Moth Film Update #2

Some of the moths

It’s been a few weeks since I did an update on this project, so I think it’s high time for a new one!

At time of writing, I’m currently at 626 moths (out of the 1080 needed), so I feel I’m in a great place with it. Ideally I’d have liked to have hit 700 by this time, but it was a quite full on week with work, resulting in wanting to spend less time drawing moths when the working day was up and do something less screen based and more relaxing such as cross stitch instead! I also had quite bad insomnia this week, alongside a few other distracting things occupying my mind, both resulting in my lack of moth drawing.

But, getting past the 600 mark could potentially mean only 4 weeks left to go on this project, providing I hit 100 each week from now on. Though it’s an arbitrary deadline, so if I am feeling stressed or have other things come up, then I’m just going to let this fake deadline slide as overall it’s no big deal and at the end of the day, moths can wait. Despite this, I am eager to get the bulk of it finished, because I really miss rotoscoping and have some ideas of a few things I want to try out, but not letting myself until I’ve finished this project. I don’t like having too many things on at once, because it causes me too much stress and doesn’t allow me to focus on either thing fully, plus it also poses risk of not finishing the first thing I started. Because I’m so far in already on this project, I doubt I’d let myself not finish it, but it’s not a risk I want to take. It’s so easy to leave a project unfinished once moving on to something else, though I have got a lot better at not doing that in these past few years as it’s something I’ve actively worked on.

In my previous update about this project, I touched on ideas generation/ inspiration for drawing the moths. Even now by having drawn double the amount, I’d say thinking of new ideas for each moth has actually got easier instead of harder. I feel this is because action leads to inspiration and the more I’ve done, the more I’ve got into it. I’ve found that each idea feeds into the next quite easily, so I can’t say I’ve struggled all that much with coming up with the ideas, which is nice! That’s not to say it’s been complete breeze, because it hasn’t, but it’s been a lot easier than what I might have imagined.

In the back on my mind, I’ve been mulling over a few ideas in how to finish the piece (both visually and aurally) as I don’t want just a white background and zero audio (I don’t think). Though I have nothing solid or on paper yet as I don’t want to focus on that until all the moths have been drawn. So with that being said, I don’t think I’ve especially anything else to add to this post regarding this project…

…But:

Some other news I feel worthy to share on here is remember the animated TV show I said I’m now working on as an assistant editor on? Well that was announced publicly during the week. Drum roll please: it’s series 3 of The Rubbish World of Dave Spud, which will air on CITV in the autumn. You can read more about it in this Skwigly article. It’s a super fun show and a great team to be working with- I’m thoroughly enjoying the role.

And lastly (this is sounding like the notices/ AOB bit at the end of meetings now!) but, I’m back on the skateboard at long last after my broken shoulder injury! Woop woop! It’s still quite early on in the recovery process, so I’m taking it quite gently, but it’s wonderful to be back. I get so much out of the sport- perhaps I’ll do a full post on skateboarding at some stage (and the benefits it brings). We’ll see!

Latest Cross Stitch

If you’re a regular to this blog, you’ll know that one of my other hobbies/ creative outlets is sewing/ embroidery. Though of late, you might not know it- according to the ‘sewing’ tab on here, the last piece I completed was in October 2021. Which makes sense, as that’s when I started to really focus on making ‘Bear’ and didn’t give much time to anything else. I did start a few pieces of embroidery since, but never got round to finishing them- one because I didn’t like how it was turning out (though I look back at it now and it actually looks good- I’m so self critical) and the other because it was taking a long time and then making ‘Bear’ took over. I still intend on finishing that one though- it’s still in the embroidery hoop. So I’m obviously remaining optimistic!

