Sound Mix

Last week was a busy week. Susan went into the music studio to record the wonderful eerie music she composed for the film and Eric was hard at work on the sound edit! I've gotten a couple of chances to hear what he's doing and it's pretty awesome Tomorrow I go into the sound mix. Which is basically spending all day long watching my movie and making sure all of the sound effects, dialogue and music sound perfect. I've only ever sat in on a sound mix before so it'll be exciting to take part and take charge. Jamie won't be able to be there which bums me out, however David will be stopping by in the morning which will help give me confidence in the afternoon. And Jordan might even stop by to take advantage of the air conditioning and see what a sound mix is like.

Although I've been working so hard on the film I feel as though the end of the process has kind of snuck up on me. I've been so focused on the smaller details I haven't considered the bigger picture (no pun intended) I am so close to finishing the film. With the music composed and the sound finishing up this week all that's left are the Visual Effects (compositing in progress ), color correct and then conform. It seems like nothing, almost completely manageable. And then... I will have a physical tape of my film which I can hold in my hands. All of my other films being basically online digital creations it's incredible to me that I will have physical evidence of my movie. It almost seems unbelievable that after about 2 years of work I'm almost finished....

Bummed

A couple of days ago I found out about the grant. I guess you are only notified on September 1st if you actually recieved funds. I however was not chosen to recieve the Women in Film Finishing Fund Grant. Sigh, it's a good thing I've been working my ass off this summer saving up money because I'm going to need all of it for post production which I've already committed a lot of funds too. My parents have generously offered a loan, but I'm hoping that maybe I can somehow swing the costs myself. I've reconciled myself to the loss of the grant money now, I mean it's just money. What I'm having more trouble getting over is not being recognized. I always thought that the money would be awesome, but that to have recieved a prestigious grant would really be a feather in my cap and lend me some of the legitimacy and acclaim that I crave. I am by no means someone who needs constant approval or recognition (If I did I would have given up on film a long long time ago) But it certainly is nice to be recognized, and there is also the idea that when someone or institute with power recognizes and awards you that soon others will follow. Not because people are sheep, but because sometimes we need someone else to go first to give us the courage to stand up and say, damn it that person is a talent or deserving or even just really determined.

Anyway, in lighter news Sound edit is proceeding and the music is turning out fantastic. I just have to find a studio to do my music recording that's cheap enough for me to afford. And I have a mini ADR (Additional Dialogue Recording) session today which will reunite me with my actors. So full steam ahead cause the train's gone full throttle out of the station and there is no way to stop it now.

The Waiting Game

I should have been finding out about my Grant any day now and I've been manic all week with crazy giddy happy highs and sad boozy lows. It's been taking a toll on my emotionally and I feel exhausted. Today I was certain I didn't get it because usually the longer it takes you to hear the worse your chances are of receiving the prize/acceptance whatever. So I decided screw it and I finally went to the website (which I have been avoiding like the plague) and there is a notice up! Since the deadline was pushed so was the notification date. September 1st!!! Oh god September 1st. At least now I have a few weeks to erm, try to relax? Maybe I'll do lots of Yoga. Try to meditate. Drink myself into a two week coma (ha ha just kidding!) And.... Still nothing from Fantastic. I wonder if they've pushed their notification deadline too! I'll go check...

Post Production Official

Post production has officially begun! I dropped off all of the VFX with Lisa my fabulous compositor yesterday. Getting everything prepped for her was quite the learning experience. I had to transfer a whole bunch of the Red Raw files (which is what the original footage we shot on) to a different kind of file called a 4K pro res. It took 24 hours and all of the processing power my little macbook pro could muster. However, the computer accomplished the task and soon Lisa will be hard at work filling in all the computer screens in the office and making the final green screen shots look awesome. Jamie and I will be doing our picture lock edit on the 16th and then I deliver all the sound files to Eric at Sound One on the 17th and he'll start the sound design and edit. (We had a spotting session last week where we watched down the film and discussed all the sound details) Susan Hwang has joined the team as the composer and I look forward to hearing all the creepy and lovely sounds she comes up with.

It's amazing that I'm actually in the final stages of the process. Soon I'll have a tape of my finished film in my hands that I can hold and a year and a half of work will be complete!

Towards a Picture Lock

Things are moving right along. I had the second screening on Monday night. I have to say I was quite nervous about it as we are so close to being finished. It's the first faint echoes of labor pains. Jamie was unfortunately not able to make it, which made the screening that much harder. She was on her way back from Detroit where her husband (also an editor on Hunting) is working on the new Harold and Kumar film, and she had all sorts of travel woes. She was sorely missed as we both benefit from feedback! But, the screening went well I got a lot of constructive criticism and positive reviews.

On Friday Jamie and I will be back in the edit room hopefully with the goal of locking picture. I was originally thinking that I wouldn't have another screening before we officially lock but now I'm thinking that we probably will. I want to make sure we've got it right! I also had a meeting with a potential composer which was very exciting and I can't wait to see what she comes up with!!!

I've got a few more festivals to submit to as well at the end of the month, so that is looming large.

In other news we are getting ready to deliver the footage to the VFX person Lisa Daly and I'll be meeting with Eric my sound designer next week hopefully. So everything is moving right along despite having no clue yet about the grant or Fantastic Festival. However, mid august will be here and hot before I know it!!!

Final Edits

Hello!

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer and has survived the heat of the past few days with their sanity in tact. I know I had a few questionable moments. Well, after a long hiatus in which I went on Vacation my editors went on their honeymoon and I dealt with some difficult family times we are back editing. Jamie and I are working towards the final cut and I have to say that the break was inspiring and the film is looking awesome. David is off working on the new Harold and Kumar movie in Detroit so we miss him (Jamie in particular) in the edit room but he's still with us by proxy.

I am anxiously awaiting to hear from Fantastic Festival in Austin to see if the film got in. Believe me I will announce it as soon as I know. Summer seems to be speeding past me and I've just realized lately how much there is left to do. Time to buckle down and get back to work. If only I could make this brain clouding heat abate! That's the update for now. I promise more frequent posts as the days go on!

Grant Deadline Extended! Sort of...

So I had an intensely stressful week last week for personal reasons and because I was desperately trying to get my grant together before the deadline. Quentin has been an enormous help in giving me advice and feedback and helping me with the budget. Given how busy he is with his full time job it's really amazing that he's made the time. Anyway, I was all stressed out and about to curl into the fetal position from the pressure and high expectations when I made one last visit to the Women In Film Foundation (WIF) website and discovered that the deadline had been extended! WOO HOO!!! Unfortunately, because of my schedule (I'm going on vacation to Florida next week!!) it's only bought me a couple of days and not the entire 3 weeks it was extended by ... but.... I'll take what I can get. A few more days of checking over my work is perfect. I'm actually starting to feel really positive about the application finally. It feels like it's coming together as a strong proposal.

I am also extremely happy with the cut of the film that I'm submitting. Jamie, David and I had our last edit session yesterday and it was awesome. I think that the film is already just awesome and I know it's only going to get better. I am, as I'm writing, laying off a the DVDs which I"ll be sending off to the foundation. So just a few more ducks to line up and I'll be able to send off the grant application tomorrow! And then I will have a party because I will be so relieved. I will also be sending the film off to Fantastic Fest in Austin. It's a genre festival which I'm hoping will premiere my film and kick off a successful festival run. So everyone keep your fingers crossed for me (if anyone reads this blog that is)!