OGDEN- There has been a lot of discussion online
regarding this short, about what it all means. Care to enlighten us?
APSITS-
I was surprised to find several forums discussing Ministry Messiah on
this very topic, discussing the meaning of my movie. They where fighting
about whether there a meaning to it or not. I found interesting interpretations
of my movie, which I would not have thought of myself, like this for
example: "...Notice the palpation of the camera with the beat,
suggestive of a heart beat. The world is in tune with --or depends on--
the spirit…"
This is the best kind of reaction that can happen… that's why film is
so amazing! It become kind of interactive -- people bringing their own
interpretations to the film, making their own Ministry Messiah. It ceases
to be my movie. It's in their mind.
OGDEN- That's not very enlightening…
APSITS- (laughing) That's what dream translation is about. If
I fed the audience with a spoon, they wouldn't think about it as much
for themselves.
I have an idea how to build a stand alone web project as a complimentary
extension for Ministry Messiah. Not so much to add my own viewpoint,
but more to encourage folks to give their interpretations even more.
I'm very interested to hear your thoughts! [Visit the AnimWatch
Forum and join the discussion there on this subject… -- Ogden]
CLICK TO VISIT THE OFFICIAL APSITS WEBSITE
OGDEN-
How did you go about making the film?
APSITS-
It's made up of collage illustrations. Each of the 8 scenes contains
hundreds of 2D elements floating in 3D space. I animated and composited
everything in After Effects.
OGDEN- You mentioned the storyboards before…
how strictly did you storyboard the project?
APSITS- I wanted to get just the right motion, so I carefully
planned out everything, not only on the storyboard, but in a detailed
animatic that I based on the soundtrack.
I actually let the soundtrack drive a lot of the film. I timed the scene
cuts on the rhythm, and programmed visual elements that derived their
motion directly from the sound waveforms, as for example man shaking
in the field, or the head slicing up.
OGDEN- The film has a very convincing 3D look,
which is impressive considering you did it all in After Effects. Would
it have been simpler to do some of it in 3D?
APSITS- I almost did. At one point, I was frustrated by my inability
to turn a man's head from front to side. But time was too tight for
me to go through learning new software tools, so I just figured out
a way to expand the parts of the 2D elements. I'm pretty happy with
the result, actually. I think it gives a more interesting 3D effect
than real 3D might have.
OGDEN- What are you doing next?
APSITS- "Ministry Messiah" is my next big
step in experimentation with collage animation after "The
Bonedancer" and [award winning stop motion commercial]
"KKF".
With my
animation studio opening, my next projects promise to be lot more powerful
then anything that you have seen from me before. I will be at this for
quite a while - hundreds of ideas are in my head, just waiting to be
released. Stay tuned.
OGDEN- Thanks for talking to us.
APSITS- Thanks for watching.
