Communication theory | Glitch Productions

Unlike major studios and streaming platforms, Glitch Productions develops an independent production model: its main series are released for free on YouTube*, while further project development is supported through views, merchandise, licensing, collaborations, offline activities, and the paid fan community Glitch Inn.

The studio’s main projects include Meta Runner, Sunset Paradise, Murder Drones, and The Amazing Digital Circus. The earlier projects helped Glitch develop its production model, but the first major breakthrough was Murder Drones, a series by Liam Vickers that combines science fiction, dark humor, horror elements, and an ironic tone of voice. Later, The Amazing Digital Circus, created by Gooseworx, became an even larger internet phenomenon. The project combines surreal comedy, psychological themes, a bright visual style, and the feeling of an absurd digital nightmare. Around it, a large international fan community quickly formed, creating fan art, memes, theories, cosplay, and discussions of symbolism.     Glitch Productions is interesting for analysis not only as an animation studio, but also as a contemporary digital-native media brand. Its success is directly connected not only to the quality of its content, but also to the way the studio builds relationships with its audience. Glitch fans are not limited to passively watching episodes. They discuss lore, create user-generated content, buy merchandise, participate in online activities, react to the creators’ posts, and sometimes become part of the promotion of the projects.     The target audience of Glitch Productions consists primarily of teenagers and young adults, approximately 16–30 years old, who actively consume online entertainment. These are users of YouTube*, TikTok, X/Twitter*, Reddit, Discord*, and Instagram* who are interested in independent animation, internet culture, dark humor, science fiction, horror elements, psychological themes, complex lore, and fan theories. An important feature of this audience is its high level of engagement. Viewers do not simply watch the shows; they want to be part of an online community: creating fan art, memes, cosplay, discussing symbolism, following the creators, and participating in the life of the brand between releases.

YouTube* is the main Glitch Productions channel, where episodes, trailers, shorts, and announcements are released. Free distribution helps the studio grow a global audience, but reduces direct income, which is offset by merchandise, licensing, collaborations, events, and Glitch Inn.

X/Twitter*, TikTok, and Instagram* are used for fast engagement through memes, short clips, polls, merch updates, and promotional posts that keep interest between releases. Some posts also encourage fan participation, such as reactions to characters or real-world billboards.

Reddit serves as a space for deeper interaction, especially through AMAs. Creators like Luke and Kevin or Liam Vickers answer questions about story, production, and lore, showing that fan input is actively considered rather than ignored.

Discord, linked to Glitch Inn, supports a paid community with exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content, AMAs, concept art, and collaborations. It functions as a more intimate fan space, though full access is limited to paying members.

The communication goals of Glitch Productions can be divided into several areas.

The first goal is maintaining audience attention between releases. Since animation takes a long time, the studio fills gaps with memes, short videos, announcements, behind-the-scenes content, and merchandise updates. Even after Murder Drones ended, it stays relevant through merch, promos, and collaborations.

The second goal is building a fan community. The studio uses informal, meme-style communication that makes it feel embedded in its own fandom and creates a sense of shared identity.

The third goal is encouraging user-generated content. Fans produce art, theories, cosplay, and analyses, supported by lore-heavy projects like The Amazing Digital Circus and Murder Drones, which naturally invite interpretation and creativity.

The fourth goal is increasing loyalty. This is supported by free access to core content, regular updates, Glitch Inn, merchandise, and behind-the-scenes materials. The studio also emphasizes that revenue is reinvested into production.

The fifth goal is promoting new projects. This is done through trailers, posters, merch drops, events, screenings, and collaborations, with audience reaction often influencing which projects continue.

Thus, the communication channels of Glitch Productions work not only as promotional tools. They form the brand’s public field, where the audience can watch, discuss, create, react, buy, participate, and help spread the projects.

Mutuality refers to a reciprocal relationship between an organization and its audience, where the audience is treated as an active partner rather than a passive target. For Glitch Productions, this is reflected in how fan engagement directly supports the studio’s success through views, discussion, fan art, merchandise, and sharing.

Propinquity is about staying present in ongoing communication instead of only reporting finished decisions. In the case of Glitch Productions, this is seen in continuous interaction with the audience through regular posts, AMAs, short-form updates, and creator engagement between releases.

Empathy is the ability to understand audience interests and emotional context, not just adopt a friendly tone. Glitch Productions demonstrates this through communication that reflects fandom culture and audience values, including memes, self-irony, and recognition of fan interpretations and theories.

Risk involves accepting that communication cannot be fully controlled once the audience becomes active. Fans may reinterpret content, spread theories, or influence perception, making shared control over meaning and discussion an important part of Glitch’s community-driven communication.

