joelhaver

Venting About Stuff

Hey Patrons!

In this month's Patreon ramble I talk about just about everything! A quick movie update, upcoming movie screenings and an award I won!

I also vent a lot! I apologize for venting so much!

As mentioned in the video, a movie theater in Prince Edward Island, Canada is doing a weekend series of my movies in August! Get tickets here:

https://tivolicinema.com/production/anyone-else-but-me/ https://tivolicinema.com/production/the-diarrhea-brothers-save-the-day/ https://tivolicinema.com/production/hello-my-beautiful-creatures/

Thanks so much for the support, I can't wait to get the ball rolling on this movie, it's going to be very special.

Love, Joel Haver

My new album OUT NOW!

Hey guys!

If you've been following the Patreon this year, you've heard me talk about my mysterious next album every month. Well, I'm happy to report it's here!

"Beating Off in the The Notebook House" is OUT NOW on all music platforms!

This is a collection of songs I've written over the last few years. It's very personal and a cleanse for my soul and I hope you enjoy. I plan to do some music videos for some songs, sadly I didn't manage to get one done in time for the release.

Production/Mixing/Guitar/Bass - MyKey

Mastering - Trent Zulkiewicz

Album Cover - Brooks Kossover

Songwriting/Piano/Synth - Me

The album also has a song with my dear friend Droodle that is one of my favorite songs I've made.

This is the biggest project I've put out all year, a lot of time went into this. Thanks for your patience and support.

Love, Joel

Announcing My Next Big Project

Hello Patrons,

HUGE UPDATE TODAY!

I hope this excites you as much as it does me, I'm going to make something very special and it'll take a lot of time. I'll keep you posted as the project progresses.

I'll be restructuring the Patreon page and tiers once I announce this project publicly.

Thanks so much for the support.

Love, Joel Haver

Candid Talk About Something Big

Hello Patrons,

Today is an important ramble. I've been navigating something very big and conflicting.

Moments after recording this ramble I felt much more clarity about the direction I will go, I considered rerecording but here are my unfiltered conflicted thoughts.

"Big things coming." - Joel Haver

Love, Joel

The Call - New Feature Film

HELLO!

This past week I shot a new movie during The Oscars, this one is a sequel to last year's "The Text"!

This movie was made possible by the remaining funds that I raised last year, knowing I had some leftover money allowed me to splurge on this project despite knowing it wouldn't make any back. As a thank you, I included the Executive Producers from the end of the year as producers on this film! Consider it a 13th movie!

Thanks for all the support, hope you're having a lovely March!

Love, Joel Haver

What I am doing. What am I doing?

Hey Patrons!

Here's an update on what I am doing!

A "too long didn't watch" version:

I'm making some new sketches on my YouTube channel Joel+ (they're also on TikTok) - https://www.youtube.com/@UCxzKCme4Hgq1IzH7NNXWssA

I'm deep into working on my next album! It's coming together and should be out by the end of March, alongside some music videos.

I am shooting a movie during The Oscars again this year! Expect to see that in March!

Otherwise! Things are unclear and that's okay!

Thanks so much for all the love and support. I wish you guys well!

Love, Joel Haver

What I am doing/working on!

Hey Patrons!

Here's my January Update!!!

Thanks to everyone who stuck around as I transition into a new creative chapter. I have some exciting things in the works this year, in due time I'll reveal them all.

Thank you all for the support. I hope you're having a great start to your year.

Love, Joel

What's Next! Please watch!

I DIID IT!!!!!

I always knew I would, thank you all for believing in me as well!

This video is super important because it lays out what you will be supporting if you continue choosing to support in 2025. In short, I have no idea!

For the first time in 5-6 years I will not be beholden to any schedule, no weekly anything, no monthly anything. First, I need a short break in January, I am pooped. Then I just want to make whatever comes to mind. Whether that be my next album, some shorts, another movie or something else entirely. If that sounds worth supporting please stick around, no pressure if you want to slip out the door.

