The Midlife Remix

Howdy everybody and happy Tuesday!

I have a quick question for you: what is your favorite form of media? Is it movies, music, books, the net, video games, or podcasts? Let me know! (It only takes seconds.)

How I got my big idea

In case you missed it, over on the blog I’ve answered the single most popular question I’ve ever been asked: where did the idea for Everything is a Remix come from?

I’ll go way deeper in my next on-demand video course, The Remix Method, but this post covers the fundamentals.

Also recent from the blog:

• Apple knows AI is for gruntwork

• AI music just made the leap. Here's my take.

Fall cohort early bird discount ending

Early bird pricing for my fall cohort class Everything I Know About Making Videos ends on Friday! Only a few pre-order spots are remaining! Order now and save $550. After they sell out (or Friday comes), the price goes up.

Join an awesome group of attendees, like Michael Taylor, the author of Prompt Engineering for Generative AI!

This live, in-person class is what it says: it’s everything I’ve learned about making videos in my two-plus decades of doing it. You can get the full course details here, including dates and curriculum.

You’ll learn directly from me, you can ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give you feedback on your work. It is unlikely I will ever run this cohort again, so get it while you can.

If you’re interested but have questions, just reply to this email!

Have an awesome week everyone! Talk soon!
Kirby

P.S. Remember to answer my poll! It’s super quick and easy.

Early bird pricing for my fall cohort class Everything I Know About Making Videos ends on Friday!

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The Midlife Remix

Howdy everybody and happy Tuesday!

First off, I received some lovely goodies from readers lately!

Thanks to my friend Jordan Terry who sent along this lovely Reddit thread.

Head on over to Reddit and give it an upvote!

My thanks also to my friend John Vella who sent me the video files for Matt Zoller Seitz’s 2009 Wes Anderson video essay series, The Substance of Style. This series was the biggest video influence on the original Everything is a Remix. I uploaded it to The Internet Archive for posterity. Enjoy!

And lastly, my friend Jay Acunzo has an excellent new podcast, How Stories Happen. Go check it out!

Last poll results

Here are the results of my last poll. The question was: what is your favorite media?

The top result was what I expected: movies and TV. However, books were just 2% behind – that’s basically a tie. Surprising!

I wish I knew video games were at the bottom before I made Part 3 of the newest Everything is a Remix. Whoopsie!

New release date for The Remix Method

My ambitious goal was to launch my new video course, The Remix Method, before I travel back home to Prince Edward Island, Canada for summer vacation. The course is written but I’m just starting production now, so I’m postponing the launch a bit.

The new launch date is Sept 6, 2024. I appreciate everyone’s patience and support!

I’m again offering the launch price of just $99.99 this week only. That is 60% off the full price! That price expires this Friday.

The glorious mediocrity of parenthood

Here's an aspect of parenting I never conceived of until I got here: the glorious mediocrity of it all.

By mediocre, I don't mean that it's lacking. I mean most everybody gets the same extraordinary experience.

My experience, which I would describe as "perfect," is no better than most anyone else's. Sure, our personal or professional lives might be better or worse, but our lives as parents are equally great.

Babies are babies. Toddlers are toddlers. Yes, they're all unique, but mostly they're the same. Some are harder, some are easier, but they all deliver the same bliss.

That's why parents of small children can commune with anyone who has one or has had one. It doesn't matter if that person is a cashier at Walmart or a thirty-something who’s already retired thanks to some undisclosed windfall.

Parenting small children is a communist utopia: an equal sum of joy gets doled out to us all.

As children get older this changes. The gaps between them widen, tribes form, advantages and disadvantages compound. They become just as different from each other as the rest of us. They don't play with anybody who just happens to be around.

But for now, I'm still in the same boat as most everyone else.

I've spent most of my adult life priding myself on not being like everybody else. And now that I'm the same as every other parent, I'm amazed at how much I love it. It feels good to just be another member of the tribe.

Hope everybody’s having a great summer! Talk soon!

Love,
K

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The Midlife Remix

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The Midlife Remix

Two momentous new projects

Hello from beautiful Prince Edward Island, Canada, folks! I’m having a fantastic summer with my family and working on two exciting projects that I can’t wait to share with you. As part of this work, I’ve been doing a deep dive on the origins of Everything is a Remix and breakthrough ideas. Let me tell you about all this!

The Remix Method

New video course coming September 6

The Remix Method is simply the creativity course I’ve always wanted. It’s not a collection of tips and tricks (although I do deliver plenty of those too). The Remix Method is a simple, comprehensive, step-by-step system designed to guide you through every stage of the creative process.

This two-hour video course is hosted by me and presented in a relaxed, fun, and accessible style. Whether you’ve never completed a creative project or you need to freshen up your process, this course will redefine how you think about creativity.

