FINISHING MOVES
If there is one thing I have learned this year it is the importance of finishing your movie. When I say finish it I mean finish anything. This year I have seen more than enough proof that if you finish your movie, no matter what it is, somebody's going to buy it. There is no end of proof of this in Best Buy, on shelves at Blockbuster, in Netflix and many other sites where there are movies so bad it is hard to imagine they made it on the shelf. I mean movies shot on video where it is clear the people on screen never acted a day in their life. But you know what? They got done.
This is Recon 2020. I don't mean to say that this movie is bad as I haven't seen it. I have heard some things though. My point, however, is that it is shot on video. No effort made to make it look like real film. The armor suits are clearly homemade. The CGI effects look like that of a dated video game or a TV show from the Seaquest era. This movie epitomizes cheap. But it got done, it got sold and can be found on the shelves at Best Buy. Many who would speak ill of this movie probably wish they were there.
Is it possible that the thing which is keeping you from finishing is, in fact, where you started? I mean, many of the creators of the latest blockbuster films didn't start out so big. James Cameron, of Titanic fame got his start on Piranha II, a cheap low budget horror film. He worked for low budget king Roger Corman before that. Spielberg started in TV and made his mark with Duel a film that seems so much larger than what went into it. Sam Raimi started with a super low budget 16mm film with Bruce Campbell and a few guys in a cabin in the woods. So why is that so many would be film makers want to start with their multi-million dollar, Lord of the Rings level epic?
I think it gets even worse when it comes to animation. Many think you have to compete with Pixar from the get-go. I have heard so many capable artists take a "this or nothing" attitude about their project. Why is this? I have never heard of a storyteller with only one story to tell. Like I often say, they want to make their Once Upon a Time in Mexico without making their El Mariachi first. The concept of building up to the big stuff is nowhere in them.
If you want to finish your project, you have to start with what you can finish. There are people out there shooting cheap horror films on video, in ten days, and they are getting sold for good money. I am not saying you should do this if it doesn't interest you. You have to first do what you love and love what you do, but if you're possibly looking at something too big, you may want to change your thinking with that in mind. Start where you are and believe that if you finish it, you're already 99% there.
This is Recon 2020. I don't mean to say that this movie is bad as I haven't seen it. I have heard some things though. My point, however, is that it is shot on video. No effort made to make it look like real film. The armor suits are clearly homemade. The CGI effects look like that of a dated video game or a TV show from the Seaquest era. This movie epitomizes cheap. But it got done, it got sold and can be found on the shelves at Best Buy. Many who would speak ill of this movie probably wish they were there.
Is it possible that the thing which is keeping you from finishing is, in fact, where you started? I mean, many of the creators of the latest blockbuster films didn't start out so big. James Cameron, of Titanic fame got his start on Piranha II, a cheap low budget horror film. He worked for low budget king Roger Corman before that. Spielberg started in TV and made his mark with Duel a film that seems so much larger than what went into it. Sam Raimi started with a super low budget 16mm film with Bruce Campbell and a few guys in a cabin in the woods. So why is that so many would be film makers want to start with their multi-million dollar, Lord of the Rings level epic?
I think it gets even worse when it comes to animation. Many think you have to compete with Pixar from the get-go. I have heard so many capable artists take a "this or nothing" attitude about their project. Why is this? I have never heard of a storyteller with only one story to tell. Like I often say, they want to make their Once Upon a Time in Mexico without making their El Mariachi first. The concept of building up to the big stuff is nowhere in them.
If you want to finish your project, you have to start with what you can finish. There are people out there shooting cheap horror films on video, in ten days, and they are getting sold for good money. I am not saying you should do this if it doesn't interest you. You have to first do what you love and love what you do, but if you're possibly looking at something too big, you may want to change your thinking with that in mind. Start where you are and believe that if you finish it, you're already 99% there.
16 Comments:
Excellent point. I think we all suffer from that kind of thinking from time to time, in one degree or another. We bite-off more than we can chew in hopes of competing with "The Big Boys." That's the beauty of the digital indie studio revolution - we no longer have to judge our work against what used to be the only game in town. Your article is a good reminder of that. Our real strength as artists is in our freedom to create and the open access we now have to our audiences globally.
TW people forget that its always about telling a story. A good story.
How many big budget movies are released that have the Hollywood polished look but if you put the script in a bird cage the birds wouldn't crap on it.
As you said animators are worst because they are so trying to impress themselves, other artist and animators that they forget and lose sight of whats important; the pure art of creating.
Good points as usual, Terrence. Another thing finishing your movie does is your eyes will be wide open to the flaws of the movie. With this knowledge knowledge, you will have a better run with your next project. Those who follow your work will notice the rapid improvement.
If you refuse to let it go because it doesn't look exactly like the 'Big Guys' stuff, you'll be working on that movie for years and when you're done, YOU WILL STILL SEE SOME FLAWS,lots of it so why drag it that long when you can easily get there buy finishing what you started,letting go and moving to he next project?
Cathy was absolutely right about the fact we bite off more than we can chew. Unfortunately, that mentality is a big clog in the wheel of the indie wagon.
