#we are an indie team but like 4 people on our team have worked for triple A company/titles and im intimidated 😖

[hinus]

My dev team are planning on releasing a tech demo for our game in June (I think) so I've just been nose to the grindstone trying to pump out as many concepts as I can without destroying myself just cause I really want for us to see some sort of minor success and show what I can do. We're a small (technically indie?) team so it's do or die trying lol....

[drinkyourvillainjuice]

you should take your estrogen with your food (or the gender politics of the video game industry at large)

[id: four identical bottles of Estrogen Bio-Identical Cream, 200 mg infused with Ginseng, Green Team, Black Cohosh and Red Clover /end id]

Hello, this is the secretary with another essay.

Anyways, so this entire essay is written from the perspective of a passing trans woman. People within the 'real' world aren't aware I'm a trans woman in a material manner (doctor asks me when the last time I had my periods, etc) so I am not speaking from the lens of a visibly trans person within that aspect. Do gotta say I love my bricks and my clocky girls though. We need bricks to build homes and clocky girls to tell the time, yes ma'am.

When you work within the field video games either as trans or cis woman (or whichever you pass at), you are always seen as lesser than your cis male counterpart. It's a rather straight forward experience that your opinions will never be seen with as much value, or your skills will never be seen with the same strength. But where does that lay within the Interaction Fiction community, and especially the indie scene?

The xife and I haven't been part of it for long enough for me to really pinpoint it, but here are some observations and questions I can make:

Majority of the writers are women.

At least on Tumblr, that's what I've noticed. It's hard to know on forums what are their gender identities and what they self-identify as, but on Tumblr and from the games I've played (and most importantly: want to play) I've noticed they are all mostly women. è

2. The most successful writer are men.

Not that surprising. Again with 1. it's hard to pinpoint with gender identity on forums, but if you go on COG, you'll see the vast majority of people who post there are guys (I did polls!) and the majority of writers who are successful to any degree are guys. But... the writers I see are principally women... so what does that mean?

3. Is this a case of that pay disparity?

I mean, maybe? Again, wage gap is a very complicated (and controversial!) concept, especially within the art field. There's this conception that the better the art, the more lucrative it is, but that's absolutely false. Human biases ignore how 'good' someone art piece is. I mean, I've seen comments on various platforms about how people talk about women-led projects vs men-led projects, and none of it has to do with the strength of the writing. A lot of it is like 'women make this type of games because they wish they could fuck this type of men' vs 'oh this is a wuxia game yay' when its kinda the same game, just the latter one is made by a guy. The attitudes toward men-led project will always favor them vs women-led project

4. Have we faced any of it?

Sorta kinda. Not gonna go into details :)

5. What can you do at home with that information?

Probably examine your own biases when interacting with any sort of art. I mean, the name of our game is Drink Your Villain Juice which a lot of people assume it to be some sort of joke title, and you're still reading it knowing it's not a jokey IF, so you did examine your bias (consciously or not) so you're already half the way there!

[mayakern]

i'm so excited to see the concept art for the sweaters!! they look so cute! i know as a chubby girl i often have trouble fitting into sweaters because my forearms are too thick, so im curious to see how the sizes will work in regards to that. i also wanted to just say thank you for continuing to make plus size clothing! it seems like the smaller sizes tend to sell out quicker, and i'm sure alot of other companies would use that as a reason to stop carrying plus sizes. but you never do that, and i just wanted you to know how thankful i am for that. your designs are some of the only clothes that make me feel happy with my body, and i'm sure many others feel the same. so thank you, i really appreciate the work you and your team do, i look forward to supporting your business even more~

thank you! this is really sweet 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

we’re doing our best to grade the sweaters in a way that will properly fit as many bodies as we can. this doesn’t mean we can give a perfect fit to everyone (you’d have to get custom tailoring for that) but we are doing our best using the sizing data we collected from y’all as well as our own personal experience.

i think part of why the smallest sizes sold out so quickly this time is due to the new sizing. unfortunately the A and B sizes ran larger than we had hoped so we have reworked the sizing somewhat for future skirt batches. in particular, the A size will give a better fit to folks in the XS and S sizes and will essentially serve as our “straight size” selection. the reworked sizing will also have less overlap between sizes, because it was a bit excessive. i think after these changes, we may see more sales in the B and C sizes but i’m not 100%.

regardless, we always expected the D size to move slowly, in a major part because we just do not have a D size model on our crew and haven’t had the time/means to look into finding/hiring one. right now it’s just me and ariel modeling and she’s an XL on top and a 3X on bottom and i’m a 2-3X in general. and even tho compared to most companies, esp indie brands, that is more fat rep/size inclusivity than often shown, it doesn’t account for the 4-8X that the D size can fit. people need to see themselves represented to have trust that a garment will fit them and so far we just can’t provide that due to lack of resources. i’m hoping to change this someday tho.

[c0smiccom3t]

Dimension Dyfenders Update!! (9/20/23)

HEY, HEY, it's September! You know what that means! (read the above)

Hello D.D fandom, hello followers, mutuals, friends and hello people who curiously stumbled upon this post. You all know who i am, but for those who don't, let me introduce myself. My name's Comet. I'm the co-creator and main artist in the indie webcomic series Dimension Dyfenders! As of right now, i'm attending art school and trying my best to work more on the webcomic while also attending on my studies and get better grades. Now, you might ask, "Comet, what's going on with this series now?", "Why haven't been there more pocket adventures minisode 1 parts lately?" Well, i got the answers right here! First of all, let's start with the most obvious one... The Pocket Adventures situation.

Now, Pocket Adventures hasnt been online as of late, no next parts were being published, and im very sorry for that. The cause for it is the loss of motivation i had, which made me not work on it for a long while. Even when making new panels i feel extremely tired. Feeling like i should do something else (heck, i feel insecure about its panels when i draw them!) But fret not, that doesn't mean Pocket Adventures is getting cancelled. We still have loads of plans on the table and we can't wait to roll them out. But for now, we're taking a break due to IRL situations for example, art school. We, the team, have lives outside of making d.d content. We need to get our degrees and, well, try to survive life. But no worries, because I got plans to get back on D.D P.A Minisode 1 and finish it completely once winter break hits. As long as my motivation gets out of its hibernation phase. But still, i can't wait for you all to see the conclusion to minisode 1. (I just hope you dont mind if i jump right into the 'new designs' in the next pages)

Speaking of minisodes, I've been thinking of releasing minisodes only once a year than every saturday. Though this decision is not final yet. I don't want clout, in fact, i just wanna do what I love. Create stories and comics for everybody to enjoy. But if you guys would love for a minisode to release once a year or once in 3 months, let me know your opinions! Your criticism helps this series, especially its production, grow better!

Now, for the second and final question you may have asked… Thing is, Nothing has changed! But well, if you know me on my social media for my recent Crash Bandicoot fanart, then you might notice that Crash 4: It's About Time, especially it's artbook (and concept art by Nicola Saviori)... Has affected my artstyle, DRASTICALLY. So. The characters, of course, have went through some changes. I'd like to call this new artstyle... "The TFB Effect". As a matter of fact, Dimension Dyfenders (both its miniseries and full series) is going to have a brand new, more cartoony, zanier than ever artstyle! Don't believe me? See for yourselves. Starting with the main ones!

I decided to add a little bit of the good ol' Squash and Stretch to the characters to make them stand out more in the next comics. So of course, some of the colors have changed, especially designs and bodytypes. Oh, and not just that, our heroes have some new stuff, too! For example: Knockout's Dyfender Element is now refered as "Quantum Strenght", Paintdrop's is called "Cosmic Creativity" and Speedrunner's is called "Light Speed". Neat upgrades, eh? (Still, criticism is accepted.) Anyway, notice that in the first picture above there's something that says: "Dyfender Mode", right? Well, if you see that, that's because we are introducing something brand new to our heroes. Called: Omni-modes.

Now, "what are Omni-modes?", you may ask? Well, Omni-modes are modes that are set on the Dyfenders' Dy-watches, you may see that the Omni-Modes are, of course, the Dyfenders' alternate hero forms, to help them take on a mission in a different, more suitable form. When the day needs to be saved during night time (and rarely past bedtime), they activate Night Mode. For sunny beach days but still wanting to make sure nobody figures out their secret identities, Acqua Mode will be at their service. There are tons of different Omni-Modes to be shown (Especially, Pride mode, which was shown on this year's pride post.) So, yeah. Omni-modes will be shown in both the miniseries AND the full series!

Oh! And refering to characters, we can't forget about our main bad guys! Oh, you know, the Dajo-Crew? They got a bit of a make over to fit to the current artstyle! (ft. the updated height chart):

Now that we got that out of the way. let's just head over what will the future of the series look like as of right now. Starting off with the full series and pocket adventures. As said before, Dimension Dyfenders' artstyle changed. But that doesn't mean everything changed, things may be different (the more cartoony artstyle and the sillier tone), but nothing about the series has changed! And that means..

MORE POCKET ADVENTURES IS HAPPENING, THAT'S RIGHT! MORE D.D CONTENT COMING THIS WAY!

