It's the beginning of 2017, and Motion Heads is nearing completion of "The Ogre & the Mermaid", with current work revolving largely around music edits and creation. Glancing at the storyboards in the studio yesterday, I noticed that they date from 2010. The actual idea, and previous iterations of the storyboard, date from even further back, maybe 2006 or before. The original inspiration dates from 2001.
That's nuts.
This has certainly been a long tunnel, and one I certainly would have passed out in had I attempted to hold my breath through it, waiting for the light at the other end.
It will be strange (read: "an unimaginable relief") not to have this hanging over my head (or around my neck) anymore. The ogre has been a constant part of my mental landscape for years, now, and it's almost time to let him go.
Bye! : D
Many people have contributed to this film. Over the course of things, Janelle and Ellen gave the most to the project, and it is to a large degree to them that I feel responsibility in making sure that it comes to term. Thank you two, and to those others who also contributed with their time, energy, and skill. There will be a more expansive list later, once it's really out the door and into the world.
So, what next? A break, first of all. But what should Motion Heads do next? A commercial project? a music video? a creative collaboration, more open-ended and democratic? or, god forbid, another film?
It needs to be exciting, risky, and something new, if it is to be anything at all. The motivation behind this studio's core is a love of the process and a yearning for collaborative identity, but also a desire to buck the system. There's still time to be original, rebellious, and creative in the face of "industry", that petty, sordid thing. There is always room for a break in the clouds, a beautiful moment, and that is worth pursuing. UPA did it. The Hubleys did it. And there are others. Those are the inspiring ones, the ones that lived for independence and originality.
More to come...
