FAQ on current production.

Hi all. In response to DM’s and questions about the release date for A Date With The Devil, as well as the release frequency of the 15 (or now 14) updates, I figured I’d make this post for transparency purposes. I’m well aware this is info most of you know, just want an official post for those with questions. P.S this is written with haste and running on a little over 24 hours without sleep, so I may update this with a clearer head.

Q. What current project are you working on?

A. I’m currently postponing all short animation releases to work on a patreon voted short film titled “I Snare A Date With The Devil” featuring Hermione from Harry Potter.

Q. Why is it taking so long?

A. This is not just another OCBoon animation. This film is meant to hold its own next to the likes of Hollywood produced films (I’ve tinkered enough overtime to know this is possible). This means more attention to animation, simulations, lighting, texturing, etc. must be given. Not to mention working with voice talent, sound effects & sound mixing, musical compositions (some are stock). Render times are also through the roof on some frames due to the sheer amount of fluid simulations and character details (See render time calculations below).

Q. Why didn’t you just put all your attention on it before?

A. I’m sure I’m not alone in understanding the anxiety that comes with doing anything where people give you their hard earned cash in exchange for content. This leads to an overwhelming sense of guilt if I need to pause releases for an extended period of time to focus on a short film. Therefore I though smaller releases while working on the larger project would ease the pain (Completely underestimated the generosity of my Patrons). However, this proved to be counterproductive as the labor demands of the highly anticipated film grew.

Q. What’s the update schedule? When will we get to see some juicy stuff?

A. As far as the update schedule, there really isn’t one. Updates may come in batches at a time, or one at a time.  Here is a bit of what to expect.

• Day 1: Update 1 (Script preview)
• Day 2: Update 2,3, & 4 (Images)
• Day 3: Update 5 (Gif w/o audio)
• Day 4: Update 6 & 7 (Images)

Think of this production like machine production line that spits out pies (Pies = Frames. This film then has a total of 28,800 pies). All pies have to be made first before they’re decorated (Image fixes, post-effects, & composition = decorations). I only have two of such machines right now spitting out these pies, so I have to be strategic on when to stop the process to pull out a single pie, decorate it, then release as an update then restart the machine. So in order to provide some visual stimulation, I’ve broken the entire render into batches. After the completion of each batch, I’ll pull several of the frames, clean them up, then release as an update. But due to issues like computer crashes, the GFI blowing while I’m at work cause the computers run hot, I’m trying to refrain from giving specific dates of when updates will drop. (Case in point, the GFI blew last night so I had no idea nothing was rendering the entire day!!!! fml)

I’m sure this is as much a gut punch to you as it is for me, but the film is only about 25% rendered. Fortunately I’ve been stashing Patreon earnings in hopes of adding an additional computer to eat into render times. 

Projected Render time calculations.

Example of Tedious Animation Process (Done in a less advanced software)

Pardon this messy update. Hope it answers more questions than it creates.