As for right now, D.D Minisode 1 may still be in development as we speak, but one thing that's completed right now is the script! Now that its finally finished, all thats left, is the panel and comic page-making (hopefully you wont mind the sudden character design changes, though.)! But in the meantime! We got some sneak peaks for not just one of the panels from the next minisode 1 pages, but also a never-seen before panel from the next minisodes of pocket adventures! (notice: some of these are not final and may change in the final product.)

That's not all! this franchise has got some new stuff coming in during it's run. We got so many plans, but this is the only thing we can show about said plans:

As you can see, you're gonna see some new characters in pocket adventures. While in the full series, you'll get some new characters too. Except... New baddies will be only in the full series, while in the miniseries then later in the animated series... You'll get to meet some new allies! So, keep your eyes peeled for them! And we hope you like them as much as we do.

Now, D.D has never shown a sign of stopping, even during hiatuses, so im happy to announce that more Pocket Adventures will be on their way after Minisode 1 has completed production! We're thinking of putting the upload dates on hold (which means, minisode 2 is delayed until further notice, sorry guys.). So please be patient when waiting for new minisodes.

And speaking of patience... I think I got a little something to keep you guys busy with while you wait... Introducing…

DIMENSION DYFENDERS TOONIES!

Now, you may be wondering: "What is THIS?" D.D.T (Dimension Dyfenders Toonies for long), is a brand new miniseries of comic strips that comes out during the weekends. (Starting in October, the end of september, or during the holiday season! No promises, though.) It's a little something i can make up while you guys wait for the next Pocket Adventures Minisodes. Oh yeah, here's one of the cover for it, too! It's not much, but i know you guys would go NUTS for it:

This will be about how the Dyfenders handle their superhero and school lives in everyday situations. (No worries, the action isn't gone. There might be some strips about school, but there will be more strips about their superhero lives, guarantee!). It's also about what The Dajo-Crew does when they aren't invading dimensions, get into some shenanigans at the castle and also when they plot evil schemes. some strips will be either original with a new short story or a recreation of old strips from phase 1 (not a final decision of course, but you can tell us if you like this idea)! One thing to point out is that some of the strips might take place before some minisodes, now thats another thing to notice, right? And that's the only "spoiler" I can give. So, sorry, no more! OH! And for any of you voice actors reading this who are like: "Wow, i wonder when this series will get a comic dub / animated series. If i'm lucky enough i might be able to voice act for it!" … Boy, do we have a treat for you all. Which will be posted in a few hours. both on bird app, bluesky, insta and on here!  The only thing I have to announce is that during the d.d stuff's production and during art school, i'm not gonna be online on social media. (until during normal/long weekends and festive days.), but no worries, the series is still alive and kicking, even when there aren't posts about it for a few months! Though, in some days, i'll be able to make and share some art for it! You're all in for a wild ride for these months and for 2024! Oh, and about Dajo's account. I'm planning to bring it back. But, Dajo is currently busy conquering Dimensions, but I can assure he hasn't abandoned Sinstagram completely. You'll see more of his influencer side, too. Both in his Sinstagram and in the upcoming strips! (And perhaps in some mini– OOPS! TOO MUCH!) That's all for now! Thank you all for your support on the series, don't forget to share your fan creations of the series in DMs or tag me and the team in your masterpieces, share it with your family and friends, subscribe to the series on Comicfury, and follow me on Tumblr, bluesky, bird app and Instagram if you wish to support the project even outside of comicfury! Once again, thank you all in this slowly-growing small fandom for all of your support, and i hope you're all excited for what's to come! If you have any questions, please drop them on my tumblr askbox, Which i'll be able to answer during the weekends. That's all, back to the offline study and sleep abyss for me. GOODBYE!

[taylorannnx]

Pricing My One-Page TTRPG: A Peek Behind The Curtain

I already tweeted this in thread form but I find this topic both helpful and interesting, so Tumblr you're getting it too!

You may be shocked to find a one page game priced at $4.95, so let me breakdown WHY this is. As a disclaimer, we are offering 50 and 100% discounts to make the game accessible to people with different levels of disposable income.

I didn’t have the money to pay people upfront for their work at a fair price, but I knew in my heart Chefs de Partie was a collaborative project. I chose royalty split because the whole team benefits the more sales there are, which aligns with my values of community and supporting my peers.

Math is not my strong suit, but luckily there is a blog post with a spreadsheet template by Lyla Fujiwara that helped me calculate how to do a royalty split. Find it here: https://jarofeyes.substack.com/p/money-and-collaboration-paying-people

Steps I took to choose a price:

1) Determine shares per job. PMing, layout, and editing are all intensive jobs that take more hours than writing (research, back -and-forth-ing, communication hours) so I gave them each 2 shares, and the writers 1 share each. 

2) Set a target number of sales. I chose 51 because for community content you get a best seller metal. Also if each contributor manages to convince 5-6 people (an achievable number) to buy the product we’ve hit the target number.

3) Look at minimum wage for each job. For writing, it should be $0.10/word. For copyediting, it’s $0.02/word. I didn’t take into account layout hourly rates at the time, which in retrospect is a mistake and I will rectify this going forward.

(I cover the math later though!)

4) Word limits. This was influenced by space on the page but also feasible pay. Recipes were capped at 100 words. All writers would be paid the same whether they were under or over and submissions that were over were cut down to 100 (+/-10%) for space and fairness.

5) MATH. If writers are paid $0.10/word with a target of 51 sales to fully pay them, they need to earn $0.20 per sale.

The math is the same for editing thanks to 2 shares and word count limits/contributor numbers.

My workings: Writer: 0.2/sale x 51 = 10.2/100= 0.10/word Editor: 0.4/sale x 51 = 20.4 /936 (final manuscript word count) = 0.02/word

Thanks to Lyla’s handy spreadsheet, I was able to figure out that pricing the game at $4.95 allows everyone to be paid fairly within 51 sales. And that number grows! With 100 sales, the writers and our Mari earn $0.20 and $0.04 per word!

Is it more expensive than average? Yes. But it’s fair, which was my goal.

This pricing, however, comes with two main failings. The first is not taking into account the cost for layout. If my layout artist spent 15 hours on layout, by 51 sales they’ve only earned $1 per hour spent. That’s not enough. (I have discussed this with them and rectified it privately.)

Secondly, I didn’t take into account my own wages for both project management and writing. The core rules are 260 words long. It’ll take 65 sales before I’ve earned $0.10/word for the writing alone. /11

I’ve put 12+ hours into management, from creating documentation to communication to marketing/promotion (writing this thread took 2+ hours and is technically promotion)

At my current rate it would take additional 1176 sales before I paid myself for 12 hours (1241 sales total)!

Games, even one-page ones, are EXPENSIVE to make. Is Chefs de Partie overpriced? No. It’s fairly priced (to the editorial team at least) considering we’re an indie team with no business backing. $4.95 feels like a lot for one page, but the hours put into it make it worth every penny.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Well This Looks Pretty Damn Cool!

At long last... NIMONA, visually in motion! And a concrete release date, too. June 30th. Same day as DreamWorks' RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN, which will be rolling in theaters. I wish we could this very gorgeous and dynamic-looking picture on the big screen too, but... Oh well...

Anyways, not much for me to say other than it looks every bit as cool as I imagined. Another CG-but-painted-looking movie, with some very smooth work and such a cool look. It looks way more like a classic 2D animated picture, or a really painterly indie game.

Arriving now, this picture was about 3/4 done in animation before the studio it originated from, Blue Sky Studios, was shut down by The Walt Disney Company's former CEO. I'd like to think a lot of what we're seeing here was laid down in 2020/early 2021, so in a way, it was doing some neat stuff before other neat stuff came out. Namely THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES, ARCANE: LEAGUE OF LEGENDS, and PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH. The picture was in the works for a while, too, under FEAST director Patrick Osborne at first (later taken over by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, of SPIES IN DISGUISE), and I'd assume it was always aiming for this kind of look, pre-SPIDER-VERSE even.

It's also refreshing to see a big-time animated movie with more of a, shall I say... Mischievous bent to it? Not quite moral protagonist, for starters, and that's on full display here in the trailer... if the first-look images released in the lead-up to this trailer's release didn't already spell it out for you. That smile of hers just got more and more (delightfully) devilish with each new image. That's good, we need more variety in PG-level stories. Nothing wrong with protagonists who are a little bit on the bad side. Worked okay enough for DESPICABLE ME and MEGAMIND. From the graphic novel synopsis, it seems like it's going to be a very subversive take on good and evil, if the law is actually right or not (very timely, I'd say), etc. Maybe our leads aren't so bad after all, I've got some reading to do!

I still consider this to be a Blue Sky movie, their final film - partially... A bittersweet coda to their long existence. The movie was 75% done before the plug was pulled, and reports have said that the crew did NOT start from scratch after production resumed... and I'd imagine a lot of what was finished was kept in the movie despite some things I've heard it about being significantly retooled after Annapurna and Netflix picked it up. I'd imagine there were some things the directors and writing team could get away with there that they couldn't under Disney. There were reports from former Blue Sky crew members that Disney higher ups did push back on things in the movie. Keep in mind, Disney was going to release Pixar's LIGHTYEAR without the lesbian kiss - a barely second-long scene, until they faced pressure due to the former CEO's initial support of that wet-sandwich Florida governor's draconian anti-LGBTQIA+ nonsense. STRANGE WORLD, as we all know, was straight up dumped with very muted fanfare. NIMONA's poster curiously lists Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor as the writers. Years prior, the movie was being written by Marc Haimes, a writer on Shannon Tindle's meditative Laika wonder KUBO & THE TWO STRINGS. (Just so you know, that picture was largely taken away from him.) Haimes is credited as "Story by", including a curiously large amount of people including the two screenwriters and the two directors, in addition to two other people: Pamela Ribon and Keith Bunin... That's... Quite a lot of writers on this one.

