A raw look into current workflows, experiments, and creative collisions.

One day we’ll get into detail about how The Big Back Room came about. It’s obviously inspired by the liminal backrooms craze, but pushed forward by the character development of two heavy-set characters seeking something that reality doesn't offer. As a creator, this allows me to place our subjects into worlds with no rules, no limitations on physics, no harm, no consequences, and pure joy.

Their motives are not evil at all; what they want to do is probably what we all want to do — live without fear and pain. To vibe with wildlife, to jump in the dark hole, swim with alligators, create multiple versions of ourselves, and fly!

This is what's possible in The Big Back Room, and I explore it (for now) in bite-sized form until, well — it's enough, lol.

In these Lab Notes, you get a sneak peek at how I build characters and environments using Flora. I don’t provide a rigid, step-by-step tutorial here. Instead, I want to stress the importance of keeping your workflows simple and positioning yourself with a canvas that lets you get granular and hands-on—which is the secret to maintaining consistency.

For me, the story is sculpted in the edit. The process doesn’t end there, but the world certainly comes to life once you start focusing on the progression, the cut, and the sound that ties it all together.

Give Flora a try (affiliate link)

I should also mention that conceptualizing this way is highly visual and pure stream-of-consciousness storytelling. Is it the most efficient way to craft a narrative? Maybe not. But because these tools respond so fast, it’s a pure dopamine hit—a rewarding back-and-forth relationship where you're in a state of flow, shaping ideas in a way that traditional writing just can't match.

Don't get me wrong: I'm still a massive advocate for planning and outline (huge). But there's something beautiful about using these tools to sketch and conceptualize on the fly, powered by nothing but raw imagination.

The trigger —that spark of an idea I mentioned above— is the big picture driving this entire series: the emotion, the problem, and hopefully, the solutions. The other major driver is the sheer fun of exploring different liminal spaces, each requiring a completely unique approach to art direction and production design.

Like I mentioned in the video, for my upcoming dream episodes, Salvador Dalí and René Magritte have been massive inspirations. It’s been incredible to see how their surrealism fits into a modern world of AI, motion, and further absurdity. More on this later.

Now, watch Chucho and Leonard find joy, love, and top-tier entertainment in the strangest of places. See it all come together. Watch it all evolve.

A record of recent studio activity and forthcoming developments.

Ok, we’ve got ideas up the wazoo. It’s best to start organizing and maybe cutting some?

That’s all for today and it was a lot. See you next Friday!

Stay Absurd!

Sway 🫠