u/Rytchiee

This is hilarious lol

Before I had any chance of a team, I did all my animations on my own. It took a while, so I opted in using rigs. After I animated some rap battles, I ended up doing frame by frame until I got a team. This took me 5 to 6 years for me to do, but I've been animating since I was 9. I'm now 27.

What I'm trying to say is no. This is not way too unrealistic. I won't beat around the bush though. It's going to be very hard, but while you're not a main character in the world, you are in your own story.

What it sounds like, and I'm sorry if this comes off as unsolicited, is that you have a lot of self doubt, and that's okay. It's okay to feel like you're not good enough at times. I do still, after my portfolio, but if you're passionate in something, fuck what other people think. Do what you feel is right and nail your indie series. People will come around. It took me a long time, and it may take you a long time, too, but it's not unrealistic, unreasonable and impossible. Have hope that even if your work is good or not, you're happy doing it. The audience doesn't matter. You do

Also, it's okay to take breaks. Don't burn yourself out. Try working on other aspects, rather than treat the process linear. Work on concept art one day, then your character sheets another. Give yourself some variety and take breaks, if you need it

I stopped watching after season 2, but I remember good things about it. I should go back lol

Ah my bee. True

I feel confident in my team, but only one way to find out!

Those are great examples, but I meant more indie animation online lol

I don't think I'll go down the film path, but I'm currently asking my team rn if I should shave off 10-15 minutes, making it more a 30-40 minute pilot instead, which sounds reasonable. The 50k could also be put into better use and allow more room for contingency or raises for the team

It's called a "DMG104". look it up! Those things are so damn cool

That's a nice way of looking at it! I said in a previous comment, but there's a high chance of removing certain shots or scenes, depending on the necessity or not to the overall story. Even if that's not the case, there are plenty of pilots that either run that long or slightly shorter, such as 30-40 minutes.

Now that I think about it and now that you mention it, I'm already making a short proof of concept showing off the existentialism and a Kickstarter video showing off the action pieces. I'll have to think about whether a pilot label is necessary at this point.

I'll take your advice on tightening up the screen time though. I want to be able to pay my artists more, since they work so hard with me to get things out

Very true. Can't please everyone lol

This is great advice. I'll have to think about this.

I feel like art worth 50k is pretty subjective though. It's intimidating seeing both of those projects you pointed towards and comparing it to mine, but it does give a good visual as to what is expected.

There's definitely a solid visual direction, but it's very different from what's on the Internet for sure, focusing more on character driven storytelling than solely plot driven stories.

Great question, too. Honestly, there's no real reason why the pilot is so long other than it fitting the script. It's entirely possible we'd be shaving and shortening scenes, which will lower the overall funding goal, but we wanted to make a long pilot to establish the world, characters, personalities, etc. I'm aware a lot of shows can do this in less time, but there are scenes that work better when they stick and sit, focusing on what a character is showing than telling

For the record, the pilot was the only episode in mind to only be that long. Other episodes, if greenlit, won't nearly be that long.

EDIT TO ADD: When I say to focus on what a character is showing than telling, it doesn't mean there's a lot of dead silence; and when I say we're trying to establish the world, we aren't cramming as much as we can in one pilot. We just want to lay out how existential and sociological the show can get, which sometimes, will include scenes of silence as a character picks at grass, for example

I do feel bad, but I feel blessed they trust me and the process to see the show grow. As the funding grows, so will their rates. I've worked with the team some as little as a few months and some as much as two years minimum. They know my situations and trust that we're making something good. In exchange, I have connections they can network with, which can point them to people who are in the place to pay more. I'm not expecting my team to stay with me for the long run due to this fact. They could find more fiscally viable people, but as long as they work with me, I will do whatever it takes to make sure they're happy with what I can offer, cause they deserve the world for helping me

It's not a very large team but there are a bit of us. Having a team allows the work to be better dispersed, which saves on time and allows multiple scenes to be worked on at the same time, establishing efficiency. This also eliminates the risk of burnout and pressure, while ensuring the show doesn't come out in half a decade or more

50k is for a 50 minute pilot where people are paid at a rate per minute of their completed segment, such as line animation, roughs, coloring, etc.

My team is pretty sizeable and would be needing to be able to afford daily necessities

It's still not industry standard, but it's not uncommon

Taxing as in mentally stressful or exhausting

As a creator, how much legal business that goes behind it and how mentally taxing it can be sometimes. It's not about just commissioning people. It's writing a script, designing the characters, designing all the props and locations, and the legal paperwork behind it. It's overwhelming and mentally taxing, but if you're so passionate about a project, it'll all be worth it when you have a proof of concept

Most of the donations went to Organization for Autism Research.

I don't know how it was approached before then, but today, it has a four star rating.

I don't know about the controversies, but from my research, it was definitely better than Autism Speaks https://researchautism.org/

The rest went to people in my life who were going through struggles, such as friends in debt or people at risk of homelessness

Thank you to both the Anthony comment and the compliment on my work! I appreciate you a ton! (:

I wonder if it's that they're changing in directions we don't like, or we're just getting older lol

Don't be! You didn't know lol I don't get offended if someone misgenders. It happens to the best of us

Exactly! It maybe too divisive, but it was different. It's cool to see Smosh get serious, though. Like the Keith episode. That one got to me, but I loved it cause it was played very straight. Sometimes, people want to see a natural side to them rather than a comedic one. Then again, they ARE comedians in the end of the day. It's hard to navigate

Also, my pronouns are they/them!

EDIT: The perfect balance is to do both! Lean into the main comedy brand, but bring new faces in marginalized groups. There's a line where you can make it funny, yet compelling and deeply emotional/existential