Either way, I'm excited nonetheless. Forward-thinking visuals, LGBTQIA+ representation, a seemingly new kind of story for this animated feature format, something a little edgier... Might just be "the one that got away" from Disney, may even cost them their usual Oscar win come this winter. I will consider this film to be Blue Sky's swan song, I hope they get some kind of mention in the credits...

Speaking of Disney... Not cool that they're flat-out removing movies and shows from Disney+, amidst a writer's strike, and some with LGBTQIA+ themes and content... Right before Pride Month. I don't understand why removing something they made and/or own from a service, and having it not be available anywhere else, helps anybody. Them, or the market... At the very least, they can put some of these movies, such as the Howard Ashman documentary HOWARD, on physical media. Nasty side effects of what David Zaslav did to Warner Bros.' library and all the content purges happening under his leadership there. Capitalism, how you don't make any sense...

Somewhere buried in all the Cannes Film Festival news is the selling of an animated feature called THE GROWCODILE, a little romp about a young girl hiding her ever-growing pet croc from her shoe store-owning father, and the adventure she goes on with her grandfather to give the animal a new home. It's based on a book, and will be directed by Cartoon Saloon veterans Joost Van Den Bosch and Erik Verkerk.

What else? Awkwafina has been cast in KUNG FU PANDA 4... Apparently. I'm not sure how reputable "The Hollywood Handle" is, a site I've barely ever heard of... but if she's onboard, I wonder who she will be voicing. She was, after all, in DreamWorks' own THE BAD GUYS as Ms. Tarantula. The villainous Chameleon is said to be a female character, so I wouldn't be surprised if she plays the main antagonist in this. From bad guy to really bad guy.

That's pretty much all the big animation news I can think of, but... Yeah... NIMONA, finally around the corner, and we finally get to see how it actually moves and plays out...

[ear-worthy]

lenny.fm -- How You Can Support Your Favorite Indie Podcasters

There's a famous TV commercial (for Boomers) that ran in 1984 called Hair Club For Men. In the one-minute commercial, a man with nicely combed full black hair, Sy Sperling, pitches bald men on the virtues of purchasing a toupee. At the end of the commercial, Sy Sperling says while holding up a photo of him with a bald head, "I'm not just the president of the company, I'm a client."

I tell you that upfront because I want you to know that I am a customer of Lenny.fm. I think it's a terrific tool for podcast listeners who want to support their favorite indie podcasts while staying within their budget.

 Here's their marketing pitch: "Your podcasts walk with you, talk with you, shown up for you in the podcast app — they do the show for you."

"Lenny.fm is a new way to support the people you spend so much time with. And to help them spend more time with you," says Courtney Carthy of Lenny.fm.

"It’s built for the podcast ecosystem, for podcast fans and podcast creators," Courtney continues. "For listeners, you can support the great work of the podcasts you enjoy listening to. A little makes a lot of difference."

"For podcast creators," Courtney adds. "If you want to monetize, Lenny.fm is one of many great options. Why not have more than one?"

Courtney Carthy, part of the founding team, says the concept came from his experience running a podcast production company and working in the music industry.

For me, I believe that most indie podcasts don't have as many listeners as you'd think, and most podcast creators do it without expectation that it'll be a full-time gig.

That’s why I’m asking you to consider supporting the indie podcasts you love.

Podcast consultant George Witt framed lenny.fm this way: "If you sign up and spend $4 a month, the podcasts you enjoy will likely be around for longer, be able to put more effort into doing what they do best, and be amazingly grateful for it." 

How does lenny.fm work?

Listeners choose 4 or more podcasts to support in order of preference

Listeners contribute US$4 a month, which is split between the top 4 podcasts they chose.

If a podcast in their top 4 doesn’t publish an episode that month, the preferences reorder to 4 that have.

The podcast can choose how best to reward listeners supporting them via Lenny.fm, if they choose to.

 I signed up for lenny.fm early on and the process was easy and seamless. I created an account, chose my four indie podcasts -- each of which would receive one dollar, and then hoped others would subscribe and support their favorite indie podcasters. If my favorite podcast has others who signed up, the podcaster would begin to see some real currency to help monetize their efforts.

"Indie podcasters don't have a Wondery, iHeart or Spotify to spend money on production costs, marketing, distribution, and salaries," notes podcast consultant George Witt.

 Courtney Carthy of lenny.fm notes: "The biggest hurdle is not having a succinct way to explain how Lenny works. It does a few cool things all at once, behind the scenes, with very minimal effort from either Creators or Listeners."

"This is our problem, and we're working on it constantly," Courtney adds. When I asked Courtney about the reaction from creators when they find out that a listener has signed up on Lenny.fm to support them, she answered: "They are often delighted and surprised after we introduce them to Lenny.fm. A couple of Creators immediately said they'd like to contact their supporters and say thanks. We're working on this functionality."

Courtney adds: "Creators with paid supporters are similarly getting purposeful and meaningful appreciation. It's actual money that Listeners are choosing to put down and back the Creators they enjoy."

Courtney posted a question on a Creator Facebook Group - "How did you feel when a listener said thanks to you for making your podcast?"

Here's a comment from a listener who is a subscriber of lenny.fm.

From Nina, supporting podcasts via Lenny.fm

Lenny.fm is an ideal way to support indie podcasters. I urge to support these indie podcasters. Look what's happening in the network-supported podcast world. These large podcasts networks continue to hide their podcasts behind paywalls. The New York Times just began a subscription service. Wondery has Wondery Plus, and so on.

Indie podcasts don't have that luxury. They need your support.

 Lenny.fm was also a sponsor of the Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards that were handed out in July. They are committed to indie podcasters.

 Try lenny.fm. Choose a bundle of shows you enjoy to support for only US$4 a month.

Finally, to end at the beginning, here is a photo of Sy Sperling, President --and client -- of Hair Club For Men.

[blogger360ncislarules]

EXCLUSIVE: Creatives behind Alice & Jack, which stars Domhnall Gleeson and Andrea Riseborough in the latter’s first role since the To Leslie controversy, have spotlighted how they wanted the Channel 4/Masterpiece TV series to feel like an indie film.

Speaking before Alice & Jack‘s TIFF premiere, Cannes Grand Prix-winning director Juho Kuosmanen and EP Richard Yee explained that the team behind the show, which is penned by Mad Men’s Victor Levin, virtually all came from the world of independent cinema.

The idea for a romantic series about an unbreakable bond between two people emerged from long conversations between Levin, Riseborough and Gleeson during the Covid-19 pandemic and had been percolating for years, with Channel 4 then Masterpiece subsequently boarding. Also starring Aisling Bea, Sunil Patel and Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood, Alice & Jack follows these two people over a lengthy period of time who are bound by a connection “so powerful nothing can break it,” but “life and emotional complexities get in the way,” according to the logline.

“It was key to us that we approached this more like a film than a TV series,” said Yee, exec producer and co-founder of I Am Ruth indie Me+You Productions. “We wanted to build it up to feel very authored and didn’t want to treat it as just another TV show.”

Yee compared the series in tone to BBC/Hulu smash Normal People, which catapulted Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones to stardom and was also shot over a long period of time with indie film sensibilities.

“Alice & Jack is obviously its own thing but that slightly more adult approach to relationships is similar,” he added. “They are observationally driven and show the messiness and imperfections of life and love. People who have watched [Alice & Jack] have said they wish there were more ‘adult’ depictions of relationships like this out there, so it has definitely connected with a lot of people.”

Kuosmanen, Yee added, felt a good fit for the project as lead director due to his prior steering of “unconventional love stories” such as Cannes winner Compartment No. 6, and he was handed the first three episodes, with Lilting’s Hong Khaou directing the rest.

Finding the director

Finding Kuosmanen proved tricky. The creative team were impressed with his work on Compartment No. 6 but he barely had representation. Only a chance trip to Finland for Riseborough, where she spontaneously asked a driver if he knew Kuosmanen, reaped rewards, with the driver turning out to be one of the director’s former students.

“That is just the way things work in Finland – people say ‘It’s not a country it’s a club’,” joked Kuosmanen.

He said he was happy to take on the challenge of transposing an indie film sensibility to TV. “The main difference between cinema and TV is really how many pages per day you are shooting but on the other hand the passion and the ambition really felt like working on a film.”

A bigger challenge was entering the show further down the line than he normally would in a project, Kuosmanen explained, along with keeping the style and tone the same across all episodes including those directed by Khaou.

“I really like Hong as a director but our style is very different,” he added. “So when I was thinking about designing and blocking scenes, I wanted something that is not so much my style but won’t be too far from his. We had the same cinematographer and that helped.”

