Ghost Potato Studio

Good Morning All,

Time for my quarterly check in with everyone to tell you all how awesome you are and how much I suck.

If you have been following along, unfortunately, I was not able to reach my goal of the videos I wanted to post for the month of October. This will be the second year in a row I've missed my 31 day mark, but I at least got some of them in because last year I didn't post any. It's really a tradition I try to stick by and not seeing it through is disheartening, but things happen.

I'm actually just getting over being extremely sick for like a week so that set me back a lot. Doctor says it was a type of viral infection, not Covid or the Flu, but I literally couldn't do dishes without breaking a sweat and getting dizzy. I am feeling a lot better now so I am going to try to get a video out this week, while I continue to post the rest of the 60+ short clips I had planned for the month.

Further updates:

I also made an executive decision for the channel to discontinue working on list type videos. No more lists will be posted for the foreseeable future.

I will continue the "Completed Films You'll NEVER See" series as a list because that is how it started, but new and planned lists scripts and ideas I've had are being reworked into other content forms.

For those who haven't been here since the beginning, this is a one man show; it's only me doing the recording, editing, posting, writing, etc. so over time, I have seen that list videos and script ideas have been the most time consuming for me. Topics are usually never less than 10 different subjects in a single video, so that's 10+ different films to review, research, and narrow down a decent enough time to fit it into a video. The 31 Horror Gems video is almost 40 minutes long and it was 31 different films to discuss. It took me a couple weeks just for that video, which takes time away from other projects or passions I have for this channel.

I want to be a quality content creator and I want to push out a product I am satisfied with, and to do that, this is the time it takes, and if I can't do it in a way I am satisfied with, then I will just remove it as a content format until I can find a way to maybe reintroduce it.

The channel will be moving forward with all of its other content forms:

Mini Documentaries through the Unfiltered Lens and Unfortunate Case series videos are going no where. I have so much fun with those.

Diary of a Cinephile still has my deepest affection so that will continue.

REACTION videos are a hit and miss cause I will ONLY react to trailers, but that involves waiting to give my genuine reaction, and sometimes, I am impatient haha. But I will work on doing better.

I will hopefully be incorporating in the coming months a few new series I am happily working on.

Keep It Canon = A series that takes a deeper look into the ups and downs of a beloved franchise. From larger worlds like The Planet of the Apes or Friday the 13th, to smaller worlds that still have the franchise moniker like Teen Wolf or Free Willy.

Cursed Films = I'd love to bring this back as its own series and I am working on the possible entries for it, its all about doing it right and doing justice to these pieces of film history.

LOST MEDIA = This is where videos like the "Completed Films You'll NEVER See" will fit in, but it will also include singular looks at specific instances where film media has just gone missing, either it never aired or someone is letting it sit on a shelve for one reason or another.

The future is also going to hold mini projects presented in a multi-video series. The first being what I have called "The Guillermo Del Toro Project" which will be a collection of 4 or 5 videos talking about the many ins and outs of his career. The films he's made, the success stories, and the tremendous history of projects he has NEVER been able to see through, whether he was attached to them in production or he was never able to get it off the ground. Yes, there is A LOT to Del Toro's career where most people are not aware of, so in my discovery of this, I felt it deserved its own project separate from everything else.

I love this channel and I will continue to do my very best to push out the content I want to make it as special as I think it can be. I thank you few amazing souls who continue to support me in my journey and I do hope you stick around to see it all through and don't hate me too much for not keeping my word. I will try to do better or to at least not make promises I can't commit to.

TL:DR = I missed my mark for horror movies this year, but more content is coming and I hope you'll be here for it. =)

-JW

What Content do you enjoy the most on the channel?

2 months ago | [YT] | 0

Ghost Potato Studio

Hello to all of you beautiful people!

It's been awhile since I've posted to the board and I wanted to let everyone know of a few things happening in the coming months.

Firstly, thank you all for subscribing to the channel and showing your support. It is so deeply appreciated that I don't think words would translate it best, but I'm so happy you are all here and I hope you enjoy the channel.

Now for the main course, I have a few videos on the board that need editing and after that, I will be taking a short break for basically all of September. Reason being that I had plans for an awesome Halloween season last year, but could not fulfill it due to my move that occurred the end of last summer. Now, I am up and running a smooth operating machine, so I want to see this October and the Halloween season through with the vision I have always wanted.

Here is what to expect:
31 entries into the Diary of a Cinephile series, highlighting something in the horror world. This has been a yearly tradition that I started in the podcast days and I want to continue it this year once again.

5 other videos released weekly:


"31 Horror Movie Gems(You Might Not Know About) 2025" = Another yearly tradition and the only video I was able to get out last year.