Commitment refers to sustained investment in long-term audience relationships rather than short-term promotion. For Glitch Productions, this is expressed through long-term support of the community and creator ecosystem, including free YouTube* releases, reinvestment into projects, Glitch Inn, and continued development of existing franchises.

The first encounter with the studio already demonstrates its attitude toward the audience. In Glitch’s welcome video, the company’s CEO Kevin Lerdwichagul begins his speech like a typical corporate representative, stating: «Glitch is here to revolutionize and synergize the way we do content strategy.» This phrase is intentionally built around abstract business jargon and resembles the language of corporate presentations, where the emphasis is placed on strategy, innovation, and efficiency. However, almost immediately after these words, co-founder Luke Lerdwichagul runs into the frame, tears off the title card that says «Kevin Lerdwichagul, CEO of Glitch Productions, ” and interrupts Kevin’s speech. He then addresses him with the words: „Kevin, what did we say about talking like that? BAD!“ thereby mocking this style of communication. After that, he suggests showing viewers „what we’re actually all about, ” and the conversation shifts from corporate language to creativity, independent animation, and support for creators. This episode can be interpreted as a symbolic rejection of the traditional corporate model of communication. The studio shows that it does not want to speak to its audience in the language of business, KPIs, and abstract strategy. Instead, Glitch uses self-irony, humor, and direct address to the viewer. Already at the level of the first impression, the brand reduces the distance between the organization and the audience.

An important feature of Glitch’s communication is that the founders do not treat the audience as an external group of consumers. Kevin and Luke position themselves as part of the audience rather than outside observers have repeatedly emphasized that the studio emerged from dissatisfaction with the state of the contemporary Western animation industry. In their view, the market focuses either on children’s content or adult animation, while teenage and young adult animation remains underrepresented. There is a perceived gap in the animation market for teenage and young adult audiences They discuss this problem not only as entrepreneurs, but also as viewers who themselves lacked such stories.

In fact, Glitch’s communication is built around the idea that the studio creates projects its founders would want to watch themselves. This distinguishes the brand from the model of «we studied the audience and understood what it wants.» Glitch takes a different position: «we belong to this audience ourselves». Because of this, the relationship between the brand and its fans appears more equal. The communication model is based on identification with the audience rather than external analysis

The attitude toward fans is also built through recognition of their contribution. In public messages, studio representatives talk not only about views and commercial results, but also about fan art, cosplay, discussions, theories, and other forms of audience participation. Kevin’s message after the theatrical screenings of the final episode of The Amazing Digital Circus is especially revealing: he thanks fans not only for supporting the release, but also for turning the event into part of community life. In this type of communication, the audience is perceived not as statistics, but as a co-creator of the project’s public success.

Thus, the principle of mutuality in the communication of Glitch Productions is expressed through the deliberate reduction of distance between the brand, creators, and audience. The studio positions itself not as an external corporation, but as part of the same cultural space as its fans. Communication is built not on the relationship of «producer — consumer, ” but on interaction within a shared community united by an interest in independent animation.

Under these conditions, communication between episodes becomes part of Glitch’s main strategy. The studio uses YouTube Shorts*, TikTok, X/Twitter*, Instagram*, Reddit, Discord, Glitch Inn, behind-the-scenes materials, memes, audience questions, and creators’ personal accounts to maintain constant contact with fans. This content does not replace the episodes, but makes the project feel alive during waiting periods.

Propinquity is most clearly visible in Gooseworx’s communication, the showrunner of The Amazing Digital Circus. Unlike the traditional model, where creators interact with audiences mainly through finished works or official interviews,

Gooseworx regularly participates in the everyday life of the fandom. Her posts often do not look like official promotional messages, but rather like remarks from an ordinary member of the community.

For example, after the official plush toys of the characters went on sale, she wrote: «Everyone’s getting their Pomni and Jax plushes before me.» In terms of content, this post does not provide new information about the series and does not perform a direct promotional function. It works differently: the creator shares with fans the current experience of waiting for merchandise and shows her own involvement in what is happening inside the community.

Another example is her post: «Seeing fanart that’s really really close to something that happens in canon later.» Here, she reacts to fan creativity and theories in real time, creating a cycle of interaction: fans analyze the series and create content, the creator responds, and this response generates further discussion.

Propinquity is also expressed through AMAs. In the Sunset Paradise AMA, GLITCH invited fans to ask Luke and Kevin questions. TheRealSMG4 answered viewers, discussed a possible second season, reacted to fan ideas, and admitted that some suggestions could be considered. In the Murder Drones AMA, Liam Vickers answered questions about lore, drone mechanics, regeneration, and worldbuilding.