Both Yee and Kuosmanen talked up Gleeson and Riseborough’s on and off-screen chemistry and the pair have worked on multiple projects down the years including Never Let Me Go, where they played a couple, and Shadow Dancer, where they were siblings. This brought “a shared history to the characters,” according to Yee.

“I’m an actor-driven director and felt like the way they were talking about the show meant they were really in it and were willing to do a great job,” added Kuosmanen. “It’s easier to get inspired and excited about actors over a funny scriptwriter or great producer.”

‘To Leslie’ controversy

The months preceding Alice & Jack’s announcement saw Riseborough hit the headlines due to the To Leslie controversy, a movie for which she was Oscar-nominated following public support from huge stars such as Cate Blanchett, which generated a backlash.

Yee, however, rejected the notion that this acted as a distraction for Alice & Jack, adding: “Andrea has lots of different projects on the go. She was brillant in To Leslie and the more people get to see it the better because she is an amazing performer.”

Yesterday, Deadline revealed Masterpiece had boarded Alice & Jack in the U.S.

Alice & Jack is produced by Me+You along with Academy Award-nominated Groundswell Productions, De Maio Entertainment and Fremantle. Fremantle is distributing globally. Levin is creator and EP. Other EPs are Riseborough, Gleeson, Kuosmanen, Yee, Krishnendu Majumdar, Michael London, Shannon Gaulding, Lorenzo De Maio, Rebecca Dundon and Hilary Martin.

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

Thurs 4 Feb ‘21

Confirmation is here at last of Harry’s role in the film adaptation of My Policeman, brought to us by queer fave Greg Berlanti (and his husband). Harry will costar with Emma Corrin, who you may remember from the at the time inexplicable seeming Harry/Emma cross promo last August-- given the pains they took then to emphasize that the relationship was platonic, one assumes this film will go for a different promo tactic than the current one! They share a stylist though, so they’ll no doubt be beautifully coordinated. Harry will play Tom, which some people object to on the grounds that Harry is the wrong person to play the role of a closeted man which is certainly… one opinion. Aaaaand there’s plenty more of that discourse (and about him playing a policeman) to come over the coming months so I’ll just leave it there for now! Anyway and as for that current project, we got more DWD set pics today, featuring Harry in various costume outfits! There’s ones where his character looks bloodied, and ones where his character looks clean but absolutely terrifying, grown up frat boy from hell looks to give you CHILLS, plus some of Harry as Harry in a bright orange hoodie designed by his friend Kunichi Nomura.There was also {moustache spoilers} some weird facial hair on display. Okay then!

Project Defenseless has been launched to push Defenseless up in the streaming charts and push for radio play! The fan single project offers resources and organized pushes to get people streaming and promoting on all the platforms and reaching out to radio, and has fans making lots of very cool edits besides! “I see what you’re doing with defenseless! You are all incredible!” said Louis. That song is such a fitting choice for this kind of project! Its journey has been all about the fan response from back when Louis played it for us for the very first time in 2019 (it was the one everyone was screaming about from soundcheck clips for the few hours between that and hearing the songs for real even) and afterwards he told us about how although he’d always liked the song it clicked for him in a new way after getting the fan reaction, saying “something happened to it when I performed it live, and ever since then it really kind of got me,” and “the fans make everything sound amazing, they made it sound so good,” and “the fans for whatever reason really took to this song, so now it has a special place in me heart definitely”. Plus of course there was the long saga of fan stress when it seemed like it might not be on the album and rejoicing when Louis finally definitively confirmed that it would be, after what seemed like might have been a reversal on his part due to the outcry about it. And now she’s climbing all kinds of charts like a the star she is! The song shot up on itunes (#3 worldwide, #1 in 16 countries) just for starters and the project has only just got going. Louis commented on the stats-- “An album track off an album that’s a year old. You lot blow my fucking mind! Thank you so much!”

Louis also commented on a Jack Saunders (BBC indie music DJ) tweet and followed guitarist Johnny Took of the DMAs on twitter which is weird only in that he didn’t already.

There’s news about Zayn’s Zach Sang interview, and it’s not the most surprising news but it is very sad; Zach says “hi beautiful humans, this convo was scheduled for last week but we got a rain check from his team. this conversation can still happen, it ain’t over yet! we’ll keep ya in the loop. I listened to this album 7 times! we’re determined” Well... damn. However Zayn DID pop up with some spon-content but like… the WEIRDEST ad content?? It’s for Coors Light and, well I’ll let Zayn tell you about it! “They’re gonna see if they can put a commercial inside your dreams... which is kind of messed up.” HAHAHAHA I have nothing to add! What Zayn said!!! “So we’re gonna give that a go and uh see if it works,” he says, sounding appropriately skeptical, followed by “wish me luck”. Does this kind of sponcon count as malicious compliance? Technically he DID say the stuff he was supposed to- and he’s doing an instagram live for them Sat, supposedly. I can’t wait to see how that goes! Wish him luck! The latest installment of the NIL comic book video series is also out today, but just one this time instead of a pair. This week’s song is Connexion and the new comic shows us that the figure pursuing our hero is, drumroll-- himself! The call is coming from inside the house!

Unlike interview shy Zayn, however, Gigi is out there ready to overshare, as long as it’s to Vogue. She has plenty to say about giving birth to zaby Khai (newly revealed nickname: Khaiba) at home at the Pennsylvania farm. The article says that they decided to have the birth at home due to COVID placing restrictions on hospital births that would have prevented Bella and Zayn and Yolanda all being present, and after she and Zayn watched the documentary The Business of Being Born. “They placed a blow-up bath in their bedroom and sent their three cats and border collie away when the midwife expressed concern that the sphynx and Maine coon felines might puncture the tub with their claws,” the interviewer learns while horseback riding with Gigi. The article also says Zayn “caught the baby” but it isn’t a direct quote from Gigi and I’m thinking a bit of an exaggeration perhaps. Gigi had the baby at the Hadid family farm but she and Zayn have since relocated to live at his farm, which is nearby, where they say they will be raising the child, with Z’s mom Trisha coming to stay to help out for the first month, that Khai sleeps with them, and that Zayn said his experience of the whole thing reminded him of the birth in a lion documentary they’d watched. Neither mentioned it but it has been spotted that Gigi and Zayn each now have tattoos of the name, Khai, in Arabic.

Meanwhile, Niall surfaced only in golf guy mode- a Modest Golf announcement and a podcast appearance to promote the new Modest initiative to get young people into playing golf. He says they want to “get rid of that thing that’s been holding golf back for a long time, that it’s a boring sport…” and I know he means he’s trying to combat that idea but when I tell you I LAUGHED!

[purplesurveys]

1531

How many friends do you have on Facebook?: I have 698. It hasn’t changed so much from the last time I recall answering this question lol; I tend to be wary of people I add on there, even among people I know.

What was on the last sandwich you ate?: Fried chicken, shredded cabbage, tomatoes.

What sort of music did you listen to when you were in high school?: It was largely punk rock at the start but evolved towards indie and synth pop by the end of my time in high school, largely from the influence of my friends.

Do you prefer gold or silver jewellery?: Silver. Never have been a big fan of gold jewelry so far.

Have you ever gotten back together with an ex?: I have. We also broke up the second time around but not til like four years later.

How far away is the closest store to your house and what is it?: Around 4 kilometers, which is the distance from our house to the entrance of the village/subdivision. There are so many stores and restaurants the moment you step outside hahaha.

What is your favourite Thai dish?: Green curry. < Ohohohoho yes this is a goodie. And I’m a sucker for the classic pad thai too.

How many contacts do you have in your phone?: 188 - which is funny to me because I only talk to like 10 people from that list. I really should clean out my contacts soon...

When was the last time you made out with somebody?: Two years ago.

What month of the year was your mother born?: September.

Do you have any friends that seem to know all the hot gossip?: Sure. But this is also considering the fact that Filipinos are naturally gossip-y at their core, lol. Even if I don’t care for most gossip, I’m almost always just one person away from a bunch of updates.

Are there any candles in your bedroom, and what scent are they?: I do have one, yeah. It was actually a Christmas gift from the company; I just don’t use it much because I find the scent a tad weak. It’s vanilla. What tv show(s) have you been watching currently?: I’ve recently been rewatching Friends. Apart from that, I’ve been meaning to start on Extraordinary Attorney Woo but as usual, it takes me forever to get on a new series.

When was the last time you went to a birthday party?: Yesterday. It was a surprise birthday party for one of my uncles, all the way in Laguna. It was a lot of fun and I was happy to see relatives from that side again.

How many apps do you have on your phone?: I don’t feel like counting the exact number but I can tell you I have three pages’ worth of apps.

What pet names do you use with your significant other?: I don’t have a partner.

Do you have to wear a name badge where you work?: No. I work from home anyway, so there’s been no need for this; my name badge is the one that shows up on my Zoom/MS Teams/Google Meets calls hahaha.

Do you have a dress code or have to wear a uniform where you work?: I mean, nothing out of the ordinary (if we do have to have days at the office). It’s just business casual.

What brand is your toaster, if you have one?: We don’t have a toaster and thanks for not readily assuming that everyone has.

