The part I’m finding most difficult with Stop Motion 1 is actually getting on with the tasks. I think this is combination of having so much unstructured time at home, and a lack of confidence. I came into the course thinking ‘I’ve got this’, but when it comes to actually doing the tasks, it’s almost like doing well in them feels too important. There’s also a part of me that resists doing these prescribed animations. The structure of the course is that we get a video lesson for each task, and then go and do it ourselves. But when I know exactly what the end result of my animation is going to look like, or what it’s supposed to look like, it’s hard to find the motivation to do it. It’s the figuring out I enjoy in animation, and when it’s been figured out for me and I just have to copy it, it stops being interesting. And when I have all this time at home, no one standing over me to make sure I do my work, my ADHD takes over and procrastination wins.
This last week has been particularly hard, and I haven’t progressed from the Bucket Swing task yet, which was set two weeks ago. However, I still enjoy meeting with my mentor, and she’s very understanding. She pointed out that one week is not enough to master each of these tasks, and I’m allowed to pick and choose which ones I want to do.