31 WEIRD Things in Horror Films That Try to Kill You



The Unfortunate Case of Scary Madison

The Many Depictions of Death in Film & Television (an Unfiltered Lens Documentary)

The Halloween Franchise Deconstructed (working title) (a new series where I breakdown the history of a franchise and discuss all of the pieces that make it what it is)

I made this promise last year that I would make these videos and I did not come through. I make this promise this year that I will see this through, which is why I need several weeks of preparation to work on the content.

October means a lot to me so I want to start the tradition on this channel and I hope you stick around for the ride!

Cheers!

4 months ago | [YT] | 1

Ghost Potato Studio

Hey everybody,

It's been a few months since I put up a post and I just so happened to have an interesting question to pose to everyone.

First, as always, thank you all for subscribing and sticking around for my weird upload patterns. I'll get things finished and have more videos soon.

The question is simple.

What's a scene from a film or series that makes you INSTANTLY uncomfortable?

I don't mean cringe, I don't mean embarrassed, I mean that deeply unsettling feeling in the bit of your stomach even when you know it's coming.

For example, mine is the ending of Season 2 Episode 1 of House of the Dragon when they kill the young prince. Kids dying in movies and TV shows never really bothered me, but now I've got 2 boys so it hits different. So far, this scene is a total nightmare for me to get through.

I'd love to hear what you guys might have. I have an interesting idea for a video but I'd need some more to go off of to get it right.

Thanks everyone.

9 months ago | [YT] | 3

Ghost Potato Studio

What's up everyone! Hope ya'll are staying warm out there, unless you're in a warmer climate and not experiencing the extreme cold I've been getting the last few days. If you are, cheers!

Anyway, I wanted to gather from everyone if you'd appreciate an idea I had for the channel.

What if I started a trend of watching movies that you guys recommended, could be your favorite movie of all time, and gave it an honest review, would you be interested in participating in that and seeing something like that for the channel? Could be as shorts or even a live reaction type video. And If I have already seen it, I can just pop it into the Diary of a Cinephile series, but still base it off recommendations.

What do you think?

11 months ago | [YT] | 4

Ghost Potato Studio

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY AWESOME SUBS!!

Thank you all once again for sticking around. I know the content has been scarce but I am working on things behind the scenes to get the new year off to a good start. New videos will be coming out real soon!

Welcome to all the new subs that have been joining over the last couple weeks! I hope you all are enjoying the videos thus far. Thanks for becoming part of the journey.

I think 2025 is going to be a great year for this channel and I'm so happy you are all joining the adventure. Be safe this New Years, enjoy life, and much love to all of your families.

Cheers!

1 year ago | [YT] | 5

Ghost Potato Studio

Public Service Announcement!

To all of those who support the channel, I just wanted to come out and say something to you all real quick. I know there is a problem with my content when it comes to the volume control, and the videos out there currently are a bit all over the place. I enjoy rewatching my own videos (not sure if that's weird or not) and I can definitely tell the difference in the levels that shift between the videos. I try to make my voice track loud enough to hear in different settings (mobile, desktop, TV, etc.) while also making sure the background track is noticeable but not overbearing.

However, I've recognized an imbalance I have created where some of the videos have sound levels completely different from the rest. That is a learning curve I must hurdle over and I do apologize if these shifts in volume have made it difficult to view the videos. The channel is growing and I continue to hone my skills so I can perfect my content. This will be worked on carefully in future videos.

Cheers!

1 year ago | [YT] | 3

Ghost Potato Studio

Hi Everyone. I'M STILL HERE!

Thank you all for being loyal to the channel and sticking around during these rough couple of months. I made some promises in my last post that I have not kept to and I apologize for that. I have been stuck working on a single video for the last 5 or 6 weeks, but there has been a lot going on behind the scenes causing for me to stall on production.

I had mentioned in the beginning of the summer that my family and I were working towards moving, and that has taken up the majority of the last 6 months for me. Between selling my home and finding another place to live, making sure the channel grows took an unfortunate back seat until things settled down.

Thankfully, the move is complete and I am currently working on getting my studio set up again. A lot of unpacking continues to stall progress but I am trying my best to get a new video out soon. You are all so amazing to stick around and support the channel while this goes on, and sometimes it feels like I don't deserve it, but I am tremendously grateful for all of it. I love making videos and I can't wait to get back to it.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all of the support! We'll be back before you know it!

1 year ago | [YT] | 5

Ghost Potato Studio

To My Wonderful Subscribers,

Another friendly message from your Potato Host regarding the slow building on new videos on the channel. I continue to work effortlessly to push out as much as I can and make the quality videos I would be proud of, but sometimes, things hit a bit of a snag.

As a growing YouTube channel, most would understand that the majority of your first years should not be viewed as a way to make the channel your sole income stream. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work and dedication to make YouTube a full time job, even though that idea seems scary due to the simple fact that turning something you love into a YouTube channel also means turning it into a job. So you have to keep that love alive and a really good factor of that is being able to have it provide for you and your family.