Everything I Know About Making Videos

Workshop runs September 20 - October 25, 2024

Everything I Know About Making Videos is what it says: it’s everything I know about making videos. In this six-week workshop I cover the full production process, from writing and research to editing, design, mixing audio, and more. It’s two decades of knowledge about video essay production distilled down into a single class.

This is a rare opportunity to learn directly from me about creating compelling video content. I’ll address your challenges and tailor the course to students’ needs. I have no plans to repeat this event. Visit here to learn more and to secure your spot now.

I believe in making creativity accessible to everyone. That’s why I’m offering several scholarships for those who need financial assistance. If you’re passionate about video production but need a helping hand, reply to this email with a bit about your situation for a chance to receive a scholarship. Spots are limited and will be granted by lottery.

The Origins of Everything is a Remix (Part 1)

As a teen, I struggled with originality, as I’m sure any creative person does. I idolized artists, especially musicians, and fully believed in innate talent. Some people had it. Some people didn’t. And that was your lot.

I had some talent and assumed that was my lot. Sure, I thought I could raise my game, but not a lot because I wasn’t highly gifted.

I was mystified as to how anybody could come up with anything original. This itch I had about originality and talent was what pulled me over the years to Everything is a Remix.

How do great artists and thinkers create original work? I wanted that answer.

That’s where your best ideas come from – some itch in your imagination. 

Music was the gateway

Music was the gateway through which I would make my discovery. As a teen, my main thing was music. One album in particular wriggled into my mind like a parasite and slowly grew. That album was Paul’s Boutique by The Beastie Boys.

When I first heard Paul’s Boutique I couldn’t truly grasp what I was hearing, but I knew it was a collage. I knew it was samples. I didn’t think they were playing all this stuff.

Here’s why that album was transcendent for me. It was like you were hearing so much more than just a band. Because it was this crazy array of samples, from all genres. It had an awesome breadth that a band couldn’t capture. It was like the greatness of human genius smooshed together into one thing.

It really stuck with me. And I basically never heard music like that again… until almost 20 years later. I’ll talk more about that later.

Back to life

Big detour after that, I went to university, worked as a graphic designer, published lots of zines and articles. I was just trying to get better at craft. Better writer, better designer, learn new software. I was trying to find my niche.

It wasn’t until my thirties that I started to feel like, okay, let’s make something good now, let’s do something new, something people haven’t experienced before.

I was making videos at this point, and I’m pretty good but more importantly, I’m improving quickly. And I’m getting some attention. There is momentum.

For a year or so I was making comedic video blogs, I was also researching my big idea: how do original things happen?

I didn’t know it at the time, but the Immerse phase of the creative process had begun. I’ll explain what that means next time.

Have a wonderful week and enjoy your summers, everyone!
Kirby

P.S. If you want to learn my filmmaking process directly from me, Everything I Know About Making Videos is your only opportunity. Get your spot now.

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The Midlife Remix

My biggest problem

Hi everybody and welcome back!

It’s been a minute! I took a little time off from this newsletter for summer vacation and above all, to focus on completing The Remix Method – which is now live! More on that shortly.

Also, my virtual workshop Everything I Know About Making Videos starts this Friday! This is a live, six-week workshop where I teach you, yeah, everything I know about making videos. There’s still time to grab a spot, so get it while you can! (This course is totally separate from The Remix Method, by the way. It’s different content, only about making videos, and much more detailed.)

Quick sidenote

This newsletter will be returning to the schedule it had for many years: I email when I have something to share! If you want to hear from me more often, my weekly newsletter is the Everything is a Remix newsletter. Those go out every Wednesday. If you want consistent content about creativity, AI, arts and entertainment, and more, that’s the place to get it.

My biggest problem

The big event for me right now is the launch of The Remix Method.

• Click here to learn more about The Remix Method.

• Click here to binge the whole thing right now and save 50%.

• Click here to watch the first two videos with no strings attached – or you can watch the entire first module FOR FREE when you sign up.

So The Remix Method is out, it’s awesome, I’m happy… but my biggest problem reared its ugly head again on this project.

Here are the two big issues that cropped up.

• The course took about 200 hours to make. That’s double what I planned.

• The course shipped seven weeks later than planned.

These two issues represent a larger problem I’ve had for many years now: sprawl.

Sprawl is when a project expands after you start working on it – perhaps by many multiples. Imagine starting to run a race, and then noticing, off in the distance, the finish line rushing away from you and disappearing over the horizon.

This happens to me quite a bit on my own projects – and occasionally on client work. Another term for sprawl is “scope creep.”

I’m just now emerging from two sprawls. One was The Remix Method and the other is a video commission for a major newspaper that has dragged on for months. That one proved surprisingly difficult to define and I had to do a lot of rewrites to shape it.

