Now that the movie is out of my hands for a bit of time...

...I decided to do some drawing. Here's Lilly so far. I'll finish this tonight.

47 and counting...

The first 47 minutes is ready for review...yikes...I'm a bit scared. What this means is that Ted is burning the first 47 minutes to a DVD and we are going to send out copies to people we respect/admire/trust to give a solid critique of the first half of the movie. The narration, ADR and foley are still absent, but the color correction and editing is done.

What can I say?

Michael Clark has come through again. I just received another batch of SPFX scenes for the flash back sequence. There is a scene where the rain gets cursed by God and the people become blinded by it. I threw out the idea that it would be cool to see one of Michael's gliders get struck by lightning and burst into flames and then crash into a zeppelin and have the zeppelin fall in a flaming mess from the sky.

Well guess what Michael sent me...a glider getting struck by lightning and bursting into flames and then crashing into a zeppelin and the zeppelin falling in a flaming mess from the sky.

YEAH BABY!

Just finished SPACED.

I finished watching the last episode of SPACED. It left me totally depressed. The show was pure genius and it only lasted 14 episodes. There was more laughs and emotion and cleverness in just one episode than there was in the entire 10 year run of FRIENDS. (I've only watched a grand total of maybe three episodes of FRIENDS, but that was enough to convince me that the show went on about 9 and 3/4 years too long).

I'm depressed because there won't be any new episodes to watch.



I'll get over it and yes, my wife is rolling her eyes as she is reading this, but it's going to take a while. Perhaps the viewing of Shawn of the Dead or Hot Fuzz will pull me out of my funk.

Sally has been crankin' on the GRAPHIC NOVEL!

Check out her stuff...

Ted's been busy

Lilly and the Drifters. The Drifter demons burn up in the atmosphere as they have to use their power to fly since their wings have been burned off. The bottom three images are the result of Lilly and her rocket launcher. Every movie needs a girl with a rocket launcher...adds a bit of class I think.

This is what I have been watching as of late...

SPACED...it rocks!

I've been workin' on some LILLY action scenes...

What a fun gal...

Leigh Meadows was with us for just one day...but she had fun and died well...

Showed Ted the rough cut...

...he loved it.

(screen grabs)

Been editing...

1 hour and 20 minutes edited...
1 hour color corrected...
35 minutes sound mixed (rough)...

pictures will be posted on Saturday...tomorrow I sleep in for the first time in MONTHS!

Slept all day Monday. Slept in today.

It's Spring break at both schools that I teach at so I'm relaxing a bit during the day. But at night, I'm an editing/color balancing fool! Ted and I had originally discussed making a 'filter' for the movie to get the desired effect. However, some shots are much brighter than others and my original idea was to use color to set the mood of certain scenes. I am therefore color correcting each scene. I have almost one hour completed and starting next week we'll be doing ADR.

I'm back!

As some of you know...this has been the worst week of the year for me and if you read the post below, you'll know why. WE ROCKED THE HOUSE, BABY! It was great. We got a standing ovation and my boss complimented my program for the first time. The important and amazing part of the evening was the fact that these actors pulled off the musical without a problem, never missed a cue and entertained a full house!


Now I can devote more time to my family and to the movie.

Falling off the face of the Earth...

I probably won't post for the next few days...as some of you know, I am the director of a rather unique theater troupe. All 42 of my performers are children and young adults with special needs (non P.C. term is handicapped). I write a musical, compose the music, direct the thing and hope that all goes well and no one has a seizure on stage (which has happened) or gets sent to a hospital two days before the show (happened with my lead last year) or no one walks off the front of the stage (almost happened a few years ago with a blind girl).

These next few days are the most stressful days of the entire year. I would rather deliver a speech to angry art critics who hate my paintings while a badger chews my foot off than go through this weekend. I honestly believe that this will be my last year doing this. Say a prayer, wish me luck, buy a ticket or simply knock on wood...whatever works for you. Sunday night I will be sane again.

Bring it on!

It could be a 2 hour movie...

...but it would be so boring! One of the most difficult tasks as a director and editor is knowing when to cut out scenes that do not advance the story. I have so many cool scenes that we shot, but they are just eye candy...they don't take the story forward. I have cut from the one hour and twenty minute rough, down to a one hour and ten minute cut. I have a feeling that more will need to be trimmed, but we also have more to add. The important thing is to have a movie that people want to watch and not a movie that the director says, "hey, look at that...ain't it cool?" while the audience sleeps...

It hurts, but it will make the movie a better product.

p.s. Michael...we'll be sending you your official Darkness Aftermath CAP soon. Wear it with pride...or at least when you are in the pubs!

Editing is rough...

I showed Danielle Magner (Gwen) the first rough cut...she loved it. That was good. After 2 plus years working on this project, if the lead thought it was no good, I'd have been really frustrated. I showed a few more scenes to my best friend who I have known since the 80's (Bob...coffee Bob to some of you). He too was impressed. This is not a post to blow my own horn, but a post to say to all who have been putting their heart and soul into the project, we are almost there and it has been worth the wait! Great job people. Don't stop!

Below I have included some of my favorite scenes...

1. Gwen's dream of 'no rain'
2. Li defending herself against the GARUM
3. Clarr kisses Gwen during the training sequence...(the first kiss I have ever shot)
4. The Death Runner is too tired to run any further...
5. Gwen calls out to "god of our world" and challenges him...