A couple of weekends ago, on a random spontaneous trip to Bolton (wild, I know) I found myself wandering round the Hobbycraft there. I didn’t have anything in mind that I specifically needed or wanted, so I was seeing if anything would catch my eye- I’m actually terrible at shopping unless it’s for something I need, as not to waste money or buy things needlessly because of other factors such as environmental or general consumerism! Admittedly sometimes I am too strict on myself and that’s something i’m in the process of working on, but that’s probably a whole other post… But when I came across a basket full of Christmas cross stitch kits which were going for only 50p(!), I honestly could not resist! I wasn’t bothered about whether it was Christmas themed or not, I just wanted something to work on which would ease me back in to sewing again, as it’s something I keep intending to get back to. Anyway, I decided upon a cute little fox design- I usually try to pick out the things I find cutest- bonus points if they have a bear on it!

I went a little ‘off-piste’ from the pattern, because I always like to put my own spin on things (not to be pretentious or anything- I like making things they way I’d like them, because after all, it is for me). I omitted and changed a few bits of the design, plus decided to sew it on to a piece of felt. I think it gives it a really nice finish and makes it more of a whole piece. I love how it came out- I think it looks really cute (which I was a bit worried about at one stage) and I’m pleased with the neatness of my stitches. I’m looking forward to doing more.

Getting back into sewing in this gentle, low key, no pressure manner felt great. Being as I spend most of my weekdays staring at two monitors due to my job as an assistant editor, it was super nice to do something which wasn’t screen based either. A lot of the work I do these days seems to be digital (which is fine), but when I get back to using IRL materials and media, I always prefer it. I find it makes you think differently and more clearly and I always get more inspiration and better concentration when I base myself away from my screens. I’ve lost a desk space thanks to an extra monitor, which meant for several months now (maybe almost a year), I’ve not had a proper space in my room to be able to do non screen based work, which is quite frustrating. I’m in the process of moving house actually, so I’m going to ensure I make a space which is for non-screen based stuff in the new place. I’ve always enjoyed mixing analogue materials with digital, especially in my moving image work, but it’s something I’ve strayed away from recently. But I’m going to make a habit of getting back to it this year.

Anyway, how did I get from writing about sewing to animation? I guess pretty much everything in my life leads back to animation! Being as I’m straying from the topic, it probably means I’ve written all I need to for this post, so see you in the next one xo

Clips From 'Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood'

Over on my Instagram, I’ve started publishing clips of some of the work I produced on the feature film ‘Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood’ directed by Richard Linklater, which I worked on in 2021. It’s in contention for the Oscar nominations and it’s currently available to stream on Netflix.

The first one is this clip from The Dick Van Dyke show, which I thoroughly enjoyed animating because of the amount of characters and action in the shot. Click HERE to watch (it will link you to the video on my Instagram page).

The second one is of some old-style payphones. I love animating hands, so this one fitted perfectly for me! Click HERE to watch.

I’ll be publishing several more over the next few weeks, so keep your eyes out for those- I’ll do a little post again once they’re up.

Moth Film Update #1

Remember that new film idea I wrote about a few weeks ago? Yes? Well, here’s the first project update for that!

I’ve drawn around 300 moths at this point- progress which I am quite happy with, as it’s just under a third of the film already. Though, I must admit some days I find it hard to keep coming up with fresh ideas and inspiration, so they don’t all turn out the same. And I feel the more I do, this is only going to get harder as there’ll be even less new things to draw. But I’ve also felt that when I start that days work, I might start off fairly uninspired and the more I do, the more my inspiration feeds off the previous ones. I think it sometimes just depends on the day and how I’m feeling!

I’ve been aiming for at least 10 moth drawings each day- which takes about one hour. I was doing them quicker at the start of the project and could fit way more into one hour, but my designs were a LOT simpler then, whereas now they can end up quite complex:

One of the earlier ones

A later one

I feel this happened the more I got into the project as my mind kept thinking of new patterns to explore, which made the moths more interesting. The ideas for the simpler designs seemed to wear off quite quickly, hence more complexity in my later images. I appreciate that the designs aren’t all true to life and most likely wouldn’t be spotted on a moth in the wild any time soon(!), but the point of this project was never to replicate actual real moths. It’s more an abstract depiction of them. I like the fact that they started off fairly simple, because I think I’ll try and replicate that throughout the film- start off quite gentle and minimal and then descend into something more detailed and wacky (do people still use that word?!) as the film progresses.

