ArTorr Updates: July 2023

Hello and welcome to a new monthly update post! I skipped June as I was deep into wrapping up a certain Indiana Jones video at the start of the month, and had worked on pretty much nothing else but that video in the weeks leading up to it, so it wouldn't have made for a very substantial post. But that won't be the case for this post, nor what I've spent the last few weeks working on...

But first, let's revisit that "target video schedule" I shared in my first update post this year.

Updating the 2023 Schedule

• February - The Last of Us
• March - Indiana Jones Sequels
• May - Andor
• June - ???
• July - ???
• September - ???
• October - ???
• December - ???

Evidently, the schedule is pretty inaccurate now. We managed a TLOU video for February, but the Indiana Jones Sequels video didn't arrive until last month. And unfortunately, the Andor video is not far along enough in research to make it my next project. 

As always, things happen, life gets in the way, and projects balloon overtime. All that means is that the schedule needs to be readjusted, and with it, I'm going to reveal my next two videos...

• February - The Last of Us
• June - Indiana Jones Sequels
• July - Jurassic Park
• August - The Bear
• September - Andor
• October - ???
• November - ???
• December - ???

Neither of my next two videos, on Jurassic Park and The Bear, were videos I set out to make at the start of the year. But upon seeing the long and winding road ahead to the Andor video, and the burst of new subscribers from the Indy video, I wanted to do some shorter, film-related videos that will continue to grow the channel. So, let's talk about them...

Jurassic Park

While researching Spielberg's career for the Indiana Jones Sequels video in March, I came up with an idea for a potential future video on Jurassic Park. What if you compared the advent of a dinosaur theme park-- and the implications of their existence in the modern world-- to the advent and implications of artificial intelligence in our world? Afterall, Jurassic Park is revered as the movie that started the "digital revolution" in the film industry, showing audiences that virtually anything a storyteller could imagine was possible with CGI. And now, 30 years later, these two technologies-- CGI and AI-- have begun to intersect more than ever, with deepfake face swapping, AI-generated voices, and most recently, creations like the AI-generated intro sequence to Marvel Studios' Secret Invasion series. 

There's both a duality to the impact of these technologies, and a lack of accountability for that impact. The way Jurassic Park conducts its conversation about its technology is a universal one, and will make for an insightful and important conversation in our video about an exciting, but terrifying technology that isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. Besides, Jurassic Park is one of my all-time favorite films, and I had so much fun working on the Indy video that I would love the chance to spend just a little bit more time in the world of Steven Spielberg.

Although I'm only two weeks into the video, this will be a shorter video (I think), so my goal is to have it out later this month; mid-August at the latest.

The Bear

Earlier this year, I watched Christopher Storer's The Bear series on Hulu and was completely blown away. The second season, which I finished watching a few days ago, stands as my favorite piece of media so far from 2023. It's an incredible, deeply beautiful series. But it's not the kind of media I ever talk about on ArTorr. It's not sci-fi, connected to a big franchise, or connected to George Lucas. It's out of left field for the channel, but that's why I really want to talk about it. But I won't be doing it alone.

For the first time on ArTorr, I will be co-writing a video-- and with my great friend, Devin. He and I have been close friends since high school, and in just two seasons The Bear has become an all-time favorite show for the both of us. We will be writing a top-to-bottom analysis of the show's first two seasons, but with a very unique twist that I won't yet share. While we've taken notes and done light research so far, we're going to spend this month outlining and writing the video. Once the script is complete, I'll reassume my usual solo role as the video editor.

Devin's a great writer, and I'm eager to introduce him to you guys. Though we will be analyzing 18 episodes of television, we're not plunging to the same depth or scrutiny as The Mandalorian or Bad Batch videos. Our goal is to have it out by late August; mid-September by the latest. Let it rip!

Where is Cassian Andor?

So, why exactly is the Andor video taking so long? Aside from what I've previously shared-- that this will be a lengthy breakdown of the series, akin to my Mandalorian or Mass Effect 3 videos-- this video has taken me down a path of research into real-world revolutions, politics, and history that, alone, rivals the time I've spent on the complete making of some videos on my channel. We are talking hundreds of hours of research. In the end, it will all be distilled into a <2 hour video, but I can't see myself getting there without taking the opportunity to research these subjects fully. 

In that time, several more behind-the-scenes bits of Andor have been unveiled, both through the show's FYC awards campaign, and interviews with cast and crew who've since shared their experience. Inadvertently, the video only benefits from this slow-drip of insight, while I keep finding new ideas for exciting sequences, analysis, and video moments to jot down.

For these reasons, I feel very assured to keep delaying the video. Since starting research at the start of the year, the scope of the video has grown drastically, and-- when the time soon comes-- it will pay off in a fantastic final product. So, humbly, I ask for your continued patience. It should all be worth it at the end!

That's all Folks!

Now you're completely up to speed with where I'm at on videos! I'm really excited to share the next two videos with you guys, and hope you're as excited to watch them as I am to make them. Thank you for your support, and see you again soon!