The Stupendium End of 2019 Patreon Post!

Hello Stupid People!

I'm on a train right now, heading home for the holidays and I realised that instead of my usual train time-occupier of playing LA Noire on the Switch, now would be a great time to write to all of you, about the year that has passed and the year ahead!

I've never tried to write anything in this self-reflective vein before so do bear with me if it ends up being a bit rambley. Or alternatively, don't! You folks are paying for the privilege of reading this after all and with that privilege comes the right to not read it and do something far more constructive with your time. I can't say I'd blame you given how rambley the part about appologising for being rambley has become. I should probably move on now.

2019 has been an incredible year. I know I said that at the end of 2018 and probably at the end of 2017 too, but year on year the growth of The Stupendium has blown me away and it is all thanks to folks out there like you. (I mean, not JUST like you, you guys are extra special.)

We started the year hot off the back of 100,000 subscribers, Silver Victory Rectangle in hand and here we are closing the year off with more than triple that number. As I type this the number sits at 327,336... 337... 338... And it just keeps on goin- Oh, 337 again.

If things keep growing in this exponential fashion and we are INCREDIBLY optimistic, we could be looking at that Golden Jumbo Victory Rectangle by this time next year! If we hold ourselves to a more sensible standard of optimism it may be somewhat further off, but to be in a position where hitting 1,000,000 subscribers is even a possibility is something that would blow 15 year old Stupendium's tiny, tiny mind, making weird videos with his friends and discovering that you could put them on the internet and not just onto DVDs to share with your immediate friends.

2019 has been a year of huge change for me. Right back in January, thanks you you guys (you're going to see 'thanks to you' a lot in this post, you'd better get used to it.) I was able to take my full time position in a job I HATED down to just a part time contract so I could give more of my time to making content. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the people where I used to work. Whilst I hated the work (making corporate video content) I love the people there and they were so incredibly supportive of my new career, letting me take the job part time which is not something they would usually do and providing me with not just financial security in a scary time transitioning to being self employed in a turbulent industry, but with advice and support.

By June I was in a position to be able to leave the job entirely and make content creation my full time vocation. After years working under strict corporate guidelines making soulless business presentations and by the numbers health and safety presentations to be able to say that I'm able to devote myself to making fun and creative content is something truly life changing and I can't thank you enough.

BOOM. Time jump. Guess what? I write slowly. Too slow for train journeys apparently! It's Christmas Eve now. I've just baked a cake with Mum, braved the mania of the supermarket for nibbles and watched some AWFUL TV.

This year I've been able to take my content to a whole new level, with your Patreon funding I've been able to hire producers to mix and master my music, not only drastically improving the quality of the music but taking a part of the workload off of my hands, freeing me up to devote more time to video production. Your funding has also allowed me to really go hard on things like costume and props, with custom made costumes and props for various videos. From the Satisfactory executive's custom tailored space-construction inspired suit, to the recreations of various in game costumes from the Outer Worlds, this year has seen a massive upturn in production value (and a massive strain on my props and costume storage!). As someone from an arts and film making background things like costume, sets and props are really important to me. I've built my style of content heavily around trying to really inhabit the worlds of the games I create and having your backing gives me total creative freedom to do it. Being able to go into any project knowing that I am safe to invest in it without putting myself at financial risk allows me to have total freedom to make the content I want to make without having to worry about whether I'll need to cover the costs later on.

Not only have I been able to focus more on production design this year, but thanks to your backing I've been able to begin using proper film-making facilities and equipment. I now have a full suite of professional software and plugins at my disposal to help me create more technically complex videos even more efficiently.

You many have also noticed that I'm no longer shooting videos in my living room! This year I moved from a tiny pop up green screen and a variety of lamps to being able to work in a full studio with a proper lighting setup. I've begun exploring new tools and ideas that wouldn't have been possible before, things like full 3D scene tracking and using a crane for moving camera angles. Currently I live quite far from these facilities I've been using, but in the new year the plan is to relocate to have more regular access to them and I am very excited at all the new possibilities this will bring!

