Nearly there...

Very good week of editing the “Y goes berserk scene" for those of you who are geeky about these things it's Scene 30.

Yes, it takes me at least a week to get the bulk of the scene sorted – which is par for course really about 8 hrs for 4-5 minute scene. I think - some people claim 1 hr per 1 minute of screen time...which would ma ke me slow - but I enjoy trying out combinations - all for the better long-term - but if does chop up efficiency.

The shots were all spectacular – all worked – performances top notch– camera work steady and sure, lighting (hmm – okay but will be better next time – can be fixed somewhat in post). Sound – bit noisy but can fix.

Nearly there friends/comrades/amigos/compadres/freund...nearly there...

Delays? What delays?

Long time no blog/post dear travellers. Well, I’ve been sort of busy – with what holidays and the rest. Rest assured ladies and gents I was still working on the magnum opus. Every day in fact.

Not finished yet – I’m 80% of the way there – I know, I said this before nearly there...- so what’s the hold up Dr Marzella?

The delay is due to the fact that I keep f*&^ing around with each scene a million times – then rethink the whole thing and start from scratch. All for the better I hope. Who knows? Does it matter? ‘Cause I’m having tons of fun – the footage…the footage: a kaleidoscope of options and alternatives – it’d be artistic bankruptcy to default to the obvious choices.

I even get a thrill at fixing the edit for crappy camera operating and dodgy cinematography – sorry guys, yes, no one is perfect – yet there is a semi-sexual thrill in turning a sow’s ear into a silk purse - steal a look from here cut for a reaction shot from that take trying to miss the crew or a light stand in the background.

Anyway – it still holds up!

Why do I sound excited?

Well – human nature dictates that you do get jaded even by the most beautiful of things.

Desensitisation or acclimatisation; pick your scientific terminology.

Yet MbM is still intriguing. And a promising thrill-ride.

The edit – well yes - we are beyond assembly really – not final cut but a little more than a rough cut – let’s call it a middle cut – is getting there. Still to do sound mix of course but could get there quickly.

Anyway – I'm keeping you all in suspense – I hope.

March 09 is a doable date...

You will be surprised I guarantee that...

How to be an acrobat...

Finished assembling/first cut of the opening scene.

It holds together very well. And lo and behold the ‘original’ cut assembly wasn’t all wasted – I ended up using large chunks of it and modifying other parts of it to fit into the new whole.

“Leap and the net will appear.”Julia Cameron

Chaos - Tears - Monsters and Fears

I’ve been editing the opening sequence over the week-end. So, yes, I’ve started editing the second last day of the shoot (not counting day 6 since that was a ‘repeat’ of the shoot). Nearly there…

Very nervous – this is it – this is how the film opens – I hadn’t watched the scene since we had shot it.

Some amazing stuff – Danielle cries on cue - all in close up – even at low resolution you can see several tears welling in her eyes and cascading down her cheeks – this was one take –I worked the whole sequence around it.

Her panic and tears are dramatically countered by Luke’s and Chris’ cold and Zen-like manner. Hot and cold. Shocking and arresting. Love it.

For a writer/director, it doesn’t get any better than this; this was the way I wrote it – this is the way it was performed and shot – this is how it plays in the edit. I got to enjoy it three times.

So I cut - remember we’ve got ten cameras – cut - shot angles – cut - many takes – cut- reaction shots –cut – shouts – cut – screams –cut –ECU - cut– soundscape – cut etc etc…

And I made a complete mess of things… not just a little mess but huge utter custard of images and sounds – you’d think I had just got the program out of the box and started editing that day. I’ve been doing this now for over three months – on any other scene I can drive that thing like a F1 car. Usually, I’ve been working with vision from a minimum of five cameras to handling up to 8 to 10 video tracks – I’m a high performance machine.

[As an aside – I do not refer to my script as I edit – so the continuity is all in my head and based on the good take.]

This should be a cinch yet the beautiful designer baby had turned out into a monster…

How could this be?

What happen I think is that as I worked around the performance I lost track of the logic of the scene – my mind couldn’t recall what happened when and where and…disaster.

I looked at it – I’ve been working on this scene the longest of all – tweaking every nuance. Fourteen hours over three days of solid work.

My eyes were stinging – my mind was numb. My heart was – well - bleeding lifelessly on the floor...

Late Sunday night - I started back from scratch. Yes – threw it all out.

Still not there yet – but as is the case, I’m rediscovering the scene and I can tell you that there are more great moments…it rocks.

[yet to edit the closing sequence – I will have to watch my step there too.]

Nearly there boys and girl – nearly there – I hope I can surprise you all with the finished product.

Will keep all posted…

Unafraid of the dark

Had a great session yesterday – till 1 am – fantastic stuff...sounds images cuts, cuts, performances...

I was enthralled by everything - and I’m tough audience - usually fall asleep watching action flicks (don't ask)...

I’m either extremely deluded or I got something special – time will tell.

Sneak Previews

CHW came over for lunch a sneak previews...if any one's interested in seeing some rough cut footage drop me a line...No i didn't tell him the real name of the film or show him the opening credits(!)

Thanks for the laugh CHW

Chris (‘Paris’) Hilton-Woods left a message on my voicemail saying cast and crew are at the studio all waiting for me to do pick ups (!)

I wish…

Anyway – this was funny because:

1. We shot a s*&^load of footage…who needs pick ups.

2. if everyone was on set – they probably wouldn’t wait for me and go ahead and shoot something; I’d like to think that this is because everyone is so prepared and has a clear idea of what I want as a director – and not because they think I'm an idiot who should not be listened to (!) and that indeed I can make a creative contribution.

3. We shot a s*&^load of footage…who needs pick ups.