I keep a list of random thoughts and ideas for this project. One of the things on that list was to "make something intangible, tangible". I had also wanted to make a film about "ideas" so I took both concepts and smashed them together. This film is my version of the formation of an idea, from conception to birth.
All ideas begin in a very dark place. They are crude and clumsy at first but can mature very quickly. They can also be stubborn. Or go off on tangents. Ideas face obstacles and adversity. They can also be dormant for long periods of time. Sometimes, a random event of fate can be the magic spark an idea needs to set it off again. Other times, the idea needs TLC and time to grow.
In any event, no matter how great your idea is, it's completely worthless unless it's shared and acted upon. Once it's out the world, that's when it's truly born. Anything before that moment of birth is a strange, but necessary, incubation period and I really tried to paint a picture of what that incubation period looks like.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I used Post-It notes to make the compartmentalized grid in the film:
I knew I wanted black squares on a black background but black Post-It notes aren't easy to come by. After going to several art stores and office supply stores, it was clear that black Post-It notes are not an item that's in demand. So I did the next best thing and got the urine-yellow kind that everyone has and stuck them to a sheet of similarly piss colored poster paper. I could make it black on black later on and I only spent $21 in the process.
I did most of the Post-It animation with a fan and an air can:
When the "idea" first appears in the form of a crude circle, I wanted the reveal to feel like it was affected by the wind. For that, I used a pile of salt on a black background and sucked the salt pile away with a vacuum cleaner nozzle:
A final note: I will probably never use China Markers again for animation. I usually like to draw with them because they are ultra smooth, kind of like a crayon. The lines can get really think and messy, which is great for rough drawings on large pieces of paper. For smaller, more precise shapes, it was definitely the wrong choice.
