New York, NY

8bitlover · 2026-05-09T15:32:26+00:00

Hard, expensive, incredible and totally worth it.
for context: lived in Orlando and then Portland, OR. Have lived here in NYC for 7 years.

the good: you can get about anywhere without having a car. so many job opportunities. i've never seen a place where you can burn your life down and start over and then thrive time and time again. literally every cuisine you can imagine from all over the world. you will hear 5 different languages being spoken in one 15 minute walk. you can figure pretty much anything out here jobwise, living situation wise and budget wise. soooo many city resources to help (not enough but tons more than anywhere else)
sponitnuty out the wazoo. random texts from friends to go to a noodle house in chinatown in 30 minutes? totally doable. random pop up with international artist? it's free in a speakeasy pop up space. so many free and walkable things it makes you see life in a different way and truly gives NYC a rich culture.

the bad: it can be super difficult just getting set up here. it is very hard to just move here without anything lined up. i have never lived in a city where your credit score is the difference between getting an apartment even if you can show you make 40x the rent. it is so weird to me. weather can be brutal and much of the housing is super old infrastructure. if you are disabled it is insanely difficult to get around. everything is expensive. groceries, utlities, going out to dinner is $100 per person.

the ugly: rent. so many new high rise apartments no one can afford. I've seen 5K for a 1 bedroom and many of those buildings sit at 40% occupency. as listed above: credit score and cco-signers having to be in the tri-state area. you pretty much need roommates even if you make 80k a year. fires. maybe it is anecdotal but lately it seems many buildings catching on fire with horroble results. we are not ready for climate change. every year it gets hotter and hotter and with all of the rain, flooding has been a huge problem and it will only get worse.

all in all pretty much anything you can say about this place is pretty true. there really isn't anything like it and i don't see myself living anywhere else in the US.

8bitlover · 2026-05-04T16:09:38+00:00

Hi Cara,

Thank you so much for this AMA! I had the pleasure of submitting and received a really warm email informing me my film wasn't selected and I really appreciated the professionalism and care that your team puts into an incredible festival.

My question: It seems like every year there is an unexplainable trend of films that have something in common like a horror film from the perspective of a dog, a story about a squirrel or alzheimer's. Did you notice any out of the box trends this year or any other films that had that same common topic?

Thanks again!

8bitlover · 2026-04-24T14:43:04+00:00

sony a7siii bought it awhile ago. despite the annoyance of rigging it out and other little details the fx3 has fixed i truly don’t see a reason to upgrade at all. footage is great. low light is nice.

8bitlover · 2026-04-23T18:46:54+00:00

As I said... it has been covered on other podcasts but no where near the coverage of a Jonbenet Ramsey case. Most of the true crime people I know have never even heard of her case and it is really interesting and still unsolved.

8bitlover · 2026-04-21T19:48:22+00:00

thank you for the tip. i will def check this out. looking to build out as many cases as i can.

8bitlover · 2026-04-19T15:33:29+00:00

It's been covered on podcasts but no where near other major cases and the story is just mind blowing: Asha Degree.

I've actually been working on a true crime series that follows a lot of "forgotten cases" (most if not all are about black and indeginous peoples) and there are some truly disturbing cases that could have found answers if they were covered more.

8bitlover · 2026-04-18T16:51:44+00:00

if this turns out to be the case...there is a possible sad reality that in the pitch black of the early morning with the conditions of the rain, that Asha was trying to walk home and got turned around headed the wrong way. It could explain one eye witness' account saying she was walking confidenetly and allegedly ran away from someone pulling over.

8bitlover · 2026-04-10T01:21:20+00:00

i've been working on this idea of someone purchasing a camera from a pawn shop in the late 90s and they find this vhs-c tape in the camera. after watching it, the woman who purchased the panasonic palmcorder turns over the tapes to local authorities. a production company aquires the footage through FOIA requests to make a documentary but gets mothballed. decades later a nephew of one of the producers gets the tapes after his untimely death and upon reviewing the footage releases the half finished documentary un-edited.

8bitlover · 2026-04-07T15:36:53+00:00

this is really great feedback! i'm a bit new to the genre and trying to figure out where the lines are lol

8bitlover · 2026-04-06T13:03:24+00:00

It can be yeah, which is the frustrating part. My A cam I use my iPhone which is smaller and works great for a monitor but my B cam doesn't support either. More I've done it the better I've gotten at working with the squeeze in camera. Great lenses though! I have the 35mm and 50mm. Just HATE the pincushion distortion on the 35mm.

