What is Poiesis?
"Poiesis" is reflection on how creativity is part of us. We need to cherish our creative side and take care of it. It is a process, a journey that will not be easy, but one that'll teach us about ourselves.
Special thanks to my mentor Nida Fatima. Derek Trowell for his amazing voice and Stephano Sanchinelli for his professional work as a sound designer. My DD33 friends for all the support, my family and everyone who takes the time during their busy schedule to work on something creative.
Why Poiesis?
So... why bother making this particular motion piece? I was currently studying at VFS (Vancouver Film School) and to create some of my other projects I had to endure harsh situations were I put a lot of pressure on myself to "be creative". Why do we even try to be creative? The creative process can be really harsh on onself. Criticism can take a tow and we, trying to better ourselves, get exposed to incredible work from around the globe. I kept pushing myself to deliver the best projects I could.
Sometimes I would look for support from friends and family: "It's too hard, I should've been a fisherman." I always loved the sea.
Then, while thinking about an idea for my grad project, it came to me: why not make a motion piece which addresses this particular issue? Being creative and delivering something of value is hard and I hope that someone out there watches my video and gets an extra confidence push in order to believe in him or herself and do the best job possible.
How was it done?
I started with a script. It took about a month of writing. I was finally happy with the result with version 42. I developed the art direction parallel to the script. I figured it was going to be cell animated, the brushes and the frame by frame animation in Photoshop complemented the feeling not only that my script was asking for, but it appealed to my target audience.
I then jumped straight into motion tests, trying everything from different brushes to completely different styles. I ended up with something that felt organic and emotional.
As the process evolved I had to manage a number of different aspects at the same time. I tried many voice actors and musical pieces while working on the final piece. I used 3D references to do my animatic and get the timing right. These would improve many times until I got them right.
During the animation process I had to keep in mind several things such as file management, variable frame rate depending on speed variations, motion lines that depended on direction and speed. I also had to come up with a personal nomenclature in order to identify the direction and color of each object.
It was time for post - production. I worked with, Stephano Sanchinelli, a sound designer in order to get the sound to the next level. The audio should gently support the visuals. During visual post - production I confirmed the idea that I had that this project had to feel natural in every way. I used practical effects and created my own scratches in Photoshop.
Check out the case study!
So... how do I feel about it?
At the end of the day I can say that it was an amazing experience and a weird one as well, that's because I was doing a piece on how it's hard to be creative and I was feeling it at the same time, I could really relate to my project which I love.
