So lots of stuff going on for the film right now. Here’s a quick update on where things are:
Fine Cut
I completed a fine cut of the film about a week ago, with some temp music, opening and closing title credits via Motion, and sound effects. It was amazing to see how much richer the film felt with the added sound and music. it’s incredible how much this does to a film.
I screened this latest cut of the film for another one of the CDIA instructors earlier this week, and got a great response. One quote in particular that I found amusing was “Thank you. Thank you for making this film”. It was very well received. The critique I got was pretty minor and mostly involved cleaning up and sweetening the audio (more on this in a moment).
The CDIA screening is still set for September 5th, so I am planning to hit picture lock by August 20th, and focus on color correction work from that point on. A little behind from where I wanted to be, but that isn’t surprising.
Music
I have recruited Cory Gable to write some original music for the film. He (as well as a few other composers) contacted me a long time ago in response to some postings on NE Film and Craigs List when I was looking for actors. He stood out for me because (1) he proactively followed up a month later when I told him I’d be reaching the post-production phase, (2) his reel sounded fabulous, and (3) his solo piano work was great (I ordered one of his CDs and was hooked on working with him).
Cory was kind enough to work with a student, and to start developing material before I had hit picture lock, so I’m very excited to see what he comes up with. I encourage you to check out his web site at: http://www.corygabelcomposing.com
Sound
One of the comments I got back after showing the fine cut was to get an audio producer to sweeten the sound. I was really encouraged to go this route by my CDIA instructor, not because the effects and ambient sound weren’t good, but because he thought the film was too good to skip this step. I would usually be hesitant to dive into something like this, simply out of fear of the unknown, but at this point, I’ve had so many “first time” moments making this film, that it’s not that scary anymore. Stressful, but not scary.
So now I’m in the process of recruiting an audio producer to do some audio mixing. I also need to do some ADR work. There are at least 2 of Ashley’s lines in the park scene that sound bad due to wind hitting the mic, so I’m hoping to correct this with some ADR. The last thing I’ll need the audio producer to do is to mix in Cory’s music at the end.
Lots of work, but exciting. Given the positive reception I’ve been getting, I’m starting to think of some local festivals to hit and have started making a list.