The article brings up a good point about finishing your film and the "expectations" that artists/filmmakers may place on their work. I think a lot of those filmmakers put those pressures on themselves simply because of the other work out there already. Animation studios like Pixar or Disney are the ones who set the bar in terms of quality of a film, a bar so high and above what most people believe that they can do on their own. Perhaps it would take more time and effort, but I truly believe, though, that a single individual could create a film on par or better than the Majors.
However, the other aspect that I got from the article (which was probably unintentional) was that another thing that will slow down the filmmaker from completing his/her film is total reliance on updating to the NEWEST TECHNOLOGY.
Are new software programs like Endorphin, Poser 7, Modo, or Vue 6 aboslutely necessary to making a good CG film? Is Motion Capture suits a requirement to having good character animation? No! If you're always looking at the horizon at the latest thing and then taking the time and energy to learn it, that is time that you could've been using the tools you already know and working on you film. :/
Cathy: Very good points. Let "The Big Boys" do their thing. We can do our thing and we will find an audience.
Knighton: I think many animators also lose site of the fun of creating. All that pressure makes what should be fun into a chore.
Obinna: I used to always say correct going forward, but so few seem to recognize that concept i the big leagues or out. Thus the same things keep getting redone instead of moving on. Imagine what it must be like doing weekly manga in Japan. It doesn't matter if the artist, editor or publisher sees something they think could be better, it has to come out that week. So improve those things the next week and the next.
Jasonn: This is a trap even I have fallen into before. And yet my previous films were made on some of the simplest equipment around. 500 Mhz Pentium with 256 MB RAM, Lightwave 6.5 and so on. They got done though. So it could be done again.
Just yesterday I was sitting at work looking at some stuff and thinking, "Ohhh I should get this." And another guy would say, "Yeah that would be cool." But then I found myself thinking, "You know, I should make something with what I have first." WHo knows how much can be done with what is in front of me?
D Knighton said...
"...people forget that its always about telling a story. A good story...animators are worst because they are so trying to impress themselves, other artist and animators"
This is completely not the case, so of course I disagree. To me the idea of animators trying to show off is absurd. Yes, they SHOULD be trying to show off, but they sure as rain do NOT! In anime shows you get some showing off. the 15 or so seconds we all tentatively wait for in a 20 minute show - be it some crazy full turnaround of a giant robot with ridiculous detail, or the various transformation scenes of some hero character. We love it. ADMIT IT DAMMIT!. But really what we get with most shows are 99.6% scooby doo\south park\adult swim\{insesrt crappy animation here} styled rubbish. With copious amounts of boring monologues and piss poor lipsync, just to rub salt in the wound.
Good story cannot work well on film without good animation or convincing acting, but good animation or acting can lift a poorer script. Everybody's seen shows or movies that just didn't make sense, but have these extraordinary scenes or sequences that they can't help but tell others about.
When you say they try to impress with the animation, I think you mean with stuff like lighting and materials, or whatever to make things look as realistic as possible. Animation seems to be an afterthought. You just need to go to the Moho forums to read about the ridiculous lengths people will go to avoid actual animating. HAHA!
No offence intended, I assure you, but I need some examples where this impressing on ANIMATION occurs. Personally Japanimation is the only place it seems that are trying to impress their audiences, albeit in varying amounts - but that's a positive thing. If there's a good story but rubbish animation\acting, then I would rather read it in a book\comic\manga. Or have it in a Podcast for the ipod generation, hehe. I had more to say on the subject but have to put a full stop somewhere ;O)
Everyone has great thoughts and sounds like eveyrone is motivated.
I do agree with getting things done but I also believe in setting your self up with a pipeline which you can use for years to come and make many episodes.
Although quality wise I don't think any of us could compete with Pixar or Dreamworks but at the same time we should want to do more than finish something.
I can finish an animation now if I want but I believe in quality.
Where I lack in abilities I have to use other means but by no means will I make an amateur looking product.
There are many animators making products. Newgrounds.com is filled with movies and cartoons and many of them are good and others look like garbage.
We don't want bad looking movies to be synomomous with indie animation.
I agree with making your movie and using any shortcut or means to get it done but we still need some level of quality. :)
crsp: I have to agree with d knighton. I find that while good visuals can make almost anything watchable, I won't actually enjoy it unless it has a good story. For instance, Pirates of the Carribean 2 had much better special effects than the original -- we're talking groundbreaking stuff; I was floored when I learned that not one pixel of Bill Nighy remains in his Davy Jones scenes. So this made me want to watch it. But the plot was convoluted and unintelligible, so I didn't enjoy it. I doubt I'll watch it again, and I find it hard to recommend to others. I feel the same way about Ghost in the Shell 2 -- much better visuals than the original, but the plot is much weaker.
(I also must disagree with your assessment of South Park. I think some of their writing is brilliant and would not work as well in a more realistic or fuller-animated style, nor would it work as a comic book or audio program. I realize South Park's subject matter may not be your cup of tea, but I assure you that many other people enjoy it. And, sure, you're not going to see it cited in the next edition of "Illusion of Life", but that alone should tell you something about the importance of animation quality versus story quality.)
