July 2020 Patreon Odd-cast: Up-load Lock-down burn-out

Kind of late to the party to this post, since I just became a patron the other day. Your talk about what the milestone of a million subscribers meant to you made me think of that scene at the end of “Moneyball”, where Billy Beane is made an offer to manage the Boston Red Sox, which would make him the highest-paid GM in sports. Billy is ambivalent about what the value of that offer really is (beyond the actual monetary value), until his assistant Peter says: Peter Brand: You’re not doing it for the money. Billy Beane: No? Peter Brand: No. You’re doing it for what the money says, and it says what it says to any player that makes big money, that they’re worth it. I think it’s the same deal with subscribers, it’s not the number itself, it’s what the number says about your content; that they appreciate that you’re putting something into the world that isn’t just some piece of poorly-thought-out, shaky-cam rubbish shot on a phone camera. I definitely value how much thought, time, and effort you put into your videos, and I think that’s likely also true for your subscribers and patrons. Some creators do put far higher value in getting all their numbers as high as possible, just to get them high, it seems, but the fact that you are contemplative of the actual, tangible value of said numbers tells me a lot about you. You put more stock in holding your content to a high personal standard, versus a standard that the YouTube-verse espouses as “good”. For example, in your recent cassette deck repair video, you stated that you could have easily overlaid perfect audio when you found that the playback was faulty. We would have probably never known the difference, but I’m sure at one point you stopped and thought “*I’ll* know the difference”. Character is what you are in the dark, as they say, so it’s things like that that make my subscription and patron support “worth it”. Keep up the good work.

Since being back at the office with tons of mandatory overtime because of the backlog of work (not to mention my computer shitting the bed and needing weeks to get things back up and running again), I'm only now catching up with my favourite YouTube/Patreon content makers. Oooh. Nice gear, wipes and effects. Nice toy! Take all the downtime you need. We'll still be here. I love TV themes. And I too held up the mono brick-type cassette recorder up to the TV speaker to capture themes (not to mention whole episodes for later enjoyment--video recording being only a pipedream at the time) back in the day, back when TV themes were worthwhile, I intend to try to make some compilations of TV themes soon. I have that Gemini Man disc set. Haven't watched it yet. It's McCallum predecessor on video is kinda murky in terms of quality and shoehorned aspect ratio alterations and which release is which.

Only done a little bit of video voice over/editing but what I remember is just how unbelievably time consuming and effortful it is. And how one is one's own harshest critic. And then you feel like you've got just a few minutes for hours of work! Still hope you return refreshed and revitalised because (please don't forget!) there are literally hundreds of thousands of us out here that love your content! It's a beacon of comfy, interesting, quirky and funny viewing in a sea of unwatchable guff.

Enjoy your time off, well earned !

i save these to watch on a Saturday morning, it reminds me of how excited I got knowing Swap Shop was on back in the day :) Keep up the great work and keep smiling

It's always good to hear from you personally, Mat. Back in the day (I have 23 years on you) I had my share of vision mixing and directing educational TV. The problem was if you made a wrong cut in a real-time recording, there was little you could do about it. Maybe do an insert edit of a cutaway in post. I tell you, when I started making videos since computers arrived, it was a breath of fresh air. No wrong cuts because these days you just run 5 cameras (or whatever) all recording everything and do the cut afterwards. Resolve actually allows you to cut multiple tracks with a virtual vision mixer. What your new gear would be brilliant for, is something like a live internet quiz. Enjoy your break. Don't spend too much time reading comments - not even this one, and there's no need to reply. Get some fresh air instead. S.

Thanks for the update! Been watching since your dash cam review days, that is what got me to subscribe. Also, after a severe injury I had I'd watch your videos while healing up and while falling asleep. I had lost my sleep schedule due to not doing anything and a week of opioids usage. I appreciate your down to earth style of video making with your relaxed passion towards obscure audio devices. I was more than happy to join your patreon since you do not do ads and sponsored videos and I know the effort you put into these. Take care of your mind first and thanks for all the fish, I mean videos.

