Progress Update: Betwixt videos

Good (2 hours after) Monday, foundry Maintenance Crew!

I hope you're all off to the right start this week. I myself... well, I'd say I'm getting there. The "there" in question being... the right start. Which implies I haven't started yet. Which is a convenient way of saying that I'm not quite where I'd like to be so far this week, but when are you ever, really?

There's much to be done, but as always, the gap between ignition and completion draws ever thinner. 

Let's talk about it in little more particular terms, shall we?

Where are we now?

It's been a bit of a grind, but I can legitimately say that after the setbacks of illness and schedule-changes and all manner of what-have-you, the Pratchett series is well under way. We have nearly two complete scripts, which means that later this week I'll be sending all the materials over to Felipe, who will then begin work on the visual assets for nearly the entire series.

This is a bit of a change from the old method of doing things, and it's significant because it allows me some foresight with my research. I'm able to tie things together betwixt videos a little more simply, and overall see to it that the series moves as fluidly as possible.

I'm excited to see how this all pans out...

What's next?

SCP research! 

I've put this together in the pipeline, but I'm not sure any of you are aware yet. I do my research for the next series contemporaneously with the production of the current series. That gives me just enough time to get all my facts straight before it comes time to begin production.

For the immediate future, that means I'll be scraping together a list of research materials for my research process leading into the forthcoming SCP series. 

That also means you're going to have new homework for the coming weeks, because the Forge sessions are going to be all about the SCP foundation and what we can learn together about it.

Anything else?

It was an inevitable thing, but a lot of patrons who joined while the bookmarks were available are also saying goodbye and leaving on their best wishes. It's a sad thing to see them go, but glorious that they came in the first place. We're sure to see them around the wider community, and we'll be glad when we do!

For the immediate future, it's hard to know exactly where the monthly balance will plateau when the dust settles, but it does influence my thinking about the recent poll regarding the channel's remonetization. If we happen to fall back below the $2,500/mo threshold, it may be something of a necessity just to keep Felipe paid for his art.

However, for the time being, we're doing perfectly well though!  

Another aside: DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE NEW CHANGES TO PATREON.

There's bound to be a lot of fear-mongering as there always is when large websites change practice/policy, but the TF Patreon will not be affected. Here's what you need to know:

• As a company, Patreon hasn't really been that profitable—they've been incredibly generous toward creators, and it's made the company somewhat unsustainable.
• To remedy their financial situation, Patreon is introducing plans for new creators. 
• There are three plans, which you can see here. 
• The take-away from this is that new creators who opt into the "pro" plan will have the exact same service we have now, but at a 3% higher take on Patreon's part, which is totally reasonable and still incredibly generous.
• Anyone who has an existing Patreon page will essentially be able to continue operating exactly the way they always have.

—

And that's it for this weeks Progress Update!

I'll see you all later in the week for a Patreoncast. Until then, be well, make me proud with your art. In other words, keep making stuff up.

—Benji