Thanks again for joining me for the 12 features project, it was the most rewarding artistic undertaking of my life. I am so proud of all 12 movies individually and as a collective piece. Thank you for the support that made this all possible.

Many great things to come, Happy New Years.

Love, Joel Haver

Love, Celeste

Hey Patrons!

My latest movie is out now! It's called "Love, Celeste" and was shot in Dubai.

For years I've been part of an online community of filmmakers who make no budget movies and release them for free. Two members of that community are Dan Lotz and Zaid Aftab, who both make wonderful films. It felt like a no brainer going into this year to make a movie with some of my friends from that community, and it was made all the more special visiting Zaid in Dubai to make it.

I've long had a deep love for Iranian film, some have probably noticed its clear influence on my work. Making my own film in the middle east was a dream, embracing the beautiful visuals and nature that I've loved in other films from the region, as well as a slower pace that is often present.

It's a very personal film, but inevitably funny as well. I have a hard time not injecting humor into my work, levity goes a long way to making the emotion land in my book. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks so much for the support.

Sincerely, Joel Haver

The Diarrhea Brothers Save The Day

Hey Patrons!

Realized I never made a Patreon post for "The Diarrhea Brothers Save The Day"!

For posterior's sake I will post this first, then tomorrow I'll share the new movie I just released.

"The Diarrhea Brothers" in all its stupidity means so much to me. It's about bringing the silly joy of my shorts to a longer, more in depth, more richly detailed package. I adore comedy movies that make no attempt to ground themselves in anything emotional, and after a year of emotional movies I needed a break to make a bunch of dumb jokes with my friends.

I actually hate gross out humor, so from the get go I knew I would avoid showing any diarrhea and allow it to just be conceptual diarrhea. It could really be anything in those barrels, it's just funnier that it's diarrhea.

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for making the Diarrhea Movie possible, amongst all the others. Hope you're having a lovely week.

Sincerely, Joel Haver

I'm Catching Up!!!!

Hey Patrons!

So excited to report that I almost have 10 of my 12 movies shot!!

Here's a big rambly update about that and other things.

Thanks as always for the support that funded this crazy project, look forward to more movies soon!

Sincerely, Joel Haver

Hiccups

Hey all!

Here it is! My latest movie "Hiccups"!

I shot this one over the course of 2-3 weeks in NYC, it was an unforgettable experience start to finish. Other than "Hello My Beautiful Creatures", this is my biggest movie this year, so much love went into this thing. I hope you enjoy it.

The next three months are going to be a bit of a mad dash! As long as I don't make anymore stop motion epics it should be doable!

Love you guys and thanks for the support that makes this project possible.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Love, Joel Haver

It Just Takes Time

Hey Patrons!

My latest movie is out! It's called It Just Takes Time and was made with some of my closest and best friends in the world.

Thanks so much for your patience as these movies get made, hoping to power through and get the other two I currently have shot out in September!

I'll be doing a video on my Joel Talks About Movies channel today talking about the process. Budget Breakdowns are on pause until I talk to an accountant, I want to make sure the way I'm phrasing certain expenses won't potentially complicate taxes at the end of the year.

Thank you for the support that made this movie and all the others possible.

Love, Joel Haver

Movie Update Time!

Hello Patrons!

July was very fruitful, much editing lays ahead! Thank you for your patience!

Thanks for making this project possible, the releases have been unpredictable but that just means I'm making the movies I want to and they'll be better for it!

Love, Joel

July Update and F*** the Haters!!

Hey Patrons!

Hope you're having a lovely start to July!

In this ramble I bitch and moan! Hope that's okay!

Can't wait for you all to see what I'm working on next.

Doomed Productions new trailer - https://youtu.be/NpBy7H1_Ods?si=s-dI2fRsOk61mXzH

Zaid Aftab's new movie - https://youtu.be/UZBRBSf9daE?si=we5qM3e7CWq7oqiQ

Thanks so much for the support, have a lovely day!

