It's a month ago now that Millenniyule X ended. I have long since put up the mp3s, updated the website, and thanked everyone for taking part. But each year I feel the need to "acknowledge what has passed", with a note here on Telegram.
I think the festival went very well. The interviewees were well-prepared, eloquent and interesting, and there was a good mix of theory and practice, soulful and energetic.
As for the "behind the scenes" stuff, everything was ready on time, and there weren't any major screw-ups, and no choices that I'm kicking myself about in retrospect. I do wish the aesthetic was more cosy like the previous year, and that I'd been able to make special sound effects for it (my synthesiser was broken), and that I'd remembered to use the dedicated version of the outro on the final stream... but these are all trivial regrets.
I think the trailer this year was very cool. The CGI work by @zrchwv3d was outstanding. He really gave up a lot of his time to do that, so I am very grateful. I'm also glad that, in using Auslander Raus, the trailer nodded to the success our ideas are beginning to find in "the real world".
This was the tenth year of Millenniyule. The anniversary was marked in several ways: 1. the "countdown clock" video was a retrospective of all the previous years 2. the use, for the first time, of high-end CGI by third parties - limited this year to the trailer and a tiny element in the intro 3. this CGI work included the Yulepope being transformed into an animatable 3D figure. I'm personally thrilled to finally see him in 3D - and moving! 4. the new "banquet" streams, which finally solved the problem of what to do with the post-Christmas period 5. the new "one and all" hangout - the first Millenniyule stream open to the public since December 2016
It points the way to a more varied format for the future. That format now has quite a few elements: 1. the prologue AMA 2. the countdown video 3. the interviews 4. the other AMAs scattered around 5. the Christmas cards stream 6. the banquets 7. the climactic Morgoth stream 8. the outro AMA
This format is the result of years of careful experimentation, and I think that, for now at least, it is exactly how Millenniyule should be. The only thing I can think to add in future is a "memorial" stream, to honour members of our community who have passed away in the year, but most years so far there has been (thankfully) no need for such a stream.
Anyway, I just wanted to give my thoughts on the tenth anniversary, and to thank everyone who helped make it a success. That includes: - the interviewees - the banquet participants - the commenters - the donors and superchatters - the livechat moderators (especially @PADFA42!) - the narrator, @TheEndOfEverything1 - the CGI artist, @zrchwv3d - the person who bought the NFT
It was a pleasure and a privilege. I wish all of you the best in 2025, and look forward to doing it all again come this December.
MW x
13.01.202520:23
Your card arrived, Tammy. What a lovely thing - it seems home-made! Thank you for this. I'm glad that Millenniyule gets you through a difficult time each year, and I'm sorry for your loss.
09.01.202522:59
Most surprising of all to me is the commemorative poster, available in landscape and portrait. I spent considerable time creating this, but very few have sold.
09.01.202521:59
The dogtags, available in blue and pink, have only sold one each.
09.01.202520:59
I would like to draw attention to the "daisy" poster. I was pleased with this design, but sadly not a single one has been sold!
09.01.202519:18
The Millenniyule X merchandise will remain available for some time. I didn't post adverts for it on Telegram, which might explain why there have been so few buyers this year. I will post adverts for the more neglected items now.
Please consider any of these for your memento of the festival.
Of the interviews, 37 were on camera. 16 could be considered "topical", the rest "evergreen". (These are marked on the website as such.)
Ignoring the monster Morgoth one, interview length ranged between 57m and 3h13m, with the average being 1h44m.
Banquet length averaged 3h30m.
02.01.202515:14
Some more cards have arrived. Thank you to everyone who sent one in, and happy new year. :)
02.01.202502:18
I would appreciate if the people who bought the Millenniyule 2023 and 2024 NFTs got in touch with me. Unfortunately Opensea doesn't provide a way to send the file! Thank you.
31.12.202409:01
2024, NIGHT #19
The evening's entertainment is complete and has been archived:
