Newsletter #3: I hate being on video
Kickstarter progress, cool campaigns, LOTR baddies, and a tease for a subscriber exclusive!
Out of the gate, I have a confession: I’m a huge Frank Herbert/Dune fan. I loved the book as a kid (although I never ventured further than the first in the series), the DVD/TV series and its offshoot, Children of Dune (with James McIlroy and others), and revisiting it all years later with the audiobook version.
As a result, instead of honing a singular focus dedicated to putting out our very own creative endeavour, I’ve been frantically trying to figure out how I can watch the new movie here in Canada. Yes, it’s out in theatres, but I’m not really keen on that environment yet… so I’m avoiding any and all possible spoiler opportunities. I don’t know how long I can keep that up, so if anyone has any insight into Canadian viewing options in the short term, let me know!
OK. Back to the matter at hand: You remember the drill, right? Please share this newsletter with your nearest and dearest (or worst enemy. Whatever works) so they, too, can bear witness to Mike’s droning…
Video-phobia
It’s a thing. Apparently. But in all transparency, I’m not really phobic, I just don’t like (read: “I hate”) being on video. It stems back to Journalism school (flex) and practicing in front of the camera. My head always tilted in that dog-like “what, did you say treat?” way.
Now, in a world of video calls, I can adjust my camera, move my head, and generally obsess about my head tilt without (m)any repercussions, but when it comes to recording something, I just can’t seem to get it right.
Why does this matter? Well, it probably doesn’t matter as much as I think it does, but project videos are a big part of any Kickstarter project. There’s a formula, and one part of the equation is face time with the creative(s) where we discuss what the project entails, why it’s so awesome, and, ultimately, why it’s so important you give us your money.
[Aside: I’ll provide some samples in the “cool campaigns” section below]
So, I’m wracking my brain and exceeding my creative capacity to crack the code when it comes to an effective video. Not too long (especially with my facetime), not too short. Fun and punchy, providing a solid, easy-to-follow outline of what backers can expect, and why it’s worth supporting. Easy, right?
At the end of the day, we’ll just put out the best we can and the story, Kevin Manklow’s amazing illustrations, and the hope that many of you will back this project just to shut me up will push us through to a fully-funded campaign. Fingers crossed.
For those of you who are creators and/or, more specifically, regular backers on Kickstarter, please share some of your favourite campaign video samples (yes, you can share your own in an act of shameless self-promotion if necessary) in the comments below.
Cool campaigns
So, if you’ve made it this far, you’ll know that this is less about how cool a campaign is, and more about how much I like the video. Kickstarter doesn’t make it easy to share project videos, so the links below are to the campaigns themselves, which will feature a video up top, rather than a link to a video itself. Sorry if that’s a hassle. Deal with it.
To Steal the Sun: An epic heist-fantasy novel
This one by Sheldon Carter (in collaboration with Toronto’s RAID Press) not only jumped out at me because of how amazing the video is but because it’s a novel, not a comic or graphic novel! Yes, sequential art-style stories are near-and-dear to my heart, but a big goal of mine is to kickstart an actual novel. The campaign itself is great but, as mentioned, the video really grabbed me:
As of this writing, the campaign has $16K+ pledged of its $5K goal, so it’s doing pretty well. The video itself provides a great overview of the concept, and gives me a sense of who the creator is, why he’s doing this, and what the money is going towards. Overall, a solid offering.
Forgotten Hymns
This Lovecraftian noir horror comic by Andrew Guilde is the third instalment of the series. In the video itself, the artwork drew me in, and Andrew’s earnest presence and enthusiasm for the project pulled me across the line.
BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves…
Boom Studios really knocked it out of the park with Keanu Reeve’s inaugural foray into the graphic novel space. Launched a year ago (October 2020), the campaign goal was $50K. Written by Reeves, co-written by NYT best-selling author Matt Kindt, and illustrated by superstar artist Ron Garney, BRZRKR is Highlander meets John Wick meets The Old Guard… needless to say, it funded quickly and has hit $1,447,212 in pledges to date. The video features Reeves who unabashedly shares his love for comics and enthusiastically outlines the idea he brought to life. Check it out.
Thoughts? Again, share your faves in the comments below (please and thanks) so I can be inspired to get off my a*s and nail down our very own video offering.
LOTR Baddies
While juggling his day job and the upcoming Feral: A Canadian Bestiary project, Kevin had some fun this week putting out some content on Instagram. More specifically, check out his Five Days of LOTR Baddies, featuring characters from Team Sauron.
Subscriber exclusive [teaser]: Bestiary prelude script!