Love, Joel

Hello My Beautiful Creatures

Hello Patrons,

The fourth movie of the year is finally out! Thank you so much for your patience on this one.

To say Eric and I got carried away would be an understatement. Making this movie was as exhausting as it was rewarding. In the last two and a half months I put in roughly 800 hours of work into this.

MyKey did a gorgeous musical score start to finish, it's available for a listen on Spotify (I recommend listening after the movie) - https://open.spotify.com/album/216nRirVRjN1Ivi3puV0ia?si=czdFQcbeQO6OraZ5p034hw

This project allowed me to spend extended time with two artists I greatly admired and deepen our friendships tenfold. For that alone I'm grateful. And I couldn't be more proud of what we pulled off.

Thank you so much for the support that makes projects like these possible. Hope you have a lovely week.

Love, Joel Haver

At a Wedding! Movie Incoming!! SOON!!!!!!

Hey Patrons!

The movie is so close, I am so excited to get it out there. It’s a doozy!

Thanks for your patience! Thanks for helping support these crazy projects.

Have a lovely weekend <3

Love, Joel

I'M GONNA BE LATE!!!!!!

Hey guys!

I've been working nonstop all April to make an absolutely insane movie, it needs some time in the cooker! It'll be out in May and I will catch up!

Thanks for the support and thanks for the patience.

Love, Joel Haver

Decompressing and Playing A New Song

Hey Patrons,

Happy March! Thank you for all watching The Text!

Here's this month's ramble, feeling a bit sleepy these days. April is going to be nuts in an amazing way! Hope you're looking forward to it.

Thank you all for the support and encouragement!

Love, Joel Haver

The Hero's Journey - Commentary by Joel and Trent

Hey Patrons,

Here's the commentary track for "The Hero's Journey aka My Life aka The Caleb Johnston (I'm Caleb)"!

Apologies for the echo-y audio, I didn't have my voice recording microphone on me so Trent and I raw dogged it on lavaliers. Hope it ain't too distracting! It sounds good over headphones and over phone speakers, but listening now on my laptop it's a bit much, I'll make sure to isolate each microphone better for the next commentaries.

I plan to do commentary for each movie this year, exclusively on Patreon!

Thanks so much for helping to make this project possible. I hope you have a lovely week!

Love, Joel Haver

The Text

Hey Patrons,

The third movie of the year is officially out!

I posted two videos on Joel Talks About Movies breaking it down!

https://youtu.be/WfKN_9DygbQ?si=KY98TEnozo3A6-4t

https://youtu.be/77fLgLyWsUw?si=2pOktIJxV-q7fIvO

I wanted to use my movie shot during The Oscars as my movie for March and did lots to make it still feel special.

Thanks to everyone who has checked it out, it's really lovely to see so many reactions to it.

I have something really special planned for April that I can't wait to bring to life. Thanks for the support, this year is just getting started!

Love, Joel Haver

Anyone Else But Me

Hey Patrons,

The second movie of the year is officially out!

I started shooting this on February 1st and got the final edit done yesterday.  I accidentally made an absolutely massive movie in the shortest month of the year. I am immensely proud of what my friends and I pulled off with this one and I hope you enjoy it.

I'll be doing a video on Joel Talks About Movies about this movie soon, as well as a budget breakdown soon after that.

Expect Patreon exclusive commentary tracks for this movie and The Hero's Journey hopefully sometime this month, thanks for your patience on those.

Thank you so much for the support that has made this massive passion project possible. I'm excited for what lays ahead.

Love, Joel Haver

Second Movie Coming SOON!

Hey all!

The next movie in the 12 features in 12 months project is coming along wonderfully and I'm super excited for you all to see it. Just a few more days!

Hope you're having a lovely month, thanks so much for the support that has made this project possibe.

