Good vibrations, from sweet harmonies to quantum fields.

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TL;DR: The more you pledge, the more & better stuff I can make!
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Greetings musical scientists!

I'm Tim Blais; I run the YouTube channel A Capella Science, making the strange, wacky and colourful musical science videos that have doubtless brought you to this page. When I made my first video 3 years ago as a physics master's student, I had no idea I would ever get a shot at doing something as fun as this full-time. All I knew was that I'd thought of something that I thought would be awesome, and it was something that I had the knowledge and skills to do. So I sat down and made it happen.

Three years on that's still what I'm doing. Each of these videos is an experiment--it's me learning how to communicate science effectively, how to produce music that sounds harmonious and crisp, and how to use the medium of video to pull it all together. I never really know if anyone other than myself will like my next creation; all I know is that I want it to exist, and I'm willing to work as hard as I have to until it does. So far an astonishing number of people seem to share my enthusiasm for this weird art-form, and for that I'm truly grateful.

So here's the thing. Being a YouTuber is a constant internal struggle, with perfectionism and purity of craft on one side and the urge to "go viral", "pump out more content", "increase your fan-base" etc. on the other. Far from being academic, right now how popular my next video is very much determines whether I can eat and pay my rent that month. When I can't support myself with my regular YouTube content, I take contract work composing music, making non-science-related videos, and doing paid performances. That has its merits too, but it takes weeks out of my life that I'd really rather be putting into these videos. It leads to a lot of frustration with how little material I'm putting out, and shifts me into a mind-set of "just get something done in the easiest, fastest way possible", rather than really trying to craft something great.

My hope is that if just a few of you would like to pledge to give a dollar or two every time I put out an A Capella Science video, then slowly this dynamic can start to change. I can spend more time doing what I love--making high quality, innovative and engaging science music videos for you folks--and put out more and better videos than ever before. My head is bursting with project ideas waiting to spring forth into existence; I need only the time and freedom to make them exist.

You guys were incredibly supportive with my Indiegogo campaign to get A Capella Science back on its feet, and I myself am still working on getting all of your perks to you. I promise you have not been forgotten, but nevertheless if you were one of my Indiegogo supporters, by no means feel obligated to be first in line for this initiative. You've been more than generous. On the other hand, I hope you've been happy with the creative work your generosity has wrought so far. For those of you who've been following me so far, this year's burst of creativity has been largely fueled by generous donors like yourself. If you would like to be part of keeping it going, I humbly request that you consider becoming a Patreon patron of mine.

A Capella Science videos will always continue to be free for all to enjoy as long as I can find a way to keep making them. If you're in a position to support me in that, here's your chance!

Sincerely,

-Tim Blais
A Capella Science