Really, it was a project created SOLELY for the purpose of CREATING, and that is ALWAYS the BEST artwork of all!  I'm SURE you will agree that the vision PM and I mutually came up with, (and completed) is truly a "MASTERPIECE" in its own right, (if I DO say so myself), and is something that will be viewed for MANY years to come on the internet! 

Now, please watch this FINAL creation, then continue on to read the interview I had with PM afterwards that gives a further glimpse into the creation of this fascinating, co-produced, animated fractal creation.  (You will also find free downloads relating to this project at the bottom of this page).

I hope you will ENJOY the "x"tended and completed vision :)

X:  First of all PM, I have to THANK YOU so VERY MUCH for letting me play such a big part in one of your amazing animations.  I am truly "tickled pink" to be able to have my name associated with these AnDroiDreamZ videos.  I haven't told you this, but as an artist, I have NEVER worked on a "collaboration" before.  To me, "art" is a very personal thing, so I have never even considered doing such a thing in the past.  I have to say though, I found this VERY satisfying!  For one thing, it totally motivated me in my work, and I found that I wanted to "please you" in the work I was creating!  I guess my 1st question to you is this:  What was it like for YOU to be working with another artist?  Did you find it satisfying like I did, or was it stressful, or otherwise?
PM:  I would like to THANK YOU very much, X, for creating such a great song to work with and for working with me on these videos! I, too, felt very motivated to come up something worthy to go along with your tune. I think I may have felt a fleeting twinge of stress at the beginning of the project because I knew it was going to be something very different from my previous animations and I had no idea what the final outcome would be!  After that initial feeling, though, I soon could see that the music and images would work well together and found the rest of the process quite fun and, yes, also very satisfying!

X:  Although I have yet to try my luck with animating fractals, I certainly have some experience in creating individual images and I know how long I can take making just one of them.  For instance, I fiddle around with a flame, make it "just so", play with the colors, the position, the zoom, etc, and then when I go to render it, it isn't unusual for it to take 30 to 45 minutes before the final image is realized.  Now this is just for ONE fractal!  How the heck are you creating the HUNDREDS of images required to make an actual movie?  I know there is an animation script involved, but you MUST be actually making dozens and dozens of individual fractals too, right?  How did you manage to render all the flames required to make the first video in UNDER one month?  I am AMAZED!
PM:  The rendering of the images was the most time-consuming part of the process. It would literally take hours upon hours to complete a batch, just to get enough images to make a few seconds of video.  There were many times that I would start the rendering process before going to bed or to work, so it was almost an around-the-clock production at times.

X:  Now this is probably a tough question for you, but as a "guesstimate", how many individual fractal images do you think were used for the above AnDroiDreamZ-DeepSleep video?
PM:  Most of the video was done at 100 frames per second, so, if I did the math correctly, there are about 42,000 (give or take) fractal images in ADDZ-DS.

X:  OK, so NOW I have to ask:  How many TOTAL fractals do you think you made (rendered) DURING the creation of ADDZ-DS?  (including the fractals that you DID NOT use!)
PM:  In addition to the 42,000 images that I did use, there was probably another 30,000 or more that I did not use.  Rendering the images at a lower resolution goes much faster, so, to make sure the flames I was using would animate well, I would render them at a low resolution first. If they animated well, then I would render them at a higher quality to use in the final version. I've deleted most of those rough images and animations from my computer (due to all the memory they were eating up), so I'm not sure of the exact amount, but I know it was a lot!

X:  How many programs did you use to make the above animation, and what were those programs?
PM:  I used 4 programs to make the video. The programs I used were: Apophysis208_3Dhack (fractal program) along with a script called Apophymator, which would render the batches of images. I took those images and plugged them into a .gif animation program and then converted those .gifs to .avis, using yet another program. I used Windows Movie Maker (a program that came with my computer) to make the final product.

X:  As I mentioned above, I thought you were VERY brave to actually offer to animate a tune I was going to create, (especially since you hadn't heard it and had no idea what I would send your way!).  I know that this tune was something totally different than what you were used to animating in the past, so I have to ask:  What was it like to animate this song?  Do you think the faster beat hindered or helped you, or perhaps it was no different at all?
PM:  I loved working with the faster beat! It was more of a challenge than my previous animations because I had to make a lot more images, but the upbeat tempo was exciting to work with and not a hindrance in any way. I also liked working with so many different types of flames, as opposed to the more star-like and flowery type fractals I had used before. As I began working on the original ADDZ, I saw, quite early, that I was going to need a lot more images than I had used in previous videos and, by using several different flame types, I was able to (hopefully) keep the video more interesting.

X:  I was SO thrilled to be a part of all this that I even made a little "PMX Production" logo that appears in the end credits!  Now IF I EVER find the time to make another electronic tune in the future, is there a chance you might be interested in animating it too?!  I guess what I'm asking is:  Might there be another "PMX Production" one day in the future?
PM:  This is the easiest question of all! I would love to work on another "production" using one of your tunes! I'm ready when you are!

X:  So, I guess if I am really to keep this "brief" as I have it listed above as, I should now stop asking questions!  Thank you so much once again for the opportunity to be a part of something that I consider VERY wonderful and I am VERY proud of :)  Is there anything else you would like to add here?
PM:  I would like say thank you to you again, too, X! I learned so much more about making these fractal animations while working on these videos and I had a blast working with you and your tune! Also, I would like to add that the DeviantArt website is an excellent source of information for anyone out there who might be interested in trying their hand at fractal art. Many of the basic fractals that were used in these videos came from that site, either from using a script, a flame, or a tutorial that was posted there. And, a special "thank you" goes to my friend Ria, who introduced me to fractal art almost 2 years ago. (I had never even heard of it before she told us about it at the Flakey Forum!)  BIG THANKS to all who read this and who view my videos, fractals, and/or snowflakes for your interest and support!!!  -  PM :o))))))