case in the ensuing weeks since the last update. I'm asking people to open up about their personal beliefs and experiences in a vulnerable way. A leap of trust in me, who they do not know, is required of them in order to do this, and I try to keep this in mind. I've had a couple people ultimately decide not to participate after previously agreeing, which I understand and do not grudge. And like I've said before, this isn't slowing down progress, as there are multiple fronts I can work on whenever one begins to stall out. 

I've been experimenting more with visual motifs in this video. The story itself takes place mostly in the first half of the 20th century, and a lot of the drama and tension occurs through written correspondence between key individuals who are in different parts of the world--so I'm using After Effects and Premiere Pro to construct what I hope is a sleek visual system that I can use to show these back-and-forth exchanges in an interesting way. This is something that I haven't done before in a video, but it's necessary for this one, and I like what I've made so far, so I'm optimistic it will work well. 

Additionally, this story has a very large cast of characters popping in and out of the story at different times, so I'm trying to use the visual medium to my favor and construct some branching (hierarchical?) trees that I can use as an aid to lessen confusion. In short, I find myself needing to evolve as a visual storyteller in order to do this story justice. 

Ideally, a Halloween release would be the most appropriate, as this story is on the spooky side, but because that's in five weeks, I'm not sure I can promise this, barring some miracle. I think it's better to set the release window at some time before the end of the year. This is reasonable, and it will keep me from rushing out an undercooked documentary. 

More updates to come as the work continues. Thank you all for being patient with me. I really love this topic and I think you all will too. Very excited to show what I've been working on with you all. 

Talk soon,

AG

Preparing for an interview next week

Hey everyone, 

Just wanted to write a short update as I'm preparing to travel out of state for my first live interview next week. 

Tonight I'm doing mock interviews in order to test the lighting and sound. In my opinion, audio will be the most important aspect, and I have 3 different recording methods I'll be using for redundancy. I know I can clean up the audio as long as at least one of the raw recordings is *decent*, but unlike every other aspect of production, a live interview has to be conducted flawlessly the first time because there are no do-overs. So I want to be as prepared as possible. 

I'm emailing the questions I'll be asking in advance to the interviewee. I do this so they can get a feel for the trajectory of the conversation and prepare answers. I did this with the Zen Master Rama video's interviews and I was really happy with how it went, so I'm trying it again. Although I will say this: the nature of this conversation is much different than the last. 

I'll be sure to let you all know how it went after it's finished. There'll likely be more interviews upcoming, but as of now this is the only one scheduled. I've had some bad luck recently with interviewees ghosting after showing initial interest. But no worries, it won't slow me down. 

Thank you all for everything! More soon, 

AG

Video Progress 8/14/23

Hey everyone!

It's been a while since my last progress update, so I wanted to check in. I’m happy to report that the video is coming along very well–overall better than expected. I’ve secured interviews (one of them in person) and I’ll be spending some time learning the equipment and doing a mock interview so I can get the sound and lighting right for the day of.  I'll be sure to write about how it went afterward. 

This topic has been very challenging, perhaps the most challenging I've ever faced. Hard topics are usually a good thing, but I worry that some of the aspects of this subject are beyond my comprehension, either because I lack that background knowledge (and won't be able to devote the years it would take to obtain it for this video) or because they are deliberately obtuse and mysterious, or more likely a combination of both. But I'm trying to hold my vision for the video always in mind, like a beacon that allows me to navigate my way through the research. There's always a course to steer by. And like I said, I think things are going quite well, so no reason to worry. 

In other news, it's been brought to my attention that rapper Danny Brown is a fan of the channel, and shouted us out on a recent episode of his show, saying we were one of his favorite channels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSSUR-AWKfE&start=2334
This was cool to hear because I really like his music, especially the Atrocity Exhibition album

That's all for now. I'll be doing another progress update after the interviews have been conducted. I should have a better idea of the workload in front of me, and the vision for the video should be much clearer.  As of now, I'm aiming for a late autumn/early winter release. Maybe toward the middle of November, if all continues to go well? More on that later. 

Thank you all for everything. Til next time,

AG

Progress Report 7/14/23

Hey everyone, 

Work on the next video is well underway and is progressing daily. 

This might be my most research-intensive project to date. I have curated a fairly gigantic reading list--intimidatingly large--and I'm hoping to get through it as efficiently as possible. The narrative of the video is slowly starting to reveal itself, although I'm well aware how much work still needs to be done. 

Luckily, I was able to find this topic and begin work within a week of the release of my most recent video, so there hasn't been much downtime; however, the project has only increased in scope since then, so at some point I will have to wrangle it in the interest of finishing it. This is one of those topics I could research for years and still feel there's more to learn. 