Thus, Glitch realizes propinquity through the constant presence of the studio and creators in ongoing fan conversations. Communication is not limited to official releases: between episodes, waiting becomes a period of active discussion, interpretation, and fan creativity, which helps preserve audience engagement.

In the case of Glitch Productions, empathy is expressed first of all through an understanding of the cultural and emotional profile of the audience. The studio is oriented toward teenagers and young adults who value independent animation, internet culture, dark humor, psychological themes, complex lore, and fan theory interpretation. Therefore, Glitch’s communication is not built around neutral corporate language, but around the language of fandom: memes, self-irony, emotional reactions, and internal jokes.

A deeper expression of empathy is connected with the studio’s attitude toward viewer trust. Gooseworx’s tweet is especially revealing: «Cool reminder that I’m the only writer on Digital Circus and Glitch has never asked me to add anything for marketability purposes. It’s just 100% pure author-created, self-indulgent cringe.» This signals not only creative freedom, but also assurance that the series is not shaped by marketing pressure.

For an audience interested in independent animation, this is important because it reduces concerns about corporate interference and protects the perception of authorship and authenticity. It reinforces trust that the series remains a space of creative expression rather than commercial optimization.

This is also connected to the separation between artistic and commercial communication. Merchandise announcements, advertising campaigns, and collaborations (such as promotional content around Fortnite) are placed in separate, often humorous short-form formats. They do not affect the canon or viewing experience of the main series, allowing the audience to engage with them voluntarily. This reflects respect for the boundary between narrative content and marketing infrastructure.

Another important example of empathy is Gooseworx’s attitude toward fan analysis. In one of her tweets, she writes: «How it feels when people appreciate the themes and symbolism in your writing.» This reaction shows that the author values not only mass popularity of the show, but also attentive and analytical engagement from the audience. For fans of The Amazing Digital Circus, it is important to analyze visual motifs, symbols, repeated details, and hidden narrative clues. When the creator publicly shows that she notices and values this kind of engagement, she confirms the importance of the viewers’ intellectual and emotional labor.

It is especially important that this is not simply about fan theories as hype. The audience pays attention to details of visual storytelling: repeated colors, character gestures, symbolic choices, and their connection to later plot events. These elements create a perception of the work as intentionally detailed and designed for active interpretation. Gooseworx’s reaction shows that the creator understands this audience need — not only to watch the show, but also to analyze it, search for hidden meanings, and feel that their interpretations matter.

For Glitch Productions, this principle became especially visible around The Amazing Digital Circus. After the release of the first episodes, the series quickly turned into a global internet phenomenon. Along with popularity came fan interpretations of characters, theories, memes, user-generated content, and a large amount of low-quality third-party material created for views. Gooseworx publicly admitted that such a scale of popularity was unexpected and at times worrying, but she continued to support fan creativity and showed a tolerant attitude toward different interpretations of the characters. This shows the creators’ willingness to accept a partial loss of control over the perception of the work in order to maintain open interaction with the community.

The most illustrative example of the risk principle is the communication strategy around the final episode of The Amazing Digital Circus. Unlike the studio’s usual practice, where main episodes are released for free on YouTube* for a global audience, the final episode was first released in theaters, while its publication on YouTube* and Netflix was planned only two weeks later. This caused dissatisfaction among some fans, because many viewers could not attend the screenings and perceived this decision as a violation of the principle of accessibility, which had long been an important part of Glitch’s image.

In response, Kevin Lerdwichagul published a detailed message to the community. He did not ignore the criticism, but explained the reasons behind the decision: «The reason we’re pushing for this at all is because this one event has the potential to change how the entire industry views indie animation.» He also emphasized that such an experiment could open doors «not just for us, but for many creators, many projects, and the future of original, creator-led storytelling.»

Kevin directly acknowledged the risk of the decision: «Like a lot of the bets we’ve taken over the last 8 years of running GLITCH, it takes a bit of a risk to truly push into new territory, but we really believe it’s worth it.» He also explained the two-week delay of the YouTube* release: theaters initially asked for at least a month, the studio tried to reduce the period to a week or less, and the final compromise became two weeks. At the same time, he acknowledged viewers’ frustration: «I get that it’s not ideal for everyone, and I genuinely hear the frustration.»