Outside of videos I had the honour of being invited to attend NPC this year. Nerdcore Party Con was an amazing, unforgettable experience. Travelling all the way to Tennesee to get the chance to spend a weekend not just with a whole host of incredible artists I have admired for many years, but with so many folks who travelled to see us was incredible. I used to perform live quite often many years ago, in theatre productions, as a vocalist for a swing orchestra, all sorts of bits and pieces. But none of that comapred to walking on stage to perform as myself, to perform my own work to a crowd of people who were there to see me. I've got to be honest, I welled up a little inside when people started singing along. It's a surreal experience being on the other side of the planet and having folks show up wearing your own face on a tee shirt.

NPC will be back next year, bigger and better, and you can bet I'll be there. I can't wait for the chance to hopefully meet some more of you!

Also, stay tuned for alive album of the whole event coming very soon!

That about covers everything that has happened this year! It's been a wild ride! But what about next year? 2019 has been big but 2020 is going to be bigger!

As amazing as this year has been, I also have to admit that there are areas I have been struggling. Odd way to start the 'big plans for next year' section, but bear with me!

For one, working for myself is amazing, but it does present a challenge. Work environment. Currently, my office is my bedroom. Most days I wake up, walk the 4 paces to my desk, sit down and then a usually unhealthy number of hours later, walk the 4 paces back to bed. Often I don't really leave the house for days on end and it's really starting to wear me down. I'm going a tad stir crazy all bottled up inside my room with my space rapidly decreasing as it fills with props and costumes I no longer have space to store.

That's why I'm incredibly excited to (tentatively) announce to you folks that thanks to the backing you are sending me here on Patreon this scenario will soon be coming to an end.

Whilst there are still many i's left to cross and t's left to dot, I'm in the process of arranging an office space in the new year. It will take several more months to get everything organised and set up (the office is actually in a different city, one I plan to move to in the new year) but by early mid-next year The Stupendium should be operating out of it's own office space in the same building as the studio facilities I've been fortunate enough to be using already. This will dramatically improve my work life balance, give me space to properly store my props and costume, make things like streaming much easier (and easier to schedule!) and all around help me progress and expand the channel!

The office space is part of a collaborative project between a myself and a small group of other creators and there are lots of details to be confirmed and lots of secrets to be revealed as the project comes to fruition. I'll be sure to keep you folks updated as we go! 

The other issue I have been battling this year is simply that of workload! I've been incredibly lucky to have made a YouTube channel that should NOT work. On paper releasing one big video once a month is algorithmic suicide but somehow we've made a success of it. That being said, the big, intensive style of video I make takes a LOT of work and I am always jumping from one crunch period into the next to try and get the next project out. It makes things very difficult when it comes to scheduling and making time for other things like streams, behind the scenes content, vlogs, etc as well as the less exciting business side of things (which now the channel has grown so much, there is a hefty portion of...)

So my goal for next year is to take on a member of staff to assist me full time with creating content and running the channel. They'll help to film and edit videos, especially extra content like vlogs and behind the scenes and working on simpler music videos for the channel so I can get more songs published with simpler videos leaving me free to focus on the big complicated projects.

Taking on a staff member will be the biggest most expensive step I can take as a creator and it is only possible (all together now!) THANKS TO YOU. This is a step I'll be taking later in the year once I've moved and settled into the new office space, but it's a hugely exciting prospect!

These things may be some months away but the wheels are certainly turning and you folks will be the first to know when there's more to share!

And that about sums up the year passed and the year yet to come! I told you I might get carried away, I only planned for a few paragraphs! I've got a whole bunch of exciting projects and collaborations in the works for next year and I can't wait to get started on them and share them with you. 

There's only so many times and ways I can say thank you before I worry I am repeating myself, but seriously, with all sincerity and all my heart, thank you. 2019 has been an amazing year and it means so much that so many of you out there want to support me that extra mile here on Patreon. So much of what we've achieved has only been possible thanks to your backing and there's so much great stuff on the horizon.

Now, I've waffled enough! I'm off to do... Christmassy stuff. I hope you all have a fantastic festive season! I'm gonna be taking some time off until new years but I'll be back bright eyed and bushy sideburned in January! (Unless I do a stream some time before new years... because that is also a possibility! Streams are the fun kind of 'work' I can get away with doing on holiday.)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

See you next year!

~Stupes