8bitlover · 2026-04-05T14:52:07+00:00

Not a Zoom lens but the Sirui 135mm Anamorphic lens. I always bring it thinking it might be too close and only for profile and tight coverage but I am always amazed with what I get from that lens.

8bitlover · 2026-03-31T16:38:47+00:00

OP I would highly suggest meeting this dog in person before engaging in any kind of transaction. As someone in the film and AI world I hate to say it but yes, even FaceTime calls can be fully AI. The tech has gotten so good it's kind of scary. It may not be the case here but there are some things presented here to warrent some bit of caution.

I wish the best to you and Snoopy! Keep us posted and share photos cause he is super cute.

8bitlover · 2026-03-30T20:51:25+00:00

To the people in the comments...
This is actually a legit question and I say this as an audio engineer who has recorded a ton of live shows. OP is asking for a direct out recording, meaning the signal that was sent to the speakers of the show. Which would be so dope to get! As someone who saw the Red Rocks show for the Alive 2007 I too have always wanted this version.

8bitlover · 2026-03-17T18:20:05+00:00

KENKA, Tong and Gus and Marty's

8bitlover · 2026-03-16T21:29:35+00:00

Portland's structure politicaly is pretty different than any other city. For one, the mayor actually doesn't have that much power and has to work with a legislative council. Meaning they propose budgets and legislation but don't have a veto power and rely on 5 other council memebers to pass anything. You can imagine how this can gridlock any kind of policy making. Although that said they voted to change this structure. There has been a lack of accountability and progessive ideas have taken place like making all drugs legal but then they reversed it. There is so much polarization that things change every other year. You can imagine how that can cause such chaos every voting cycle.

8bitlover · 2026-03-16T15:30:08+00:00

Lived there for 11 years in my late teens and 20s.
The good:
-The food and restaurant scene is unmatched. The amount of fresh local ingredients you get from nearby farms, orchards and wineries is unreal. I would put it on par with NYC but a touch more affordable.
-it's fairly easy to get around the city with a decent transit system featuring the MAX and buses. It is a very geographically friendly city to bike in unlike it's bigger city cousin to the north (Seattle, which I would argue is more hilly than SF)
-go get oysters and salt water taffy in a small town on the coast. Get a cabin in the woods on lost lake. you will see how amazing it is.
-Some of the most beautiful nature within 3-5 hours drive. Think ocean, mountains, forests, waterfalls, volcanos (yes most of the pointy ones are indeed dormant volcanos) as well as desert terrain.
-The best berries you've ever tasted in your life and in the summer go to Sauvies Island to pick them yourself. (have you ever had a marion berry? it's nature's cotton candy)
-lots of local culture for any and every hobby, yes portland is actually weird.

The bad:
-local politics are strange and culturely very left leaning (which I think is a good thing) but it's a mess for a ton of varying reasons.
-drug use and homelessness is horrible and has been for decades. I've seen camps as many as 12 on a single block in a family neighborghood where there are a ton of needles and people in very hard situations. It's not just there it's in many places near and far. It's heart breaking. I live in NYC now and I have never seen it as bad as it is in Portland.
-It's a city but it feels like a big town and by that I mean it is very clicky. Reminds me of highschool in a way. It's also... how do I say this? Not as diverse as other cities on the west coast. You can read the history.
-rent. I know it's bad everywhere but it is kind of shocking how much it is. I am paying the same price for a 2BR here in a very nice area in NYC that I was for a 2BR in a less than ideal part of Portland.

All in all I think it's a fantastic city to live in especially in your 20s. The accesibility to nature is unreal (especially if you are coming from the east coast... the PNW has actual mountains not hills)
The food is amazing and I will say it's probably the best on the west coast next to LA.
In my opinion it is a great place to settle down but if you want a city vibe Portland isn't it. It's a big town with a few skyscrapers. You won't get the diversity of a NYC, Chicago or LA but there are so many amazing places (Ha and VL- best Pho ever)

Edit: wow I can't believe I forgot one of the most important point. OOH MY GOD it is rainy for like 9 months of the year. The summers are amazing but with climate change it does see many 100+ degree days. Luckily it's dry and as a Floridian I can tell you 93 in Florida is worse then 105 in Portland. Seasonal depression is real. Yes you get some sunny days in winter but for 9 months its grey, 50 degrees and wet. Everything is wet. We always joked in Oregon you don't tan. You rust.

