The Edge of "What If"

Its all about that one moment. Its about coming to the edge and having to make the choice. Take the chance, or wonder... what if you had?

I've had about a million story ideas in my life, and after college was when I really started to try to make them realities. There was always one moment though, where I ran out of time to commit, my skillset couldn't reach, or my faith and motivation in the process died out. I arrived at the edge of What If, and turned back each time, sometimes even after spending a lot of money and time on a project.

I became very familiar with the edge. The looming threat of it would sometimes stop me from even starting because I knew it all too well and didn't want the disappointment.

I reached the edge with Effacement after we received our character models. They were so beautiful and I could tell they were begging to come to life, but they had no skeletons, no controls, and I wasn't able to rig them myself.

This was a common edge I had encountered. The rigging process stopped me in my tracks countless times and no matter how hard I tried, how often I attempted to learn this art form I could never achieve what I was looking for. This was an art form I admired but could never find the passion to master.

Over a year went by while I stood at this edge, and I firmly believe that the only reason I didn't turn back was because for the first time I wasn't standing there alone.

Caitlin was there, and we still over the coarse of a year dreamed out loud about this film together. The edge didn't seem as dark and lonely because we would just talk about how to jump that chasm before us.

"If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

~Burkina Faso

During that year, we met two incredible women who would join us at the edge and make the leap possible.

We met Grace Ramos, our producer, at the same company Caitlin and I used to work at. She became our coordinator for the animation department and we hit it off immediately. After mustering some courage, we decided to share our idea with Grace and ask if she'd like to be apart of what we are trying to do.

Thankfully, she said yes and has since brought an entire side of the film industry to the table that I honestly knew nothing about. She was a game changer for us and better yet, was our friend.

Our growth didn't stop there. We next met Rachel through another friend/co worker a little after meeting Grace. We saw her portfolio and immediately fell in love with her style and work. Rachel brings personality into each brush stroke crafting an image that makes you believe this world lives and breaths. That's exactly what she did with Effacement.

Four of us stood together now looking ahead and wanted to jump. We each believed in the project and shared a vision not just of what this film could be, but this studio.

Finally, it felt right. This time we would jump over the edge of What if and into What is. We took the leap that I had been so terrified of taking all my career, and in doing so found a studio called Gimbal Zen who believed in our project too. We hired them on as our vendor using savings over the years to rig our characters and model hero assets for our environments. Their ability to take what we had imagined, what Rachel had drawn, and make it 3D was breathtaking. Finally, together we had taken our first whack at the Glass ceiling.

After jumping this What If, I have since noticed more on the horizon and will undoubtedly encounter more during this journey. The path to achieving your dreams is not an easy one, but if you keep moving, no matter how slow, you will achieve them. Its okay to turn back, its okay to start over so long as you try again.

And if you're lucky, someone dear to you will join.

"None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful." – Mother Teresa