Week 9: If...

All right, if - and I do stress "IF" - this film finally gets completed, I have found some places to send it to for screening (some rather cool ones, BTW). Here is the list for consideration:

1.        Rochester International Film Festival – deadline February 1, 2011 (next year, maybe)

http://www.rochesterfilmfest.org/

2.       Ottawa International Animation Festival – deadline May 20, 2011

https://animationfestival.ca/index.php

3.       Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation – Appears to have open submission

http://spikeandmike.com/sitepages/festival.php

4.       ASIFA-East – deadline February 8, 2011 (next year, maybe)

http://www.asifaeast.com/

5.       Buffalo International Film Festival – deadline June 30,2011

http://www.buffalofilmfest.com/

6.       Annecy  International Animated Film Festival – deadline February 1, 2011 (next year, maybe)

http://www.annecy.org/home

7.       SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival – deadline April 15, 2011

http://www.siggraph.org/s2011/for_submitters/computer-animation-festival

8.       Reel 13 – ongoing submissions

http://www.thirteen.org/sites/reel13/submit-short/

9.       Atlanta Shortfest Film Festival – late deadline May 31, 2011

http://www.festivalleague.com/animationattack.cfm

10.   Drunken Zombie Film Festival – deadline August 30^th, 2011

http://drunkenzombiefilmfestival.com/

11.   The Zombie Short Film Festival – deadline October 1, 2011

http://www.zombieshortfilmfestival.com/

I know this list seems all over the place, but I wanted to find some local (Buffalo and Rochester), some not so local (Atlanta), some internationally famous (Siggraph and Annecy), and some genre special (can you actually believe there is a "Drunken Zombie Film Festival?" And it's famous for finding distributors for the movies screened there!).

Making this list has helped to pump me up (especially finding the zombie film festivals). I think I might just actually get this thing finished after all.

Week 8: The End Of The World As I Know It

Once upon a time, there was a very famous writer, who when asked what his process for writing was said that, "it's very simply really, I just stare at a blank piece of paper until drops of blood appear on my forehead." I think that anyone who is familiar with the concept of creative process understands exactly what that author is talking about. I'm familiar with my own process and there comes a time - somewhere between half and two-thirds of the way towards completion - that drops of blood start to appear on my forehead. It's not a fun experience. In fact when I reach that point I will often come very close to scrapping the project and moving onto something new. New is exciting, new is fun, new is filled with promise, while old is dull, drab, painfully slow to progress and fraught with difficulty. My film "I Hate Zombies" has reached this point, in spades.  Not only do I question my ability as an animator and writer, but my abilities as an IT technician as well. Almost everything that can go wrong with this project has gone wrong:  lack of inspiration, frustration and "blanking out" in animating, a hard drive crash, hours of delays due to personal and family obligations, time stolen by work/another class/driving to and from home/work/school, and near fatal static charge on my thumb drive, lack of sleep, and a general panic attack. That having been said, I find that if I just grind on - regardless of the problems and my own emotions - I can complete the project, whatever it is. Usually, months later, I'll review the project and wonder how I actually did it. This film project is grinding right now and I'm feeling very burned out. I cannot honestly say that I will get it gone in time, but I will try. After all, there's always hope. Simply because it's the one thing we haven't figured out how to kill...yet. Hopefully I'll be able to look back on this in a few months and enjoy the fruits of my labors. Stay tuned...

Week 7: Scenes 6 And 7 Are Done...Mostly...

Oh my freaking god. I have finally finished working on scenes 6 and 7 - the final two scenes in my Sophomore film. It has taken me over three weeks to get to this point, and that is unbelievably frustrating. But they are done. Mostly. And by mostly I mean, they are done for a first past. I want to get the whole of the film done, so that I can go back - looking at it frame by frame - and see where the timing the good/bad/indifferent - and improve it. Of course that takes time, and as you can guess by my last blog entry, time is not on my side. Fortunately, next week is Spring Break. Ordinarily that wouldn't be a big thing since I work so much that days off from school are meaningless. But in this case I have worked a DOWOP day (Day Off Without Pay), my single vacation day this year, and my regular day off during the week into a pseudo vacation where I'm only working two full days during my time off from school. With luck this extra time will allow me to play catch up my film and any projects due in Animation III. What is probably won't allow me to do is relax, sleep in, catch up on fun things, and generally relax. I expect to be more stressed out by the time I come back from break, but for now, scenes 6 and and 7 are done. Mostly. That kind of gives me something to celebrate. More to come, stay tuned...

Week 6: Time, Or Lack Thereof...

Right. Just to be straight with you - and by you I mean anyone who happens to be reading this blog - this entry is nothing but a whining session. Turn away now if you don't want to hear it.

So, there are 168 hours in a week. I work 30 hours, which leaves 138. Remove school (8 hours) and you have 130. Travel time takes up another 9 hours, and morning prep along with lunches and dinners takes 14 leaving 109. Sleep - assuming 8 hours a night - removes another 56. Now, I'm supposed to put in 15 hours a week on my Sophomore film and the same amount (or more) on the projects I do for Animation III, so let's take out another 30 hours. Where are we at now?  23 hours. Not quite a day, and not to be had all at the same time. Spread over 7 days, this means I have roughly 3.5 hours of free time every day. Mind you, this doesn't include doing chores at home (especially shovelling the uneding amount of snow we have received this winter), or dealing with family (my sister needs a considerable amount of tech support and doesn't understand why I say no to her, which ends up angering my mother). I rarely see my wife nowadays since she's spending two whole days a week taking care of her father who is dying - and that doesn't include mental, moral, and emotional support that is necessary for that. So, basically I don't have time. That's incredibly frustrating for me, becasue I'm not doing half as good a job as I could doing. That makes me feel like I'm failing and I simply cannot stand that feeling. I'm angry, I'm frustrated, and I'm not sleeping much these days. Of course I'm not even calculating how much time it takes to write these bloody blog entries, but that's another story.

Will it get better? Well, the semester eventually does come to and end adn the projects will be over. Will I be happy about that? Maybe. It depends on how many compromises I have to make and just how good or bad I feel my final work will be.  Stay tuned...