Ralphael Pacheco: February 2015

In my previous post I specified a "Best of Monty Oum" video that I'd created in memory of the great animator/choreographer. Unfortunately, upon its initial upload, it was blocked worldwide for its RoosterTeeth content ID match (which I found completely understandable). But fortunately, that turned out to be only a temporary measure as the tribute is now publicly viewable on our YouTube channel, P³.

As stated in the previous post, Monty Oum was a big inspiration to me creatively. With his "Keep Moving Forward" mantra spreading like wildfire following his passing, I can't help but feel charged to more vigorously pursue my creative passions.

With that being said, this past week has been very eventful for me. I got to the end of the second draft of my first novel; my sister Loryn designed a new logo and banner for our channel (which can be seen here); we set up a twitch account on which we plan to start streaming regularly (click here); and last but not least, we spent a day filming a new live action short that we plan on uploading to the channel. Sadly, we couldn't finish shooting in just one day, and the frigid weather might not permit us to resume shooting for at least another week. However, what little we were able to get done is already looking rather amazing. Here's a little sneak preview:

Anyway, there are many great things to come. Around the last new year, I was looking forward and unofficially dubbed 2015 as the "Year of Awesome." Although it has gotten off to a rough start with the death of a personal hero and numerous other tragedies befalling the world, I still think this year has a shot at living up to the title. With hope, the warm, positive moments will go on to outshine the negatives. And perhaps even the negatives will go on to be seen as positives.

God bless.

- Ralphael Pacheco -

February 23rd, 2015

I'm afraid this blog shall be opening on a rather solemn note, as a single event has been the main occupant of my mind over this past week.

For those who have not yet heard, famed web animator Monty Oum passed away on February 1st, 2015. He was 33 years old.

I still remember not wanting to believe it when I first found out. On several occasions I was moved to tears just thinking about him. I know everyone has already expressed their grief by this time, and I don't mean to beat this subject to death, but he was such a personal hero of mine that I can't help but dwell.

Monty was not only a huge inspiration to me creatively, but also what I consider to be one of the most underrated fight choreographers of our generation. I find it rather unfortunate that he failed to find recognition in the martial arts filmmaking community within his lifetime, but it is my hope that his work continues to reach and inspire people long after his passing. So who knows, perhaps that is still within the realm of possibility.

I'm not sure if it has yet been mentioned by others, but I noticed that Monty was only 1 year older than Bruce Lee was at the time of their respective deaths. I can't help but feel like that's an interesting coincidence, seeing as they both managed to revolutionize the art of on-screen action in their own unique way, despite living such short lives. Moreover, they both seemed to have an eerie recognition of how brief life tended to be, and so they pushed to accomplish as much as they could in the time that they had (see below). Not sure if I'm connecting wild dots here, but I feel like it's an appropriate analogy.

I'd always wanted to meet Monty in person and express my gratitude for how much he's motivated me as a creative individual, and it saddens me that I no longer have that opportunity. I can only hope that his influence lives on in the stories and projects that I bring into this world.

Also, I should mention that I spent the past week editing together a little Best of Monty Oum video, but due to Rooster Teeth's copyright policies I'm not able to upload it to youtube without it getting blocked worldwide. But still, it felt good to create, even if it'll never see the light of day. I won't persist in trying in trying to get it out, as that would contradict Monty's mantra of "Keeping Moving Forward." I feel like he'd be disappointed if anyone spent too much time trying to honor him instead of going on and making new things.

Anyway, I just wanted to say my final goodbyes. The world has lost a great creative mind this year. From both myself and my sister Loryn:

We love you Monty. Now get some sleep.