For those who don't know how it works, the monetization for YouTube works based on ad revenue, and we as creators get a part of that revenue based on views. In order to be consider a partner in that program with YouTube, your channel has to hit certain landmarks. The biggest being having over 1000 subscribers. Once you hit that, or exceed it, they pretty much invite you to join.

This channel has only been active for 2 years and when it went through a major shift in content roughly 9 months ago, I started actually seeing support from the community, as awesome viewers like you started watching and liking my videos. I expecting a slow paced growth and we exceeded that before my expected date by more than half of the time frame I proposed it would take. This allowed me to join the YouTube Partners Program and I was able to start making actual money for my videos. I can not thank all of you enough for getting me here. I get comments all the time about how this channel should be bigger, but I respect the grind and know it does not happen over night.

This leads us to 2 weeks ago. Shortly after the release of "What Happened to Roger Rabbit?", I began working on the next video to try and get it out within 2 or 3 weeks. However, the Sunday after this video was out, I woke up to a notification from YouTube telling me they are pulling my partnership agreement because my content is "not an original creation of this channel". I attempted to appeal but was denied.

When making videos like I do, you create the risk of something like this happening. Documentary and list style videos pull from a lot of sources, so the likelihood of something being viewed as 'not mine' without further consideration of the context is a risk for me. However, I do not understand how other channels can do it, but perhaps I'm just a small guy and they don't care as much. Its mostly automated systems that look at these things anyway, and the notice I received did not even specify a particular video(s) so I can rectify it. It was not a copyright strike nor is my channel at risk of being shutdown. I'm just not eligible for the partnership program for about 3 months.

What does that mean for the channel? Well, nothing really. I'm still doing my thing.

It did feel like a huge gut punch and knocked me off my game for the last week or so. I'm feeling back to myself now and I am taking steps in the right direction just for the channel. I'm looking at it as humbling more so than unfortunate, because I am still small potatoes in comparison to the potential this channel has in its years to come. I also want to be forthcoming with things behind the scenes with my audience, as your support for me means I can be here to begin with and I will strive to be transparent for you.

Here is the title for the videos I will hopefully have up within the coming months:

The Unfortunate Case of Judith Barsi
5 Films Timothee Chalamet was Almost In
13 Book Adaptations That Left Out CRAZY Details
12 Unique Fighting Styles in Films
An Unfortunate Case Double Feature going over TV Talent shows and a forgotten reality show from MTV

AND

I am prepping for a HUGE Halloween Haul of videos throughout October!

What to expect:
Another 31 Horror Movie Gems(You Might Not Know About)
Horror Films With EVIL FOOD (working but not definite)
Horror Movies With WEIRD Objects That Try to Kill You
The Halloween Franchise Deconstructed (a new series where I breakdown the history of a franchise and discuss all of the pieces that make it what it is)
(Another video not yet to be determined but Horror themed)

You can also expect the premier of the new Podcast "Potato Flix" that is taking the place of Diary of a Cinephile. October will have a video a day reviewing different horror films throughout the Halloween season. I did this for DOAC and I want to bring it over to the new format because I always loved doing it every year and I don't mess with tradition.

Hope you all stick around, cause the good times keep on rolling. Cheers!


TL:DR = YouTube stopped paying me, but I ain't going nowhere, and New content is COMING SOON!

1 year ago | [YT] | 7

Ghost Potato Studio

To my Subscribers,

It seems I have lost a bunch of subs rather quickly since yesterday and I just wanted to clear something up. The "Farewell" video is the last entry in the podcast I am shutting down. This channel itself IS NOT closing and I will be continuing to upload content with a new video coming out later today. I feel like I might have confused some people and if I did so, that sucks, but I am definitely still around. My bad guys.

1 year ago | [YT] | 7

Ghost Potato Studio

To my Subs and any new visitors!!


The old podcast entries seem to be getting a lot of attention since I made the entire thing live. While I love and appreciate the support, I just want to say a few things.

First, my apologies for the long intro in the first 100 or so entries. That is a riff from a song my band and I wrote over a decade ago and since I technically own it, it was an easy choice for a intro to those recordings. Its hard to find royalty and copyright free material, so it seemed like it worked out and I loved it for as long as I used it. However, I did learn from that mistake and it was too long for the type of podcast I was doing. I changed it somewhere between the 150 and 200 entry mark. So those intros are a little simpler.


Second, the sound quality in some of the early entries, and probably throughout the entirety of the show, might be a little all over the place. When I started the podcast 4 years ago, I did some recordings in many different spaces. A closet, my kitchen, my bedroom, I didn't have a comfortable set up for consistent recording in good quality. Things have definitely gotten better over the years, which you will notice, but forgive the early years and the audio quality of a lot of those entries.

Again, thank you all for the support of that channel and of course this one. I will have a new podcast coming out soon so if you enjoyed any of Diary of a Cinephile, keep a look out for when the first episode drops!!


Cheers.

1 year ago | [YT] | 0