The Idiot Project

The Idiot Project is a YouTube documentary created by Audioslavian journalist Jeremy Jaffacake with help from Mrii podcaster Defecating Daffodil. The series is inspired by the work of RL States sports writer Jon Bois, who uses similar software and techniques to create short sports documentaries.

The series is partly responsible for the WA Commendation for Services to Journalistic Integrity being awarded to Jeremy Jaffacake around the time of cycle 85.

Inception
Jeremy Jaffacake and Defecating Daffodil decided to collaborate on the project while searching for a castle in Cathair in September 2019. Initially, the term 'The Idiot Project' was used only to describe the comprehensive database of every football match in World Cup history that, at the time, Jeremy had almost finished creating, but soon became the name of a YouTube documentary once Jaffacake realised he could use the database for financial gain.

Series One
Jeremy Jaffacake began work on episodes one and two in late September 2019, and had completed work on Episode 1 by early December. Work on Episode 2 began in early November and finished in late December.

A trailer for Episodes 1 and 2 appeared on YouTube in early December to little or no fanfare. Jaffacake and Daffodil said, afterwards, that they'd wanted to drop the series as casually as possible.

Episode 1
Episode 1 consists of six 'chapters' and follows, more or less chronologically, every instance of Scorigami on record. Most videos in the series were created using Google Earth Studios, which explains the presence of the 'Google Earth' logo in the bottom right hand corner. All videos were uploaded to YouTube with the exception of Chapter 3 which, for copyright reasons, is hosted by RL States video-sharing website 'Streamable'

Chapter 4.5
Long after Episode 1 had been completed, Banija's national football team defeated that of Casta Marina by nine goals to four in qualifying for World Cup 84. It was the first Scorigami for almost twenty cycles. Jaffacake quickly created a short video commemorating the event, but was not able to incorporate it fully into the series.

Episode 2
Created very shortly after the completion of Episode 1, the second episode contains five chapters that are longer than average. The release of Episode 2 followed quickly after Episode 1. Jaffacake has described the five chapters as sounding 'tired' outside of the section on Bonesea in Chapter 2 and the vocal performances of Odger Lee and Defecating Daffodil

Series Two
Series two entered production earlier than expected due to what RL Statesers call 'the pandemic' and was released in April 2020 - around eight months earlier than anticipated. The overarching aim of the series is to explore the interesting aspects of the Unofficial World Championship. Episode 3 looks at high scoring UWC matches and fierce rivalries between teams contesting the title, while Episode 4 looks more specifically at the inner workings and lineage of the title.

With gradual improvements in audio quality, smoother animation and sharper picture quality, Episode 3 has the highest average rating of all episodes so far.

Discord Watch-alongs
From midway through Episode 3 through to the end of Episode 4, Jaffacake and Daffodil released TIP videos in batches of two via 'Discord Watch-alongs'. Fans of football and quirky low-budget documentaries tuned in to watch the videos together every Sunday and comment on the video live, often with a 'director's commentary' by Jaffacake happening via live text.

Series Three
Jaffacake has said that work has yet to begun on Series Three of The Idiot Project, but that fans should expect it in early 2021. It is likely that the episodes will be shorter in length - down from 80/110 minutes per episode to nearer sixty.