I am aware that at the time of posting, this is a rather desolate and empty place; and I wish to address why as well as what is coming, both in relation to Locals, as well as for content in General.
To begin, I fully intend to be as open and transparent with my audience and supporters about what is happening and in the works. However, as not everything is wholly tied to my own actions or inactions, I can't be frank and direct simply due to not being willing to potentially mislead anyone when I am aware it might not come to pass.
That being said, Locals.com is where I fully intend to make not only my primary funding and support option, but also a store of exclusive content regarding the Realms, what projects are underway, as well as the place where supporters can directly influence the direction of future productions.
Of course, for that to occur, there must both be content, as well as a manner in which to allow support. Both of these are matters that are in the works; and to be quite honest, are a matter of finding the financial means to get several things that are proving to be major chokepoints to enabling meaningful progress. Namely being able to afford the LLC incorporation and establish the proper accounts to be able to transact not only with any support that may come in, but to also hopefully commission assets (art, music, etc.) to improve the quality of production as well as other costs.
Separate from the above, yet tied in tangentially, due to actions and trends present on the main venue of viewership thus far, YouTube.com / @Gryphons_Library, combined with matters within the Realms that are not likely to be seen in the most favorable of lights and someone, somewhere finding and crying about that could easily snowball out of control; has made very clear that I must change the way in which my content is published and distributed.
What exactly this will look like has not been finalized, but at the time of posting, the goal is to make Rumble our main platform for publications (Everything NOT Exclusive to Locals) with a mirror or syndicated release to YT of only part of future content, perhaps only half of Realms content. Rumble again will be where everything is posted, as everything thus far has been mirrored there the collection is complete.
So far as Locals content will go, for now it will be a bit slow, as people trickle in, both interaction and content will increase. I want to aim for a Live stream at least once a month, and live chats often if not constant so that I can give my supporters the best value I can.
However, once bit of balancing that will take me some time to figure out is both how much content I can commit to, sustain, and ultimately have the time and resources to expand on. So far, 2 entries a week has proven at times difficult, but this is more from trying to brainstorm what lore should go with what tale and other issues of creative discretion than a mechanical or technical. However, even with these caveats, there is so much room to improve. Improved musical scoring, ambient background effects, improved visual assets; all are areas that could be improved on with only increase amount of time right? Unfortunately not, as while I have some of the knowledge and experience to do little things, I am not an audio engineer nor am I skilled in illustration or animation. Therefore, to be able to implement this improvements, I require either vastly more time, or the ability to commission or otherwise find those who can provide assistance in these areas.
All of this of course will hinge on the levels of support received once it is possible to do so. As I said at the top of this, I want to be as transparent and open here as possible, so here are the rough Ideas I am having as far as how many supporters would help the growth of the Realms-
0-100 Supporters: Most funds would be nearly immediately used for new assets and potentially equipment to improve the quality of the Productions. This would enable a great deal of improvement, for both visual and perhaps audio elements. However, I would not be able to necessarily focus and devote more time that I really already do, as I still have a Trade I practice to pay the bills.
200-500 Supporters: This is where the rubber would meet the road, as at this point it starts becoming fiscally feasible to potentially make the jump into full-time content production. Of course, the greater the crowd of support the more realistic this path becomes. This would allow me to hopefully focus fully on content production, as well as the other matters of this great endeavor; free from many of the stresses that currently hamper or otherwise interfere currently.
500+ Supporters: Take this as the back of the envelope math that it is; but I believe that at this level of backing, so long as it stays consistent or growing, I will have no reason not to make The Realms my Full time Job, and if support beyond this point does come in, continuing the policy of reinvestment is the only way I can see to properly use such generous support.
Anything above these numbers is beyond my wildest dreams at this point, and I want to keep my goals clear, and obtainable. More Updates to come in the coming month, as I continue to work on the issues discussed above. Thank you one and all for your Interest, and hopefully soon, your Patronage of the Realms of Jam'mar.
May the Ink of Your Tale Never Dry
Be Well;
Take Care of Yourselves,
And Each Other.
Perceptive Patrons of the Library,
The storm has past and recovery is well underway. Power has been restored, as well as basic internet access. I apologize for not being able to update before now; however, an unexpected snafu with my locals app kept me from posting here.
Plan is as it was before, Calling this week a wash, and continuing next week with a new entry for you all by Friday morning, to be echoed to YT a week after that. Livestreams might still be up in the air, due to the current nature of my internet access. Thank you again for your patience and support.
Until the next update, by the 9 & 4,
Be Well;
Take Care of Yourselves,
And Each Other
Perceptive Patrons of the Library,
As you are no doubt aware, Hurricane Milton is on it's way to impact Florida, which happens to be where I live. While I have prepared to ensure my own safety as much as can be done; I felt a message here was not only appropriate, but necessary.
While no hurricane is particularly well timed, Milton's timing is most certainly a source of vexation. Having just begun to make content again, while assembling the final few pieces for future projects; and this storm is likely to disrupt the minor momentum I have gained thus far, to my chagrin.
I am currently writing the script for the next entry, and am hoping to be able to rush things and get it out the door for the Locals Subscribers release Friday morning as was the schedule I was trying to set. However, this is by far guaranteed, as both the incoming storm is likely to disrupt power and internet.
This is likely, but not guaranteed, to affect my ability to stream both on YT and Locals. The damage to utilities and the ...
Alrighty folks, with the YT Release of S5E1, we will have, as promised, both a YT livestream and then one here on locals exclusively. Both will be around 30 mins, with the YT one possibly running longer because of limits.
YT Stream starts at 7PM Eastern on Sunday October 6th, with the Locals exclusive stream to start at 8PM at the latest.
I look forward to seeing you all there, have your questions ready, and comments warmed up!