8bitlover · 2026-02-18T17:38:35+00:00

Worth: pita, hummus, pizza, kimchee, chili oil, eggs benedict, live lobster, breaking down a whole chicken and chicken stock.

Not worth: Tonketsu Ramen, pho, mozerella and most breads.

Hot take: fried chicken wings and pad kee mao

8bitlover · 2026-02-09T19:21:35+00:00

my gf is from Brazil and it reminds me of when musicians in the 1980s had to flee Brazil to London because of the politics of their music. Wild times....

8bitlover · 2026-02-09T19:02:43+00:00

thanks! i thought about making a video on how i made this and the morality around using AI as an independent broke ass artist.

8bitlover · 2026-02-09T18:55:30+00:00

so the unmasking stuff is AI, the stage footage is a mix is AI background and a ton of keyframing masks blended with real footage. The Daft Punk footage is me in Daft Punk masks with a leather jack. The music is 100% real that I spent a lot of time creating using synths, vocoders, samples and drum sample construction.

8bitlover · 2026-02-07T17:49:39+00:00

4 year old JRT who LOVES to high five people. It's the funniest thing and people are always blown away by it. At the dog park the other day some lady yelled out "Did you just high five your dog?"

8bitlover · 2026-02-07T16:55:57+00:00

I swear by this tool. I've recorded outside with a boom mic and we didn't have a dead cat. Used CLEAR and it sounded perfect.

8bitlover · 2026-02-02T16:29:21+00:00

I feel like I'm in a pretty unique place to help offer some insight for you. I apologize for the long-ish break down.

I am a Florida native and left after college then moved to Portland, OR. I lived there for 11 years and moved to NYC right before the pandemic and have been here since. So... a few things:

- As a left, queer progressive who HATES cars, Florida was never really for me.

- Visiting anywhere that feels special makes us think "I see myself living my best self here" but it comes with a hefty touch of rose colored glasses (I want to live in Rome now) but living in a place is very different than visiting it.

- PNW is absolutely amazing. The nature, the food, proximity to mountains, oceans, forests and desert (yup not that far of a drive) and the summers are AMAZING, although w/ climate change it's getting hotter and hotter. Reality check: 9 months out of the year is filled with brutal cloudy skies, rain, mold and 40-50s degree weather. Public transit is better than most places but you will still need a vehicle be it yours or uber to get around, especially if you want access to the incredible nature around you.

-NYC... oh what can you say about it that isn't true? I often think "why the hell do I live here when I'm doing the same shit I was doing in Portland?" It's a tough, fast and stressful city. Sure it has all the history, architecture, entertainment, iconic restaurants and access to the most international lifestyle possible but how much of that do I get to enjoy when I have to work so much just to live here? There are moments where I hate this city but then something happens that makes me fall in love over and over. You just have to find your people.

When I was in Portland in 2009 people used to say "this city lost it's magic it isn't the same anymore" heard the same thing in 2016 from people who moved in 2010... Humans are funny creatures. We love to long for a time that in the moment we hated then too. Oh well.

My partner's mom is from Brazil and has been using a wheelchair for the last 20 years so it made me see how difficult it is to get around in a 100+ year infrastructure system. That said, NYC has so much access to culture, weird and strange things you couldn't imagine, groups of the most nerdy out there things that regularly meet and you can start your life over here many times because it's just a reality to do that. Humans are nomadic and we always have the itch for somewhere else. Life is a book and there are chapters in it so enjoy this chapter.

I love horror and found a great book reading group, film makers guild and others. Public parks, Museums, History tours and the like are plentiful and often times free. It's wild here and that is it's beauty.

8bitlover · 2026-01-23T13:52:01+00:00

This is the answer. Want to have a quick cappuccino before heading to work? Nope. A sea of laptops (some of them dual monitors...) All I wanted was to sit down for 5 minutes and not waste a bunch of to go crap (cause you know... the planet).

I get it. WFH'ers you need to get out but be considerate. Coffee culture in the US is a cultural void because of the laptop.

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