Expect more interviews for this video. They went over well in the last video, and I enjoyed conducting them. It felt journalistically fulfilling, and it allowed for some narrative variety--so this will likely be the norm going forward. If feasibility allows for it, I'd also like to travel to some points of interest and do a bit of in-person investigating and interviewing. Although I haven't reached out to any potential interviewees yet, I have a growing list of individuals and contact info that I'm confident will agree to the project. I'll be reaching out to them as soon as I know exactly what I want to ask and how I want to approach the subject. 

I'm hoping by this time next month, I will be moving beyond the conceptualization stage (which never truly ends until the video is out), and into the script writing and interviewing phase. Wish me luck!

That's all for now. Thank you all for your support and I'll see you in Discord!

Talk soon,

AG

Pre-production on next video begins this week!

Hey everyone, 

First off, I just want to say thank you for such an amazing response to the newest video. It's been the best debut I've ever had on the channel, and this week has been so encouraging. I feel very motivated to get started on the next project! 

Since release, I've been going through my ongoing list of potential topics for the next doc (speaking of which, thank you to everyone who's recommended me topics on our Discord server. I feel like you all have a great feel for the type of stories I like to cover on the channel, so please keep them coming!) and I believe that I have found the story. 

My plans for the rest of the week are to begin reading as much about the topic as is available, immersing myself in the bizarre American subculture in which it is set, and familiarizing myself with all of its principle and secondary characters, for as long as it takes until the narrative begins to take shape in my mind. 

This is one of the most exciting and fulfilling parts of the entire process for me, and I feel so lucky that your support has allowed me to do this. Once things get rolling and I'm on solid ground, I'll write another progress update with a bit more to tease. Thank you all again for everything!

Talk soon, 

AG

NEW VIDEO

Hey everyone, 

I'm happy to debut the new Atrocity Guide video to you all first! I can't thank you enough for your patience and support over the months as we've worked on this. It's been one hell of a journey and I'm so excited to finally be able to show it!

We'll be releasing to the public probably tomorrow. And then pre-production will begin on the next video later this week, and I'll be writing a post about that once work begins in earnest.

Thank you all again for your support, and please let me know what you think!

Talk soon,

AG

Editing Finished!

Hey everyone!

Happy to report that I finished the editing on the upcoming video last night. The total runtime is 1 hour and 17 minutes--by far my longest. It's kind of surreal to finally be finishing up, since I've been living with this project daily for several months. But it's time to release it, and I couldn't be more excited. 

Only a few things left to do. Ryan is finishing the music now, and I'll be sending the video to the two people I interviewed so they can preview it, and I need to make a thumbnail (which shouldn't take long because I'm envisioning something rather simple). I'm sure I'll also be re-watching the video a bunch in the meantime and fixing/changing little things, as is always the case in this stage... but you can expect the video to be out in probably 1-2 weeks. 

As always, I'll debut it here on Patreon first, then it'll go live a day or two later. Thank you all so much for sticking in there with me, and I can't wait to hear what you think!

Soon, 

AG

Video Progress Update

Hey everyone, 

Progress marches forward on the upcoming video. It's safe to say that we are likely exceeding an hour run time for the second time in channel history, just to give you an idea of the scope. Roughly 40 minutes are complete, with a clear vision of how the remaining 20 minutes will unfold--so overall things are going smoothly. I don't expect there to be (m)any hiccups going forward, at least not creatively. The path to the finish line is clear.

The most consequential creative decision made so far has been to turn this video into a type of braided documentary, with two main figures whose stories are being told simultaneously, linked together by a shared history. It didn't begin this way, but once a certain secondary character joined the story, they were too compelling not to stay until the end. The main character's journey also makes much more sense with the other shown in parallel. 

As I've said in previous updates, the biggest adjustment I've had to make is turning over a lot of narration to my interviewees, who had first-hand involvement of these events. It'll likely have a different feel than previous videos, and I'm looking forward to finding out from you all whether the balance I've struck was appropriate. 

I'll likely be writing at least one more update before release, once I'm entering the final stage and know when the upload date will be. I believe this is only weeks away. Thank you all for your support. I hope you all know how much it means to me. 

Before I close out, allow me some brief Patreon housekeeping: By request, I am now offering annual memberships for a 16% discount, so if anyone would like to switch to that plan, it is now available.

Thank you all again, and we'll talk soon, 

AG

Video Progress Update 1/14/23

Hey everyone, 

Just wanted to check in and let you know that progress on the new video is still going well. There haven't been any stalls or set-backs, and I'm working every day to create the best documentary I can, and I believe it's shaping into something special. 