Why does this keep happening?

What do these two projects have in common? The topic of creativity. I consider creativity my wheelhouse, but the topic is innately vast and this vastness creates boundary problems.

That’s my biggest problem: setting the right boundaries for projects. In other words, shaping it, defining what it is, and, even more importantly, what it is not.

I mostly set the boundaries too wide. This wastes time in a couple of ways. 

• Loads of excess material gets created that ultimately won’t fit the project. For The Remix Method, I created about 40 drafts for additional chapters.

• Then a bunch of time and mental energy is spent adjusting the boundaries until I finally get it right.

So I know what the issue is. Why on earth do I keep falling into this trap?

It’s simple: doing interesting things requires boundaries that are a bit wide. One of my strengths as a storyteller is that I can perceive topics from a wide-angle perspective. This is one of the major reasons you’re reading me right now.

I need to find better ways to discover the right boundaries for projects before I commit to them. I won’t go into how I plan to do this and it’s still something I’m sorting out, but I’ll revisit this topic in the future.

In the meantime, here are some adjustments I’ll be making to minimize sprawl.

• Be aware that my favorite topic, creativity, tends to have boundary issues. I got tricked this time because I know the topic so well and I figured I’d have the boundaries better defined than I did.

• Thanks to The Remix Method, I now have a specific framework I can build on. The creation of the course has given me tighter boundaries to work within. I’ll be sticking to that terrain for a good long while.

• Lastly and most simply: I have no plans to make a large-scale project for a bit. I’ll be keeping everything smaller for the foreseeable future.

Alright, that’s it for this time folks! See you all in a while!

K

P.S. Wanna learn how to make videos like me? Register for Everything I Know About Making Videos.

Did you pre-order The Remix Method?

If you already pre-ordered the course, your access email was sent Friday, September 6th. Search your email for “The Remix Method Course Access.” (Be sure to look in spam if you don’t see it.) If you didn’t receive the email, reply here and I’ll get you set up!

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My year in horror

It’s Halloween, folks! So I’m putting on the ol’ film geek hat and nerding out to the best and less-than-best horror films of 2024. Let’s dive in.

My two towers: sci-fi and horror

For as long as I can remember, my favorite film genre has been science fiction. I was a Star Wars/Star Trek/Planet of the Apes kid and loved pretty much anything that was set in space. I even loved pure trash like The Black Hole, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and the original Battlestar Galactica. Without even a wisp of irony in my eight-year-old soul, I loved the James Bond Star Wars cash-in, Moonraker.

In more recent times, films like Children of Men, Ex Machina, Under the Skin, and the massively underrated Aniara rank high among my favorites. (Aniara, by the way, is way darker than almost all the horror films I’m going to mention.)

My other great love, though, was always horror. As a teen, I loved Friday the 13th, Halloween, The Evil Dead, The Exorcist, The Fly, Nightmare on Elm Street, Dawn of the Dead, The Return of the Living Dead, The Shining, The Thing, and of course, Alien, the best of both genre worlds. 

Now, I can’t say that I love horror films quite like I love sci-fi films. Horror is mostly just entertainment for me. It’s a guilty pleasure, it appeals more to my gut than my mind or soul. 

But still, it’s love. I’m a sucker for a good horror flick… or sometimes, even a bad one. Over the last couple months, after everybody is tucked away in bed and my brain is toast, I’ve kept up with the latest horror films. Here’s what I discovered.

The overlooked horror masterpiece of 2024…

The overlooked horror masterpiece of 2024 is Red Rooms, a French-Canadian psychological thriller. Although really, it’s not a horror film. It’s about horror–and I mean, real horror. The murders in the film are not exciting or dramatic or fun. They feel real and existentially sad.

Most horror films don’t stick with me, but this will be an exception. Red Rooms is an instant classic.

Sidenote: the film also features some of the very best “internet detective” scenes. I’ll be rewatching those.

Start with Shudder

The most bang for the buck for the horror aficionado is a Shudder subscription. Shudder has built a strong library of excellent indies. Here’s some of the best.

In a Violent Nature
This is Friday the 13th as directed by Gus Van Zant. If you understand what I just said, this movie is for you. If not, I’m guessing you’ll hate it.

Oddity
A gorgeous and elegantly executed film, in the A24 mold of upscale horror. The opening scene is a stunner.

Late Night with the Devil
This one was a big success for Shudder. I enjoyed it, though I won’t go so far as to say I think it’s good. Watch the trailer. If that looks fun to you, you should watch it.

Speak No Evil
There are now two versions of this film: the 2022 Danish original and a 2024 American remake. I enjoyed both, but the original is a strong and disturbing statement. Watch the original if you want the uncompromised vision. Watch the remake if you prefer horror that doesn’t go too hard.

