The Holiday Update!

Hello all!

I hope everyone is currently having a great festive period, whichever holidays you celebrate; or, if you celebrate none, then I just hope you’re having a fantastic week!

Having skipped out on a couple of Friday Updates lately due to being up-to-my-neck in filming and editing, I wanted to just post a quick note to let you know how it’s all gone and to share some festive cheer!

As is always the case when I hit what I call my “production weeks”, the past few weeks have been fairly hectic. This time around, I was also aware of wanting to release the video in good time before Christmas so that I could set aside some days to spend with friends and family. And, on top of that, I was quite ambitious with this latest video, making use of multiple sets and locations.

I am, however, really pleased with how it turned out. The sections which I filmed in what I pretentiously call my “studio” benefited from some sound treatment I’ve recently been applying which hopefully improved the quality of the voice track. The sections filmed outdoors were a little less easy to film—at one point we got set-upon by a herd of Dartmoor ponies(!)—but I think the resulting footage looks much better than the last time I filmed outside. So, at the very least, I’m learning from past challenges!

The video has been really well-received. I wasn’t entirely sure how large of an audience it would garner, but it’s currently my second most-viewed video (when compared with the equivalent time since release) which is fantastic. After working so diligently researching, writing, filming and editing a video for the best part of two months, it’s incredibly gratifying to see it gaining an audience and to bear witness to some of the conversations its stirred-up in the comments section.

I’m currently in the midst of taking a little bit of time off for Christmas and New Year. Although, as well as writing this quick missive, I’ve also found myself regularly returning to reading for my next video in between wrapping presents. I’m really excited about it and think it’s going to be a really interesting dive into an incredibly important topic.

Thanks so much for all your support throughout 2021. It’s been a fantastic year for the channel. I’ve learned a lot about what videos I want to make and how to make them. That so many people have wanted to watch them is pretty nice too.

I really hope you’re all keeping safe and well. Despite everything that’s going on in the world, I also hope that you and your loved ones have a wonderful last few days of this Gregorian year and an even better 2022.

Thanks as ever for your generous support,

Tom