I’m finding it’s better in nearly all instances to turn the story over to the interviewees to narrate long sections in their own words. They were first-person witnesses to the story and even interacted to shape the story as it was happening, so they're clearly the people who should be doing a lot of the talking. In most chapters, my narration serves to bridge connections and fill in context along the way, as opposed to me telling the entire story from start to finish. 

In a way, this approach seems like it should be easier, with less writing and narrating on my part--but it means giving over a bit of control over how the story is presented, so it's a new challenge for me. As a result, I think I'm creating something that is a marriage between a typical YouTube video essay and a documentary. 

I'm sorry that I wasn't able to release by the end of last year like I'd planned, but the video would've been undercooked if I'd rushed to meet that deadline. My new goal is by the end of February, and I'll be checking in with you all along the way to let you know if I'm on schedule. 

That's all for now. Time to get back to it. Thank you for all your support, it really means a lot, and I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday and are having a great start to their new year. 

Talk soon, 

AG

Video Progress 12/6/22

Hey everyone, 

I'm very happy to report that the interviews for the upcoming video went extremely well. These individuals illuminated sides of the story that were impossible to access by research alone, and the video will be a much more personal and thorough investigation into the events than they otherwise would be. 

I'd like to potentially conduct some more interviews for this story in order to reveal even more depth, but since these events happened 30+ years ago, tracking these people down (not to mention asking them to appear on camera to relive potentially re-traumatizing events) is much easier said than done. I'm lucky that I was able to find two people who were happy to do this, but I suspect I'll be sending out a few more emails before it's all said and done. 

The script is coming along well. As always, this story started out fairly simple, but then I uncovered complexity that I didn't realize was there as I moved forward--but not to worry, this is what good stories are made of. I've also been learning After Effects in order to give some dynamism to the visuals. It's not an easy program to learn, but since I've become proficient at Premiere over the years, much of it is already intuitive. I won't be adding explosions or anything like that, but you can expect some simple (hopefully not janky) animations to illustrate things like pages turning in a magazine, etc. 

That's all for now. I hope you all are doing well and are having a wonderful holiday season. Thanks you all for everything, and I'll see you in Discord. 

-AG

Interviews Scheduled as the Video Progresses

Hey everyone, 

I'm making daily progress on the video, and this one is going to be a bit more personal than usual. 

I'm interviewing two people over Skype who were involved in this story--one of which, surprisingly, was involved in a previous saga that I recently covered. I won't  tell you which until after the video releases, as it could verge on revealing the topic (although I don't really think so), so I'll just let that brew in your imaginations for now.

This story has both a bit of silliness to it (there will be moments of levity as the main antagonist is often comically absurd) but it also get very dark at times with some triggering themes involving death, psychological abuse, and other horrendous details that are unavoidable in telling the story. I will do my best to tell this story with the utmost respect for the victims involved. It's a story that's left quite the impression on me, and I want to make sure the tone is appropriate. 

It takes place primarily in the 80s and 90s in California, and Ryan and I will be working on bringing that time and place to life in the soundtrack so that the setting is vivid. This is something he is especially adept at doing in not only our channel but others (Down the Rabbit Hole, Oki's Weird Stories). 

I'll let you know how things are progressing after the interviews. I'm still aiming for an end of the year release but I'm cognizant that this timeline is approaching quickly. I'm working hard and fast, but I won't let the quality dip in favor of speed. That's a promise. 

Thank you all for everything! 

More soon, 

-AG

Next Video Going Well

Hey everyone, 

Just an update to let you all know that the next video is very much underway and progress is promising! 

I aim to have this out by the end of the year, as I don't want to break my 3 vids/year standard that I've set these last couple years. The last video took so long mostly because translations and the complexity of the story--and while this video does largely take place in a country outside the US, I won't have to rely so heavily on non-English sources for this one, so it should go much more quickly. 

I'm looking to get in touch with some of the people involved in this story for a statement (or maybe more if they'd agree to it), which would be a rarity for this channel, but tracking down current contact info is challenging, as this story took place more than ten years ago. But I can be resourceful when I'm determined, so fingers crossed. 

That's all for now. Thank you all so much for your continued support, and I'll be posting another update in the coming weeks to mark progress. 

Talk soon, 

AG

Progress Report 9/14/22

Hey everyone, 

First off, thank you all for the response to the new video. It was such an adventure to make. I spent so much time working on it that it almost seemed like the endless project, and the fact that it's finally out is kind of strange. Every video production is its own unique journey, and that's what makes things fun. 

