M dot Strange's blog

We're getting close to the end now as today I start the process of animating the films final sequence. 213 shots to go before this thing is in the bag- 1,224 down- 213 to go- I cut the films teaser trailer and are now rendering out the shots that are used in the trailer- Once the renders are done which I'll guess will be sometime around the weekend- then I'll shine up a few other things and release the trailer along with some new stills etc- The render PC that you all bought for me is a champ- going 24/7 eating through the renders with no problems at 4.5ghz BUT thats not to say that there haven't been any difficulties 0_o Since I jumped into animation so fast with a new workflow wherein I don't do any final renders until the whole film is animated I met with some new workflow problems which took MANY head exploding hours to resolve but I was able to resolve them after about 30 hours and two separate days of me pounding my head on the desk- So I'v

Those cool d00ds over in Brisbane from Blackmagic Design recently launched a new online community called Splice showcasing various creative peeps doing their thang. This isn't some paid advertisement or anything- I met these guys out in Las Vegas at NAB years ago and they were really cool people and I've used their gear before so I know its legit- and so I'm glad to help promote their new site ^_^ Go check it out to read about yer pal M dot and other creative peoples!

I just finaled animation on the sixth of the films nine sequences- sequence seven is already %87 complete and sequence eight is %48 complete. I'll have both of those done by the 23rd of this month then its on to the films final sequence. Since the films final sequence has so much complex animation in it- I'm going to lower my quota to 8 shots/day for this sequence- for the rest of the film its been from 10-20 shots/day So here's the final updated schedule for the film- August 20th- ALL ANIMATION COMPLETED (1,411 shots) September 1st - 30th- Light + send ALL shots to render October 1st - 31st- Foley + Sound design + finalize Score November 1st - 31st- Composite ALL shots and render finals December 25th- Release I AM NIGHTMARE (101 minutes) - - - March 1st 2014- Begin animation on next film to be released December 25th 2014

Today was one of my rare sick days- I got up and wrote 4000 words for my new book that I'm 15,000 words into in three days because I was inspired by an email I got from someone that read my B_BOOK. They pretty much said that reading the book helped them avoid suicide. So it sent me off inspired on a new book. But today I did writing for the book then just sat around or tried to sleep with a fever and didn't do any animation as I felt too light headed, hot and crappy. I feel guilty for even taking ONE day off as I am a self admitted workaholic ^_^ Even if I don't take a day off but are working slowly I start to feel like shit- so taking a day off when I'm not done with the project or on a break away from my computers is really hard for me. This is what its like when you're OBSESSED with your work. Or maybe this is what its like when you have OCD and cant break from your routine haha. Maybe a little of both? I made a little database in Bento to track ani

In a real job you're doing it for the money- when making films the way I do no money is guaranteed so you have to be do it for other reasons- Those reasons have to be important enough to you so that you'll have the desire and will power to grind on it every day for months and years- Even if there is no money guaranteed there is a type of currency involved- that currency is REPUTATION If you start on a project and announce it to others you just took out a (reputation)loan with the people who believe the project will be completed- you have gambled your reputation- you have gambled some or all of that currency- the people that believe in you and tell others about it have also gambled some of their reputation- If this is your first project and don't have other completed ones in your reputation bank that are appreciating in value you could end up bankrupt right out of the gate so be careful! This is why its important to start with small projects and build up to larger mo

This list is in no particular order The War of Art by Steven Pressfield This book helped me shun all the excuses and become the productive creative powerhouse I am today- read it/listen to it and be HONEST with yourself and you will have a breakthrough in your art/career! Linchpin by Seth Godin When I read this book it reaffirmed many of the big choices I've made in life that people told me were wrong at the time but ended being right. The status quo is in the midst of doing a 180- don't get caught on the wrong side- read/listen to this book and become a linchpin today! The Tao of Jeet Kun Do by Bruce Lee Bruce Lee was wise beyond his years and an amazing martial ARTIST- all artists can learn from his teachings- this book is beyond inspiring and enlightening. The Arts and Their Mission by Rudolf Steiner I read this when I was a teenager and it helped form a deeper understanding and appreciation of the arts- I realized how important they are to all of humankind.