It’s been some time since I started this project. I first created it as a short film back in 2015, I managed to get the animatic done and then we tried to raise funds for the project, but we just couldn’t get any traction. It was a very ambitious project, and I suppose we (or I) just didn’t have the track record because we were unsuccessful with the fund raiser.

Trailer to the short film

Animation Test

The Short Film Animatic

The evolving project

With the story reel complete, I would make production plans to try to work on the film scene by scene, shot for shot, but because I also own and operate a business (which was not doing very well at the time), production slowed down to a halt.

It took about 2 years before I could start working on the project again, but with so much time passing, I felt that the short film had something much bigger that it wanted to say and so I went back to the script and re-wrote it to a feature length film.

I finished the script in June of 2020. The name of the film changed from Ambition to Sacrifice Exchange, to just S><C (SXC). It’s a chess term meaning you sacrifice players on the board in order to achieve your goal.

Here’s a scene from the script.

Since the production of the test footage, I’ve been developing the visual style of the project and how I want it to go. It’s been slow going, but it’s never truly stopped, which I’m glad for. It’s just taking longer than I want it to, but sometimes you just have to go with the flow of life.

What I’d like to do is to put my goal out there into the world. Maybe it’s something for me to look back on later. In any case, here’s what I would like to accomplish in the next 5 years.

My Goal

Because of the feature length of the project, the amount of resources (time, money, energy) it’s going to take to put into this project, I’ve broken up my goals into the following…

2021

Finish character design for the main and secondary cast. Complete first pass of storyboards for the film by December 31, 2021. Hire voice cast and begin recording.

2022

Complete the animatic (story reel) and workbooks. Produce a new trailer for the film and begin prepping the project for production.

2023 - 2024

Production of the film.

2025

Post production. Submit to festivals.

2026

Release production on Vimeo.

What I’m not doing is looking for funding this time around. I understand the need to want to do that, it helps moves things faster, but what I’m looking to do is to maintain as much creative control over the project and usually that means self financing. Looking for funding would mean that someone is going to want to make changes which I would not agree with and I’ve been in this industry long enough to know that it never works out the way you want.

Plus, I’m too much of an artist to give up control. I want what I want because I know what I‘m looking for and I expect to get it.

Should the project find that it’s got interested buyers for a license, then that’s great. But for me, I just want to tell my story the way it’s meant to be told without compromise.

I’m hoping that I can stick to this plan.

If anything, it’s my Richard Williams moment. It’s what will keep me sane while working on other productions.