Have you ever dated a smoker? If not, would you?: She didn’t smoke too much whenever we were together, at least. I can’t say for the times she’d be out with her friends. I’d say she was a social smoker at best, which is what I would prefer if my next partner did smoke too. I will say that smoking has stopped bothering me as much as it did before; and at the end of the day my bigger worry has always been the smell of the secondhand smoke clinging to me, tbh.

Are there any movies you've seen so many times?: Yeah, definitely me with a few movies like Titanic, The Proposal, White Chicks, Twilight lol.

What was the last thing you purchased with cash?: Gas for my car.

Can you hear anything right now?: The occasional sound of Yoongi speaking, since I have a past Vlive of him on; also my REALLY REALLY loud aircon hahaha.

Is there anybody else in the room you're currently in?: Nope, it’s just me in my room.

What's the name of the store you usually get your groceries?: S&R. Would you rather travel to Japan or Scotland?: I’d rather go back to Japan.

Does your house have a porch/balcony?: We do, yes.

What's your usual order when you go to a coffee shop?: Iced caramel macchiato. I also like anything pastry to go with the coffee.

Have you ever seen a theatre show?: Only school recitals, or shows where my friends/relatives are in. I wouldn’t call myself a fan of theatre and wouldn’t watch a show outside of the two ^ categories.

What was the last movie you saw and who did you watch it with?: Parasite. I finally watched it after two years y’all lmao - I watched the first half alone, but then my sister eventually tagged along with me.

What is your mother's first name?: Abigail.

Do you like to dance?: Yeah. I don’t know how to dance, but I will sway along to the beat of a song I really like.

How would you describe your sense of humour?: It’s what Gen Z would typically refer to as crackhead and dank, lol.

What's your favourite type of bread?: Brioche.

Do you receive catalogues and brochures in your mailbox?: Not really.

What colour is the sky right now?: Gray. Might rain in a few hours since it’s also been offensively humid today.

Do you share a middle name with any of your siblings?: No, we all have different second names. But if you mean maiden name then yeah we share the same.

Have there ever been any bushfires/wildfires in your area?: Nope, not common here.

Have you ever taken a ride in an ambulance?: I have not.

How would you label your sexual orientation?: Ace.

When was the last time you took a nap during the day?: That would have to be last Sunday. I typically would never take naps so I can maximize my free time, but I stayed up super late the night before and just wanted to take that nap lol.

What did you have to eat for dinner last night?: It was the food from the birthday party I went to - we were served a plate of baby back ribs and grilled chicken with rice, with sides of mashed potatoes and corn muffin. We were also given a serving of chocolate mousse after.

Have you ever been a member in a band?: Nope.

Are you double-jointed?: I’m not.

What was the last thing you had to drink?: Coffee.

Do you currently have any bruises on your body?: Nopes, not at the moment. 

Who was the last message you received from and what did they say?: “Hahaha true. To be fair, she’s older,” from Reena. Rough translation from Filipino.

What colour are your eyes?: Dark brown.

Can you cry on command? If so, have you ever used it to your advantage?: Not at all, I’ve never had that skill. But I have used crying to my advantage, largely as a kid when I’d have to report low grades to my parents lol. I didn’t cry on command per se because I genuinely did feel shitty every time I failed a test in such; but at the back of my head I also knew crying would get me off the hook to some extent.

Do you consider your goals easily achievable or are they pretty grand?: Some of them are attainable, some of them need money and are less accessible.

What's your favourite kind of accent?: I don’t care much for accents.

What time does the sun go down where you live at this time of the year?: Around 6 PM.

Do you prefer beer, wine or spirits?: Spirits. Beer is fizzy so that’s an automatic no for me; and I just never liked the taste of wine.

When was the last time you ate Mexican food?: The other night when I got a serving of nachos for me and Kaye.

Have you ever watched yourself on video?: Yes.

What time did you wake up today?: 9 AM.

What time will you go to sleep tonight?: I’ll try to stay up as long as I can because it’ll be the last night of my long weekend that I can do so (I get back to work Tuesday), so most likely around 2 or 3 AM.

Do you have separate emails for personal and business?: Yeah. I was given a company email in the first place.

Are you the eldest, youngest or a middle child?: Eldest.

What's your favourite vegetable?: Broccoli and spinach. Asparagus is also great.

What colours are you wearing today?: Purple and white.

Do you have a subscription to any streaming services like Netflix?: Apart from Netflix, I also have a Spotify subscription. YouTube Premium too but I don’t think that counts as streaming. Would you rather eat Italian or Indian food?: Omggggggg Indian in a heartbeat. My favorite cuisine.

Are you sitting, standing or lying down right now?: Sitting.

Have you ever missed a flight?: I haven’t; but I’ve been on the receiving end of delayed flights a handful of times. I don’t mind it as much if I’m stuck in another country because airports almost always have facilities that can keep me from getting bored -- but getting delayed at a provincial airport in the Philippines can be so exhausting lmao. There’s no airconditioning and wifi most of the time and your only source of entertainment are TVs and OOHs that play the same set of ads on loop. Sometimes the signal can even be weak so you wouldn’t be able to use data to kill time on the internet.

Are you someone who always needs a coffee before you can function?: Yeah. I’m considerably more scatterbrained in the morning if I haven’t made my coffee yet.

Do your neighbours have any pets? Have you ever met them?: Most of them have dogs, yes. But I haven’t had the chance to interact with them.

When was the last time you washed your hair?: An hour ago.

What colour is your bedroom door?: Brown.

Have you ever seen a lunar eclipse?: Sure! They are rarely visible where I live so when one is scheduled to take place and we’d be able to see them, I usually don’t want to miss out.

Do you know your significant other's passwords?: I don’t have a partner now but I used to know a password of my ex.

What was the last thing you said aloud?: It’s been a while since I’ve said anything; I’ve been alone in my room for like an hour now haha. Probably me just asking my sister how much of the baked sushi I can get for my share. Do you know anyone who writes huge essays when they message you?: Andi does.

[entertainment]

Entertainment Spotlight: Sherry Cola, Good Trouble

You may recognize comedian, actress, and writer Sherry Cola as Alice in Freeform’s Good Trouble. Additional TV credits include jewelry maker Natalie on I Love Dick, special agent Lucy Chen on Claws, and the iconic Lil’ Tasty. On the big screen, she can be seen in the upcoming Endings, Beginnings with Shailene Woodley, Jamie Dornan, and Sebastian Stan, and in the indie Sick Girl with Nina Dobrev and Wendi McLendon-Covey. No stranger to ambition in comedy, Sherry is also a successful stand-up comedian, performing regularly at The Laugh Factory, The Improv, and The Comedy Store. Sherry took a few minutes to chat with us about comedy, Good Trouble, and more. Check it out:

What is your experience of portraying comedy-aspiring first-generation Asian-American Alice? Can you talk about any similarities or differences between you?

I’m grateful to play a character that I never saw on TV when I was growing up. The deeper we get into filming these episodes, the more I realize how much it’s been missing. From speaking Mandarin to her best friend/ex-lover to diving into stand-up as a queer Asian female, Alice’s journey is so specific and overdue. Alice is adorably apologetic and she’s still finding her voice.

I’d say I’m more outspoken than she is, but we’re also similar in people-pleasing to the point of getting us in trouble. I heavily relate to Alice because I also have an immigrant mother who wasn’t well-versed about the LGBTQ+ world at first, but the more we show these stories on the screen, the more we can open minds!

Can you tell us about any funny or wholesome moments on the set of Good Trouble?

The scene in the pool for Malika’s birthday was super fun. It was almost 4 AM, and we’d already been floating in the water for 2 hours. I gotta give it up to our incredible crew for nailing all the messy shots of people jumping/falling in. It was hilarious being in that cloudy, chlorine-less human soup, just splashin’ around like little kids. Our entire cast adores each other so we’re always in good company. It’s a celebration when we have those big group moments.

Do you have a routine before you go up on stage to do stand-up? What is it, and how did you come up with it?

I do lots and lots of breathing because I’m nervous right before I hop on stage, no matter what. I also get very thirsty so I find myself going to the bar last-minute to get water. This happens every single time. I never think ahead and have the water prepared! I look over my jokes to remember which ones I wanna do. Then when I get up there, the throwing-up feeling disappears and I’m on cloud nine!

What is something you wish people knew about being a comedian in the industry as it is today?

Sometimes people take comedians too lightly. We deserve more props! There’s heavy stuff happening behind that microphone. We have the power to educate and touch the audience, in an almost brain-washy fashion, but not in a bad way. I can use jokes to shine a light on something like climate change, and people will walk away with a new perspective. Pretty cool!

If you could give any character on Good Trouble some advice, who would it be and what would you tell them?

This is the first time I’m officially saying this, but I’m team Callie and Gael. Y’all have something special, damn it! The fiery chemistry! It was spicy, but also tender...like a chicken nugget! Please give it another try and make some perfect babies!

Can you tell us a funny joke?

I saw this on a popsicle stick when I was in elementary school, and I’ll never forget it:

Q: What did the girl melon say to the boy melon after he proposed? 

A: We’re too young, we cantaloupe!

What advice would you give to your ten-year-old self?

STAY TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE! Things that made me self-conscious back then like non-American food that I’d take to school, or the fact that I never wore make-up, and just the general vibe of being unordinary - now I fully embrace it!

Who do you look up to?

