November/December Update (Disney vid details and future plans)

Hey everyone!

Another late update, but I’m treating this as the last major one for the year. There may be a short update before it’s over, but I have a better idea of what I can do before I break for the Holidays and what I can deliver in January, so figured I might as well summarise what’s happening now rather than later, as well as give some thoughts on the latest video. Let’s get to it!

Chapek’s Disney

The Disney video ended up bigger than planned. You guys probably remember me going from ‘oh I don’t know if I’ll have anything to say’ to ‘wait I have A LOT to say’ and I got really into the project despite not going in with any concrete plans to make a video. I knew starting the trip I wanted to document it as I went, getting the camera out just in case assuming that, if nothing else, it’d make for a nice set of memories, and it ended up being a great experiment where the subject kind of formed itself out of the experience.

Given how much I’d spoken about theme parks, specifically Disney, it seemed like a no brainer that a video like this would happen eventually, and it became a chance to put a lot of my opinions on the company and the parks in there as it shaped outwards. It was a nice opportunity to challenge myself with a new way of putting a video together based as much on whatever footage I could provide as my usual collection of clips from across various sources, and I got very invested in seeing the project through- though that also meant I got very precious about what was suddenly no longer just a funny travelogue, and I began treating it like a proper B-Mask video.

I was suddenly nervous about what I was saying near the end of the process because it felt kind of hollow. I’d poured all this energy into a video about Disney parks and criticising the current (and a little bit of the past) regime, lead by the CEO Bob Chapek, and had ended it on this optimistic note that things could easily change and get better. But what if they didn’t? I felt like maybe I needed to reword the script and I did a couple times, trying to feel better about it, but the truth is that it felt weird to even have a video exist like that while Chapek was still in power and while Disney wasn’t showing any signs of acknowledging these worrying mis-steps.

And then he was fired, five minutes before I was about to hit export.

I was just about to send myself some last minute footage through the phone that I’d missed, when I noticed a text from my sister telling me to check the news. I didn’t believe the article she sent at first thinking it was a prank but sure enough, Chapek was out, and Iger was back. It was one of those bizarre coincidences that made the video a whole lot more relevant than it had been before- and honestly, while it threw off my schedule, I’m glad I waited. Not only was the point I was making suddenly validated, the video felt like a time capsule of the period rather than a throwaway update vlog, and made it a lot easier to feel better about making it public.

It’d be nice to do something along these lines again sometime. Learned a lot from the process and got to tick another subject off the list, which is great, but I have nothing concrete to go on yet. I actually wanted to do something like this with the show I was in not that long ago, but didn’t think to make that a video either until it was way overdue. We’ll just have to see what opportunities cross my path next.

But before that, we should look at what’s already in the pipeline.

Future plans

The Jak video, which I’ve been working on for ages now, is fine, but it’s not going to be out until January.

As you can gather from other updates, even though this one has been recorded and ready to edit for a while, I keep chasing the time to actually make it against these other projects, which has kind of been the case with this entire year. I got off to a bad start when the Psychonauts 2 video took months to finalise, lost time when I had to head back to London for the play, headed to California for the trip, and of course when some of the footage for the Jak video got corrupted and I had to go and get that back again. It would be entirely possible to finish that video this month, except for the fact that I’m breaking for Christmas on the 15th, and won’t be close to the edit bay until the 7th. And you know, a Jak Christmas video, doesn’t feel right somehow.

All that said, I’m happier than I was with how last year went. It’s been a while getting back on my feet after the surgery but I fought to get videos done against those delays and ended up producing an okay amount of content within the year. I’m annoyed it wasn’t more because there was SO much more I’m still working through, and I am thinking about how to improve on that, but I’m happy with the stuff I’ve produced and would like to think it’s all evergreen enough to stand on its own.

But the work continues. In my mind I’m still on that core roadmap I laid out in the update video earlier this year, and despite the delays and videos released around it, I’ve been sticking to that. In the end I did go back and make changes to the Jak script seeing as I had the time and noticed they didn’t sound right in the edit, and it’s been for the better, I think I have a much more solid video now. (The original audio never goes to waste in cases like this, I used it to block out the basic timeline and select some key clips, so it was still helpful in the end.) The video after that centred on a sitcom is also shaping up well and is on track to release not long after, and the final video on that roadmap is also in a good enough place that I’m not too worried about its chances either.

The Marvel project, like everything else, is still happening. There’s been some nice breakthroughs in the last couple months involving some of my collaborators, but we essentially sat down and talked about the realities of how ambitious this has gotten, how much they can help and that I can actually do alone, if at all. I know to you guys it probably feels fairly tedious to hear these promises and not see anything over the last couple years, but I know I can’t spoil the surprises in store or promise it’s ready for any date until I’m 100 percent sure of my scripts and production schedule. I do think you’ll be hearing something about it reasonably soon, because as I may have mentioned before, my hand has been somewhat forced by outside factors. It’ll make sense once I finally pull the curtain back, I promise. I just know I only get one shot, and I want to get it right.

However, you’ll have noticed that I’ve tried to put more videos out that don’t fit the roadmap, and it’s got me thinking about how I’m going to approach this next year. I’ve been sticking to my plans, but also haven’t avoided the ideas and opportunities that have come to me, allowing me to make videos I never thought I’d put out at that time which is great, the Medievil video was on the backburner for years and ended up being received really well. There is a part of me that wants to be able to put out those smaller, faster videos, or to at least get faster at writing them, or find a good subject to talk about long term against my bigger projects. However I also don’t want to take too much time away from those bigger projects. This is all getting looked at when I go on break- I think I have a better grasp of how I need to change the way I work without sacrificing quality. A lot of it, I’ve realised, is to do with self confidence. I may explain further one day.

So, just to reiterate, the roadmap is still-

- The Jak Video

- A video about a beloved Sitcom character

- A video about a famous Tv Show

But in terms of videos I know I need to cover as soon as I get a chance, I’m looking at-

- A review of Return to Monkey Island

- A video covering Better Call Saul’s final season

There are drafts shaped out for both of those and I think they need to be scheduled between the other three as soon as possible. I’ve kind of realised the projects are piling up and that it’s probably time to make next year where I release them like dominoes, start getting them out there. If I can have a year as almost consistent as 2020, then that would be an excellent target to hit. With these out of the way, I’ll be putting time into the Marvel project as promised, as I am very, very keen to have it out before 2023 is through. I think we’ve waited long enough.

Oh, and there is something I wanted to try and get out for Christmas. I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I can manage it now, everything’s getting a bit tight, but I won’t leave it entirely off the table. If not this year, then at least I’ll have something saved up for the next.

So many words, I know, but I’ve had a lot on my mind going through this year and want to be as transparent about what’s happening as possible. Your support over the last year and especially during the patreon drive has been immense, and incredibly appreciated, so a major thank you for investing. I’m still hoping to pay that forward in the projects to come, which I’m still very excited about and want to get out there. 2022 has slowly brought me back to where I was, and if I can get myself together, then I think 2023 will be very special.

So, if I don’t see you all before this year’s out, have a Happy Holiday, and maybe check out that All Dogs Christmas Carol. Like the vid promised, it’s worth it - and not a big lipped Alligator in sight. Damn.

-B