Marathon runners talk about "hitting the wall". It's that sudden wave of fatigue that overcomes a runner about 3/4 into a marathon, around the 20 mile mark. They say at this point "the race is half over" since those last 6 miles are equally as arduous as the last 20 combined.
I've compared embarking on this Area 52 project to that of running a marathon. Actually two. Steady, paced and strong would inevitably win the race. Recently I went through a creative blockage that I've since cleared but I can't seem to shake this "hitting the wall" feeling when I sit down to make a film now. The load seems heavier than before. I'm getting more into over-thinking instead being carefree and letting the art happen as it will. Each stage of the creative process is running on heavy legs.
I'm proud to have come this far. But looking ahead, there are still 20 more of these to make. Do I have 20 more good ideas? Do I even have 20 ideas at all? Will I ever leave this chair? What did I get myself into?
Ideas aren't coming easy anymore and sometimes I feel locked inside of them. Other times, I feel like I'm taking wild shots the dark. Sometimes both.
It probably doesn't help that bills have to be paid. So I've got client work cooking at the same time. Little room for rest. Little room for being outside and cannibalizing the world. A vacation is out of the question. Time is always at the forefront and the clock is ticking loud.
It also doesn't help that I'm behind by 7 films now. There are 13 weeks left in the year at this point. I've got 20 more films to make in 13 weeks. That's almost 2 films a week to catch up.
So, I'm going back to blind faith. And even though I'm cooped up inside while everyone is enjoying the world, skipping around and eating ice cream, I'll take solace in the fact that if I keep shooting for a bullseye, I'll eventually hit it. Somehow.
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This film was mainly a Photoshop/Illustrator/After Effects combination. I did some drawings though:
Here is the base illustration for the house inside the lightbulb. The snow, additional trees and bars on the window were all drawn in After Effects:
And this clock that I repurposed from another film was made in Photoshop:
Here are some finished frames from the film:
