The Bake Sale Thief is Here!

Wow, my last post was back in January.  Time flies when you animate, graduate college, job search, work, go to church, and buy a car (aka having fun).  Yes, much has happened in my life for the past year.  Although I am proud of my accomplishment for receiving my bachelors of science in mechanical engineering, I unfortunately didn't have a job upon graduation like most of my friends.  However, I continue to cling to God and allow him to direct my life.  Believe me, that's not easy.

Part of the reason this film took so long to complete was because I sunk into a depression after I graduated.  On top of not having an engineering job, I also got my recently purchased car rear ended in Morgantown.  During that time, I struggled with my faith, but eventually came around when I started listening to God through His inspiring words in the bible.  When I started putting my trust back in God again, I got more involved with my local church.  I always felt God was calling me to the children's ministry, so I volunteered to help the youth memorize bible verses.

As my faith was growing, I decided to get back into animating.  I actually considered to abandon this film and start something fresh and new.  However, I watched the animation I had already completed during my last semester at college (the first two minutes of the film).  I really liked the animation, and I realized I came too far to simply abandon the project.  After praying about it, I decided to finish the film.  Once I animated a few shots, a new feeling of excitement was filling inside of me.  My passion for this medium was reignited.

Sections of the film were rewritten to allow the story to flow better and to simplify the animation.  The next five minutes were then completed.  Special effects were applied, sound was added, and music brought the film to a new level.  I'm so pleased with the final result!  I think it could provide a wonderful opportunity to show other people what Jesus meant when he said love your enemies (Matthew 5:44).

Although I'm proud of the result, I'll admit the film does have some flaws.  There is a filming discontinuity because some of the shots were done out of sequence and I didn't properly keep track of a minor detail.  The sound is also not the best, but hopefully most won't notice my amateur efforts.  What I really am proud of is the animation.  I think it's some of the best I have ever done because I really got into the heads of the characters to help determine what actions they would do in certain moments of the film.  I also felt I took full advantage of using the camera to tell the story.  Every shot was thought out to support the overall narrative.

Yeah, it's not perfect, but I am very proud of it.  I feel confident people will be very entertained when they see it.

Thanks for reading and may God bless you!