This “round number excitement” thing - I’ve worked in a few call centres and offices over the years, and have come to the conclusion that there are three general types of people when it comes to this: Us lot (the ones that don’t get any particular thrill or happiness from it, but who are happy to let others that do get on with it), those that just go along with anything because “that’s just what you do”, and that terrifying and extremely irritating bunch that look like they’d almost die of excitement if someone a few towns away wrote the word “fun” on a rizla in tippex and chucked it in a river. I used to have to sit near a sales team that were encouraged to ring a bell or honk a horn every time they got a sale (or, in other words, did their job). Absolute nightmare. Completely lost my thread now, but thanks for not being one of those people, I suppose.

May I offer my heartiest congratulations on your reaching such a major milestone. To be perfectly honest I never thought you'd ever reach the 103rd day of lockdown…

Matt, to keep your sanity, health and happiness in life, I suggest you take two weeks off, far away from computers and gadgets. Visit friends and relatives, rent a caravan or do something else that's totally remore from what you do every day, day in and day out. Stay healthy and sane! Love from Sweden. <3

I used to record Scooby Doo episodes onto cassette when I was kid in the mid-70s. That way I could "watch" them whenever I wanted to. I used to place the cassette recorder on a stool next to the telly and use it's built in microphone. Glad to hear I wasn't the only one :)

Weirdly, the part at around 8 minutes where you say the video is uncorrected is the only part of this video where the lip synch is correct! It's out for the rest of the video :-/

You’re not the only one who doesn’t care about round numbers Mat. I also don’t care about completeness - Pokemon said Gotta catch em all, my view is Gotta catch the ones I like and who really cares about the rest. Hope you have a good break,

Please enjoy your break 'guilt free' knowing that your prolific output satisfies your supporters in spades. With production values second to none and intriguingly so for the future with the acquisition of the Atem Mini these videos you make - Patreon ramblings included - are simply awesome time and time again. Memories of Judith Hann, Howard Stapleton, Philbin or whatever the other guy was called - sprang to mind when you demonstrated the picture in picture aspect; something that in the late 80's/early 90s we thought would be a boon until the cable TV providers totally screwed up it's implementation and disappointed in bucketloads. Anyway - I'm off to watch Den and Angie now in an episode of EastEnders from 1986. I seem to remember the window cleaner knocked the ball right out of the park; should have won a BAFTA.

Have a good break Matt. Enjoy. A&J

Hey Mat, those ATEM Minis are fantastic. I have one in front of me right now. They're remarkably powerful, especially if you fire up the ATEM Software Control and plug it in to your Mac over USB. You can change the Picture-In-Picture source, go to 'Program Preview' mode for switching instead of a hard cut bus, tweak the audio, extra wipes and effects, all sorts. At work I'm refitting our Gallery with a fair bit of Blackmagic gear over the next few weeks, so feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions. My brain will be squarely in video production mode for the next month or so!

Towards the end of your video, you were talking about feeling burnt out. With your "Day Job" being the development of content with electonics and audio products do you enjoy the products like you used to? I used to play computer games frequently after work. Work, eat, EverQuest, sleep, repeat. Now not so much with doing professional development. I can imagine that if I worked on others HiFi equipment, or used it for demo videos I may not enjoy just playing something to relax as much.

I think the "you said a word wrong" comment was probably mine. Sorry if that came across as complaining, that wasn't my intention, I just thought it would be helpful, although on reflection in the middle of a long monologue it's not something you could easily fix so please accept my apologies. Congratulations on a million subs, and I hope you enjoy your break.

I am what you would call a game enthusiast. I play video games since the late 70s (born in 68), learned to code, was a game developer in the 90s and own every console (but play mostly on PS4 and VR because I like going for achievements/trophies and therefore you choose one main platform). I am almost a video game fanboy. But: I would not do a video about the new consoles if I were you. Reason: The younger gamers love what they have and hate everything else (console war, PC owner arrogance etc.). The technical aspect will be covered perfectly by digital foundry. The games by everybody else. And be aware. Most people have NO clue about the technical aspect of video games and/or the hardware and you will have a HORRIBLE comment section under such a video. Don't do that. Makes you wonder how mankind survived the last couple of thousand years.

Take you some well deserved time off. We can wait.

About the numbers: I'd call it Spinal Tap Syndrome. You know, the amp goes up to eleven and all that. Funny, in the late 1970s I used to record Star Trek episodes off the tv using a cassette recorder, then listen later when my dish washer shift was over. I was maybe 14 at the time. You've only just reminded me of that.

