Letter From the Editor – June 2011

Posted June 1st, 2011 / By John Kostrzewski in Editorials, Featured, Letter From the Editor, Opinion

Movies are so quaint. They always have a first act that introduces the characters, their normal state of life, their opposition–everything. Sadly, that’s not real life. We aren’t always able to be introduced to everyone, know what our objectives are all the time or how to easily obtain them. No, real life often starts out smack dab in the middle of act two where we are at our lowest point trying to overcome the objectives set in our way. Life is funny like that, but that’s what makes it so interesting.

In the almost year and a half that I’ve been writing here at Fuel Your Motionography (yes, it really has been that long), I’ve worked my way up from blogger and occasional FYM staff writer to full blown contributing writer all the way up to editor-in-chief. During this time I’ve gone from being a solitary writer to working along side four very talented and motivated motion graphics artists and videographers, plus an ever growing network of extraordinarily visionary creatives that have helped me along the way. It also goes without saying, there was, and still is, a great community of readers who continually come back to read what’s new in the world of motionography. Through all of this, I’ve come to realize, I’ve never introduced myself or even said hi.

Well, this is my hello, of sorts.

My name is John Kostrzewski and I’m a motionographer. I probably haven’t worked on anything you’ve ever seen or even heard of. I didn’t run off to Hollywood to work on a small part of a large production movie that didn’t mean much to many people. I did, however, work on some small productions that meant a lot to a few people. That’s real life. Not all of us are going to work in “the movie biz”. Not all of us are going to get the recognition we deserve. Not all of us are going to be in the lime light. But that’s not what’s important. What’s important is that we love what we do and do what we love; that we make every project we work on a Hollywood size production, no matter how big it actually is.

Our job is to make people happy. Even deeper than that, to make ourselves happy.

It took me a while to realize that. I was working on a few smaller projects wondering when that one project would come along that would set my career sailing off into infamy. It suddenly hit me that my career had already taken off. I have been doing what I love for years now and I’ve been making people happy for that same amount of time. Sure, things can always improve such as getting more work or pay, but that comes with any career, and that comes with time.

Oddly enough, I felt the same way when I started with Fuel Your Motionography. The day I started writing here was the day I started clawing my way to the top, even though I was only “fighting” myself. I became a contributing writer and continued to push as if my big break was just around the corner. The day I became editor I continued to push thinking there was something else up there. When I realized there was no other place for me to move, I began talking with Timmy Allen about expanding in other directions. Then, one day, I realized the answer wasn’t out there in another project or a different website. The answer was, as it always has been, right in front of me.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is this: throughout life, we are constantly struggling to get further: a better job, better pay, bigger house, so on and so forth, and that’s always a good thing. You have to pay your dues in life in order to reap the rewards, and those rewards should always be worth the effort you put in. However, while you are hard at work, never lose sight of what’s in front of you. What you have been struggling to reach may have been there the whole time.

“It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.”

- John

This month in fym

• Changes On the Way: We have some changes planned, some big and some small. Some are merely additions. Some are too big to be mentioned at the moment…
• Final Cut X: It’s finally here, but will it be a leap forward or just a stepping stone to a future big release?
• Super 8: The J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg epic adventure is about to hit theaters. Will it live up to the hype?
• Cinema 4D Quick Tips: All those tags. What do they all do?
• What’s in Your Toolbox: Effects. Plug-ins. Presets. We have all collected a series of “tools” over the years. What’s in your toolbox?
• Much more…

John Kostrzewski is the Editor of Fuel Your Motionography and a freelance motion graphics and visual effects artist, videographer and writer living in Minnesota. He is awesome. Follow him on Twitter at and .