Interstitial Progress - PLEASE WATCH IN HD!

At this point I was going to animate this character-rig. But there are three reasons why I have made the decision not to.
1) I have used high res graphics. That alone has slowed down rendering. Character rigging? Takes longer than I thought.
2) It didn't have the feel I wanted. I intended for this interstitial to have a dream-like quality. I was not achieving that as easily as I thought.
3) this interstitial is supposed to be our selling point. My selling point? My favorite art form is concept art. It's raw and beautiful. Completely animating this character made it feel "too finished." I feel that didn't represent me. I will be incorporating the techniques used to make this "ember" composition into the techniques taught in the following (five part) video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueIRPMBP0Zk