{New Management} wip 05

Well, considering I told you all I'd release a new video before 2/10, I guess this is the last WIP for {New Management}, at least I hope so. Let's take a quick look at a five-second sneak peek, and then I'll tell you what happens next. Actually, this 5-second sneak peek looks different from the preview image above because this video was recorded a few days ago. Considering Adobe was really pissing me off, I needed to get familiar with new video editing software, so I made a quick video. And I tweaked the visuals today, so these preview images actually look quite different from before. In fact, by the time I actually finish the video, the lighting effects might change again. Speaking of lighting effects, I've got some good news for you. In fact, the computer equipment I'm using now was bought in January 2022, and back then, I didn't know I'd end up making animations, so the specs aren't that great. This wasn't a huge issue with my early work because I wasn't creating overly complex animations, but as my projects got more intricate, my computer can barely handle the load. During playback, stuttering and freezing are pretty much guaranteed, and I have to keep pausing the recording to start over or cut out the frozen parts and re-record. This has become a huge burden on my work, and I'm not sure if it's a software issue or a hardware problem. So I had my friend, who has a 4070Ti graphics card, test whether there would be stuttering with the same Reshade settings and SD. The result was that the same scene ran smoothly on his end, so I'm pretty sure my hardware is definitely not up to par for what I need. I've been looking for an opportunity to upgrade my setup, and it wasn't until I heard about the release of the 5080 and 5090 that I decided to change my computer. I had considered not upgrading, but based on my friend's test, it's definitely a hardware issue, and this has been causing me major inconvenience, leaving me with no choice. So, I started thinking about how I could get my hands on a 5080 or 5090. Clearly, everyone on Earth wants these things because even if you don't need one, you can resell it for a hefty profit. This makes it a very tough task, and with how busy I've been making animations recently, I barely have time to plan on how to secure such a high-end product. Thus, all sorts of miracles started happening. The first thing is I'm not familiar with computer hardware, so I didn't know what I needed. I got my friend to research what I should buy, and he gave me a computer build list with all the price and performance-balanced components. The second challenge is that the 5080 and 5090 are so rare that everyone has to line up to buy them, and the stores are far from where I live. I couldn't spend hours waiting in line and then find a place to stay locally, plus there's the risk of coming away empty-handed after waiting for hours. Then, my retired aunt said she'd do it for me because the store is just an 8-minute walk from her place, and she's willing to wait for hours to buy something that might not even be available. Next, I ran into another big problem: this computer would cost at least $3200, not including the new monitor I'd need to buy, and I couldn't let someone stand in the cold for hours on my behalf without compensation; that would be wrong. So, I figured I'd need up to $6000 to make sure everything goes smoothly. However, I don't have that much cash because most of my subscription earnings are still in yen in my Japanese account (since the yen has depreciated, it wouldn't be wise to convert everything now, so my account is currently empty). But I waited a week, and the bank still hadn't transferred the money into my account, which meant my plan was going to fail because I didn't have $6000 readily available. So, I went to ask my parents. My father, of course, didn't have it since he's not one to save money, so I was essentially just asking my mother. I told her how important this was, that it concerned my ability to produce animations smoothly for the next six months. She then lent me $6000, and I promised to pay her back as soon as my yen was converted by the bank. However, all my savings combined were only about $6000, so this equipment purchase drained all my savings. Okay, so I now have my computer build list, someone willing to line up for me, and I've borrowed the money I needed. That night, I was anxiously waiting at home for the call because I knew everyone wanted this thing, but not everyone could get it. Then, past midnight, I got the call. She told me she'd managed to buy the 5080 graphics card and was currently picking out the other items on the list. She sounded exhausted, and I could tell that staying up late wasn't suitable for someone over 60. I wanted to say something to thank her and tell her how much this meant to me, but she just told me she was super busy and to save those words for another day. Okay, I totally get it. You know, the 5080 seems to be what everyone on Earth wants right now. After a series of miracles, I've successfully acquired it, and I'm sure it'll be a huge help for my work. This means I can create more complex scenes without worrying about whether my hardware can handle it. So, my good news is, I can add even more amazing effects to my future videos because I've got myself a new computer. Okay, that's the story of how I got a new computer, but actually, it hasn't been shipped to me yet. I hope they'll send it within a week so that my {New Management} can look even better. If not, at least it'll make my next video better. Let's talk about some other little things that have happened? Uh, you know I'm not exactly rich. In fact, I can tell you that my revenue six months ago (last August) was around 300,000 yen, and it's been decreasing every month since then, with last month down to 190,000 yen (thanks to those who are still paying despite no updates for half a year). I know you've all been thinking, "Wow, what's this?" about the new videos I've put out in the last few months. I've actually mentioned in my recent weekly reports what's been going on. Basically, it was a series of bad decisions or things I left unhandled that all exploded at once, making the