I can’t even count on my fingers/toes/teeth/strands of hair how many people I look up to! From Sandra Oh to Lena Waithe… I have respect for all women of color who are pushing the culture forward. They motivate me to keep going so I can make just as strong of an impact.

Who inspires you?

My mom inspires the hell out of me. She came to this country and busted her ass off to make sure I have a comfortable life. Money means nothing compared to the feeling of making her proud. I get all my work ethic from her, from giving 110% to the importance of being on time, so she gets all the credit!

Can you tell us how Lakers-loving, jersey-wearing, Timberland-rocking Lil’ Tasty came about?

Lil’ Tasty is dear to my heart! She was a viral queen in 2016 because she was a breath of fresh air who said the most darn things. My friends Adam Episcopo and Rick Schaberg started a mockumentary-style series on Facebook called “Luber” which showed the lives of drivers who got rejected from Lyft/Uber. They asked me to create a character and naturally, as a lover of hip-hop, I knew this girl had to come equipped with obnoxious freestyle raps. Then I found an old Kobe jersey in my closet (RIP to the GOAT) and the rest was history. We shot these silly videos on a whim. We never expected to hit millions of views. Since then, Lil’ Tasty has built quite a fanbase, and I still have some things up my sleeve, so stay tuned!

If you could wake up as one of your characters tomorrow, who would it be, and why?

Waking up as Nuocki Mum would be dope. She’s an older Vietnamese lady who tries to keep up with the times. She’s completely oblivious but means well. She hits the nightclubs every weekend to stay young. I wouldn’t mind that!

Thanks for taking the time, Sherry! Check out the Good Trouble Tumblr for more.

Photos: Storm Santos

[omamervt]

Secondly, the value of a "follower" is heavily overrated. It's sentiment that creative professionals continue to echo to this day - the value isn't in the number of followers, but the number of ACTIVE followers. It's also true that many people you assume are doing well - including some of the most popular accounts on Twitter or Tumblr - aren't doing much better than minimum wage. "Making a living" at content creation (ugh, hate that term) often requires joining a team and/or occasionally selling out to corporate sponsors, and even then some people still need a day job. I'm not the person to ask on how to make a follower into an active follower - I was stuck at around 400 followers on Twitter for basically 4 of the 5 years it was my main social media, and I’m lucky if one tweet a week got one or two interactions. Meanwhile I have been one of around 500 people to follow some OSR tabletop creator who was one of the most respected in the genre. Couldn't tell you who that was anymore, think I ended up unfollowing them because they started acting kinda racist, but the point is that even without a massive following, they had the respect of basically all their peers, it just happened that they and their peers worked in a genre so niche that close to 500 people was a big following in it. And the thing is, when they talked, people listened. Even on a forced linear timeline, I basically never saw a tweet of theirs that wasn’t getting some interaction.

And even now, the LiteralCatPod Twitter has 54 followers, at least one of whom will, bare minimum, like any tweet we put out. We have a single Patreon patron off that list of 54, which as far as I can tell is a statistical anomaly. Averaged out, our active audience is ~1 person, but that ~1 person makes us $1.64/month. And I know it’s not one person, it’s every member of the $2 Creature Feature Podcast who’s active on Twitter that interacts, it’s members of A Couple of Characters podcast, it’s random indie TTRPG creators, and occasionally they ask to come on the show! The 54 followers of LiteralCatPod Twitter are literally worth more to me than the 400-odd followers on my personal Twitter.

And that barely even gets into the difference between YOUR audience and the Platform’s audience who just so happens to be spending time watching and interacting with you, but all I can think to say about that right now is start a Patreon or Discord or something, make a Pillowfort group, see who follows you if you change platforms. 

Anyway I’ve talked more than I thought I would again

Something I've been thinking about ever since the first sign that Twitter was gonna be run into the ground is that a lot of people are (reasonably) concerned that the loss of Twitter is gonna mean the loss of a centralized platform that would allow for virtually anyone to grow a massive following of people who like what they do, and leverage that to make money doing the things they love.

Again, this isn't unreasonable, but I think maybe there are some things to consider before going all doom and gloom about it.

First, and most importantly, while we're all used to relying on centralized social media sites for discovering new things now, I think we need to remember that MANY of the independent media organizations you know of today, namely Dropout (made of former members of College Humor, a popular media production group from the 2010s), RocketJump, or RoosterTeeth? All of them and more got started way before Twitter was the prevalent social media. Basically anyone who's been making primarily web-based content since ~2014 or earlier has been around since before Twitter was the prevalent social media. Some of them got a boost from Facebook, but Pre-Timeline Facebook wasn't some shitty walled garden either, and Facebook's enshittification wasn't really complete until around 2015, with the Pivot to Video scam. The web was still a pretty open and explorable place up to that point in time. People were still discovered all the time, even with small followings, because they knew of a WAY easier game to play than the algorithm game: Search Engine Optimization, the idea that if your webpage contains all the right keywords, it's likely to end up in the first two pages of someone's Google search. Or, if you go back to a pre-2010 world, their Bing search, or their Yahoo search, or their Ask.com question. The point is, if social media as many of you know it ceased to exist tomorrow, the world wide web has a vast series of tools that many have forgotten in the last 8 years, but haven't actually gone anywhere. In fact, some have improved while nobody was looking. (like RSS. You know, the thing podcasts use? Yeah, it lets you push and pull basically any kind of web-friendly data you can imagine to any source that takes the format, including a basic-ass free Wordpress or Neocities webpage. You can even pull your Tumblr! And there are way more resources to help you maximize your use of them, now!)

I had more but I'll have to come back to it later because I had way more to say about the first point alone than I anticipated.

[felassan]

Eurogamer article: ‘Mass Effect returns: BioWare talks trilogy tweaks and franchise revival’

This article has in-depth details on MELE. It also contains BioWare discussing the future of the Mass Effect franchise.

Legendary Edition due May, extensive ME1 work revealed.

[Highlights] Sitting down with BioWare to discuss the changes and look to the future, the fact Mass Effect is back on the schedule at all seems like something worth celebrating, considering where the franchise seemed to have been left a few years ago. For fans, there's been an anxious wait for news on whether Mass Effect would continue, until the twin announcements late last year - of the remastered trilogy and a brand new (still very far-off) continuation of the series - let fans once again breathe easy. We talk to BioWare about all that below as well. [...]

"Opening up editors and looking at the content the way it was, I realised just how impressive - certainly when you look at Mass Effect 1 - what we were able to achieve there [was]," Walters recalls, when I ask him what it's like to be back working on the franchise again after a bumpy few years. "I remembered how innovative and kind of scrappy we were... This feels it's kind of got that indie vibe to it, that we're sort of scrappy, and we're gonna make this work. Everyone's wearing different hats, and we're solving problems all the time, it reminds me of the development back then. "This feels it's kind of got that indie vibe to it, that we're sort of scrappy, and we're gonna make this work."

"When I was on Jade Empire and Mass Effect 1, we often [did that]. I was a writer but I was working with the music team, the cinematic team. We often sort of dipped our toes in multiple things. I love that and getting into problem solving. And that's what this felt like again. I was excited about doing it. I wasn't necessarily excited about being brought face to face with content that I had made back in the day, because all you see are the flaws, but overall, it's actually been way more positive than any negative."

On Switch, Walters doesn't rule out Legendary Edition for Nintendo's console down the road (perhaps when it has more powerful hardware to help show off the trilogy's new visuals?) but said the remaster project had got off the ground on PC and existing consoles, and it was BioWare's mission to get these working first. "Personally, I'd love it," he said. "But ultimately, I think we had a path set and it was like, let's finish that, then let's see sort of where we're at."

The next new Mass Effect game is still a long way off - further away than Dragon Age 4, which itself isn't coming before 2022 - but with the trilogy's Legendary Edition on the horizon and the franchise's future seemingly assured once again, I wanted to know how it felt to have the series back on a solid footing after years in the wilderness. Did Walters ever think Mass Effect might have just run its course? "You get to come back and obviously have some fresher eyes, and you're not burnt out from whatever the last project might have been."

"I try and go to a lot of the conventions when I can," he says in response, "and if there's one thing I know it's this: there's a passion for this franchise to continue both within the studio and with our fans. I never had any doubt that the franchise would continue to live on in some form or fashion. I'm pretty excited." 

"The momentum of the IP is not something that's just going to stop," Meek adds, "BioWare has these large IPs, fairly well-known brands. But sometimes I think people think we're bigger than we maybe are. And if we have a handful of projects on the go, and we need the team to jump on to one project, maybe one of the IPs sits idle for a year or two. But as developers, that time just flies by because you're busy working on something and then you've had that little bit of a break away from it, you get to come back and obviously have some fresher eyes, and you're not burnt out from whatever the last project might have been. Those are the types of things I think people should be you kind of expecting every once in a while, right? And it's not the end of the world.

"So, what about the future of the Mass Effect, I ask? Will there be hints to it in the Legendary Edition, even just the odd note left lying around pointing to a future plotline? No, is the short answer. "I think it's easier for the future of the franchise to look back and take from that," Walters concludes, "than for us to try to set a course for something that needs time to ideate, and flourish on its own."