It is especially important that the studio deliberately involved fans in implementing the initiative. GLITCH encouraged the audience to write to local theaters and help organize screenings in different countries. In one post, the studio wrote: «Please help us get the last act screenings go global!» and emphasized that fans’ letters were already working: «all thanks to you fans messages.» In Kevin’s message, this idea also appears directly: the audience is treated as an active participant in the campaign rather than a passive consumer.

Later, leaks of  the final episode around the theatrical release caused disputes within the community. However, instead of  restoring strict corporate control, Kevin Lerdwichagul’ s response focused on  gratitude. He  thanked fans as «the reason we  got here» , highlighted their support through cosplay, discussions, stickers outside theatres, and framed The Amazing Digital Circus as  a  deeply personal artistic project rather than just of&nbsp0; commercial product.

For Glitch Productions, this principle is one of the key elements of the strategy. The studio positions itself not simply as a producer of individual animated series, but as an independent platform aiming to change the Western teenage and young adult animation industry. Therefore, the brand’s communication is not built around one successful project, but around a long-term mission: to prove that independent animation can exist outside the traditional studio system, gather a mass audience, and support creator-led projects.

The main expression of commitment is the model of free distribution of main content on YouTube*. For Glitch’s audience, this has become part of an unspoken trust agreement: the studio’s key shows are available for free and globally. This model lowers the entry barrier for new viewers and allows the fandom to grow regardless of country, financial situation, or subscription to a streaming service. At the same time, for the studio, this approach involves a serious financial burden.

From the perspective of Dialogic Theory, this is important because Glitch does not build its relationship with the audience only as a commercial exchange. Fan support returns in the form of new projects, new episodes, and opportunities for independent creators. Views, merchandise purchases, sharing content, and fandom participation become part of a long-term relational cycle between the studio and the community.

Commitment is expressed in how Glitch continues supporting projects even after episode releases end. After the finale of Murder Drones, the studio maintained interest through merchandise, discounts, short promotional videos, collaborations, and projects like the music video with The Living Tombstone. This shows that a series ending does not end the relationship with the audience.

A key example is Glitch Inn, a paid community offering exclusive content, concept art, production materials, AMAs, and direct interaction with creators. It limits access to a smaller group, but enables closer communication and additional funding for future projects.

Commitment also extends beyond digital spaces through merchandise, licensing, pop-up events, theatrical screenings, and international collaborations. The Amazing Digital Circus operates as a global franchise with dubbing, Netflix presence, and offline activities, allowing fans to engage through physical products, events, and real-world participation.

First, Glitch connects theory and action through tone of voice. The studio communicates as part of its fandom community, using memes, slang, humor, and emotional language to create a sense of being «one of us.»

Second, Glitch uses audience participation as a PR tool. In the The Amazing Digital Circus theatrical campaign, fans were asked to contact theaters, turning promotion into a collective effort and making viewers active participants in distribution.

Third, the studio maintains continuous between-episode communication through Shorts, social media, behind-the-scenes content, merch, and creator posts. Gooseworx’s reactions to plushies and fan art function as ongoing dialogue rather than marketing.

Fourth, Glitch builds a unified system of platform-based interaction across Reddit, YouTube*, X/Twitter*, Instagram*, Discord, and Glitch Inn, where each channel supports different forms of fan engagement and feedback.

However, there are limitations. Glitch Inn creates a split between a paid core community and the wider audience, restricting full openness. High engagement also reduces control, leading to leaks, conflicts, and uncontrolled fan content.

Strengthening Audience Participation

Glitch could increase structured two-way communication through more frequent Q&A sessions, community polls, and behind-the-scenes discussions. While fan interaction is already strong, these formats would give audiences greater opportunities to influence conversations and feel directly involved in the studio’s development.

Expanding Fan Co-Creation

The company could further integrate community-generated content into its communication strategy. Regularly highlighting fan art, theories, animations, and creator stories would reinforce the principle of mutuality and strengthen fans’ perception that their contributions are valued by the brand.

Increasing Transparency

As an independent animation studio, Glitch could deepen audience trust by sharing more information about production processes, creative decisions, and industry challenges. Greater transparency would support the dialogic principle of commitment and help audiences better understand the realities of independent content creation.

Sustaining Engagement Between Releases

To maintain long-term audience involvement, Glitch should continue developing engagement opportunities beyond major episode launches. Community events, livestreams, creator spotlights, and educational content for aspiring animators could help sustain interaction during production gaps and strengthen the overall community ecosystem.

Overall Recommendation

Rather than focusing primarily on audience growth, Glitch Productions should continue investing in relationship-building practices that deepen participation, trust, and community involvement. The studio’s strongest competitive advantage lies not only in its content but also in its ability to maintain meaningful dialogue with its audience.