When the calendar had 10 months, the months had more days. A year still had 365 days. Julius Caesar wanted a summer month named after him (July) and Augustus Caesar wanted a summer month named after him (August). So they just stole days from other months.

Take care of yourself. We all need time off once in a while.

Enjoy a few days off Mat, you'd normally be on holidays around this time of year anyway so it's not out of the ordinary. I've been working from home since March so I think I am kind of understanding your work week more. I feel that I no longer have any single stressful work day where I come home broken, but it just accumulates. Plus the work day doesn't end, it just fades out. I don't turn off my computer at dinner time, maybe I'll come back to it to finish off or maybe I'll crash on front of the telly, there is no "left the office so finished for the day" event. Plus the cancelled holidays and the fear of booking something isn't helping. I took a day trip to Chester last January, looks like that'll be my holidays for 2020.

We love your content! Take care of yourself! Greetings from the Netherlands

Thanks for the vid Mat. I hope you feel better soon. Go and chill, make yourself an extruded egg sandwich and we will see you on the other side.

Just make videos at a rate that keeps you happy and healthy, whatever that is. And who cares about round numbers? I'm not sending you any congratulations until you hit 1,048,576. Having a number of subscribers that's exactly equal to a prime number raised to the power of another prime number is cooooolllll...

I sure do wish you luck on your few days of recharging, sir. I find it oddly tricky to pull off effectively more often than not, and somehow end up more stressed than before since it feels like I'm not doing my job. Bleh. Congrats again on the million! Absolutely relatable on the whole "eh, numbers" mentality. I don't think I even acknowledged hitting a million subs in a video until something like eight months after it happened! A big ol' gold plaque is nice, but I'm much more fulfilled by my own week-to-week accomplishments.

Just keep doing what you enjoy Mat, or do so after you take a break. We, the hard-core Techmoan...ers(?) on Patreon pretty much like and watch anything you put out, so you have us watching at least. If no one else does, that's their loss.

I wish you well, my friend. take some time off and re-charge. It is a stressful time for us all.

Cheers Matt. Have a good break! (And, you do you, but consider stretching it longer than a few days... gotta be some advantages to being your own boss, right? ... I still need to book my holidays with work this year. I think I might be projecting.)

Enjoy your break! Have a nice Japanese beer float thingie in the garden

Having worked from home since March due to lockdown and not having had anytime off this year, i can totally relate to how you're feeling. Never worked from home much before, but with a two hour daily commute it didn't make sense to return to the office when lockdown ended and working from home had probably been more productive. However I have felt more switched onto work all day, that winding down period is a bit tricky to attain. So I've booked a week off week after next, hope we both enjoy our downtime! :)

I like your videos Mat and have been watching you for many years now. It's great seeing some of the tea you use to help make them. I'm not into video games but my son is obsessed with them and has been since he was a child. He was head of the games department in HMV Oxford street before they went bust. He's currently filling the loft with games consoles at the moment.

Good choice with the Video Assist 4K, I went with an Atomos Ninja V instead which is basically the same thing with a smaller screen. Sorry to hear you had issues, I personally find that ProRes is a joy to edit but the file sizes are tricky. I was all about the music on Playstation 1 discs when I was growing up in the 90s, I actually took one in to school as a show and tell at one point.

Hi Matt, Always enjoy these chats. I can relate to wanting to be a vision mixer and taping TV themes as a kid. You have probably have seen these but the University of London made a series a of videos a few years back with retired broadcast staff using vintage equipment to simulate 1970s techniques. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC1tyHL_QPD-Awgl71JHdYqA Enjoy some time off. You’ve earned it.

How kind of you to remember my question! I feel the same about consoles, the buying and unboxing part is so lovely. And then you have a brick in your room that every now and then you turn on greeted by an update. Lovely to see someone having fun with their awesome tech. Hope you feel better soon! A well deserved brake after a period of great content! Maybe some of your greatest.... Take care and stay safe!

Thank you for posting, looking forward to checking this out after the little ones are of to bed, that’s when I get caught up on all my podcasts, still giving that Ryobi compressor a look over, as it might be the bench top compressor I’ve been looking for

Though I loathe New Year too, I do have a funny thing with years and decades. If I were to see, say, two old episodes of EastEnders (which I don't watch, incidentally), one made in late 1989 would feel different to one made early 1990, despite them looking practically identical. In fact, I'm watching Cheers for the first time at the moment, and we've just entered the 90s, and I'm getting that odd sensation there, too. The bar looks the same, the cast are the same, but it feels different. Like I can "sense" a year/decade. Feels almost like the opposite to your round numbers thing.

