Hi everyone! It’s that time of year to reflect on how things have been going. So here we GOOOOOOO...
Music
- Made a new album
IN BED!!! consisted of a lot of tracks I had sitting around for a while, and I gave myself the arbitrary deadline of my 24th birthday to have it finished and out. It turned out pretty alright! I’ve always wanted to make an album made up of nighttime songs, and I think this is the closest I’ve gotten to that.
One of the songs, “it pays to forget”, had a Geometry Dash level based around it, and has turned into my first song on Spotify with over 1000 streams, so that’s nifty! Thanks all!
- Collab’d with @bitbeak on a zine/soundtrack
I helped my friend with the story for a zine he wanted to make, and was lucky enough to help make music for it as well. This was a unique collab – I’ve done soundtrack stuff before, but never for a printed piece of media. It was totally fun, and I do think we succeeded in making something that accompanies the charm of the zine.
HERE'S THE ZINE AND SOUNDTRACK ON NEWGROUNDS:
GIVE US MONIES ON BANDCAMP:
https://bitbeak.bandcamp.com/album/a-quirk-of-nature
- Collab’d with @spicybagel
I’ve enjoyed Effren’s work for years, and I’m so glad we finally got the chance to make a couple songs together!
Btw, he just put out a new EP, and it’s killer:
https://bagl.bandcamp.com/album/jelly-ep
https://open.spotify.com/album/7K4Jbl61IBrVyfM2U5dKjX?si=tLOD8eouQeWQl4x025OKmw
Someone put together a wicked GD level for “End of the Play” too! Thanks @Racketreff!
Film/Video
- Produced Before/After
After my fourth year film, I was burnt out to a crisp. I couldn’t see past the limiting confines of film school, and it was not fun. Quincy and Austin were two years below me, but seeing their work reminded me of that original spark of fun I had making videos and films. I reached out to them, and we conspired to put together one of their projects.
Before/After turned out wonderfully demented. We shot the entire thing at my house and at a nearby graveyard, and it was a small crew of about 15 friends. It was just a swell time all around, and allowed me to gain a bit more confidence that I can indeed do this thing outside of film school.
- Made poobaby
The proudest thing I’ve ever made. No regrets.
- A Charlie Brown Christmas Reanimated
Such a cool project to be a part of! Shout-out to @Kolumbo for organizing all of this insanity, and to everyone for being so creative with their portion. Still need to sit down and watch the whole thing, but what bits I have seen have been fantastic.
- Your Friend Logan
My feature length documentary that I began in 2019 and finished editing in 2023. This was to be the big year where we premiered Logan at a large film festival, got picked up by a large distributor, and began getting Logan seen by millions!
…it hasn’t turned out that way.
I did a much larger update on the film’s IndieGoGo if you’re interested in going more in-depth, but basically I learned a lot this year from failing to get Logan into the big-name film festivals, and we’re planning on pivoting next year to a much smaller, yet appropriate release. It’s been a long ride, but I’m looking forward to finally getting it onto the screens of the people who care!
Also had to remove a pedophile from the documentary, that was fun. :\
- Secret Project
This is something I’ve been working on the entirety of this year. I can’t say what it is yet, but it has been the largest thing I’ve worked on thus far. It’s a huge passion project that has taken all of my energy and resources, and continues to constructively challenge me. We announce it next week, and I think you guys will be pretty excited when we do. :)
Personal
- Graduated Film School
Finally got out of my self-imposed prison. I’m very grateful for the time I had at school, and the resources that it gave me to further my passion and career, but it came with its fair share of insanity, challenges, and overall exhaustion, so I’m very glad to be out.
- Moved to Wilmington and working at Krispy Kreme.
I see at least a thousand donuts a day. Help me.
- Went to Reykjavik
This was a graduation gift from my parents. I didn’t know much about Iceland, but it’s always been a place I’ve heard of, so I was curious to go visit. Boy, am I glad I did. A beautiful country with a lovely major city. It was the rest I so desperately needed, and I’m extremely glad I had the chance to visit. Put together this music video with footage and photos from the trip!
- irl meetup with @Sro
I've known this guy for 6 years, someone I never would have met if it weren't for Newgrounds and @FlowDownStream, and we finally met up this past Thanksgiving! He's cool. :)
- Got gf hehe
I’m in my first relationship in five years, and it’s been turning out lovely so far. Her name’s Emily, and she’s well aware of Newgrounds. Being with her has been one of the highlights of my year, and I’m excited to see where things go.
IN SUMMARY...
2024 feels like my busiest year, but I feel I have a lot less to show for it. That's probably going to be a continuing trend as I continue to put less energy into small projects and a lot of energy into larger, more ginormous (that word looks incorrectly spelled, but I swear it's correct) projects. But I'm personally proud of the progress I've made this year, and that what I have put out resonates with some peeps.
How was your year?
:),
Conner
