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Is anybody else incredibly excited for Marathon?

In anticipation of the upcoming game, I've been watching a lot of lore and theory videos, and stumbled across something really special.

This video by ‪@jakethealright‬​ is essentially "The Road to Marathon"—a complete coverage of the timeline of the Marathon universe in the same format I used for The Road to Halo series. You can think of it as a companion video to my own work, covering the sci-fi universe Bungie created long before they ever dreamt up Halo.

By giving an overview of events from the Marathon universe in strict chronological order, Jake The Alright has assembled a compelling narrative that contextualizes its timeline, bridging the gaps that exist between Bungie's early games and their upcoming release. It showcases how humanity's corporate greed fueled technological development without consideration for ethics, forging a path into a synthetic, post-human future amongst the stars that is visually beautiful... yet existentially horrifying.

I was beyond thrilled to discover another creator taking the same approach to exploring a fictional universe that I did with The Road to Halo, and I'm absolutely honored to present this team's exceptional work to you!

Music by ‪@datreyapr‬
Motion graphics by ‪@vslvsk‬

2 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 2

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Do you want to watch The Road to Halo Part 2 without ads?

As a temporary workaround for YouTube's lack of control over ad placement on some videos, I've uploaded all of my major releases directly to Patreon so they can be watched as intended, without interruption.

Becoming a member at any level will give you full access to this library:

www.patreon.com/c/offscreen/membership

However, I don't believe in locking my work behind a paywall, so I've also activated the 7 day free trial on the $1 membership. I encourage you to watch the content you'd like to watch without ads, and then cancel before your account is charged.

This is just a temporary solution until I can find a better home for my content that isn't locked behind a paywall. Thanks for your understanding.

1 month ago | [YT] | 10

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This is a graph of subscriber growth from my most recent video, The Road to Halo Part 2. Can you tell at which point Sony started placing ads on the video where they weren't meant to be?

1 month ago | [YT] | 8

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After more than a year tailoring The Road to Halo Pt. 2 so that it would be eligible for ad revenue, carefully selecting copyright-free tracks and classical music in the public domain, testing a preliminary upload for the full 30-day dispute process to target any issues I might not have foreseen, and clearing ALL copyright checks, it seems that for the final video Sony Music Entertainment decided to place a new claim on the Rachmaninoff performance used in the video's opening.

As a result, all ad revenue on my most successful and best-performing content to date is now going to Sony. They've placed frequent auto-generated ad slots throughout the video, disrupting the emotional flow of the narrative, and (in my opinion) ruining the viewing experience for everyone who watches on YouTube.

I find it interesting that—regardless of my work's qualifications under Fair Use—every video which gets over 10K views has been claimed by either Sony or Disney. Coincidence? Or predatory corporate practices pursuing the highest income possible at the expense of small creators?

In the attached images, you'll see my top-performing content (all copyright claimed), my lifetime earnings from six years on YouTube ($21.32, not paid out until I clear my first $100), and what my average weekly earnings report looks like.

I make every attempt to pursue the creation of my work in good faith, without damaging the market value of the works I use in my videos, properly crediting all artists, and directing viewers to engage with their content outside of my channel.

After years of this, I'm finally considering taking all of my content off of YouTube and migrating to a platform where it can be viewed as intended, with either no ad breaks, or carefully chosen slots that align with the natural flow of the video.

If you're watching my content on YouTube, I apologize sincerely for the lack of control I have over your viewing experience, and I ask from the bottom of my heart... please click that SKIP button as quickly as possible every time Sony or Disney decides to interrupt your viewing experience and destroy the emotional flow I intended you to have.

- - -

If you're looking to support small creators doing their best to fight the corporate overlords, and you enjoy the quality and care that goes into my content, please consider becoming a Patreon member:

www.patreon.com/offscreen

If you're unable to support on a monthly basis, I also have a Buy Me a Coffee page where you can leave a one-time tip as a show of support!

buymeacoffee.com/offscreen

Every little bit helps me orient my efforts towards the creation of more thought-provoking content for the channel, and away from the daily hustle for food/rent.

My deepest appreciation to everyone who's watched and supported me in any way over the past six years. ❤️

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2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 21

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Last week, Off Screen officially passed a quarter of a million views for the channel as a whole, and we now have over 3,000 subscribers and counting!

Thank you so much to everyone who's watched, liked, subscribed, or simply shared a video with a friend. The growth is slow, but we're building towards an exciting future for the channel. The larger Off Screen gets, the easier it will be to get new content to you on a regular basis!

Couldn't do it without you. ❤️

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2 months ago | [YT] | 5

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I want to take a moment to shout out the amazingly talented Kat Peterson!

Five years ago she began a series of narrated renditions of Halsey's Journal with ‪@Installation00‬. If it weren't for this series, I never would have discovered Kat's work, and The Road to Halo Part 2 would have been a vastly different video, so big shout out to him as well!

Instead of delivering the exact same lines she voiced for 00, I was thrilled to work closely with Kat to provide a more nuanced delivery of Halsey's voice, diving into the character's psychology, emphasizing the emotional struggles she faced when undertaking the SPARTAN-II program, and using Kat's amazing ability to do vocal age progression to highlight her development from a young, bright-eyed scientist to the jaded, cynical figure we meet in Halo: The Fall of Reach (and later Halo games).

Kat has an extensive resume doing voices for video games, audio dramas, and other narration projects. Her range extends far beyond the Jen Taylor voice print, from grizzled veterans with heavy accents, to children, to anime/cartoon characters.

If you want to check out more of Kat's work or are interested in hiring her for your own projects, check out her website or reach out on Twitter/X:

katpeterson.com/

x.com/CxeeFoxx

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 7

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I want to thank everyone for the amazing reception to The Road to Halo Part 2. Not even 5 days and its view count has already surpassed Part 1!

On top of that, it's close to becoming the 4th most-viewed content on my channel ever in only the first week!

You all are so amazing. ❤️

2 months ago | [YT] | 13

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The Road to Halo Part 2 is now live!

The complete story of the SPARTAN-II program from 2510 to 2525.

2 months ago | [YT] | 0

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This is an open call to anyone interested in having their name appear at the end of The Road to Halo Part 2!

The video will be dropping next month.

www.patreon.com/c/offscreen

Supporting Off Screen at any level on Patreon will allow you to have your name immortalized in the credits. Due to the upload process, everything will have to be finalized about a week ahead of the premiere, so October 17th will be your last chance to do so!

3 months ago | [YT] | 6

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Please watch.

I don't think anyone could've done a better job of summing up why this franchise and its subject matter has made such an impact on so many people and become a cultural touchstone for an entire generation.

Spoilers for character deaths and game endings.

3 months ago | [YT] | 2