last six months look like a disaster, and I almost decided to retire to go back to farming or something instead of making animations. But after deciding on the 2.0 update, it seems like a string of good luck has started. I feel that managing to get the 5080 as an ordinary person is a miracle in itself; I didn't spend big bucks to have someone buy it for me or write scripts to outbid others online. This has only deepened my resolve to dedicate my life to art. You know, I have some very scientific friends, and they've talked to me about this. I might have mentioned that my personal trainer told me to stop sitting in a chair all day and to get up, walk around, eat something, or at least get more sleep. I hadn't been to the gym for a while, and he messaged me to check if I was still alive. I told him I've been working on this video for 16 hours a day for nearly a month to get it close to completion. I said I thought this was hardcore and maybe I shouldn't be releasing a 2:30 minute video every month. He silently started calculating, then told me that if I'm working 16 hours a day and it took nearly a month, it translates to two months' worth of work for someone working 8 hours a day. Considering normal people have days off, this means I've squeezed 2 to 3 months of work into one month. He knows my salary is around 300,000 yen a month, and he told me that if my monthly salary is that, doing this isn't worth it at all; I'm exploiting myself. Then I told him last month was only 190,000 yen, but it's enough not to starve, at least I don't have to live in a cardboard box (I went to the market the other day to buy tomatoes and found out two tomatoes weighing 300g cost $3, I actually considered switching careers to grow tomatoes). Actually, I think my plan is pretty crazy, but I'm not very business-minded, so I'll just tell you what's on my mind. Actually, spending $6000 on new equipment was essentially all the savings I had. I was thinking, I'll keep making animations, so there isn't a better use for this money. I remember telling you about a dinner reunion with former colleagues where my old boss bragged about buying a $6000 stock that turned into $6600 over a few years, telling me it was a smart investment and I should look into passive income. Another guy said if I had some money, I should borrow more with it to buy real estate and rent it out, using the rent to pay off the mortgage. But honestly, I'm not that interested in those life plans. Seriously, what would you do if you retired at 30? Watch TV for 50 years at home? When I told my father I was spending $6000 on equipment, he was very anxious. He told me not to spend all my earnings, that I should keep using my old computer until it couldn't earn me another cent. You know, like all Asian dads, he thinks all products should last like a vacuum cleaner - if it still works, don't buy a new one. He questioned how long it would take me to recoup the cost if I spent $6000 on new equipment, and that was all my money. I've actually thought about this; objectively, even without upgrading my gear, people would still subscribe as long as I keep making videos because they don't know it could be better - just like with Apex Legends, where they don't change anything and people still play and pay because you don't know how much better it could get, so you don't expect it. It's a good business model; if you can make money with a $20 setup, you don't need to upgrade because people are already willing to pay. So why am I not worried about recouping the cost? It's not because I'm super confident that my income will skyrocket after this, or that everyone will love my work once I have the new equipment. Trust me, I know that won't happen. Years ago, I spent about $3000 on a drawing tablet, thinking that with high-end gear, I'd become some amazing artist and get tons of subscribers as an illustrator. Uh, nope, because I later found out that after being active for three months, I only had 100 followers on Pixiv - not subscribers, followers - and then I deleted that account. Now I just draw weird stuff occasionally, and I know that most people won't subscribe to artists who aren't consistent. For example, if a creator sometimes just vanishes - dead or whatever, no updates - I find it hard to resubscribe because I think there's a chance they'll disappear again, so I won't easily subscribe back. I think it might take a year for people to trust I can produce content again, like updating consecutively for 12 months or something; at least, that's how I feel about myself. So, I don't actually think I'll recoup my investment immediately after buying new equipment; that's impossible. I made this decision just because I really want to make animations. The guy who helped me with the computer parts list asked me if I'd sell the graphics card for $2000 if someone offered it, and I told him I wouldn't sell even if someone offered $6000, and I was serious about it. Then he told me he felt my determination. I don't need the whole world's money; I just want that graphics card to keep making animations smoothly for the foreseeable future. That's what I think. Ah, sometimes when I write the weekly report, I end up writing too much. Where were we? Oh, right. Basically, I've ordered a very powerful computer, and I'll try to use its capabilities for {New Management}. If it arrives too late, I'll make sure you'll see the performance in the next work. Up until now, I still think there's a good chance I can finish this animation by 2/10, but there might not be much room for error. After I finish this video, I plan to consider whether I need to adjust my schedule for February and March because, honestly, I've been burning the candle at both ends since January. So, I've left a bunch of things unhandled, and I'm not sure if this will become a concern in the future, but I've decided to think about that problem after the video release on 2/10. I can't think of anything else for now. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or find me on my Discord server; I'm happy to answer your questions. In any case, I'll make sure everyone can see the new video on time before 2/10, and I'm certain it'll be great. https://discord.gg/AVm3TGhdYC