Film Update: Film Complete!
IT IS DONE! Fini!! Terminado!
Two months behind schedule…. but we finally finished the film!!!
What happened to make things so delayed, you say?
Well a lot of mix issues along the way. Our in-kind services from NSI only allowed us a small span of time in Toronto working with Deluxe on our sound mix, and when a number of issues came up, we had to scramble and do a lot of back and forth between Nova Scotia and Toronto, ultimately culminating with us bringing our mix back here to Nova Scotia to iron out the remaining kinks. Bringing this project over the finish line has been an exhaustive process, and no one is more tired out than me, but I’m happy to say we FINALLY made it.
Looking back at the past year since we started working on this project, many of the lessons I had to learn as a filmmaker are becoming clear: Lessons about the importance of teamwork, communication and delegation spring to mind, along with more practical lessons we learned on the ground, like getting your sound design right on the first pass (it will save you money when you get to the mix), always making sure you get your room tone, and always locking picture before you dabble with your score. Some of these things we knew already, but after working on this project, they bear repeating.
More than anything, BE PASSIONATE about your work and LOVE and BELIEVE in your story above all else. I feel this is the most important lesson of all. I am so fatigued with the project at this point, sick to death of the film, and this is a project I loved and believed in with all my heart at the onset. While I still love and believe in the film, it took every ounce of passion I had to really push me to the limits of what was possible, and to be able to put my all into it even when I felt so tired I wanted to give up. If I hadn’t been so passionate about the project at the beginning, I don’t know how I would have gotten through this grueling year. Going forward, I am committed to only working in this intense a manner on projects I care deeply about. When it comes to a film, you’re going to be living with the project for a couple of years at least. So either love it, or leave it.
Those are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned thus far, and I’m sure many more to come. It’s the end in some ways, but it’s also a kind of beginning as we prepare for the next phase of this process– submitting the film to festivals and waiting eagerly to hear whether or not we get accepted. Mixed in with all of that is creating our promotional materials- posters, press kits, stills, website, trailer, behind the scenes videos- and all our gifts to our lovely donors, which will be mailed when the film becomes available to the public.
We are, as ever, so grateful and humbled by your support, and we’ll continue to keep you updated with lots of goodies in the coming weeks as we get our materials together….
Thank-you and good-night!!
Leah Johnston