Shawn, I understand that quality is directly proportional to the amount of work hours spent behind every frame of animation. Whatever technology we have today (endorphin, mocap) this still remains the ground fact.
So, what may be our chance is the content. The content matters.
If indie animation is going to be synonymous with something - I think that can be stories/plots/worlds that the audience are missing in Big studio Films. Indie represents freedom. Freedom to speak about anything. Attitude to break every norm of animation storytelling when required. And the audience should expect something they haven't seen before while attending an indie animation.
This should be the brave new world of indie animations.
CRSP you have every right to disagree with my statement but overstand my point was a broad stroke covering an even boarded field.
Animator’s 2D/3D are all artist and as such there is this pride in each artist to outdo other artist. There’s nothing wrong with healthy competition but it’s been my experience and I see it far too often especially with illustrative & 3D artist a need to impress not only others but themselves with trivial issues forgetting that it’s about creation not competition, & not perfect execution.
TW’s post to which we’re responding to Finishing Moves addresses how critical the industry can be to the independent and or first time filmmaker(s) and how the industries critical judgmental nature can rub off onto the market. Ok so the special effects aren’t million dollar but they did the best they could with what they had and completed said project.
If all artist /animators are concern with competing & perfecting where is the time for the doing and creating completed works?
I’ll take a “They gave their all” with a excellent story, limited resources over “It was a piece of Cake” with multimillion dollar budgets & equipment and lame story anytime.
Nothing, and I do mean nothing, should override what you truly want to do. If you truly desire to do Pixar type full 3D animation, in your heart of hearts, then you must do that. The technology is there. We've seen enough evidence from shorts and other bits on the net to know that it can be done. It may take longer and have a bit greater cost attached than doing anime, specifically on the rendering side, but it can be done even today.
The thing I wonder is how many feel that they have to to do that level or any certain level of quality, whether they really want to or not? How many would really rather have fun doing something simple and silly, but worry about what their peers or other artists would say? I personally have wanted to do one thing since I was a kid and saw Robotech on TV, but over time I fell inot that competitive mindset and listen to peers and others and turned my dream into a series of have to's. That ruined it. It made it work and fun was nowhere to be found in it. Feeling you have to do things someone else's way, on your own project is the worst feeling in the world to the creative mind. Why? Because it is no longer your project.
I remembr showing my anime to peers and hearing comments like, "I don't get it. Why do this when you could do so much better than anime?" Speaking of the lower frame rate and other anime staples. And then there's my favorite, "You're using 3D. You could move the camera, do tracking shots and..." If comments like this are steering you away from what you truly want, you don't have to listen to them. It's just opinion. Do what you want and be happy with it.
Terrence: Regarding the "peer pressure" effect on independent filmmakers/artists... for me, reading your previous article which you posted a months back about "Following Your Bliss" utterly dispelled any of the possible opinions/critiques that "professionals" may express and that ultimately, I should create what 'I' desire to create. I have always wanted my first film to be a feature-length, high-quality animated film in which the art/visual influence was inspired from Japanese animation (not because that's what I thought would be a "hit" with an audience, but because anime has been such a driving force in my life as an artist, filmmaker, and individual and I wanted to express that appreciation in my first work). However, for a short period of time, I was dissuaded from my vision due to (what I percieved, at the time) what other individuals/groups views on what a Western animated film should be and what it should appear as. In reading your post, however, I came to realize again that in the end the only deciding factor as to what my work should be like is 'myself'.
For that, I am forever grateful to you and your website. :)
Also, as for the issue of "animation quality" and the "visuals is greater/lesser than story" debate, my belief is simply this:
"For those of us who see Film as solely as Entertainment, style is the only prerequisite. For those of us who see Film as Art, however, substance is an absolute requirement."
Thanks for the inspiring words.
I want to make my anime more than anything else right now, and I admit the #1 thing stopping me is the bar that is set by so many of the shows (many in high definition now... *sigh) that I watch.
Part of me only wants to do it if I can do it right. But you're right about having to start somewhere. No one starts off at the top.
Oh!!!! Thankyou TW I knew in my heart you would know where I was coming from, the experiences you shared are exactly what I meant. It is so important to surround yourself with likeminded people. And not artist who nitpick at how and what you’re animating.
Believe me there’s a market/audience out there for the things you want to draw /animate. The one thing that cracks me up about the competitive ever perfecting artist types is that I never see any work which they’ve done, but they are full of advice on how to do and what you should be doing.
TW said; Do what you want and be happy with it.
Jasonn said; I came to realize again that in the end the only deciding factor as to what my work should be like is 'myself'.
For that, I am forever grateful to you and your website. :)
Terrance, Ive been reading your site for some time now and you certainly know how to talk the talk. However, I seem to have read nothing but what you are 'planning' to do for months (years?)
Have you physically started your next epic project and when can we expect to see some signs of progress?
I'm reminded of the RUSTBOY site, which only occasionally showing a screengrab, a sketch or a test render. This continued for years - then vanished without trace!
Genuinely curious is all.
Don't worry, you won't be waiting long. Not long at all. ;)
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home