DP for Transport Evolved!
He/Him.
There are two statements I give @Aminorjourney@mastodon.transportevolved.com during work hours and only these two. They are as follows:
*me returning from filming: "I did NOT get enough footage I have NO idea how I'm going to edit this car review."
And;
"Nikki, I need at LEAST 3 DAYS there's SO much footage and it's taking forever to color!!"
So it's the tail end of 2024, and various popular automotive news outlets are being handed their hat. Not going to name names out of respect, but a quick Google search renders all the answers and anecdotes of all those affected for review.
I'm going to be blunt, I haven't followed most of them. Articles and photos in magazines never really did it for me, just something to pass the time in the doctors office. Video has always been my media of choice but even those were catered more to influencer, story-telling content creators with more of the pretty pictures and less of the spec sheets. Then I caught the ending of Top Gear. Not even the whole special, just the ending, and a bit of reality set in for me.
The automotive world is changing (which to be fair when has it not), yet for me it feels as if I've caught the tail end of greatness in motoring, but also part of a niche that is vital in moving forward. The experience right now is heavy in corporate returns and micromanagement, devoid of emotion, overbearing in tech, and light in passion. Folks that enjoy the art of driving and what that entails can only get excited about subscription plans to heated seats for so long.
The cars have changed, perception of transportation is shifting, investments are taking a front seat and ruining what passion there is left in the automotive sector especially on the media front. It's just become overly pervasive, moreso than I can ever remember it being. As an automotive enthusiast from 2 years of age that has had a camera in their hand since 12 years, I speak from some realm of obsession that what seems to have worked a decade or two ago is fighting for eyeballs now.
Despite that, for however long it may last, I am beyond thankful to now play a small portion in the media of this industry, and to work for the company I do. My machinist, blue-collar self never saw this opportunity as anything that could happen for me. And if I have 5 minutes to sit down in peace and quiet and not be bothered by incessantly bad luck or deadlines as I have been the last two-ish years, I reflect on how adventurous my life has become. How many neat places I've seen (well, at least the airports anyway,) food I've tasted, people I've met if only by proxy, and all the countless terabytes of moving images I've recorded. I have the opportunity to drive most every car we get, living out a boyhood dream of reviewing cars (if only in my head) but then also making content about them in ways that I enjoy and hope others will as well. I hate how much low-tier energy I've been subjected to that distracts me from it, because when I see how much stuff I get to do it's incredible!
I find joy in many of the cars we get, just as I find joy in turbo sounds and the perfect downshift. But I've come to realize more than all of that I enjoy creating little stories that shape an emotion and connection with the cars we drive. Moments of motion and time frozen with the machines we anthropomorphize. Because lord knows by the hand of tech, greed, and politics we are very quickly losing alot of that.
It's been 8 months since my last post here. Fwiw, thats been no accident.
The community surrounding TE is one of the most welcoming and intelligent collection of people I've come across, but with it has come alot of not-so-nice comments and people. I am not someone who gets riled up when bad things are said about me, but to my colleagues and chosen family it can seethe in me for days. It's not a healthy place to be, and I've been there a long time. Instead I've taken that anger and channeled it into making some of the best visual content possible on YouTube, and I know the haters have noticed and I regard every comment as a badge of honor that they're losing. Because they are. More on this later.
This is a just one part of the reason why I've been quiet.
The Volt is gone, and in its place is a Bolt. I still cannot stress enough how appreciative I am of the help and donations my partner and I received to find a replacement for our Volt. To say it has been life changing is an understatement, and there is no better example of that then my absence. It's amazing how much more I can get done on a daily basis without being forced to constantly work with a compromised vehicle. The Volt was quite compromised, and that has became more apparent by the day, to the point seeing a Red Tintcoat Volt in the wild makes me angry. In the past 8 months we've had more emergency vets visits, a human ER visit, and a whole host of other little small hinderences that I am lucky I did not have to experience with the Volt. As someone who now drives an EV without home charging, with one of the slowest DC fast charge times of a modern car, that should speak volumes.
That too is also only just a part of my absence.
The world is expensive right now as you all know. As someone who enjoys (many) hobbies I've whittled down (if not completely exited and sold off) most every single one of them to ensure I can put my horses before the cart. Oddly enough, for most part I haven't missed most of them, as my passion and energy have been funneled into my work at TE. Unhealthy? Not really, thanks to Nikki and her allowance she gives me to make things in my vision. As such I've been hyper focused on expanding my capabilites behind the camera, in front of the editing suite, and alongside my team. I've become infatuated with making the type of content I've always dreamed of making, and I'm able to take advantage of the gear TE supplies me to do that. In return, I press the boundaries of what I think I'm capable of to expand TE's production horizons. If you've been following us for more than 5 minutes you'll have heard the rumblings in the ether of why that is relevant for us. Of course none of this is possible without my team so being the best version of me for them and because of them has been a wonderful journey to experience.
I'm hoping to be more present here. I've been hoping to be more present here all year to be honest. So here's hoping I can keep up with it, but if not at least y'all know where I am and why.
*busy camera shutter sounds*
Cop28 has concluded, is it worth the paper it's printed on? Take a look at was, and wasn't, accomplished this year.
Hey folks, I've closed my fundraiser as a solution is currently being funded!!! *throws biodegradable confetti*
A massive thank you to every single one of you beautiful people that donated and shared it. I cannot even begin to explain how much this has helped. Although, in a week or so I'll try my best to! Please stay tuned at youtube.com/transportevolved for updates in the coming week or so.
YOU'RE AWESOME. YES YOU. Thank you!
Folks, a friendly check-in.
For those that happen to follow me here that have donated or shared my fundraiser, or watched the teams content and helped us all continue to bring the content you all love, I want you to know from the bottom of my heart that I am absolutely overwhelmed with positivity, joy, and gratitude towards every single one of you.
I'm horrible with names, but I've read each one. 100 names, 24 Anons, and countless others that have shared it that I'll never know about. $6,227 as of this post and climbing.
Because of your collective efforts, my partner and I now have a massive bargaining chip at our disposal, and so many options and solutions have started to open up to us. I have many pokers in the fire currently and I'm pursuing each one to see which outcome will serve us best.
Not having a car has disrupted my work quality at TE drastically. Not having a car has disrupted my partners ability to work outside of public transportation hours. I cannot thank you all enough for what this means to our livelihood and quality of life. Regardless the outcome, it's going to be so much better because of you.
☺️
After a thoroughly disappointing and hectic weekend this is what my idea of relaxation looks like; editing in the boss's car at 11pm while charging.
Such apt timing. Not applicable to my year but also the theme cannot go unnoticed.
Massive huge mega awesome appreciation to everyone who tuned into the live stream to listen to my ongoing tale of woe. It means so much to know so many of you support us, the team, and all we do.
For those that missed it, here's the footnotes. Thermistor has failed, dealer only wants to replace battery and only 1/3rd of it, to the tune of $6500+, and the said module might not be sourceable for a full calender year. As an aside, car has a banknote greater than its KBB, so it is essentially an expensive paperweight as the 'reduced power mode' continues and holds 0% trade-in value.
I am confident a solution can be found soon, and I sincerely hope that the outcome will be educational for others that will experience this. With trickle down economics as they are currently I only forsee this becoming a far greater occurrence in future.
Okay folks, who had 'reduced propulsion' for this weeks Volt failure bingo?
Wish me luck, warranty ran out last month. Off to the dealer we limp.
Okay folks here we go on this weeks Volt Error Bingo! Who had Airbag Failure with the incessant pinging sound effect? Anyone? Anyone at all? 🙃