The whole production took roughly about 30 days of working 10-12hours a day. After rendering the first complete draft, I went on a run, unable to contain the gushing adrenalin. No more than 10 minutes into my run, it started to thunder-storm. Just ruthlessly pouring. The run quickly became so much more dramatic, so much more cathartic. Quite the finale for the end of a project.
Then came the typical undergrad shenanigans: the Capstone presentation, we presented our work to a panel of judges and opened it up for a critique session, and the Capstone show, where we dressed up fancy and drank wine while our friends and family came to see our work and congratulate us. Everything happened in the blink of an eye; I wish I got to take a long pause here and there to savor the depth of support and love I was being showered with throughout the whole process.
Though some parts felt more natural and easier than some other, I genuinely enjoyed every single point of the whole process. What made the project particularly engaging for me was that it was essentially one big design problem more so than purely a storytelling exercise. The narrative was simply a means rather than a destination itself to respond to a prompt, which was to animate an existing production.
I walk away from this project with A) a sense of fulfillment that I’ve finally, though in an incredibly limited capacity, given a shot at animation, an area of curiosity that had itched me for so long, and B) a realization that I can see this developing into my career. It’s always a thrilling yet nerve-racking sensation to recognize you have a deep desire in your heart. It’s almost like finally admitting to yourself you have feelings for somebody. You can’t stop thinking about it; you feel like it’ll never work out; perhaps even, you fear you’ll never be good enough. Impossible as the prospect seems, however, there’s something about claiming ownership of what your heart wants that gives an inexplicable drive to keep pursuing the dream. This whole project felt like one big gesture of recognizing this dream I've always sort of, kind of known I had, but too afraid to ever properly own up to it.
Whoa, that just got sentimental and dramatic real fast.
All this to say, I’m ready to keep going.
All this to say, I’m ready to keep going.