I've got a list of potential topics that I've been gathering over the past few weeks and it's very likely that the next topic is somewhere in there. I'll be spending the next couple weeks going through them and seeing how much potential each one has, and hopefully I'll be able to write an update before the end of the month stating that the next video is properly underway. 

And here is my obligatory statement that the next video will not take as long, and I'm going for a shorter one this time, etc. Those of you who've been around a while will know these false words well by now. But honestly, I think it's true this time. This last video took a lot out of me, and I feel like I've stayed in the long-form narrative format long enough, and want to reacclimate myself to the 15-20-minute format. Telling a story in that timeframe is a slightly different skill, and it's important to occasionally sharpen it. And I think I have some topics that'll really fit that timeframe well. 

Thank you all for everything and we'll talk soon, 

AG

Early Release for Patrons

Hey everyone, 

I know it's been a while, but I'm proud to debut what is easily my most ambitious video to date. 

I want to give a very special thanks to Ryan Probert who's made, in my opinion, his best soundtrack to date for the channel. We took some inspiration from not only old Shin Films movie soundtracks, but some North Korean propaganda songs as well, and I think the music is a big reason why the video feels so immersive. And shoutout to his band, Prisoner's Cinema, for making the end song which puts such a great punctuation at the end of the story.

I can't wait to read what you all think. And thank you so much for your support. 

Talk soon, 

AG

Next Video is Almost Here

Hey everyone, 

I know you've all been waiting for the next video, and I'm happy to report that it's nearly finished.

I'm sorry it's taken so long. I've been working on this video for nearly 5 months, and I still probably need another 2-3 weeks, so it's definitely the longest I've been at work on a single project. But with the end very close in sight, I'm using that energy to push forward. 90% of the hard work is done, so these next few weeks will be the finish line for me. There's also the motivation that I'm very proud of this video, even more so than usual, and want to finish it so I can show it to you.

I really love Ryan's work on this one. He's been so important in the tonal direction we've decided to pursue. There's also a freelance translator without whom this video would not have been possible. She's transcribed hours of interview footage for me, which we worked together to subtitle--and this makes up the majority of my cutaway clips throughout the video. 

It's been a high-effort production, and I do believe that when you watch the video, you will find the long release time to be warranted.

I'll keep this brief, as I just wanted to touch base and let you all know it's almost here. Next update will be the early release for Patrons!

Thank you and talk soon, 

AG

Next Video is Coming...

Hey everyone, 

Next video is coming, albeit more slowly than ideal. But what's most important is that the video is good, and I'm proud to report that it is.

Like I mentioned in my recent Tweet, this story has probably the most *satisfying* arc of any I've covered. It's very cinematic, both literally and metaphorically (you'll see what I mean), with clear cut heroes and villains. The way I've chosen to tell the story is with a quick pace at the start, but then slowing it down once we get into the meat of the conflict. And what's especially cool about this story is that the initial premise is very... dramatic, but once the details start coming in there's way more nuance than you would guess from the beginning, and the two main characters have one of the most complex internal struggles of anyone I've covered. This is truly a strange saga. 

The length of the video is probably going to be between 45-55 minutes, similar to what we've been doing recently. When I started this project, I was expecting something around 30 minutes, but the story evolved in complexity as I began digging deeper and I realized there was a lot more to unpack. Honestly, this topic could probably be stretched to several hours if I wanted to, but I think a very dense 50 minutes will turn out great. 

I know I named June as the release month in the last update, but it's definitely going to be July. I'm sorry about that. I know you all are patient (thank you), but I personally hate issuing delays, and I wouldn't unless the video needed it. 

This'll likely be the last update until release, although I'll be in our Discord server checking in along the way, so if you haven't joined yet, please do! The invite is in the pinned post here on Patreon.

Thank you all for everything, and I hope everyone is well. Talk soon,  

AG

Video Progress 5/7/22

Hey everyone, 

I typically write one of these updates after I've had a particularly good work day and I'm feeling optimistic about the upcoming video. Today is no exception--things are going well, and I feel like this next release will be my best yet. Looking back, I've felt that way about most of my recent releases. Maybe it's been true every time and I'm getting better with each video, or maybe it's just naïve optimism; either way, the confidence assists the work so I'll not question it. 

The process for this video has been quite a bit different, as many of the clips I've wanted to feature have been in another language, and while this topic is not completely unheard of in the west, interviews with the story's main characters which will be the vast majority of my cutaway clips have needed to be translated into English. But it's really exciting to get back a translated interview, both for the insight into the characters that didn't otherwise have, but also knowing that my video will be the first to feature these clips in the English language. 

