Update on the Apache

That Halo video I discussed will certainly come out at SOME point, but I've decided to keep it in the reserve as I embark upon my Apache Wars trilogy. Three videos over three months, each one covering roughly a decade and focusing on a different figure. I really cannot bear to not deliver again, but it's going to be a busy three months, and I need the Halo video ready in case of a delay.

This is what Yeehaw Summer should have been (it's Yeehaw Fall now) but I wasn't ready to pull that off at the time. My schedule is less free now, as I'm going to school, but last weekend I managed to drive to Big Bend National Park (no small feat) to film the first video. The resulting footage exceeded expectations, and I'll be returning later this month to record some additional footage for Part One (the ending could be improved), as well as Part Two itself. I'm doing reshoots for you people, we're getting it done.

The problem I've had is that the Apache Wars are monstrously complicated. This is a general problem with writing history, reality does not map cleanly onto the simple three-act narrative structures which the human brain likes.

I've been busy and your money is being, I think, well spent. I hope you'll agree with me at the end of the month. I'd be lying if I said that I'm not demoralized at the moment. YouTube doubled-down on AI (& shorts) just as it removed my most earnest and personal video. All the same, your support and patience has meant the world to me as I've embarked upon my most difficult project yet.

Part One, I fear, will be the worst as it's simply the lacking in the detail and humanity which I strive to capture in history videos, it's nonetheless essential to the broader story. The video centers mostly on Mangas Coloradas and Cochise, two Apache Chiefs who didn't leave behind personal perspectives, and thus feel more like legends than people. This problem is only made worse by the lack of pictures of both of them.

This is easily the biggest challenge I've faced yet. I need to make a complicated, bleak, and long story digestible, informative, and entertaining. It's a difficult balance to strike, and it's too soon to say if I succeeded.

I can say that the first 15 minutes which I've edited is fun and well-paced, but it's always hard to say if I over-simplified the story to achieve that. We'll see soon.

Thanks again for your patience and support. This is my most ambitious project yet, and it's as algorithm-unfriendly as possible. I've been laying the groundwork necessary this past month, and I promise I've been working diligently on research, writing, and filming. I've only now begun to see the fruits of my labor, and can't wait for you to see them too.

• DJ PC