Fleeting/Progress

One of the most difficult things I have ever attempted in life it to be creative when in a miserable mood. I know that many artists – especially famous ones – have used their misery to create breath-taking works of art. But that just doesn’t work for me. When I’m in a foul mood, I cannot think. If I cannot think, I cannot let things flow in my head. If there is no flow, then there is no spark of inspiration. And without inspiration there is no creativity, at least for me. But one shoulders on, regardless. Deadlines have to be met and time stops for no one.

So, what have I got this week? A title for one: Fleeting. That word seems incredibly appropriate for this piece and the time in which it is being created. Now, I have always found that a title solidifies a project. If you can call it something, then you can answer other questions about it – you can quantify it. That takes it from the nebulous void of thought into the physical realm, and there I can make some progress. To wit, I have completed the first three scenes of rough animation for this film. That was very hard, since I haven’t done any traditional cel animation in a very long time. Yet, at the same time it was very easy. Once I got the drawings done, processed, and into After Effects it was very easy to manipulate them into was I had seen in my mind’s eye. That’s the trick. Because what is drawn initially looks absolutely hideous to me, it’s only once it has been manipulated that it begins to look right. And it does look right. So out of this mess has come something I’m kind of happy with.

That having been said there is an enormous amount of additional work to be done before this project wraps. Given my track record with previous projects, and what is unfolding in my personal life, I know that things are going to get a lot worse and more intense before this project is finished. I honestly hope I can do this, but I really don’t know that I can. Regardless, I have to get back to animating…

The Treatment

To clarify things for the uninitiated, I am going to post the treatment I wrote for my untitled animation. Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcome. Enjoy.

Log Line: A lost astronaut faces his fear as time runs out.

A clock ticks in a black void, and a helmet-less astronaut appears slowly drifting in zero gravity. He blinks, startled and notices scraps of paper around him, also drifting lazily. He looks around and, as he reaches for one of the sheets, sees a golden disk in the distance. He squints at the disk and it grows larger. With the sound of grinding gears the disk becomes a clock – its hands set at five to midnight. The man’s eyes narrow curiously as the clock gives out a loud ‘tick’ and the minute hand jerks forward. Startled, the astronaut finds himself standing in a vast, grassy field as huge clouds pass overhead – the colors over-saturated. He looks around and staggers forward, flushing a flock of birds into the air. He turns to watch them with surprise and a growing smile. Then he notices the clock ahead of him and gasps. With another loud ‘tick,’ its minute hand moves again. Now the man finds himself entering a dingy subway train, the colors of the world replaced with stark black and white. His eyes dart from side to side as the doors close behind him. As the train starts he slumps onto a chair and cradles his head in his hands, confused. The train grinds to a halt and the sound of the door opening startles the astronaut. He looks up to see the clock in the doorway. With another loud ‘tick’ the hands move again. The man jumps in panic as he finds himself seated at a restaurant table in a huge empty warehouse. More disturbing is that everything here is gray. He abruptly stands, knocking the table and chair over. As he looks around in a panic he begins to hear the sound of people on a noisy street corner and whirls around, but stops short when confronted by the clock again. The clock ‘ticks’ again and the astronaut is drifting in the black void, this time directly in front of the clock. He swallows hard and reaches out to touch its face. The clock ‘ticks’ again, and he gasps loudly. Now the void is empty, save for a few pieces of paper drifting lazily by.

In The Beginning…

…there was me, just me. But, I had an idea - one that wouldn’t go away.

That idea has been with me for over four years. It constantly calls to me and speaks to me, subtly and softly. So when I tried to write the story for my Senior Capstone Thesis – which was an entirely different idea - I couldn’t understand why my efforts failed so miserably. Maybe it was an unsound idea (everyone loved the concept). Maybe it simply wasn’t funny (well, it was sort of funny, but needed some serious work). Maybe is just didn’t have the right framework to hang a story on (it was obvious that I had things reversed).

Or maybe, it was just the wrong idea.

You see, I wasn’t supposed to come back this semester. There is an old Chinese curse that goes something like this, “may you live in interesting times.” This past summer was interesting to say the least. Less than a week after delivering my Junior Group Film I was confronted a major crisis in my life, one that threw everything out of the window. Because of this, I was not going back to school – both because I could not raise the money, and because I lacked the will. But ideas, especially good ones, don’t go away. Two weeks ago things flipped upside down again, and an opportunity presented itself allowing me to return this semester. I heard those little whispers in my ear again, and I took the chance.

I’m here now, typing this in an animation lab at Villa Maria. I’m seriously behind the eight-ball in terms of how far along the project is, but somehow I always seem to be there when I start. The idea that has stuck with me all these years is going to be made into an animated short. I feel a little scared about this project, but at the same time I feel happy; happy for the first time in good bit of a while. So, let’s begin.

Once upon a time there was an astronaut and a clock…