SANTOSH MP

It's 2007. I'm sitting bleary eyed in front of my workstation. It must be 3 a.m. The first playblast (a low-resolution crude render) of a short film I'd conceived has just been completed. It's a surreal moment for me. Only the 3D modeller from my team is here to see it. He pulls one of the faculty, Nick, to judge the footage. Nick plays the shot. On a loop. I'm getting nervy. Finally, Nick tells me, "I don't know if it's good or bad, but it's definitely interesting".

I didn't know it then, but that line sums up my approach to films quite well. Go for broke, warts and all, but return with something interesting.

That short film, by the way, crashed and burned. But the remark holds sway.