We’ve been sharing a lot of Kevin’s amazing artwork. For a change of pace, here’s a partial sample of Mike’s Bestiary script, which serves as a prelude to the field guide itself… setting the stage and providing some context and characterization.
This is material we don’t usually like to release into the wild, so while this first-look/teaser is a freebie, the rest will, unfortunately, sit behind a teeny-tiny paywall.
This is where you get the “for less than the price of a coffee a day” message. Really, it’s less than the price of a fancy coffee each month! Or a whiskey/bourbon. Whatever your pleasure. If you’re from the US, it’s basically free with the currency exchange to CAD.
Let us know your thoughts if you decide to take the plunge.
Mike & Kevin.
Feral: A Canadian Bestiary (prelude)
PAGE 1
PANEL 1
Illustration(s) showing off the Canadian wilderness. Perhaps a wide view of the scene with a minuscule Sir Clancy in the middle. The second page can zero in on Sir Clancy himself…
Foxbottom looking at a creature torn to pieces... Claw marks, limbs missing or removed. Blood splattered all around. It’s not a deer, but we want to slightly obscure that it is a fantastic, previously-thought-to-be-mythical creature.
It’s around mid-day (sun high in the sky)
New France 1672, not far from Fort Chambly.
Sir Clancy Foxbottom: An English cryptozoologist and anthropologist in the employ of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
SIR CLANCY
(Muttering, leather-bound notebook in one hand, queer walking stick in the other)
Hmmm... The claw marks are reminiscent of that Scottish Bogill I ran across in ’69. Hm. Deeper, though. Somewhat wider...
PANEL 2
Same scene, but from a different angle, giving a better view of Foxbottom.
SIR CLANCY
Whomever, or, rather, whatever did this was ravenous, it seems. Franticness notwithstanding, there are significant saliva secretions.
PAGE 2
PANEL 1
Similar/same scene, but Foxbottom examining blood splatter on a nearby tree or rock...
SIR CLANCY
Ahhhh. Despite our “guest’s” apparent hunger, these splatter patterns and the ultimate state of the remains indicate his or her repast was rather rudely interrupted.
PANEL 2
Sir Clancy standing back from the scene...
SIR CLANCY
Speaking of meals... I’m famished.
PANEL 3
Sir Clancy seated against a tree… Nibbling on bread, jerky, something, with one hand, and doodling in his journal that’s resting on his knee with the other.
PANEL 4
Close up of what he’s doodling... A replica of the scene we were just looking at, with measurements and scribbled notes and questions marks in the margins.
PAGE 3
PANEL 1
Darker, if not completely nighttime... Sir Clancy finds a campsite. Fire burning. Two tents. Some rabbits hanging from a branch. A pot over the fire, with Sir Clancy’s guide, an Ojibwe named Old Bill, stirring the pot. Basically a scene with Sir Clancy pulling stuff off his shoulder and preparing to settle down with Old Bill...
OLD BILL
How did you fare?
PANEL 2
The same scene, with Sir Clancy fully sitting and relaxed, Old Bill still stirring.
SIR CLANCY
Just remains. As you suspected, Old Bill, there was little evidence of where it got off to. But promising, nonetheless!
PANEL 3
Close(r) up on Old Bill to get a better sense of what he looks like. Maybe just him in this panel, now with a bowl of something and a spoon...
OLD BILL
I always find it fascinating what it is you find... Promising, my English friend. A seelie carcass is still just a seelie carcass, is it not? How does that get us closer to finishing “Company” business?
PAGE 4
PANEL 1
Sir Clancy holding his bestiary/journal, pointing it at Old Bill...
SIR CLANCY
You know as well as I, Bill, that my agenda and that of the Hudson’s Bay Company do not perfectly align. We may be here on their coin, but not at their behest. The Bestiary is all I care about. The fact that the information I glean is of value to them is beside the matter.
PANEL 2
Old Bill sharpening a big knife...
OLD BILL
That is naïveté speaking, English. The Company is the Company... Your research aids in their grand design. Don’t fool yourself as to what role you play.
PANEL 3
Panning back to a larger view of the region, with Clancy and Bill and their fire just a small thing in the grand scheme...
SIR CLANCY
Hm. Still... Every visitor here, whether they be English, French, or seelie from abroad are trying to build a new life. Begin anew. And yet, their fresh start is being built on the history and culture of the denizens of this seemingly wild land. There’s something deeper at play. I’m here to understand and chronicle that culture.
OLD BILL
(muttering)
You’re here to be a pain in my a*s, more like...
…
More to come! You can subscribe to get access to the whole script, which I’ll post in the next couple of days.