DO IT DO IT DO IT!

Director Brad Bird curls out an emphatic "DO IT DO IT DO IT man!" at the beginning of the Incredibles making-of, and I'm here to second that. Why? The reason he gives is: "Cause this is gonna be so ------- awesome if we get it right!" I second that too.

I've been working on a portfolio now for a couple of months, trying to pretend that I'm an entire crew from the Walt Disney studios, circa 1953. I'm forcing my way through this like walking through molasses--which is to say very slowly, and with great difficulty (though terribly sweetly). I'm happy with a lot of the stuff that I've been doing, but I'm also learning about my limitations. I've struggled with writing, with visualization and cinematics, with style and design, colour, composition and graphic design. Is there anything that won't bust my chops? Soon it's on to learning how to edit and colour correct, print and bind. I've been through everything from installing DVD drives to the history of hungarian musical instruments these past few months.

My confession though, is that I really don't mind; if anything I actually really enjoy it. In fact, I should probably start enjoying it less and rush this thing out. The truth is that this is a lot of the stuff I enjoy most about animation--the struggle; this is the thrill of the chase.


Working hard to find, as Al Hirschfeld said, "self made solutions to self made problems," one fights to uphold the integrity of ones ideas. Good ideas, rife with potential, deserve the best, and the effort that it takes to realize them is reward in itself--expanding one's boundaries, pushing you for better, broader, better. The whole point is to be challenged, and that makes the journey worth as much as arriving.

Lately a number of my friends have expressed reservations about the future; reservations about progress, movement, relationships, opportunities and abilities. To you I say: fight your apprehensions, explore new territories, broaden, recoup and never stop working towards realization; "DO IT DO IT DO IT! 'Cause this is gonna be so ------- awesome if we get it right!"