Through the entirety of this project, I have been improving my animation skills. The second half of my essential question, How can I further my animation skills through this form of storytelling has been a challenge to answer. Trying to animate through the words and ideas of someone else, interpreting each phrase is a very difficult task, especially with something like interviews. 

 

Last week, as I sat at my desk, I found myself at a halt. Full stop. No ideas flowing through my head, just staring at my blank digital canvas. The truth is, I didn’t know what to animate. I was lost. There is only so much your mind can come up with in small periods of time. And there are but so many ideas one can generate while not out in the world (where most of your creativity stems from). I must admit, I procrastinate a lot, it’s a struggle I’ve been tackling during this project, but, that wasn’t the problem this time. I just didn’t know what to do. 

 

And just when I was about to give up, and transition into a long napping period, I remembered my final product. I want to feel accomplished for myself, and have a finished short film under my belt. I want to bring justice to the stories of the street artists I’ve contacted, as they are an easily forgotten about aspect of New York City culture.

 

This project for me isn’t about just the journey of completing my own short film but also following through. I start a lot of projects; like, a lot. Whether through art or music, writing or reading, I’m always getting myself into something new, and very rarely do I complete them because another ‘idea’ comes along.

 

So what is grit? In my case, it’s following through, accomplishing something you thought you couldn’t; sticking with it.