So, I decided to make my newest video about one of my favorite fantasy series, The Kingkiller Chronicles, and its author, Patrick Rothfuss. This was a lot more challenging than any of my previous videos because it was the first time I didn’t start with any visual materials. It’s easy to find footage from the original subject matter to use and talk over when you’re making a video about a movie or a game, but that’s also what made splicing this one together so much fun. I got to draw on my (considerable) backlog of pop-culture in order to pair visuals with text and some of the results turned out equal parts hilarious and appropriate.

In terms of editing, I definitely feel like I’m getting stronger on the visual end of things. Audio is proving to be more of a struggle. I don’t know if it has more to do with my microphone, the software I’m using, or me just being a cruddy narrator, but keeping volume and tone balanced is a lot more difficult than I would have thought. Also, I never realized how much white noise there is in my office. I thought about coating the walls in egg cartons, but then I remembered that my landlady has three large dogs and probably wouldn’t have much trouble getting rid of a body.

But back to the video… I love these books. I’ve read each of them twice and sometimes listen to the audiobooks while exercising or when I get an opening shift at work. I know that they’re popular for their characters, world building and Rothfuss’ beautiful use of language, but I wanted to focus on some of the more experimental aspects of his writing for the sake of my video. Rothfuss’ version of the hero’s tale is a deconstruction, but it isn’t cynical. He loves stories, just like the character’s he writes, so I wanted to dig into that a little more. I hope all of you like it!

In terms of a general update, September was an intense month this year. My brother in-law Sawyer came to visit, followed by my brother Branden. We celebrated three different birthdays (including mine) and took my wife to our first renaissance fair.

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Also, as a gift to myself I bought a 3D printer. I’m not going to lie, it’s been getting some use. Turns out that (much like video editing) 3D printing is a lot more complicated than I originally thought. You don’t just pull up a file on your computer and hit print like you would with an ink-jet. You actually have to calibrate the machine, set the heat of the plate-bed and extruder, decide on layer height, infill and whether to use supports and plate adhesion. You have to Google a lot of stuff to find out what all those words I just said mean. Frankly, it’s exhausting, but I’ve made some pretty cool stuff so far. Right now I’m in the middle of printing a drawer set to house all the other little nick-nacks I’ve been making.

Still trying to find a literary agent for Sanctuary. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I entered a couple more writing competitions this month too. You never know, right?