Quantum leap To me, the human race could not survive without creativity and imagination. With every great advancement throughout history, some genius has had to take a step back, use his or her imagination and find a completely different solution to a problem. Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” I am not trying to change the world with my film, but I am trying to stretch my creative muscles a bit, and maybe this will inspire other people to think creatively. When I am looking for creative stimulation, I turn to music videos. The world of music videos is one arena where there are no rules, and when you sit down to watch, you know you are about to see something wild. It’s the only place where I have found complete uninhibited visual creativity.

Visual therapy My film takes a still Rorschach inkblot and animates it. Rorschach inkblots have been used for many years to delve into the subconscious of patients, to reveal sexual orientation, patience level, ability to relate to people, schizophrenic tendencies and your relationship with your father, among many things. All ten official inkblots (they are supposed to remain secret, by the way) have some sort of sexual forms in them. I actually already had some storyboards drawn up for this idea, and when I started looking through the footage it started to sort of write itself in a different way. I just decided that I was going to throw away everything I had in my mind when I started out, and just let the footage inspire me and tell the story and flow from one image to the next. It worked out pretty perfectly, I think; I couldn’t be happier with the final result.

Capitol improvements I have lived in Washington, DC, for the last year. I live with my younger brother, who is crazier than me. The museums are nice. I go to some galleries now and then. We get a few good bands that come through here. At my job, I have met a lot of people who call themselves artists. Everyone here seems to be really into the 48-hour film festival. Three films that have inspired your work? 1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys 3. Pink Floyd The Wall

Patrick’s fridge

View Patrick’s pitch Large QuickTime Small QuickTime

Hands on My experience on the Getty Images site actually started years ago when I began looking for still pictures and footage for projects that I have worked on for paying clients. When I started to look at the footage with a more specific purpose for this film, I started to explore some more creative shots that I didn’t even know were there. I found it really easy to download the clips since they were short and small, and could work with ’em and play around with ’em and decide “I like ’em” or “I don’t like ’em.”

See the effects edit View QuickTime

Do it yourself My biggest obstacle in finalizing this film was myself. I couldn’t decide when I was finished. Usually I have a client or a boss tell me, “It looks good, you’re done, Patrick.” I didn’t have anyone telling me that here, and I ended up getting pretty obsessed with specific details. I spent about 60 hours over the course of four weeks to complete a 60-second movie. I’m not sure if I should feel proud or pathetic. I couldn’t find any music that I wanted to go with the film, so I composed my own score using Reason software. This is the first song I’ve ever composed on a computer. It was very important that I write the song before I began animating, because I had to have certain shifts in the visuals happen at specific beats in the music. Anyone who has done any intricate animating or editing will know what I’m talking about.

Short circuit I think the industry is at a little bit of a turning point. Channels are opening up on the internet all over the place with YouTube or AOL Viral videos or Google. And I think people’s attention spans in general are getting shorter with the style of television we have now, and you really gotta make your mark in a short amount of time. I’ve got my computer hooked up to my TV at home and I am constantly watching videos on the internet just like I would TV. I think you are going start to see a lot of people doing that on a regular basis over the next five or ten years, and more people are going to be actively searching for content and emailing videos to their friends. In a flash, your film can be seen by hundreds of thousands of people if it’s good enough – and even if it’s terrible.

Patrick (2nd from right) with other finalists at The Next Big Idea premiere in New York City. 57662719, Getty Images

If The Next Big Idea were a plate of food? It would obviously be spaghetti with shredded (not grated) romano on top. Please draw your own conclusions.