The Enemy

So thesis previsualization is done, and though it doesn't seem like it we are halfway to completing a thesis project. Previz should take about half the time, I think, even in real-world production. The problem is, I don't feel I've really completed previsualization for my thesis. The first part of previz is brainstorming for ideas. The second part is cutting and shaping the idea into a manageable project, and setting up a carefully thought out plan of how to execute. Simply put, we did not do this second part of previz during our class.

That leaves summer to come up with our ironed out idea, and it's worse for me since I built a lot of my production schedule into summer. Our main task should be to figure out exactly what we want to do in our thesis project, and focus on R&D for that specifically. My main complaint in previz is that Mitch never really impressed upon us the true enemy we will be facing in the next 7 months. I only realized this after seeing some of the thesis critiques and watching person after person end up with an incomplete when I'm sure they all felt they had a passable project. But first, a few things that I learned from the critiques:

1. You can get an incomplete for poor documentation.
As trite as it may seem, Raj had a fantastic piece, better than many others I saw that passed. Yet he still got an incomplete because of an incomplete paper. At the very least, it can help convince any family or friends who look at your piece and say, "What? It took you a whole year to do that?!" that you did in fact work your ass off.

2. Just because your focus is one thing doesn't mean you can ignore the rest. Just because you're a modeler doesn't mean you can ignore camera movement. Just because you're an animator doesn't mean you can ignore lighting. I want my focus to be visual effects, but I still want to be relatively competent in all areas of production. A generalist as well as a specialist, as it were.

3. It's gonna get worse. Both Gavin and Boaz have hinted that the panel was not nearly as tough on people as they would have liked. Boaz especially says he's going to push for tougher critiques, both on applications into the program and critiques on theses.

So, after getting that out of the way, the enemy. The enemy we will face during thesis is time. Not enough time to model. Not enough time to rig. Not enough time to animate. Not enough time to render. I've seen everyone's work, and I have no doubt that given as much time as needed everyone will come up with fantastic projects.

Procrastination is synonymous with failure. Well, maybe not exactly, but it might as well be. The lesson of the day is don't wait. Start today. Start this very instant. Plan to be done with the whole thing a week before we actually have to hand it in.

The second part of previz, coming soon ...