February Update (Further Thunderbolts Progress)

 Hey Gang!

 Not a huge update this month- honestly, every day has once again been spent on creating The first Thunderbolts video, and largely on creating the voice acted sequences. 

 Last month we were at 25 complete scenes, and that number has since grown to 42. It may seem a smaller jump, but it’s actually been a heavier workload in the best way. Having completed 25 of the less complex scenes, I had more confidence doing the heavy lifting in some of the longer, more difficult sequences, and figuring out how to resolve a huge number of technical problems we’ll get into later in some behind the scenes discussions. We also have at least 3 other scenes about ready to come out of the oven, and the rest all in the edit bay, so it’s not going to take too much longer to complete the full set now. One artist has also completed their sequence, and another is assisting with the very last shot, and their stuff is shaping up really really nicely.

 That takes us to around 75 percent done in terms of those individual scenes, essentially 50 percent of the overall video. My hope is to have them all done by at least the middle of next month, and even if I don’t I’ll just crack on with the full edit and do what I can, given I have tweaks to make to certain bits and pieces as I go anyway. The video itself, with all these sequences over the finish line, shouldn’t take too long to make beyond that- for context, the Fantastic Four video, all non-video essay sequences included, took a solid 2 or so months to physically create after everything else was assembled, so I feel we’re already ahead of the game. Still, this is going to look a little different overall, so there’s a few logistics I’m just going to have to figure out when they hit me on the timeline. 

 I’ve learnt a lot during this process, and there’s a lot I can already see how to improve- I’ve been working to finish all these sequences in Premiere, but I’m thinking for the next one I might switch over to After Effects and start teaching myself how to get even more creative with it. If you’re worried that the episodes will look visually inconsistent should I make such changes, don’t be- the plan from the start was always to change and evolve the look as the series went on, with a lot of deliberately planned sequences that would get more intense as each video funded the one that would follow. There’ll be a baseline set by that first video I can always fall back on, so I shouldn’t be in danger of not being able to do more- and I think the first video should absolutely look a little rudimentary to stay in keeping with the time period, to a certain extent. 

 I also hope that will generate interest from people who’ll want to get involved- truth be told I think I’ll absolutely need help getting the next few episodes completed, purely from a time-saving angle. I know what I can do now, or what it can look like, but just me doing a scene a day alone is what’s really making it take so much longer. Having this as an example when it comes out I think will increase the odds of that happening beyond just getting more funding because, while people will and can always be paid to help, it’s a lot easier to get their enthusiasm and involvement when they can see the scope of the work and what it would take to create. 

 Either way, I’m taking this weekend off. Going to see some buds and kick back for a solid 4 days and then get right back to it. Thank you again for the ongoing support, and I’ll catch you all next time with another update!

 -B