A very dynamic, creative and driven fellow I know asked me to do some animated titles for a political video he’s making that he’s sure will go viral.   I like the message, cute script, figured I’d do my part to try to keep the country out of the hands of nihilists (insert your favorite nihilist here).  After a round of auditions he picked a very expressive young actor to play the idiotic straw man, a sort of Joe the Plumber type.  I met and liked the kid immediately, talented and funny.   We were at the studio  to shoot some reference photos that I was going to work from.  

Only problem was, the planned one hour session stretched to about three hours, with only about 25 minutes of distracted work getting done amid many interruptions.  Oops, somebody showed up for an audition, just take a few minutes, oops, got to take that call, sorry, oops… knock on the door, guy with a walker, needs just two minutes…”Jesus, man, don’t you call to make an appointment?  I’ll be right back…”  oops, second voiceover audition, oops, I’ve got to find the adapter for the voice recorder, oops…. etc.  

At one point, as he was about to shoot something we hadn’t talked about, something I couldn’t have used if I’d wanted to, he became momentarily confused.  “Focus!” he barked at me when I pointed out what was about to happen.   I answered him as patiently as his own grandfather and we set up to shoot the frames I actually needed, the ones we’d discussed.   By the time I left, with 346 frames on my flash drive instead of the 24 I’d come for, my head was spinning.

“I need a massage,” grimaced my talented buddy rubbing his neck as his wife and secretary reminded him they had another round of auditions starting in fifteen minutes.  “I’ll leave you in peace,” I said, staggering from the studio, my eyes goggling from strings.  The work we’d agreed to do together only 25% done, and poorly done at that.

I spent hours on my own going through the 346 frames to get something like what I had planned to leave the studio with.  I stole a couple of hours each day around family celebrations and long drives to and from New Jersey to work on the animation under a tight, though never specified, deadline.  Met him yesterday to drop off the animated footage he was going to composite some photographed heads on to.  I’d told him it was a rough draft and that I’d get him a smoother version the following day.  He had me watch an audition tape on a second project and talked excitedly about possible financing from Dubai for a third project he was pitching. When I got home late last night from accompanying Sekhnet on a long good deed I had this email from my friend.

Sorry, can’t use it.  I tried hard, but it doesn’t work out!  

Fool me once, baby, that’s all I’m sayin’.