Screenshots - Beauty in Ugly Times

Hello lovely Patrons! 

I'm deep into the editing phase of my next video, Beauty in Ugly Times, and I have a confession: seeing as I'm working from home this month I didn't have to spend money hiring my usual crew and studio. It didn't feel right just pocketing that cash seeing as it's yours, so I've spent it on some things that will put it on the screen! These screenshots will reveal what I have in store!

Right off the bat, I bought a new camera and lens! You might be able to see this one can do a shallow depth of field, giving things in the background a lovely soft focus while the face stays sharp. I mean... ideally... If you're a himbo like me and can't work a camera you'll have to do a lot of reshoots 🤦

You can't really tell from a still image, but I also bought Adobe After Effects and taught myself text animation. Rather than just have blocks of text appear on the screen for a quote, I thought it'd be fun to make them more visually appealing!

This is really exciting - I hired an animator! Lilly - AKA Mothcub - has done some fantastic drawings for this episode that really lift it up! 

I've wanted to do an episode about the work of Vladimir Nabokov for ages! Yes - we will be talking about Lolita! 

Not just Lolita, but Nabokov's less famous (and in my opinion better!) novel - Ada! Don't worry, you don't have to have read them to get what the video is about - they're just a jumping off point.

Both books have some...uh... subject matter? which make them hard to discuss. There will be an 'Adult Themes' content warning, and to be honest I'm actually really glad that I have a generally very mature and thoughtful audience who I'm sure will roll with it.

Once we jump off we'll move into talking about beauty and ugliness more generally, looking at perfume...

and fashion...

and different theories of what beauty is!

I gotta be honest - the 'ugly times' bit refers to the fact that I tried very hard to make a video that wasn't about coronavirus, and failed. So not only will we talk about beauty and what it is, but also about what it means to make it, and especially what it means to be an artist at this current moment in history.

I'm pleased with how this one is coming together, especially considering how hard it's been to make it all without leaving my home! I hope the quality is up to your expectations, and that where things are a more bit echo-y or not quite as sharply lit as I might like that you'll be forgiving! One more thing that I've spent that money on to lift the piece - Nina Richards is doing a credits song, and it is beautiful. It's honestly so, so gorgeous, I love it, it's a really special note to end the video on.

$15+ Patrons will be able to see this video early - for everyone else it'll be out towards the end of next week - possibly on my birthday, April 24th!

Olly XXx