Beginning the Journey: Looking Back at a Year of Pre-Production

In November of 2011, a young avid Film and Animation fanatic began developing ideas and concepts for a fan-project based on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. His idea and concept was a dark and emotional re-imagining of the source material and his vision of what a Series Finale to the popular animated show would play out. Trying to find a story to match this concept, he dreamt of a scene in which 5 of the Mane 6, Princess Luna, and Spike were seen walking on a log across a rapid waterfall.

That man is myself, Eric Ridenour, and that was the main inspiration for Journey of the Spark.

Its been well over a year since I first pitched to my friends the ideas and concepts that were forming in my head about this story I wanted to tell involving the Friendship is Magic universe. Originally, the story began life as an audio drama based on my improvisational comedy series concerning My Little Pony. At the time, the story had no title and it wasn’t even remotely based upon the series. But overtime, the story became so huge and so massive, I felt the need to take the concept and connect it to the Friendship is Magic continuity.

What came out of that decision is what Producer Edward Marmet called Journey of the Spark, referencing a line spoken by Twilight Sparkle in the episode “Friendship is Magic (Part 2)”. The name was so unique and so inspirational, I ran with it and I haven’t changed it since.

The overall idea that I had was that my story involved Twilight Sparkle causing something so terrible it forces everyone to turn their backs on her, forcing Discord to once again come back into the limelight and seek his revenge upon the people who imprisoned him so long ago.

The start of Pre-Production, in the early half of the year, was hell. Far too many ideas, not enough confidence in the material I wanted to write, and not enough confidence in myself as a Director to get the project off the ground. Eventually, upon looking at the story, I told myself that the project was just far too limited as an Audio Drama and instead should become a Fan-Animated Feature Film based on the Original Show. I immediately set to work to begin casting the film.

Enter Meredith Sims. Meredith, from the moment I heard her Twilight Sparkle audition for Fighting is Magic, immediately was my first choice in casting the Main Protagonist of the story. Something about her emotional quality in her voice resonated with me and convinced me that she was the perfect person to bring the Emotional quality I wanted for the film.

But at the time, I was complete nobody. A stranger. With Meredith having one of the most anticipated fan-projects under her belt, I began to worry that she would turn down the project because my name carried no weight in the community. But little did I know that once Meredith signed on to star in the project, much to surprise and utter delight, the rest of our incredibly talented cast followed.

Before long, in the course of a Summer, Journey of the Spark began to explode with interest and popularity, garnering praise and critical acclaim from the creators of Double Rainboom and Children of the Night, and even the approval and excitement of Lauren Faust herself.

Even to this day, as my team and I begin the transition towards the end of Pre-Production and the actual Production itself, I find myself garnering many fans because of this project thanks to the many public interviews I’ve made appearances for and my loyalty to my fans here on Tumblr. The many people who Like and Reblog my opinions and posts relating to the project’s progress really do mean a lot to me.

In fact, the extremely high expectations for the film and the massive hype surrounding it I actually find to be really overwhelming! Because, I grew up living with the fact that people just absolutely hated me. That my dreams and aspirations as a filmmaker were a complete and utter waste of time and that I was worth absolutely nothing. For years, even when I started developing ideas for Journey of the Spark, I felt like I was going to be a failure no matter what I did. But then, I had an epiphany.

Everyday, I receive messages from so many people, be it PM’s or comments on YouTube, messages on Skype, and what have you and all of them say the same thing. So many people, be they Bronies or not, look up to me because of what I’m trying to achieve. Journey of the Spark and my dedication to the film’s production has actually inspired people, with my respect for the source material and my personal connections to the story emotionally moving those people and stirring them to want to make a difference.

That is something I’ve never gotten before in my life. After living so many years with a consensus about myself filled with hatred and prejudice, to receive so much praise and respect from people… it warms my heart. It motivates me to go out there and not make a cultural phenomenon, but to make an experience that I hope many people will cherish for the rest of their lives.

Journey of the Spark is my gift to the world. I hope that the film will inspire many people to discover the wonderful things about themselves and humanity and actually try to better themselves in the grand scheme of things. If this is what Pre-Production has done for me, then I’m incredibly ecstatic to see what the real side of the production will bring my team and I.

This part of the journey is coming close towards its end. But at the end of the road, the real journey is just getting started.