So I want to make a tradition of making monthly Patreon update posts so everyone can be in the loop about where things are at with my content and what progress is being done. I know it may seem like I never do any work and just laze around, but the truth is I just can get very invested into projects and can be overly picky about what stuff is ready to be seen by human eyes.
So to start things off, I want to tell you all that Dad's second video is not canceled! In fact, it's closer to being done than ever before. I'd say I probably have around 45-46 hours done of it already. The issue at play right now is that if I commit full-time to that video, it could easily be another 2 months before it's ready to post. Even proof-watching that much material is a headache. I have attached one of the best parts of the video so far, a YuGiOh spoof that we're all very proud of. Visuals unfinished, of course.
Because times are tough, I'm trying to get out more normal "Quinton content" while I put Dad on the back burner.
Now, if you didn't know I just posted a new video to the main channel. The reason many of you might not know is it sadly has done worse than I possibly could have anticipated. As I write this, it seems like we'll be lucky if it gets further than 300k views. This has been devastating for me, and it's been made worse by a lot of people championing my failure and rushing to tell me how terrible a person I am for making these sorts of videos. Because of that - frankly - I feel directionless and unsure of what I can or should do next.
What makes this all worse is that I am going on a roadtrip in June to Branson, MO. I had wanted to get a video out in June and my plan had been to spend the next two weeks working on getting it out while also prepping for the roadtrip. On this trip I'll be filming about four videos at once, as I'll be doing content for Dad's Henningverse series, for my Garfield Games video, for the McDonald's project and anything else I can fit in. Because of that, it's going to be a lot of prep work and a big ball of stress.
What I can do at this point is give you a brief outline of what I had WANTED to do with my content schedule, my thoughts on what still makes sense, and my general doubts.
June - The Mysterious Death of Buzzfeed Unsolved | Fallen Titans
Retrospective look at the channel Buzzfeed Unsolved; studying the show's legacy, the mixed feelings I have about the true crime genre, the awkward rift caused by the launch of Watcher, and the drama from a few years ago. Most of all, I would do a segment analyzing the Hot Doga lore and establishing how important it is, unironically, to understanding the career of the boys.
July - Did the Spy Kids commit war crimes?
An idea I've had for years. The idea would be a quicker-than-usual retrospective look at the Spy Kids franchise, with one specific question in mind: did the Spy Kids commit any war crimes? I'd love this one to be 90 minutes AT MOST.
August - The Rise of Green Acres (Russ Reviews)
September - The Gentrification of Roku City
Set in 2025, this is the first video of me "coming back" to the channel after being lost for so long. It would feature me studying the Roku brand, breaking down Roku City, and studying free Roku content. At this point, I'm considering finishing this video and just putting it out on the second channel.
October - Phil of the Future retrospective
A retrospective about the Disney Channel sitcom
November - Bizaardvark retrospective (part of iCarly mini-series)
A return to the iCarly reboot series, studying a Disney Channel knock-off which starred Jake Paul and Olivia Rodrigo.
December - iCarly reboot review, part 1
Now, out of what I have above here I still feel pretty good. I'm trying to put a lot of thought into content that will be close to an hour, 3 hours tops. I REALLY, REALLY REALLY intended for Grumpy Cat to be that length, the amount of interesting content I was able to find simply put a wrench in those plans. Maybe I should have just scrapped half the video, I don't know.
Here's the issues I have - a good number of these videos I put in the schedule as "slow burners." Videos that I didn't think would get a million views on day one, but would still be fun to watch. Specifically, those would be Buzzfeed Unsolved, Roku City, and probably Phil of the Future. The fear, as I write this, is that I made Grumpy Cat thinking that it would be a big hit, bigger than a lot of these other ideas. Well, what if I'm right? What if all these more eccentric, experimental videos struggle to even get to 100k? What if I make the YouTube algorithm fully believe that my channel is just flop after flop?
Stresses like these are why a lot of big youtubers abandon their main channels except for special occasions. It's a real damned-if-I-do, damned-if-I-don't predicament.
I'm sure the most common advice here will be "well take a break, work when you feel like it," but with my resources growing and the latest video having a negative effect on my metrics, I simply can't afford to do that. I must do something, yet every possible path feels like it could easily lead to a worse failure than the last.
I guess I'm just in a weird stand-off with myself. I feel my imposter syndrome has been widely validated this week and I'm left uncertain what my audience expects or even likes about my stuff. I will keep trying to start something and to figure out what piece comes next, but it's just been a very hard time.