Scene Lift in 2024

Discover new uplifting movies to watch each week and get comic swag based on the best scenes.

There are two ways to approach a project: 1) make a detailed plan after contemplating every aspect of the project and execute that plan later on or 2) have a basic idea about what you want to build and start building it immediately while making incremental changes along the way.

Either approach is a fine approach, but Scene Lift is a project of the second type. At the beginning of 2023, I reflected on what I love most — aside from nature and other beings — and decided that what I love most is movies. So, after quitting my job, I decided to create a movie blog. About what? Uplifting movies. I didn’t know more than that. Having worked with tech startups for the past decade, this is the approach I’m used to. You start with a simple concept then start building. You figure the rest out along the way based on engagement and interest.

In business, engagement and interest must come from others. In blogging, engagement and interest must come from others as well as yourself. This is the only way the creativity that fuels it will survive. If only others are engaged and interested, you’ll quickly burn out. If only you are engaged and interested, it’s probably best to save yourself the screen time and go old school with pen, paper, and typewriter. Writing like this is a self-fulfilling, respectable hobby. However, this is not my path. I enjoy sharing with others. But to share with others you must have something interesting to share. Something that others will enjoy and look forward to receiving as much as you enjoy and look forward to writing. 

I have yet to crack that with Scene Lift, but I continue to iterate because I remain interested and engaged in the foundation of the project: uplifting movies. They supported me during confusing times years ago and continue to support me as I walk in the light and encounter the occasional shadow. Uplifting movies are often the collective spirit of hundreds of people (cast and crew) that are tidied up into beautiful packages of humanity. And within these packages are gems of scenes that remind us that we’re never alone. Our fellow brothers and sisters are right here by our side. We feel this through the characters on the screen. Those characters and their experiences are little parts of us all. There is nothing wrong with us. We are good to go. Movies are medicine. Thanks, doctor director.

Sharing uplifting movies and scenes is something I want to continue to pursue. But how do I make you look forward to it? After taking a break from Scene Lift to start B2B Comics — a content marketing service that helps me pay the bills — I announced the inclusion of comics in Scene Lift posts. Creating cartoons and comics was an enjoyable experience for my marketing clients, so I figured it would also be enjoyable to movie lovers. I even changed the blog from Scene Lift to Scene Lift Comics. And while I still love the idea of incorporating comics into Scene Lift posts, I made the mistake of creating comics only for one movie! That’s how much of an impact Contact (1997) had on me. I thought it was maybe not a good idea but acceptable to send my handful of subscribers — you dear movie lover — a comic and personal story every week for 13 weeks about 13 different scenes in the movie Contact.

Oops. 

But this is the cost of the iterative way of starting a project. To discover your next move, you must make mistakes along the way. Without continuing to deliver those comics about Contact, I might not have arrived to where I am now with Scene Lift, which is a place I feel good about. This could change in a few months, but what matters is now.

Before, the goal of Scene Lift was to help you connect with the spirit of movies. The idea was that you could remember something important about your true nature every time you watched a scene and read a post. I even thought about incorporating passages from spiritual texts into posts that aligned with the essence of the scene and comic for that week. I think this is a fine idea. And even though I remain spiritual, writing about spirituality every week so directly would strip the mystery I love most about it away. (It might also attract religious radicals - ew.) Uplifting movies are inherently spiritual and the best ones do so without talking about spirituality. Subtlety and subtext are key. Everyone takes what they need from the movie. No message is forced. So why would I sabotage that with referencing specific religious texts and anecdotes? You will draw from the movie and scene what’s best for you. My job is to open up that opportunity, and make it fun, which I think the comics do.

But how do we make Scene Lift even more fun? Here’s what I plan to do in 2024…

Receive new movie recommendations

Every Thursday I’ll share a movie with you that I recently watched and that uplifted my spirit. The movies I share will be available to rent/stream and fall into one of three categories:

1. SL Selections: newer movies that are uplifting and entertaining to watch

2. SL Mentions: newer movies that are worth watching but not quite SL Selections

3. SL Classics: movies that are uplifting and have stood the test of time

Purchase your favorite comics

For every movie I share, I’ll work with an illustrator to create a comic based on my favorite scene. For SL Selections and SL Classics, prints of comics will be available on the new Scene Lift Etsy store. You can purchase prints on posters, t-shirts, and mugs for around $12 plus shipping. Since I don’t have official licensing rights to movies (obviously), I’m choosing not to profit from sales. The sale price will cover the cost of the product through the on-demand printing service Printful and costs associated with selling on Etsy.

Any guess which movie will be shared as the first SL Classic in 2024?

Win your favorite comics

The Sunday after sharing either a SL Selection or SL Classic, I’ll send everyone a thread where you can share your favorite scene and story behind why it’s your favorite scene. On the following Thursday, I’ll share who the winner is in the post for that week. (I’ll probably use a digital lottery picker to choose someone at random.) I’ll email the winner and offer them a print of the comic for the movie they contributed their favorite scene to.

Note: This friendly little contest will happen after Scene Lift hits 200 subscribers. Hopefully that will happen in 2024. If you know someone who enjoys movies and could use some positivity in the new year, it would mean so much to me if you shared Scene Lift with them!

Thanks to everyone who subscribed this year, and sorry for clobbering you with Contact comics. Hopefully it was a small price to pay as a free subscriber!