This story is a bit controversial--it's political (but not in the sense that we might immediately think of whenever they read that word), and some of the details of the story have to be taken on faith by the first-hand accounts of the people who experienced them. It's very hard to corroborate some of the info in this story. So first and foremost, I have to make sure I'm not saying anything untrue. But this isn't the first (or last) time I've dealt with this situation, and I like to think that my bullshit detector is pretty sharp at this point. 

I'm going to name JUNE as the release month. Hopefully no later than the second week, but sometime that month for sure. I know enough about my process at this point that this is a realistic goal. I don't always set realistic goals, as many of you who've been around a while can attest, but this one is.  

I'll definitely write at least one more update before release, probably in early June whenever I have a better idea when the specific release date will be. But until then, thank you all for everything, and I'll see you in Discord. :)

-AG

Progress Report on Upcoming Video

Hey everyone! 

It's been a while since I've written a progress report, so I wanted to check in. The new video is going well, and I'm optimistic that this one will be a banger. It's taken a bit longer to come together than I initially expected, mostly due to a language barrier and many of the story's more outlandish details being difficult to corroborate, but I can't remember the last time I've had so much fun researching a topic. Immersing myself in this world has been a blast, and I'm hoping my enthusiasm will come through in the finished product. 

So far, the structure has been the most challenging aspect, as is the case most of the time. It's not always obvious where to start a particular story, and what shape it needs to take in order to be the most compelling. This one is no exception, and I'm still not 100% sure what event I'm going to start with to draw the viewer in. Straight linear is not always the answer, I've discovered. Often, it's best to start somewhere in the middle, then go back and give backstory/context to catch us up before resuming where I left off. There are so many moving parts to this story and figuring out how to braid them all together has been my number one focus recently. 

 If I had to compare this upcoming video to any of my previous ones it would likely be The Animators Who've Spent... Although, this new video has quite a bit more drama, the stakes are considerably higher, and it has more of a traditional beginning-middle-end story arc. But there are tons of similarities, and once you see the video you'll get what I mean. 

No release window yet, as anything I'd give at this time would be wildly inaccurate, but it'll definitely be a quicker turnaround than the last one. I'll write another update here in a few weeks once I'm a little further along. 

Thank you all for the continued support. I hope you're all doing well, staying safe, and remembering to take time for yourselves every day.

Talk soon, 

AG

Next Video Underway

Hey everyone!

I'm about a week into production on the next video, and I'm really hoping this one can have a quicker turnaround than what we've been having recently. The Immortalists video is performing well and being positively received on YouTube, but the 4 month production time is not exactly sustainable for the long-term health of the channel, so I'm really going to try to push myself on this next one. Not to worry, though; I'm up for it.

This next story will be condensed to about an eight-year period, which is pretty narrow for what I'm used to, but I'm looking to write it in such a way that the viewer will be able to extrapolate many years before and after the main events covered to get as much context as possible.

It'll be a story that covers three main characters, one of whom is well-known, the other two not so much. The setting will be the most challenging aspect, and I've got lots of work to do in order to understand the time and place well enough to present it accurately on screen. At this point in the process, I'm spending most of my workday curating my own research materials and figuring out what all I need to know to tell the story properly.

With the Immortalist video, I tried to exercise a bit of story compression (there was a LOT of material that I could've included but chose not to) and despite it having the longest runtime in my entire catalogue, I feel like the video had one of the quickest paces, had a good sense of forward momentum, and didn't have (m)any lulls. I'm going to try to do this again in this next video--keep it focused, exciting, and forward-moving.

That's all for now. I'll be writing another update in the coming weeks once I've delved a bit deeper into the story. Thank you all for your continuing support and encouragement. I couldn't do this without you! :)

Talk soon,
AG

New Video!!

Hey everyone!

I know it's been a long wait but the new video is here! This one covers a group of loosely connected individuals who call themselves the Immortalists, and their attempts over the decades to live forever. 

I've spent longer on this video than any other, and I don't intend to make the 4.5 month turnaround the new normal, but I'm very proud of this one. It's also my longest video to date! Big shoutout to Ryan Probert for the amazing soundtrack. 

I'm still working on the thumbnail (the one you see here is a temporary placeholder), as well as closed captions, so it'll be about a day or two before it goes out to the public. But I'm excited for you all to see it here first!

I'll be posting here within the next couple weeks to outline some upcoming projects. I'm excited to talk about what's on the horizon. 

Thank you all for everything, and we'll talk soon. 

-AG