Someone PM’d me and asked me to contribute to this thread. I don’t know if the kind of contribution I could give is compatible with the nature of this project. However, I’ll share a personal thought here as a point of reference.
As some of you know, I had a short film going, one that was widely publicized (Promise). It didn’t go anywhere because it was never meant to be modest and simple–it was always meant to be epic and cinematic in quality. That was the reason it never happened, because it’s impossible to do something of that quality with online volunteeers, and to do it in a production studio, the film would need about $500,000 USD to get completed (if the studio works on it fulltime and not take on side-projects to keep itself funded and operational. That was our estimate when I was a director at Optidigit).
Of course, you will ask, “Why not just do something simple and short first?” Well, because I have no interest in something simple and short. I’ve seen countless simple and short 3D animations made by others, and although I like them, they are not what I’m interested in as a director. Promise is a film that’s meant to be emotionally shattering, yet gives you a sense of hope–that bittersweet feeling we rarely get to feel in today’s climate of entertainment. It’s a highly personal film–a reflection of my internal melancholy, dire need for redemption, my emotional sanctuary, and eternal hope for salvation. I did not write the story to showcase 3D animation. I don’t believe in writing a story to showcase some technical effort. If you want to tell a story, then the story is your God and the soul of your project–everything else serves the story, with no exceptions allowed. If you deviate away from that, then you gotta ask yourself why you were doing the film in the first place.
I had hoped that the film could be completed in about a year or so at Optidigit (doing it without a studio will be nearly impossible. Every single person’s that’s seen the screenplay, storyboards, and concept designs agreed on that), and particularly with Steven Stahlberg as co-owner of Optidigit, I had high hopes. The plan was to then submit the film to different festivals, and ideally, having it win some relevant awards, which would hopefully lead to the birth of a new CG studio that will produce its own animated features. But since the funding for Promise fell through, the project is now on hold indefinitely.
I don’t know if I really have point in this post. I think I’m just trying to say that people get involved in short film productions for different reasons. Some do it to learn and gain experience, some do it for fun, some do it for reputation, and some do it as a career stepping stone. For me, I’m only interested in telling stories that are emotionally relevant to me. If the end result can lead to funding for a feature film, all the better. Essentially, I have no interest in CG production work. I’ve done it for a living before, and I don’t enjoy it because it’s really just grunt work with no emotional and creative reward. I’m by heart and nature a storyteller and director–that’s what I’m best at. I’m not even a very good artist, and it’s kinda sad that people only know me and think of me as an artist. I’m actually a much better storyteller/director than artist. No one will ever get to find that out though–not until Promise gets funding and gets completed. It might never happen. I can’t predict the future.
Anyway, I wish you guys luck on the project.
I can help modeling, texturing and doing some animation if needed.
)