The Shudder back catalog is also loaded with classics like Ring, Audition, Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the cult classic Exorcist 3.

The rest of the best and otherwise

Beyond the Shudder platform, here are some of the best or most noteworthy horror films of 2024.

The First Omen
A prequel to the original The Omen, this is a prime example of IP done right. The goofy B-movie tone of the original film is expanded into something far more compelling.

Longlegs
Much like Midsommar is a semi-reboot of The Wicker Man, Longlegs is a semi-reboot of The Silence of the Lambs. It’s a good movie, but a great mood piece.

And a couple tentative comments on a pair of movies I’ve not seen yet.

Terrifier 3
I’ve not yet seen Terrifier 3, but its hype inspired me to watch Terrifier 1 and 2. The ultra-low-budget first movie is unremarkable aside from the character design, but the Terrifier 2 displays some imagination and skill. I know what to expect from Terrifier 3 – 80s-style slasher shlock. Beware of the extreme gore and sadism of these films, even though it’s all pretty campy. The charm–if I can use that word–of this franchise is that it’s so oddball, but the coming copycats will likely spoil the fun.

Smile 2
I’ve also not seen Smile 2, but I really enjoyed the first film and this sequel looks promising.

Talk To Me
If missed it, the best horror film of 2023 was Talk to Me.

Skippable
Cuckoo and MaXXXine are both decent enough for serious genre fans but skippable for everybody else.

Happy Halloween everybody!!!

Check out the blog post for some film links

The Midlife Remix

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NEW VIDEO: Is Creativity Dead?

Folks, I have a new video for The New York Times! IS CREATIVITY DEAD?

Get Create Content With ChatGPT and AI for just $24.99!

The year is nearing its end and you’ve hopefully got a little downtime coming up over the holidays. Now is the time to watch my video course, Create Content with ChatGPT and AI 2024.

Whether you’re a full-time content creator or someone who needs to create content as part of your job, this course will dramatically raise your AI game in just two hours. Watch on-demand whenever you want, it’s yours forever.

This is the lowest price ever. Get it while you can. Or click here if you’d like to learn more.

USE CODE GPTBLACKFRIDAY AT CHECKOUT

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I’m Back With Something Big

Howdy strangers!

It’s been a while! I’ve got a lot of news to share… but first, something exciting.

My new video, Infinite Remix is premiering at 1 PM ET - 10AM PT - 6 BST.

I will be in the chat at the premiere and reading and replying to comments for the first two hours.

Come on by!

Infinite Remix is a story about how everything we’ve uploaded is now being remixed by AI, reshaping creativity and authorship.

If you want to keep the journey going, I’m running two new Infinite Remix workshops:

• Infinite Remix Live — a 5-week deep dive with a small group.

• Infinite Remix Spark — a single, fast-paced 3-hour session.

Super Early Bird pricing is available for the next 24 hours only.

You can also save $25 on my on-demand creativity course, The Remix Method, with code INFINITEREMIXMETHOD at checkout.

Lots more to talk about. See you all in a bit!
Kirby

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Join me and make work that matters

Hi everybody!

A topic I’ve been delving deeply into is meaning.

In my last video Infinite Remix I closed with the challenge to “make work that matters.” Then I followed up with a blog post about how exactly we find meaning and create meaning.

Now, I’d love for you to join me for a free live workshop where we’ll dive deeper into how to do work that feels meaningful, creative, and lasting. I’ll share some ideas, we’ll work together a bit, and you’ll leave with practical takeaways on how to pursue more meaning in your work.

📅 Wednesday, Sept 17
🕑 11:00 AM PT / 2:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM BST

SAVE YOUR SPOT HERE

This workshop is completely free, but space is limited. I’d love to see you there.

Kirby

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The Exciting Conclusion of The Midlife Remix

Hi everybody!

If you don’t have time to read this email, just know this: I now work for Sam Harris! This mailing list will be merged into my upcoming Substack newsletter.

Folks, I am happy to announce that my time at the mid-career crossroads has come to an end. In October of 2025 I began working as the producer of Sam Harris’s podcast, Making Sense, and have since been hired. Yippee!

You can subscribe to Making Sense here. The full experience is a paid membership. If you click on “For more pricing options…” there are some lower tiers available if that price is prohibitive.

Come subscribe on YouTube while you’re at it.

You can get 30 days of Sam’s meditation app, Waking Up, free here.

This newsletter will be merged into a new Substack. I’ll send a message whenever I have something of importance to say; it’ll be a sporadic hobby. The subjects will likely be Making Sense-adjacent.

Friends, you’ve been with me through thick and thin. Thank you all for your attention and your support.

I’ll see you all on Substack! Much love to you all and happy, belated new year!

Kirby

P.S. Come on out and see Sam live! I’ll be at his LA show this month.

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