Blogging AND vlogging: Help us bring our stories to life

Hello friends!

We’re going to be trying something new in the coming months and want to invite you to be a part of it. During our freshman year of cruising, we made a few mini-movies and have recently uploaded them here:

Red Thread’s YOUTUBE channel

We enjoyed doing it and a few friends gave us feedback that seeing the experience in action added “a whole extra dimension” to what this experience is like (thanks, Kevin!). We’ve decided to focus a bit more attention on creating short films during the next stretch of our voyage, such as this little ditty that summed up our first eight months of cruising…

As you can imagine, stitching together clips and editing footage takes boatloads of time, which we’re happy to spend. It also requires a few other things, like accessing WIFI for uploads. Internet is becoming increasingly difficult to come by! It is pricey; we’ve spent nearly $30 in the past two days to upload a couple of videos and this blog. Ouch! It is also far slower than the speeds we’re used to back home (gone are the days of Skyping with our moms!).

To support this new little endeavor, we’ve decided to create a profile on Patreon, a website devoted to “empowering a new generation of creators.” The site enables YOU to become a “patron” by making small (or large) monetary pledges to support the work of content creators whose “art” (defined broadly) you enjoy. Although ALL of our content will continue to be available free to anyone and everyone, we are inviting enthusiasts of our efforts at amateur vlogging to join our patron posse by making a pledge each time we produce a new video. Patreon_screenshotTo thank you for your support, we’ve concocted a few perks for you, such as a postcard from wherever we are when you become a patron and a 2017 calendar of our favorite scenic photos of our transpacific crossing. Your contributions will assist us in:

  • Maintaining robust camera gear
  • Embarking on excursions beyond our budget that will enrich our footage
  • Accessing internet to upload videos and blogs in obscure places
  • Keeping The Red Thread a safe and seaworthy place from which to share this experience

What is Patreon?
Patreon is a site that enables YOU to support the creativity of independent artists (e.g., writers, vloggers, musicians) whose work you enjoy. Our patrons can pledge as little as $3 USD per video we produce. Each month, Patreon will collect that fee. Each patron has the option of establishing a monthly “cap”, such that even if we go buck wild and publish a dozen films in a single month, you only contribute up to a pre-specified dollar amount. Ultimately, becoming a patron is like providing a tip for a meal or other service. Each time we create a video, patrons pledge an amount they would like to tip as a means of encouraging ongoing content generation.

Want to learn more?
Check out our Patreon page by clicking HERE.

5 thoughts on “Blogging AND vlogging: Help us bring our stories to life”

  1. You guys are beautiful. I especially liked the post Jessie wrote about your time in America. I love Neil’s long hair. I love your matching ‘Merica bathing suits. I love your willingness to submit to the chaos, the beauty, and the struggle that is life on land. Cheers, mates, I sure hope we meet again someday.

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  2. Cool idea! We have a few videos we’ve put together from our Arctic sailing. So far they’re just for our own amusement, though that may change once we’re completely satisfied that we’ve done a professional editing job. It is an ENORMOUS time investment to splice clips, etc! Fun to have in the end, though! Hope Patreon works for you! (Do they take a percentage, btw?)

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    • Hi Ellen! If we waited until we had done a “professional editing job”, I am quite certain blogs and videos alike would never get posted. Like the blog, the ultimate purpose is to capture our memories. At the same time, it is a lot of fun to share the experience through videos, though the more remote places we reach, the more we realize that even getting WIFI to upload things is time and cost prohibitive. It is a huge investment both in the behind the scenes, if you will, and in the sharing process. Patreon does take a percentage, but it is not much for a solid platform and management of the process. We don’t expect to earn loads – hopefully just enough to mitigate some of the costs of sharing the footage. -Jessie

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      • Well, I don’t know that our editing is really that professional… we’ll definitely never be filmmakers!… Like you guys, we put our footage together as a sort of keepsake. Haven’t had the guts to share it yet, though! So kudos to you guys!

        You’re right, too, that even getting Wifi can be really difficult – when we sailed to the Marquesas I remember our only option for contacting our families was essentially dial-up at the post office! We only had a VHF at the time so it had been a month since our parents had heard from us… And even just last summer we had such a hard time getting internet that we’re still catching up on our blog! So completely understand the energy involved in both sharing and filming! Keep it up, your videos are great!!
        Cheers,
        Ellen

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