Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew McCleskey.
Hi Matthew, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As a child, I taught myself filmmaking, visual effects, and writing. I practiced these skills for years until I eventually went to the University of North Texas and earned a degree in Radio, Television, and Film. During my final semester, however, the pandemic began. All classes moved online, and I had a lot of spare time all of a sudden.
It was also at this time that another YouTube creator by the name of Joel Haver released a tutorial video showcasing his style of animating. I saw this video at just the right time, and it was the perfect medium for me to create all of the ideas I had brewing.
Many of these ideas were too ambitious in scope and would require more budget than I had and/or a lot of time to be up to a standard I would be happy with had I filmed them live-action. But animation allows for stylization and creative freedom!
This animation method uses AI to make a few drawn images move like a shot filmed on camera. It allows a single person to animate a lot of footage very quickly. It also Kickstarted my YouTube career.
I spent the pandemic making animations and they took off online. Every idea I had could come to fruition! I currently have around 150k subscribers and growing!
The pandemic was rough for a lot of people but I feel very lucky to have found my own silver lining.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The main hurdle I have faced while starting on YouTube is the uncertainty of being straight out of college and not having a job while a pandemic is happening. It was a weird position to be in, and I felt like I was taking a big risk by spending my time working on my own content. Most people would say that after college you need to get a job as soon as possible. Even if it is a starter job outside your desired field, you should take it while you find one to start your career. This is great advice! I elected to ignore it. Instead, I followed my passion and can earn money doing what I love on my own schedule. It’s freeing, exciting, and I feel very lucky to be in this position. I feel like the timing worked out perfectly. Now I can focus on honing my craft.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an animator on YouTube making short comedy videos. I started by making videos highlighting some of the absurdity in a game called Stardew Valley (a relaxing farming game). Fans of this game found my videos and they took off! These videos built me the notoriety within the Stardew Valley community to be invited to play in the Stardew Valley Cup – a competition put on by another content creator alongside the creator of the game himself! I didn’t want to be boxed into making only Stardew Valley content, however, so I branched out a bit; I began making videos about other video games, Star Wars, Batman, and really anything I thought would be funny. These videos allowed my content to reach an audience outside the Stardew Valley community and my channel kept growing. I’m going to take that same mentality going forward and keep the ball rolling. With further innovations in AI and creative software, I am excited to see what’s possible in the future!
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
If you are looking for something quick and fun to watch I would appreciate you checking out the channel! Hopefully, I can give you a laugh without taking too much of your time.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewmccleskey.gif/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mccleskey_matt?t=66k4mxVT1aVPvsv-VENJAw&s=09
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@MatthewMcCleskey
Image Credits
Matthew McCleskey
