30 years have passed since Bruce Wayne survived Skynet's nuclear blasts in August of '97. Iron demons now roam the planet, and without the requirement to defend the innocent against crime and injustice, Wayne has sought refuge in the bomb shelter that saved his life; the Batcave.
Having scavenged the wasteland for resources, he discovers the radio of a dead soldier. There is static over a frequency. Flesh and blood is rising up to the west. With The Stinger; a riot control vehicular unit built before the apocalypse along with a refitted bomb blast vest, Batman makes his way across what remains of the United States to join forces with the man determined to neutralize the electronic menace - John Connor.
My intention for this animation was to teach myself how to animate. I knew absolutely nothing prior with regards to animating. So while I had the "plot" in my head, in terms of actually making it the entire thing was improvised. I get that people know it took me nearly four years to make, but I don't think people reeeally get that. For instance, the scene where the soldier walks up to the wall then gets his head blown off; that took me 6-7 months to do during 2011.
To work on a single project for 6-7 months for either a single person or a group is long enough to take a break from and celebrate. For me, however, it was a sign that not only is this thing going to nearly kill me but that it also won't be over for other 2 and a half years.
I get that because the video is just under five minutes, and therefore just zips by, it's easy to think I worked on this over the weekend. For everybody else it's an entertaining video but for me it's a visual diary of my life for the past four years.
Sadly there will be no follow up videos.
What holds me back from going anywhere further is that I'm human. I suffered mentally and physically and I'm completely discouraged to follow my dreams. So while I'm flattered and overwhelmed by the response, I think I'm just going to ride my 15 minutes of fame and try something else with my life.
by Mitchell Hammond
