Failed Personal Projects and the Unexpected Benefits: A Short Film Journey gone wrong.
We often hear about the importance of personal projects and how fulfilling it is to see them come to life. However, not all projects reach the finish line. I know this firsthand, as I abandoned a fully animated project years into its development. I came across it while cleaning up one of my computers and realized that it made no sense to let it slowly erode away on a hard disk. So, I decided to share my creative failure with you all and the reasons why I think it was never completed. Despite this, the experience was far from a failure.
The process of working on my own short film was incredibly enriching. This was the first personal project I had ever embarked on, and I learned a lot about digital filmmaking techniques, cinematography, sound design, and editing. I started this project around 2012 and abandoned it in 2018, a six-year journey that allowed me to hone my storytelling skills and connect with the DFU (“Digital Filmmaking Underground”). Before entering the VFX industry, I had wanted to be an editor, and this project allowed me to experiment with different editing techniques, including cutting to a metronome and using varying qualities of previz to depict what the final films would feel like.
One major issue I faced was underestimating the time required to generate something fully animated and the rendering power needed to produce the final imagery. I was using V-Ray at that point in my life, a render engine that is far too slow for rendering minutes' worth of digital content at home. This taught me the importance of detailed planning, time, and resource management. Another major issue I faced, which ended up being the nail in the coffin, was the length of time this project stretched over and how the ideas I once felt enthusiastic about had become old and outdated, making me feel creatively trapped. I think many creatives face this problem, especially in an art form that takes years to complete, even with large teams. I hope AI tools will help change this. Currently, creating 3D animated content is so complex that even very passionate and talented artists often can't complete their desired projects.
Those who do embark on any personal project will face many obstacles along the way, which will only strengthen their resilience. Creativity is like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. These creative activities enhance your ability to more easily think outside the box, generate new ideas, and enter a flow state. You also need to find a balance for rest and variation in creative outlets to grow. This is something many roll their eyes to and ignore but it's probably one of the most important things…..especially as you enter your mid/late 30s :)
I hope this inspires others to share their own failed projects or realize that even something unfinished can still be completed in the viewer's mind, much like the process of reading a book.
Thanks for your time.