This is something I’ve been wanting to share for a long time, I just haven’t been able to make it public until now. Back in July, I starting thinking about where I wanted to go with my career and how I wanted to use the skills I’ve developed. One of the ideas that I kept coming back to was working with one of my favorite musical artists professionally. Only a few of my favorite bands are still making music, so the list of artists I could potentially work with was very short. After a lot of thinking, I just shot for the highest goal and picked my favorite band: MUTEMATH.
I wasn’t exactly sure how to even attempt to get ahold of them, but I found an email address for their record label (which they own). It probably wasn’t the best way to get their attention, but it was the only way of contacting them that I found. So, I wrote up an email proposal explaining what I do and how I would like to create something for them, but I quickly realized that I didn’t have much grounds for collaboration without an example of what I do. It’s been so long since I’ve worked hard on a project for myself, so I didn’t have anything that represented what I’ve learned how to do in the last two years. I decided I would just make a sample animation from a portion of one of their songs to show them what I’m capable of creating. Very quickly into the process, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to stop after a small portion, so I just decided to animate the entire song.
It’s always dangerous when you’re working on an animation for yourself without a deadline, because you can always add more. Fortunately for me, a surprising turn of events transpired very soon after I began animating. Jamie and I discovered through Roy, the bass player’s, blog that while they were touring, he was offering bass lessons to anyone who lived near the area he was playing. I was extremely excited about it, but I haven’t been able to get any of my bass guitars out to California since we got married, so I basically just forgot about it. Jamie knew this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up though, and my birthday was in September, so she decided it was time I got a new Bass and started playing again. Needless to say, I was floored! We picked out a bass and put a whole kit together for everything I need to get playing again.
I really have the greatest wife in the world. Not only did she buy me a brand new bass, but she also booked me a lesson with Roy for three weeks later. That’s when I realized that I would probably never have a better opportunity to give my animation directly to a member of the band, which gave me a strict deadline. It worked out perfectly though because I was knew when I had to be finished, and I was able to hand it to him in person. Our lesson was great; it jumpstarted my passion for music and I’ve been practicing again.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that Roy actually came to our apartment for the lesson; how cool is that? One of my favorite bassists from my absolute favorite band giving me a one-on-one lesson in my own apartment? It was surreal.
And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for…here is the animation I put more time and effort into than probably anything I’ve ever created.
To wrap up this story, Roy loved the animation, and showed it to their lead singer who also thought it was great. He told me that they’re keeping me in mind for future graphic needs. My hard work paid off, and I’ve got a new piece that I’m proud of for my demo reel.
