20:20
That's right, I am taking a break. But don't worry it's not going to be for long, and I'm working on the biggest project I've ever made for when I return. But first, where are my manners. Hey, I'm Charlie, and this is my cat Meelo. I've been making videos about climate change, capitalism, and the environment for over nine years now. And, pretty much from the beginning, it's been non-stop. Over the course of those nine years, the channel and my videos have evolved quite a bit. I started out making videos every single week. Each video was a short sub-10-minute piece examining everything from the environmental themes of Lord of the Rings
or the paradoxes of an eco-concious corporation like Patagonia. But that weekly upload cycle soon turned to every two weeks, which eventually turned to every month as I wanted to dive deeper into topics and felt frustrated and unhappy with the quality of the videos I was producing. If you want to put it another way, each change in video release schedule marked a moment of burnout. You may have noticed a slip in quality over the past couple of years on my channel, but burnout has caught up with me once again. Especially for the past year, I feel like I've
been phoning it in. I've been doing a disservice to you, the audience, and really have not been producing quality videos. That combined with a recent hit in average views across my videos perhaps due to a change in the YouTube algorithm, the explosion of YouTube shorts, and the glut of AI videos means that I've been pouring time and effort into researching and editing content that I'm not happy with, and the wider world of YouTube doesn't seem to want to watch. So, in October, I decided to change the course of this channel. I want Our Changing Climate to be a
space to explore the human and material realities of climate change. I want this channel to dive deep into the questions of "who's causing this crisis" and "what do we do about it." And the best way to explore these questions is to, as the old filmmaking and theatre proverb goes, show don't tell. What this means in practice is that I'm moving away from the opinion videos I've been making for the last nine years and towards creating longer-form, three-part documentary serieses. Series that will hopefully explore the stories of activists or the crimes of fossil capital as a vessel to understand our current moment.
But I don't want this just be me talking. I hope to, at the end of each series, compile comments, questions, and critiques from you all and release a debrief video examining all of your thoughts! This is a big undertaking. And here we arrive at the reason for my break. Since the beginning of October, I've been working on my first three-part series. Scripting almost 50 pages of narrative, bashing my head against 3d and editing software, and trying to get it all done for a release date in March. Luckily, I had some videos backlogged that I could release in Novemeber and Decemeber, but for January, February, and possibly March,
I won't be releasing videos in order to pour all my effort into this new style of series. To be vulnerable for a second, this is a big risk for the channel, which ultimately means a big financial risk for me. I'm essentially putting half a year of work into a series that I have no idea whether people will want to watch, not to mention, possibly get demonitized by YouTube. It feels like I'm putting everything on the line. I've been learning how to use 3d animation software like Blender and map animation software like Geolayers to make this new iteration of OCC video way higher quality, because I want these to feel like documentaries.
But this upping of quality means its more and more expensive to make videos. Just the licensing for 3d models for example, is honestly wildly expensive. So I'm not only potentially forgoing pay to undertake this project, but each video is going to be more expensive to make. The only reason why I've been able to make this change is because of the over 700 people who support me on Patreon. You all are genuinely amazing and are giving me the financial security to take this risk and hopefully bring pressing climate and anticapitalist storytelling to a broader audience. With this in mind, I have a big ask as I work on finishing up this first video series, which will
explore the rise and fall of the Earth Liberation Front. If you have disposable income or some extra cash lying around, consider supporting Our Changing Climate for $6 a month on Patreon. This will go towards 3d model and footage liscencing, editing plugins, my healthcare, and food and litter for my cat, Meelo! And when you sign up, you'll get the new video series a month early, bonus interviews, access to a patron only discord server with lots of good climate memes, and more. You- yes you watching- are the way I'm able to stay independent, viewer supported, and make
videos on topics that are crucial for tackling the climate crisis, not just what does well with the algorithm. I'm excited to see you in March for the new era of Our Changing Climate, and again if you want to keep this channel running, go to patreon.com/ourchangingclimate to become a member.