Wow, 1 Milion subscribers, didn’t noticed that before.

Also my channel is grade "B" , I'm very happy with it, for a little niche italian channel , 50K is a very unexpected result. Socialblade show that I can reach 100K in about 1 year. But now I have to rest, really, I'm a little bit worn out... I also need a break but I can't. Have a nice Holiday

We are the same age - and it’s good to know I wasn’t the only person taping theme tunes via cassette recorder in my youth! Enjoy a well deserved break!

Thanks for the updates and the look behind the curtains. I’m always interested in this kind of things. Regarding the numbers thing I’m absolutely on the same page like you.😊 But now please enjoy some days off, although you would have deserved weeks.👍

Thanks for the Technics video, it was worth it (at least for me). Take some time off and recuperate. And you might want to do a quick regular video on the Atem Mini - might be quick to do and it would be interesting for regular viewers. I'm sure you've thought about it, but could you auto sync the audio & video through s/w? The Cyberlink Powerdirector s/w I use has the ability to auto sync, rather than you having to do it manually.

I recorded Rod Sterling’s Night Gallery with my portable tape recorder. The episode with the shrunken heads gave me nightmares. Be well. As always, thanks for entertaining.

Nice video, Mat. Now go and get some fresh air and come back when your battery meter is in the green!

Congratulations on 1M subscribers!! You really deserve that.

I disconnected from Facebook and the news for an entire week back in May. It was great

Enjoy your break! I enjoy your videos very much, but I'd rather you took time out rather than burned out.

Congrats Mat on the milestone and enjoy the time off.

By all means, power down the computers and, more importantly, yourself. Put your feet up and imagine the soothing sound all those zeros in one million would make on a flip-clock.

"YouTube HQ here. Mat, now that you're at 1 million subscribers, I'm proud to present you with a key to the 1M Subs Executive Washroom here at the headquarters in San Bruno, California USA. Feel free to use it anytime you wish."

Once in a while you need to get away from stuff. 8 month is a long time. And staying in house all the time is certainly not helping. Taking a break is a good idea! Congrats to 1M subs / the Youtube thing they gonna send you. Soon I will also get away from boring everyday chores for two weeks in Wales with virtually no Internet.

That ATEM Mini looks really cool. I wish I had a reason to need on! PS: Congrats on 1M subscribers. I guess you're a millionaire now and can retire.

Look at it like when you work at a job and you save up vacation days from a certain number that you've worked, in this case its clear that your millionth subscriber means its time to have a little break. Then when you have 2M subscribers you can have another.

I remember the Gemini man and the David McCallum one, I don't think I'd want to watch them now, though, I'm sure disappointment would follow. I do love these talks, Mat, they are the cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake. Take care of yourself and forget us for a while.

Congrats on the 1M subscribers!

Enjoyed seeing you new tech. Gemini man on archive.org (https://archive.org/details/GeminiMan1976)

Halfway through the new video, I was inspired to search the internet for a half-forgotten memory and found it: An edition of the BBCs 'QED' science show about the Quantel Paintbox, presented by the legendary Kenny Everett.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HkEq62MsMM I thought it might be of interest to some fellow nerds on here.

Enjoy the time away. I appreciate quality over quantity any day.

At least until you hit the write limit...

I think the lip-sync looked fine at the bit where you were worried about it, and looked wrong at the bit where you said you corrected it! Watching in the YouTube app on a smartphone.

Just about to watch it, glass in hand. I love these videos, Mat - thanks. BTW - upgrade to an SSD brain: you don't have to defrag it, it's like magic! [Update, now I've watched a bit] Apologies for my possibly flippant comment - I worked as a freelance writer for a couple of years and eventually burned out, before I realised I needed a proper break. It's an actual, real thing all freelancers have to be very careful about. Take proper care of yourself, Mat!

Fresh air's always good! Can't wait for my holiday to start -- a fortnight without a computer in sight!

Good idea to walk away for a bit. Thank you Mat for the great content. You deserve a break.