As for using Procreate, I’m still thoroughly enjoying the process. I was able to take my iPad with me for when I visited my family over Christmas and was able to do some then, plus have been animating elsewhere than just my office room, so it’s been a really nice and comfortable way of working so far.

I think that’s about it for this update- though just a couple of other things: my shoulder break is healing well (phew), so looking forward to when I have full movement back and can get back on my skateboard. It’s only been 3 weeks since the injury, but it feels like forever!

And lastly, if you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed that I haven’t engaged on there for maybe nearly two months now? Or something like that. When the recent men’s football World Cup was taking place I decided against going on Twitter (due to the amount of football related accounts I follow) as I was boycotting the cup this year (though no judgement if you decided to get involved). But ever since, I’ve not felt the desire to log back in. I feel my life has felt calmer (and nicer) without it and haven’t actually felt the need to go back to it. I’m currently leaving my account active, while I decide if it’s something I’ll ever come back to. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, but I’m in no rush at the moment. I have enjoyed Twitter over the years and have met some great people through the platform, plus if I didn’t have it, I doubt I would have ended up working on the Richard Linklater film. But I’m on a break, at least. Still on Instagram though (and this blog, but I guess you already knew that)!!

I’ll probably put another moth update blog in a month or so- I’m not going to do one every week as it won’t change that much, so won’t make for the most interesting of reads!

2022 Film Recommendations

Like last year, here are my top film recommendations out of the (feature) films I watched during 2022. In total I watched 78 (77 being ‘new’ i.e. one’s I have not previously watched, with one rewatch), down from 143 in 2021. I was quite disappointed I didn’t reach 104 this year (meaning two ‘new’ watches a week)- hopefully I can reach that this year though. I find watching feature films really important, because in my opinion watching them is essential if you make films. It’s where a lot of the learning takes place- especially if you take a little time out afterwards to understand and analyse what you’ve just watched. This year I really want to develop my feature film, so watching as many as possible will hopefully assist me in this task.

These are listed in no particular order. The title of the film is in bold, followed by the name of the director(s) and then the date which it was made (in brackets).

Please enjoy and let me know any recommendations of what to watch this year in the comments. Oh and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

1. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) Heller, Marielle
2. The King of Staten Island (2020) Apatow, Judd
3. Adolescents (2019) Lifshitz, Sebastien
4. Paris, 13th District (2021) Audiard, Jaques
5. The Lost Daughter (2021) Gyllenhaal, Maggie
6. Petite Maman (2021) Sciamma, Celine
7. Cow (2021) Arnold, Andrea
8. Turning Red (2022) Shi, Domee
9. When Marnie Was There (2014) Yonebayashi, Hiromasa
10. The Nest (2020) Durkin, Sean
11. Weathering with You (2019) Shinkai, Makoto
12. Another Round (2020) Vinterberg, Thomas
13. Promising Young Woman (2020) Fennell, Emerald
14. Mass (2021) Kranz, Fran
15. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Adventure (2022) Linklater, Richard
16. On Gaku: Our Sound (2019) Iwaisawa, Kenji
17. Boiling Point (2021) Barantini, Philip
18. The Souvenir: Part II (2021) Hogg, Joanna
19. The Worst Person in the World (2021) Trier, Joachim
20. Ali & Ava (2021) Barnard, Clio
21. True Things (2021) Wootliff, Harry
22. Pleasure (2021) Thyberg, Ninja
23. Seahorse (2019) Finlay, Jeanie
24. Support the Girls (2018) Bujalski, Andrew
25. Entergalactic (2022) Moules, Fletcher
26. A Bunch of Amateurs (2022) Hopkins, Kim