[source]

[annethepancake]

Sherlock rant

I recently rewatched BBC Sherlock for Rupert Graves, and aside from the lack of Lestrade appreciation I have a lot of problems with this series. Here are my thoughts:

1. It was all a blur

My second first impression of the show: I don't remember anything but the characters. And some characters I just blatantly forgot, like Mary. And I loved Mary on my second watch! I really forgot that at one point John actually got married and I don't even remember when I watched the show for the first time. I can still recall most of HIMYM's events and I hated that series.

2. It’s overall not a detective/crime show

Watching Sherlock for the second time, I mostly turned off my brain and just let it play in the background because (1) there's hardly anything for me to solve with the characters, most clues are taken by Sherlock off-screen anyway (especially after season 2), (2) they focus way too much on the quirks of the characters that make it almost like a sitcom that got dragged on for way too long. A crime/detective show shouldn't allow me to turn off my brain.

3. The characters just kinda fall flat

Exploring the depth of human emotions is not a bad approach to a modernized version of anything, I’m not trying to pretend I’m better than someone who gets sentimental over fictional character (if you know my blog at all, you know I am not), but at least write good characters. Sherlock is hardly a multi-faceted person; in fact, he’s kinda like the Wattpad teen fic main character sometimes. He physically fights off some terrorists with a machete to save the damsel in distress? He gets high off his tits but still got everything right all the time? John is just kinda there for most of the cases. Jim is a poorly written antagonist. Irene is a lesbian but gets the hot for our main character, surprise surprise. The only interesting characters to me are the ones who act like normal people: Molly, Greg and Mary. They are the multi-faceted characters, ones who I can actually relate to without feeling inferior to them in any way. Write characters like them, stop trying to be smart about it and stop writing Wattpad fanfictions for Sir Conan Doyle’s original works.

I get that they try to make Sherlock more like a human with emotions, making him quirky and arrogant, then make him quirky and more likable. It’s hardly a convincing character development though. He’s given over-powered deduction skills, so edgy, so high and mighty all the time. When he is finally written as vulnerable, turns out he has plans for that too. I would love to see him get it wrong once and maybe get humbled by that mistake, but getting Mary shot and killed is hardly even his fault, he is only doing his job. And killing off Mary is overall a bad idea anyway.

4. They treated the fandom like shit

I was absolutely disgusted at the start of season 3 when the showrunners just straight up shat on their fans. I wasn't there with the fandom during the wait between season 2 and 3, but I believe it was a pretty long wait (2 years, I could barely wait 2 years for my comfort series, and they have like 10 episodes per season), and they were presented with the first actual mystery of the series: How did Sherlock survive the fall? After years of waiting and having fun theorizing, they were met with a mockumentary about them, starring the most hated character of the protagonist and the fans. Those are the people who actually cared about the show for god's sake. The fact that the showrunners treated fans like crap and there's still an active fandom for the show appalled me.

Now not only The Empty Hearse bugs me, but the entire show does as well.

Allow me to digress.

Doki Doki Literature Club is a great example of audience engagement done right (Sorry for using this example I’m not actually that invested in the other franchises). After the success of the first game, the story provoked so many fans into solving the mysteries of the characters, some of them went really, really far. And that’s because of the actual mysteries that the development team took effort to plant into the plot. There is actual pay-off for painstakingly following the clues; as far as I know, only two (2!) people in the world have come close to solving the mystery of the first game (or they actually did). The game developers value their fans and their intelligence enough to have planted those clues where they did, and it’s a genuine exchange between the fans and the creators. Now even though you haven’t actually played the game, when you hear of the name and you’re only kinda familiar with gaming (like me), you’ll probably know what it is. What started as a mere open-source game by an indie developer became a sensation which left millions of fans begging for more.

Looking back at Sherlock, there are tons of logical flaws for a self-proclaimed crime series, virtually no clues for the audience to solve crimes along with their favorite detective, and when there was actually a mystery (Sherlock jumped off the building), they plainly showed him alive and well minutes later. Do we really need to see things spelled on screen to know what’s going on? Are we supposed to accept that Sherlock Holmes is an all-knowing future-predicting genius now too? Not a great sign of respecting the audience there.

So far, the only thing left that’s interesting about this series is the characters’ dynamic. Which brings me to the next criticism I have for the show.

5. The plague that infested mainstream media

Why is there still an active fandom? Queerbaiting and targeted marketing.

Community marketing is proven to be one of the best marketing methods there is, if not the best, to lengthen the lifespan of a product or service. The way they do that for shows and films and video games is usually by planting seeds of possible lores and history inside the content. Look at Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, they are franchises that ran for multiple years with a ton of history and world building that provokes fans’ imagination.

Sherlock - well, Sherlock has sexually ambiguous men.

Sherlock has a formula for success. It was an adaptation of the most iconic detective novel in the world, funded by one of the biggest TV networks in the UK and possibly the world (don’t quote me on this). Making this series means you can appeal to such a wide group of audience even before airing. Adding in the quirky smart men who live together, you’ve basically guaranteed a prime-time show with millions of loyal fans all over the world.

Fans are not stupid, and queer people don't just find queerness everywhere they go. They know a gay subtext when they see one. Sherlock came back from the literal death for John, pretty gay if you ask me.

This show is very much not just about some guys being dudes solving crimes, they have relationship that’s deeper than friendship, and definitely not platonic. They deliberately wrote a sexually ambiguous Sherlock Holmes from the get-go - literally from the very first episode, then capitalized off of the targeted demographic, never a pay-off for their anticipation. Martin Freeman said in interviews that he could recognize Sherlock fans, them being generally women from 16 - 25. No shit Sherlock, this show targets them and capitalizes off of them, being quirky and gay as hell, of course the fanbase is generally 16 - 25 and female.

Sherlock queerbaited the fandom for years for the sake of marketing and there’s never a pay-off, nor was there any recognition to the community, and to add to all that bigotry, queercoding pretty much all of the villains? Why was a show aired in the 2010′s allowed to do this? Why did Mark Gatiss, an openly gay man, a writer of the show, allow this to happen? Why are millions of fans all over the world allowing all this to go on?!

6. Conclusion

Now I haven’t read the books yet, so I’m not at all qualified to criticize the adaptation quality of the TV series; I’m just talking about the TV series on its own. Despite my criticism, I think the first two seasons did quite okay. There are quite a few nice cases there, I like The Blind Banker and The Hound of Baskerville. They did those well because the focus was on the cases themselves, and the connection between John and Sherlock was only in the background. I, like many other fans, like to figure things out on my own, to read between the lines, and to not have things spelled out for me. With the next seasons bombarded with Sherlock and John bonding it seriously felt like mere fan service for me and even though I wasn’t there when the show was on, I still felt like I was robbed and my interest in the show was abused.

Sherlock is undoubtedly super influential in pop culture even now. It has to have done something right to be in that spot (capitalizing off loyal fans?). I’m not writing this rant to change someone’s mind about the series, by all means, I’m still gonna love the hell out of Gavin Lestrade, and absolutely lose my mind over Mary Watson. So do take my words with a grain of salt, I’m just disappointed that one of the most influential shows there is is just short of my expectations.

[sknewmuse]

K-POP WEEKLY WRAP UP: GAON Album Charts

[August 27, 2021] 2021년 34주차

#1- The Chaos Chapter: FIGHT OR ESCAPE

Topping Week 34 of the Gaon Album Charts is one of K-Pop’s 4th generation It boy groups TOMORROW X TOGETHER! This being the second time TXT has debuted a new release that smashed the Gaon Albums Chart, earning them their fifth #1 in South Korea. 

“We do believe that it’s more important for us to express ourselves genuinely and openly, to be true to who we are as a team and as people. I very much enjoy being able to share these personal aspects because it feels like we, MOA and us, are deepening our bond and trust. I hope that our sincerity and honesty can be a source of strength for everyone, should they need it.” -Taehyun

#2- Queendom - The 6th Mini Album

Coming in the second spot, closely following TXT boys, is K-Pop queens Red Velvet, with their comeback album Queendom, regaining power and collecting their crowns once again. Queendom is the groups fourteenth top 10 title on the Gaon Albums Chart, all those projects have placed in the top 3. 

“What do you want fans to take away from your new project Queendom?” -billboard

“When we’re together, we shine more beautifully so let’s be there for each other forever and always.” -Irene

#3- CRAVITY 1ST ALBUM PART 1 [The Awakening: Written In The Stars]

On the rise is the talent and always impressive boys of CRAVITY, just less than two years into their debut they’ve already managed grab a spot on the top of Gaon Album Charts four times. Needless to say, CRAVITY continues to prove their talents as young artists and a group, that we will continue to see top charts in the future.

“Before, with our Hideout trilogy, we talked about acknowledging each other's existence, relying on each other, being there for one another as if we're each other's “hideouts”. Now with this album, we're stepping out of our comfort zones to face the world and all the challenges that come with it with newfound confidence, as if we've been “awakened”.” -Allen

#4-  CIX 1st Album ‘OK’ Prologue : Be OK

Next to take place is popular and handsome 5 member boy group CIX (Complete In X), the group’s first full-length collection is now their fifth to impressively and smoothly enter the top 10 of Gaon Albums Charts. Also being it’s the first to not be featured in their highly-successful ‘Hello’ series.

“The ‘HELLO’ series portrayed our friends being placed in a hell-like situation and the ‘OK’ series draws their experience searching for a breakthrough. Even if the five of us take a small stride, this is an album that shows us steadily growing and evolving. Just like how our journey up until now has come together to become this full-length album, we will work hard to start this new journey.” -Seunghun

#5- 6TH MINI ALBUM [THRILL-ING]

Last week we had the talent and personality driven group that attracts fans from all over the globe, The Boyz as our #1 place, this week they kept their crowns in the top 5 category with their 6th mini album ‘THRILL-ING’. 

“Previously, we focused a lot on trying to decipher a certain message on stage, this time around we’re more into, “let’s be chill, let’s relax on stage, let’s really enjoy the vibe of the music”.” -Sunwoo

#6- The Land of Fantasy

Coming in at spot #6 we have the talents of the indie-rock group ‘Jannabi’, bringing the act to the highest tier for just the third time. 

“The sound of The Land of Fantasy is also brilliantly lush, frequently layering dozens of voices and instruments into an inviting maelstrom. Prime examples of this include orchestral album opener “The Land of Fantasy” and the regal yet humorous “Bluebird, Spread your wings!”. The fullness of the album is exceptional given that Choi Junghoon is currently more or less operating as a one man show. Fellow bandmates Kim Dohyung (who was part of The Land of Fantasy’s production), Jang Kyungjoon, and Yoon Kyul are enlisted, on hiatus, and fresh out of the army respectively. Jannabi will in all likelihood return as a quartet (or a trio or duo), but for now, Choi Junghoon stands alone. You’d never know it from listening to The Land of Fantasy.” -Siena via. Seoulbeats

#7- DON`T FIGHT THE FEELING - Special Album

“Nations Pick” EXO return to the top 10, leaping a whopping 50 spots with what was their highly anticipated comeback. Never underestimate the power of the nations pick, on or off charts, they still find their way back. 

“The five-track project tells a story of love, maturity and the ability to adapt to change, which is something that EXO know all too well. Over the course of their nine-year career, the group have had to adapt to a slew of lineup changes and quickly mature in the process. And while certain Western media outlets will attempt to make some believe that military enlistment is “the kiss of death” for a male group, EXO have proved that it’s possible to successfully adjust to the circumstances life throws at you and still make good music.” -Natasha Mulenga via. NME 

#8- My Collection & #9- Select Shop

Returning this week at the 8th and 9th spot, is coincidently both former Wanna One members, Park Jihoon with ‘My Collection’ and Ha Sungwoon with ‘Select Shop’. As we see some former Wanna One members that went solo continue smash charts, it’s no surprise we have both singers still consecutively in the album charts at the same time. 

#10- LOVE YOURSELF 轉 `Tear`

Bringing in our final spot is yet again worldwide K-Pop legends BTS. The global icons managed to smoothly swing through with the help of ARMY, ARMY’S undying love and support swiftly returned them to the top 10 with their 2018 album.

"This time around, it's about honesty and love, sometimes we just turn away from some sort of situations, because in love and life, it's not like a fairytale. We always have a dark side, so we want to talk about like, the dark sides of love.” -RM

[ear-worthy]

A New Tide To Lift Indie Podcasts - Lenny.fm

Monetization is the Holy Grail for podcasts, especially independent podcasts, since they are mostly self-funded. Monetization for indie podcasts often comes through a company like Patreon where listeners can donate or through a subscription model, although that model is usually not viable for "indies."

Some of the best independent podcasts that need listener funding -- and deserve listener financial support -- include The Life Shift, Multispective, Surfing Corporate, Leverage Your Podcast, Murder Sheet, Impostrix, Verbal Diorama, Seraphina Speaks, Bippity Boppity Business, and Watching The Covers Flow.

 These are all superb indie podcasts that need listener support to survive and grow. Recently, an Australian company -- Nealry Media pty Ltd -- better known as Lenny.fm has proposed a new podcast monetization strategy that helps podcasters and listeners.

Here's their marketing pitch: "Your podcasts walk with you, talk with you, shown up for you in the podcast app — they do the show for you."

"Lenny.fm is a new way to support the people you spend so much time with. And to help them spend more time with you," says Courtney Carthy of Lenny.fm.

"It’s built for the podcast ecosystem, for podcast fans and podcast creators," Courtney continues. "For listeners, you can support the great work of the podcasts you enjoy listening to. A little makes a lot of difference."

"For podcast creators." Courtney adds. "If you want to monetize, Lenny.fm is one of many great options. Why not have more than one?"

Courtney Carthy, part of the founding team, says the concept came from his experience running a podcast production company and working in the music industry.

"We want to get creators to get rewarded for their work by people who value it, and help drive an overall increase in listeners supporting podcast creators, no matter which platform they choose to use. Lenny.fm works for almost any podcast, and works best for podcasts that are ongoing that have a constant presence with their audience. It’s incredibly meaningful as a creator when you find out someone has financially contributed to your work."

“Working in the music industry, I saw artists immediately turn on revenue streams — merch, touring, sales, licensing — because it works. Many podcasts might have one revenue stream or live in hope that something will come along," Courtney explains.

Courtney adds: “Lenny.fm can be a rising tide that lifts all podcasts.”

How Lenny.fm works

Listeners choose 4 or more podcasts to support in order of preference

Listeners contribute US$4 a month, which is split between the top 4 podcasts they chose.

If a podcast in their top 4 doesn’t publish an episode that month, the preferences reorder to 4 that have.

The podcast can choose how best to reward listeners supporting them via Lenny.fm, if they choose to.

Courtney Carthy explains and answers questions.

A lot of the feedback has assumed Lenny.fm wants to be the only way podcasts monetize. We want it to be an effective part of several revenue streams, or we want it to be effective for podcasts that find it to be the best one for them.

Lenny is just another one that works pretty well for listeners and creators.

We think Lenny is going to best work with independent or network podcasts, or those that don't have advertising. Which is a few. And maybe 1% of listeners who listen to more than 6 podcasts a week (about 23% according to an Edison report). So, less than 1% of global listeners is our early goal.

How podcast creators can get their audience involved.

This is covered in the creator onboarding, which at the moment is fairly manual other than medium articles and an email sequence we're updating constantly with feedback.

The short answer is, let your audience know they can support your podcast and others they appreciate via Lenny.fm. 

Whether that's a link or a mention on the podcast, up to the creator.

Ideally, Lenny is mentioned like a social account "Follow us on [social media channel] and support our work via Lenny.fm"

What happens when listeners want to support a podcast that isn’t signed up. Where does that money go?

The money is held while we track down the creators to let them know. The creators can then request it or let it accumulate (which minimizes the share of the support spent in transaction fees) or opt for a routine transaction.

This has already been a long term project for me. Something I started properly thinking about in 2018, a year after I started Nearly Media. It crystallized in 2020 and through covid, work, and having three children it's taken some time to get where we are now.

I've committed myself to building Lenny for at least five years so it becomes a recognized and trusted brand that offers one or more ways for creators to get paid. It's never going to be for everyone, but there's a niche there where this current product can work well for both creators and listeners.

Lenny is designed to not get in the way of other revenue streams podcast creators want to use, and offer an easy option to as many as are interested.

Why $4 a month

$4 was chosen after doing some basic modeling to find a number that would be approximately equal to or more than CPM rates for podcasts, an audience conversion rate between 1 and 5%. 

This was done in USD as that's where the largest market is.

Why can’t I share $40 a month?

Having fixed contribution is only for version1.0. I'm keen to open it up to any amount when we can do that work.

Halt to subscription revenue if not publishing and series-driven and audio-fiction podcasts.

I get this, having produced numerous podcast series and been responsible for recouping the production costs.

For these formats and publishing schedules, I'd recommend creators find a revenue stream that's most effective. Lenny.fm might not be it. But it doesn't hurt to have a few ways going on in parallel.

What works with Lenny is that when the series starts publishing again, the support starts again. Supporters are likely to have not changed their preferences for who to support in what order, so the production can expect to get an amount of money based on previous support. Happy to go into how the preferences work and how they move around - pick 1 to 4 or more, Lenny remembers those preferences and allocates money according to a simple formula based on preference and publishing.

Creators can get around this by publishing anything on the RSS feed over the month to continue receiving revenue.

Yes. You probably don’t have only one social media account, so why not have more than one way to get contributions for your work? Musicians are a great example. They make money from touring, streaming (sort of), album sales, merch, royalties, sync deals and more. Podcast creators shouldn’t be limited!

How do I get paid supporters?

Let them know on any of your channels — podcast, socials, newsletter, website. Add the Lenny.fm URL or your share link URL everywhere and make a habit of mentioning that people can support your show on Lenny.fm.

Do you have to start an account as a creator?

No, but do create an account. You’re much more likely to get supporters if you tell your audience. But we’ll notify the email address on your show’s RSS feed when a listener has started contributing to that podcast.

How do pay-outs work?

Start a Stripe or PayPal account, and we’ll get it to you when you request it. Check your balance anytime in your Lenny account page.

Who’s behind all this?

Audio producer Courtney Carthy and three business partners who know how to build software, play music and listen to podcasts.

Lenny.fm can help your favorite indie podcast continue to provide the type of content listeners like you enjoy.