Hi there, all! It's been quite a time.
Last month was quite crazy, getting taken over with Jury Duty and lots of other unexpected things one after the other. I am still trying to keep praying and keep going and figure things out. As of typing this, I am attempting to come up with a plan to get more funds (which is never new).
In a spot of good news, on May 4th, at the very last minute, our Secret Agent Someone Short Film project met its crowdfunding goal! To all those backers who contributed, thanks so much for helping to bring the vision to life! This was my first-ever successfully funded Kickstarter campaign, and it wouldn't have been possible without you!
Right now, we have only raised a total of $620. The majority of contributors either joined Team Unimportant or did not select a team at all. The runner-up was Call Me Someone with two votes. Only the Haunting Nightmares and First Impressions also each got one vote.
Based on these current standings, the movie is shaping up to be a black-and-white storyboard rendition of Call Me Someone. If you would like to change something up, there is still time! Late Pledges are enabled, which means that you can still claim perks and give support to help us reach better production standards, like detailed background, color, or smoother animation.
I was unfortunately unable to complete the full trailer that showed the other three stages of animation, but here is a rough preview of what the $1,600 tier would accomplish. While it is not finalized, it gives you an idea about how smoothly the characters will move, including how the lips apear when talking, and how the brows and eyes are less stiff etc. $2,000 would be similar, but with more detailed background elements. The final $2,400 tier will be similar to this with background and color.
https://youtube.com/shorts/tfzBAwSNwic
Existing perks should be delivered soon! Please do continue to share the campaign so that we can aim for better quality. If not, the storyboard is projected to be created and delivered by next year. I will likely close out the Late Pledges soon, so please do act fast if you would like to get in on it!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wordigirl/secret-agent-someone-a-short-film
Next, I need to address the WorldAnvil Worldbuilding Awards!
As some of you know, I was nominated in TWO categories: Styrax Admission was up for the Heart and Minds Award, whose winner was determined via public votes, and Pumilla Academia, which entered the running for Best Worldbuilding Article overall (a Major Category judged by award-winning author C.L. Clark)! If you would like to check out my entries and see what I had to say about them, they are all still available for viewing at the link below. Even though I didn't end up winning, it was a surprise enough to be nominated at all (chosen TWICE as one of the top five out of hundreds) and an honor to have my work reviewed by such greats.
https://www.worldanvil.com/w/secret-agent-someone/a/WAWA-6
Speaking of WorldAnvil, I have submitted a one-shot for Adventure April. I admit I was not able to make it as detailed as I had originally hoped due to all the hectic things going on, but if you would like to read it, I will link it below. I plan to update the page after the judging period has concluded, but I don't have permission to edit anything.
https://www.worldanvil.com/w/secret-agent-someone/a/CARS-TTRPG
There is also a new challenge about creating a guide to your world. I will attempt to enter that as well. I have yet to rewatch the VOD and see exactly what has been explained about said challenge, nor have I scrutinized the actual challenge page, but I will try to do so as soon as I can. If you would like to check it out yourself, here it is:
https://www.worldanvil.com/community/challenge/hitchhiker-guide/homepage
In other news, my freelance endeavors have been a bit turbulent. I have suddenly been dismissed from several projects. For most of them, it was not due to me as a person, but rather the businesses themselves. Either they were pivoting to a new direction where I was no longer needed, or they were simply not making enough money and therefore needed to cut costs. Regardless of reasoning, these changes have negatively affected some of the things I have already been hanging onto by a thread. Nevertheless, I continue to keep trying to keep praying and keep going, working diligently on the projects I am still assigned to and searching for other one-off gigs that may provide at least a little.
In addition, I have started a contractor position that should hopefully bring in a bit more consistent income, at least for a few months. I thank a lovely supporter and member of this community for the recommendation! I can only hope that, before that pay kicks in, I am able to acquire enough funds to sustain myself and take care of some pressing bills and mortgage. I have been streaming as welll to hopefully bring in some funds. Twitch payouts are sparse but they are appreciated all the same. Every little bit counts. It can be frustrating when things just don't seem to be shaping up the way I'd like them to, but all I can do is persist.
And that Twitch mention segues nicely into the schedule I have finally set for myself during the month of May. So far, the plan is to go live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6pm ET, and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6am ET. with the possibility of surprise streams. Check it out and give me a follow at https://www.twitch.tv/wordigirl to be notified when I start the broadcast.
I appreciate you all exuberantly forever! Words cannot express my profound surprise and heartfelt gratitude. 🙏 Remember that you can always reach out, even just to vent or chat. I am here for you. <3