9:06 PM, Sunday, September 16th, 2007:

If there's one thing "Let's Bomb Iran" taught me, it's that I never want to make another "Let's Bomb Iran". No matter how happy I am with the finished product - it is such a miserable isolating process that requires unyielding concentration that I'm always halfway through it and want to shoot someone. I'm also perfectly comfortable never hearing that goddamn song again for as long as I live.

 

Now after that rousing open: Here it is! The opening for Up & Adam and yes, over 93 hours of work by itself. Animation, and the photoshop prep that goes into animation, is grueling repetitive work that really takes a special type of person. I am not that person. I literally just get the idea in my head and have to do it myself or it will drive me crazy. So I woke up last month and drew this:

Once I sketched this - it was all over. I had committed myself to 100 hours of hell and there was no way around it. Anything less than was in my mind just wasn't gonna happen. Skim it and you'll see that gary and Spencer's scenes changed a bit but that had more to do with what I could find on Google. I created some dance club and some red carpet scenes but nothing looked right. I had 5 "Scenes" to put together and eventually I came up with:

I logged the hours meticulously because I wondered just how long it would take... but I am flabbergasted it really takes that long. And guys, I FLY on the computer. I remember my dad in March watching me put together the last grand finale on my laptop and he could not BELIEVE it. The bottom line is the prep and design phase is just laborious... but I must admit, I do love the result. It really adds some legitimacy to the whole project...

...and of course - seeing the "Trinitrons" in their 4 corners again for the first time in 3 years was fun for me. I also put in a bunch of little "Journey" things in the scenes that you guys'll have fun to pick out. Now do you guys get the last entry? This is ridiculous. To be doing this for something that really doesn't even exist, and in fact actually is egg on my face, whew. It's masochistic. It's one thing to put in this much work for something you believe in... but something you believed in? Whew.

So enjoy the open and "believe" along with me that I really am onto something. Believe that it's gonna be so good that someone has to pay attention to it and that I'm not now officially out of work with the airing of the final episode tomorrow. Looking at this season as a whole it seems ridiculous that I'd be concerned for my job, but this is showbiz. Oh well, mo one can say I didn't give it my all...

...but now do you understand why I grow a beard and wear the same shirt and jeans for 2 months after these things? Adam needs to rest... but there's two more big entries left: The Season Finale... and the Test Show. I need both up by the time I'm on the plane to NYC Wednesday morning, so keep an eye out...

 

Adam