Hiding Amongst the Stars
👋🏻
A little over a week ago, I started capturing G-Roll for the essay. Next thing I knew I was earning the Platinum trophy in Astro Bot. Whoops.
I'll be honest; I've been hiding in the world of Astro Bot. It's a similar scenario as my miscarriage essay. I've been hiding in a game. Work at my joby job has taken the turn of needing to find a new gig. I have fear of this project the closer I get to finishing it.
It's almost funny how a project can intimidate us, so close to the finish line. It's like Bo Burnham's finale in Make Happy—the superb "Can't Handle This" aka the Kanye Rant.
"A part of me loves you. / A part of me hates you. / A part of me needs you. / A part of me fears you."
Bo is talking about his audience, but I feel this way about creation itself.
But all that Astro time was not for naught. I think I found my next, shorter essay idea—credits and the fourth wall. Also, the game was pretty good.
The audio for The Spirit of a Galaxy Game is entirely edited and is sitting at 42~ minutes, so the whole video essay should sit comfortably under an hour. All that's left is editing the video itself. I find myself back at the struggle of to shoot A-Roll or to not shoot it. My hurdle is line memorization. I don't want to wing it, but I don't have a teleprompter. I was kinda of toying with the idea of index cards and not hiding it. I think it could add texture and authenticity, if done right. I'm not sure, but there is an abandoned car wash down the street with some Splatoon-esque graffiti that could make for a good background...
Until next time...
This letter is one block from the newsletter Memory Card by Max Roberts. Thoughts? Send me an email at max@maxfrequency.net.
Max is the writer and producer behind Max Frequency. cultivate and curate curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings.
He's written a rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, celebrated the 15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype, and examined how Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic.
Memory Card is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s how The Thing™ gets made.
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