Love, Joel Haver

The Hero's Journey aka My Life aka The Caleb Johnston Story (I'm Caleb)

Hello Patrons!

I am beyond excited to drop the first movie from the "12 Features in 12 Months" project!

I've been chipping away at this movie everyday since New Years and I am so proud of how it turned out. I always wanted to give Caleb Johnston a feature length framework and this felt like the perfect first project for the year.

I am also happy I managed to get it out with a few days to spare. I've already been planting seeds for the second movie which is a whole different beast. Excited to dive headfirst into that project!

Thank you so much for your generosity that has a lit a flame under this crazy year.

Look forward to videos on my movie channel talking about the process of making this, as well as a commentary track coming to Patreon soon!

Love, Joel Haver

Thank you so much.

Hey Patrons,

I hope you're having a lovely January.

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported on here for the 12 features in 12 months project.

CHALLENGE MODE: Try not to look at my headphone induced cowlick in this video.

Thank you so much for the support. I hope you look forward to the first movie, which is fully shot and currently in editing.

I wish you the best. Much love to all <3

Sincerely, Joel Haver

And Here We Go...

Patreon Ramble #44 - And Here We Go...

Hey Patrons,

Hope you're having a lovely holiday season. Next year is going to be proper busy! Here's one last ramble and one last deep breath. And here we go!

Happy New Year, thank you all for the support.

Love, Joel Haver

Patreon Ramble #43 - Working Through Concerns I Have About My Big Project in 2024

Hey Patrons!

Here's a follow up video about my big project next year!
It's certainly a big undertaking and I wanted to take a moment to be transparent about concerns I have about the project.

Don't worry! I'm doing it rain or shine! And I'm dedicated to making it a shiny time.

Thanks for all the support.

Love, Joel Haver

HUGE PATREON UPDATE PLEASE WATCH PLEASE

Hey Patrons!

I've been wrestling with this idea for awhile now and it's official, I'm going to do it.

I wanted to announce it first here because it's going to change what you're supporting, I'm very excited and nervous, it'll be a lot of work.

Hope it sounds exciting to you! Hope you're having a lovely week. Thanks for the support.

Love, Joel Haver

Patreon Ramble #41 - Europe Update 3: I'm Back!

Hey Patrons,

Apologies for the delayed ramble, I hope you enjoy!

I am officially back from Europe! Hoping to decompress after completing a massive animation.

At one point in the ramble I say Alex and I "wrote" my latest animation's story, this is just a manner of speaking, it was still entirely improvised as always.

Thanks for the support, hope you're having a lovely week.

Love, Joel

Joel's Music Reccomendations

Hey Patrons,

Music has always been a huge part of my life. Whether it be jamming to The Reason by Hoobastank on my iPod nano on the bus in 7th grade or the countless times listening to my musically talented friends perform throughout high school (at battle of the bands and basement shows and around campfires). Lord knows I wasn't ashamed to wear my classic rock graphic tees way too often. I even had a badass Metallica one despite only knowing Enter Sandman. Music, one way or another, was always happening around me, adding a score and energy to my life that colored everything.

While listening to music has always been present, I was seldom in a position to participate, never putting in the proper time to learn any instruments. When The Reason played in my 13 year old ears I would picture myself on a stage, performing in front of a crowd, everyone utterly captivated by my beautiful singing. At the time I couldn't sing, or at least believed I needed to be technically proficient to sing, so I kept that fantasy to myself.

Since then that fantasy has always been carried with me. Over the years I've allowed myself occasional moments of musicianship to indulge in a taste. Whether it be making goofy rap songs with friends, or writing lyrics to more personal songs that friends would help bring to life, embracing music has always felt like exploring a side of myself that doesn't get tickled as readily by film. Sadly, I was not self sufficient. Having to lean on my friends for help felt like a big obstacle I needed to get over so I could practice music more readily and freely. 

