Thank God for an extension. The film is SO close to being finished, it disgusts me it’s not done yet.

I still need to plan a release party for the film for the cast and crew, but I’m waiting for the DVD in mass in order to give everyone a copy.

I really want to get working on a cool logo design for my productions so I can start putting it in the front of every film for my reel.

I should also start finalizing my reel, like compiling it into something really nice, as well as my portfolio for writing.

Many things to do in the future!

From seeing the sound edit as it is for now, I was thoroughly impressed. Rachel did an amazing job. It wasn’t near done as I would have liked it to be, but she definitely took the film in such a more comedic way than I imagined. It “sounds” amazing, particularly with the sound effects and some music choices she did. I was impressed.

Also, my scores are impressive [thanks Tag]. They do help make the film a better film indeed.

Right now, I’m working on my EPK. It’s fun getting involved with this aspect of it. Tiring though, and I need creative energy. But, it has an intriguing quality to it.

The next obstacle (besides finishing and everything), is fulfilling my duties in paying my funders back for all of their support. Luckily, staying up here for the summer leaves room and time for that. I just hope I can do that for all of my cast and crew. Which reminds me, I need to email them soon about meeting sometime within the next month to screen the finished product together.

Sigh. I’ve been so tired; I’m still working reluctantly on catching-up with the rest of school. But strangely, I’m very eager to finishing this project. The next edit is sound, and I just hope that my faith in my sound designer is going to work out. She’s starting off with cleaning up all of the dialogue, then she’ll work on sound effects. I just need to get music from Tag still.

Titles look decent. For some reason I couldn’t get them perfect, but they look pretty professional. My opening sequence is still fun though.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Tomorrow will be the first day that I don’t have to spend all day editing. Instead, I’ll be stressing about tests, but, it’s okay. Tomorrow, I celebrate my mother, then I worry about school.

This editing process is a HUGE pain in the ass. After many grueling hours, several days of it, I’m finally nearing the end of the picture lock, after so much ridiculous stress and drama in the edit rooms.

I also discovered how to do freeze frame credits in Final Cut. [Thank you youtube tutorials.] I think this credit sequence is a lot better.

A lot was cut, and a lot was tweaked/refined. It’s looking so much better. It needs SO much more editing though…

Also, I definitely need to start thinking about my opening credits.

I’m tired, but…hopefully these next few weeks fly by and I can finish everything with a proud project.

From what my lead actor tells me, everything is shot that needed to be while I was gone. I’ve still got a long way to go, and I’m pretty worried about my scholastics when I get back. But, luckily, what needed to be done in my absence, apparently, is now done.

Praise God.

Apparently, a week from today is the Final Export!

What a year it’s been, from pre- to post-. Exhausting and incredibly difficult. But what great lessons learned in preparation for something bigger someday.

I know not to challenge myself with a film next year. I need a year off of filming to focus on writing. I’d rather get some good scripts finished to start making money that way. I think I’ll have more luck distributing that than a film.

My EPK is finished aside from everyone’s Bios.I will probably rework it later on though to look more professional, but I’m STILL catching up with other work.

Next big thing is my DCP.

My sound editor and I are going to be working as best we can to get something worth producing within this next week. Fingers crossed!

Tonight, I meet with my sound designer to go over what progress she’s made, any last minute changes before the Sound Design Export (although I know we’ll still have some work to do), and then, well, export.

I didn’t get to meet with her last Thursday because I started getting really sick, and have been sick since about Wednesday night. I’m finally on the mend though, congested as can be, but I’m up and about which is nice.

My goal tonight, besides meeting with her and getting up-to-date with what she’s done is to put in the music. I know that’s technically her job, but, I’ve been a little frantic, and if I can make it into this edit, I’m all for it.

Apparently, titles were a success, which makes me grin ear-to-ear.

The next big tasks are the big packages/kits I have to start pulling together, as well as finding the right film festivals (I admit, I haven’t found any yet). After that, it’ll be making the packages for those fine funders that helped make this a possibility.

Nearing the end, and all I can say is… THANK GOD!

Tomorrow is a day dedicated to export! I have to export my picture lock/color correction. I think I only have to have 1 DVD, because I don’t have a separate picture lock/un-color corrected piece. But, everything is locked “picture” wise, except for the title sequence, however, I know how I want to do my title sequence, and plan onanimatingit this week! I’m pretty excited about it. It’s just the nitty-gritty kinks, and the actually words shown on screen I’m a little unsure about. I’ll be drawing up a prototype tomorrow.

Also, I have a meeting with my possible sound designer on Monday to go over some things and show her what I’m working with. Tomorrow I’ll be writing up a cue sheet, not necessarily just for her, but for me as well, since she said she had some reservations about some of the content, and I think I’ll just take the hit on some other things, as long as time permits, and I know what I’m doing.

It felt wonderful knowing how to color correct with lots of boxes open up on the computer screens. I felt a little more professional, and as much as I’ve been complaining an awful lot about the editing process, it’s helping me fall more and more in love with my project since now I’ve had such an intimate relationship with it in all 3: pre-production, production, and now post!

Watching the movie come together is a beautiful experience, but I know I’d be overwhelmed to try to pull together a film for my thesis. Plus, I refuse to do some bum short film that won’t go anywhere special. If I’m going to do a good film, I’m going to do it BIG!

That’s all of the update for now!

Toodles!

It sure is good to be back, but the stresses of finishing this project are definitely breathing down my back.

I worry greatly about meeting deadlines, although I know I will greatly struggle with that regardless. It’s hard to get everything done in a week’s time, let alone trying to catch up and stay caught up in all of my other classes.

As for my picture lock edit, I’m kind of pulling a hail mary on hoping to have what I can finished to turn in on Friday, let alone to start working on color correction for Monday’s due date. YIKES!

All prayers are greatly needed and will be appreciated.

If I can finish even just somewhat well with this project, I’ll be happy. At least I have something I worked very hard on, (not saying I didn’t work hard on my other projects), but in which I can feel accomplished in adding something worthy to my reel, with all of the aspects of filmmaking involved and carefully paid attention to.

When it comes to next year’s thesis, I’m still very iffy on whether I’ll go to such lengths to make another film with as much umph as I put into this one. I had the BUSIEST year of my young life this year, but next year will be packed with BS classes, lots of upper division and in a pursuit to graduate on time. I’m very worried about ALL of those things. When it comes down to it, unless I was making a feature I was positive I could market and sell, and have it go somewhere other than a couple of who-gives-a-shit festivals, I’m not going to bull shit my way through a short film that really won’t make or break me anywhere, and as for doing something that I can be truly proud of, and use to get my career started and enhance it, I think I might stick to writing next year, because I’ve learned to love directing, but I don’t have the time or the effort to go all out on a huge production next year. At least writing a couple of good scripts that I can smell will make me some money to pay back some loans, and get my name started somewhere. When the time comes, I’ll make another film, but at the moment, I’m just looking for the means of survival.

Update, as far as I know:

Andrew is filming on Sunday, as well as watching Tag’s cat. They’re doing the second to last scene we need to finish the film, the babysit (rewrite from elementary school).

Andrew’s been keeping me pretty up to date about things with the film. And hopefully they give me what I need from the shoots I left them to do. I trust my crew. But I’m still incredibly nervous since I don’t have a lot of control over it anymore.

1 more week of this awful adventure I decided to go on.