<Projects
HIKE (2021)
Writer/Director/Actor/Animator/Editor: Josh Lange
Time on project: August-September 2021
"Have you checked your email?"
I was on a grocery run at a Ralph's parking lot when Patrick Smith--the head of MPC Visualization and a longtime colleague--called me up out of the blue on a Saturday and asked me that question. I was immediately confused. What could he be talking about?
It turned out that I was chosen to join the Summer Unreal Engine Fellowship from Epic Games. I was shocked and immediately ecstatic at the news, which for me was akin to finding the Golden Ticket to Wonka's Chocolate Factory. I had applied a full year before, and had immense respect for the chosen members of the entertainment industry who were selected over the following twelve months to make animated films from the cutting-edge game engine.
HIKE (2021)
Writer/Director/Actor/Animator/Editor: Josh Lange
Time on project: August-September 2021
"Have you checked your email?"
I was on a grocery run at a Ralph's parking lot when Patrick Smith--the head of MPC Visualization and a longtime colleague--called me up out of the blue on a Saturday and asked me that question. I was immediately confused. What could he be talking about?
It turned out that I was chosen to join the Summer Unreal Engine Fellowship from Epic Games. I was shocked and immediately ecstatic at the news, which for me was akin to finding the Golden Ticket to Wonka's Chocolate Factory. I had applied a full year before, and had immense respect for the chosen members of the entertainment industry who were selected over the following twelve months to make animated films from the cutting-edge game engine.
I did not know exactly what I was in for, but I knew that to make the most of the opportunity would take nothing less than a full commitment. Having just wrapped previs on a feature film, I had a small window of time at the end of the summer before postvis work would be needed in the fall. As long as nothing else popped up in my life, the timing seemed to be as good as any. As fate would have it though, my wife and I had been househunting all Summer, and we would soon find "the one."
For those interested in what it was like to go through the fellowship, I've written a week-by-week account of the experience on the links below. If you want to skip right to the final product, you may view my "fellowship cut" video below on this page.
For those interested in what it was like to go through the fellowship, I've written a week-by-week account of the experience on the links below. If you want to skip right to the final product, you may view my "fellowship cut" video below on this page.
Biggest Challenges
1) The Clock. In one of our Week One "Coffee Hour" sessions, our instructor Peter Lish remarked to us that "to me, the biggest obstacle you all have is time. I don't think students can fully understand how much of a challenge it is to complete a film in six weeks." Boy was he right. I felt like I was putting in a full 100% of time and energy every day of the fellowship, and it was still a battle to end up with a film I could stand by.
2) Personal Standards. I did not see this as a no-pressure situation where I would be happy with my final film no matter how rough or simple it might be. Instead, I imagined judgment I might receive in the future from visualization colleagues. It feels petty to admit, but I wanted to use this as fuel for me to be ambitious and make the very best thing I could. Thankfully, the support of my family and members of the fellowship helped prevent me from collapsing under that self-imposed pressure.
3) Split Focus. My wife and I had been house-hunting all summer with no luck, and in an example of tough timing, we had put a bid down on a listing during the first week of the Fellowship. To our surprise, the offer turned out to be accepted! Although I was overjoyed and pretty confident that I could handle the fellowship and all the escrow paperwork simultaneously (thank goodness school was in session yet), I nevertheless prepared to step up my game to make sure no mistakes would be made while handling them both.
4) Creative autonomy. The fellowship came at a time for me when I had a long period in my professional career of relying on clients like directors and supervisors to make the final decisions to approve ideas and deem content as "final." This meant I had to redevelop my autonomy as a filmmaker who made the in
5) Workspace. My home office area was fully cramped with boxes and other miscellaneous items as we packed during the Fellowship. Along with this clutter taking up the background of all my behind the scenes footage, this significantly reduced the size of a mocap volume that I could rely on for performance capture.
2) Personal Standards. I did not see this as a no-pressure situation where I would be happy with my final film no matter how rough or simple it might be. Instead, I imagined judgment I might receive in the future from visualization colleagues. It feels petty to admit, but I wanted to use this as fuel for me to be ambitious and make the very best thing I could. Thankfully, the support of my family and members of the fellowship helped prevent me from collapsing under that self-imposed pressure.
3) Split Focus. My wife and I had been house-hunting all summer with no luck, and in an example of tough timing, we had put a bid down on a listing during the first week of the Fellowship. To our surprise, the offer turned out to be accepted! Although I was overjoyed and pretty confident that I could handle the fellowship and all the escrow paperwork simultaneously (thank goodness school was in session yet), I nevertheless prepared to step up my game to make sure no mistakes would be made while handling them both.
4) Creative autonomy. The fellowship came at a time for me when I had a long period in my professional career of relying on clients like directors and supervisors to make the final decisions to approve ideas and deem content as "final." This meant I had to redevelop my autonomy as a filmmaker who made the in
5) Workspace. My home office area was fully cramped with boxes and other miscellaneous items as we packed during the Fellowship. Along with this clutter taking up the background of all my behind the scenes footage, this significantly reduced the size of a mocap volume that I could rely on for performance capture.