I bought a piano last year and have finally decided to make my Hoobastank dreams come true. I've been practicing everyday and at the start of the year I set out to write a song every single week, a goal that my two month European sojourn has put on hold. I miss my piano dearly. Playing it and writing songs has been some of the most creatively free and invigorated I've been in a long, long time. Being so closely tied to film and filmmaking has made all of my creative output be based around creating finished products my whole life. There's a beautiful quality to music where, sometimes, it just disappears into the air. It's transient in a way that it's much harder for film to be. Sure you can record a bunch of footage and delete it I suppose, but that feels to heady and goofy to me. Music is now my friend for stuff meant to disappear. I look forward to getting back to my piano, and either writing songs that will be released, or jamming alone in my room for no reason other than just cause.

This is all to say, music rocks. One of my favorite connections to have with friends is sharing music back and forth. I love to receive a song from a friend and, if I can't listen immediately, it gives me something to look forward to. When a friend and I have both been heartbroken, it's nice to share sad songs we both relate to. For that reason, I wanted to share some songs I love with you guys today.

Music By My Friends

My favorite music in the world to listen to is music made by my friends. My Spotify Year Wrapped is always just hundreds of replays of my friends' latest singles/eps and I wouldn't have it any other way. I could just point you to any of my friends and say dive in, but I fear that would be too unspecific. So rather, here's one great song from each of my musician pals.

Aida O'Brien - I Know You Know 

My childhood best friend Aida is the most musically talented person I know. The way she can pick up any instrument and improvise is truly incredible. She's a guitar virtuoso and it is her who colors most of the musical memories from my childhood and high school years. She released her debut EP Girl in the Blue Dress in 2020 (and I drew the album cover!) and I've listened to those five songs many, many times. I Know You Know is a truly gorgeous, tongue-in-cheek song about her coming out as trans to her parents.

Droodle - The Well

My friend Dru made what is likely my favorite album of 2022. It's called goblins are real and I've recommended it before. I knew Dru for years from his hilarious comedy videos and I had no idea he made music and it blew me away. Shortly after releasing that album, Dru released The Well. A single that might just be the most emo, dark thing I heard all last year. Crank it up and feel dour.

Kevin Sloan & grapefuit city - Turn Back Around 

If you've watched my stuff at all you've seen the name Kevin Sloan. Kevin has helped make beautiful songs time and time again for my videos, I've used his personal songs, and most recently he helped me record and mix my album. He made an album last year with his fiancé called Roadkill. The song Turn Back Around is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. A longing, hopeful cry out to come back.  

eee gee - promise to pick up the phone 

My friend Emma just released her latest album She-Rex and it's all so beautiful. The track I have on loop right now is promise to pick up the phone. It's about long distance love and work/success getting in the way and worrying and it's wonderful.

Field Medic - empty arms 

Field Medic is interesting because I knew him as a musician for years before he was my friend. I met him at his concert in November 2022 and since then we've grown to be great friends. His entire discography is lovely. His latest album Light is Gone 2 takes on an electronic edge without losing the indie folk stylings I've come to love from him. The closing song empty arms is devastating. 

Music By People I Don't Know

I also listen to music by people I don't know! I usually find these songs through recommendations by friends, or Spotify playlists/shuffling. I tend to gravitate towards sad songs. Sometimes people seem put off that all I listen to is sad songs, but I find the beauty and relatability they provide to me to be incredibly healing. I don't have anything to say about the following songs other than they've helped me through hard times in one way or another. Enjoy.

Jacklen Ro - Time Bomb  

Bobby Charles - I Must Be in a Good Place Now  

Joanna Sternberg - I've Got Me  

Black Country, New Road - The Place Where He Inserted The Blade 

Brian Wilson - The Last Song 

As always, thanks for the support. I wish I had a more unique way to say that each time, but just know I am truly grateful.

I hope you've enjoyed this bonus post. Have a lovely rest of your weekend.

Love, Joel Haver