The shots look good and I think the movie is going to have an interesting feel, the only disconcerting thing is that everything looks so dark on the computer screen and I have the screen set to 'Generic RGB' which is the lightest setting for the computer screen. I'll probably be giving a call to PostWorks today and asking their media guys some questions, just to make sure everything is okay. I don't like how dark it is on here. Otherwise, this is a big step forward with the project.
Showing posts with label post production. Show all posts
Showing posts with label post production. Show all posts
Thursday, January 7, 2010
THE ALCHEMIST MAKES GOLD - POST PRODUCTION *STAGE 3*
The Alchemist Makes Gold has been transferred to two miniDV tapes. I watched both of them on the TV yesterday and imported one tape to my computer, in the midst of the second one today.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
THE ALCHEMIST MAKES GOLD - POST PRODUCTION *STAGE 2*
This thing has been moving ever so slowly, so I feel I need to start from the beginning, with a brief description of the progress.
In July-August 2009 we shot my short film "The Alchemist Makes Gold" on Super16 color negative film in the woods of Pennsylvania and in a basement in Philadelphia. I wrote the script months before that, but I never did figure how to raise any money, though I really did try to understand the whole process. So we all worked for free and I spent all of the money I had to make it work. Very very low budget. The basement was in a friend's sculpture studio, the woods are where my parents live. A good producer friend acted as a consultant of sorts and got me a 16mm camera for free and film stock.
The shoot was a bit hectic and not phenomenally organized, but we got everything we needed. I have plenty of stories about the organizational messes I was constantly cleaning up, but that can be for another time, this is supposed to be the brief explanation.
So, we completed our 4 days of shooting(we only actually shot for 4 days, though we booked 7 for travel time and prep time.) But, after that, I had 8 rolls of exposed film and no money--again, I didn't necessarily handle the project expertly. So, I had the film in my fridge for a while. 3 rolls were already developed because we had a scare with the camera and were forced to make sure the footage was okay(my cinematographer loaned the money for developing those rolls). Then I read something online that said that film can be damaged if held in a fridge for longer than 6 months, since my monetary situation wasn't changing, I panicked. First, I found a grant source and filled out an application for an arts grant and submitted that, then I created a web site with a description of the project, conflicts and a paypal donation button. From that, I got in $500. I used $320 of that to develop the rolls of film in my fridge, but the left over $200 wasn't enough for transfer. Progressively, that amount raised to $335, which was still not enough. I wanted to do an HD transfer, which is about $1500, and doing even just an SD transfer is about $500. So, I kept trudging along. Time passed and I grew frustrated with things, thought I might stop working freelance and get a 'regular' job and actually save enough money to do the things I want. However, that thought propelled me forward and I started working a lot more in freelance. I became motivated to buy a motorcycle, which will eventually save me money on travel expenses and allow me to visit family and friends and, for Christmas, my parents gave me the last of the cash($300) needed to have the film transferred to SD--which is absolutely a start, and at least I'll have something to show for all the work we put into the movie. The award connected to the grant I applied for is not announced until sometime later on in January, so I don't know anything about that yet. (*UPDATE* I did NOT receive the grant. Bummer!)
So, this PHASE 2 of my Alchemist Post Production is coming up on Tuesday, when we're going to have the film transferred to SD miniDV tapes and I can begin a rough edit of the film!
Still image from The Alchemist Makes Gold, woods location
In July-August 2009 we shot my short film "The Alchemist Makes Gold" on Super16 color negative film in the woods of Pennsylvania and in a basement in Philadelphia. I wrote the script months before that, but I never did figure how to raise any money, though I really did try to understand the whole process. So we all worked for free and I spent all of the money I had to make it work. Very very low budget. The basement was in a friend's sculpture studio, the woods are where my parents live. A good producer friend acted as a consultant of sorts and got me a 16mm camera for free and film stock.
The shoot was a bit hectic and not phenomenally organized, but we got everything we needed. I have plenty of stories about the organizational messes I was constantly cleaning up, but that can be for another time, this is supposed to be the brief explanation.
So, we completed our 4 days of shooting(we only actually shot for 4 days, though we booked 7 for travel time and prep time.) But, after that, I had 8 rolls of exposed film and no money--again, I didn't necessarily handle the project expertly. So, I had the film in my fridge for a while. 3 rolls were already developed because we had a scare with the camera and were forced to make sure the footage was okay(my cinematographer loaned the money for developing those rolls). Then I read something online that said that film can be damaged if held in a fridge for longer than 6 months, since my monetary situation wasn't changing, I panicked. First, I found a grant source and filled out an application for an arts grant and submitted that, then I created a web site with a description of the project, conflicts and a paypal donation button. From that, I got in $500. I used $320 of that to develop the rolls of film in my fridge, but the left over $200 wasn't enough for transfer. Progressively, that amount raised to $335, which was still not enough. I wanted to do an HD transfer, which is about $1500, and doing even just an SD transfer is about $500. So, I kept trudging along. Time passed and I grew frustrated with things, thought I might stop working freelance and get a 'regular' job and actually save enough money to do the things I want. However, that thought propelled me forward and I started working a lot more in freelance. I became motivated to buy a motorcycle, which will eventually save me money on travel expenses and allow me to visit family and friends and, for Christmas, my parents gave me the last of the cash($300) needed to have the film transferred to SD--which is absolutely a start, and at least I'll have something to show for all the work we put into the movie. The award connected to the grant I applied for is not announced until sometime later on in January, so I don't know anything about that yet. (*UPDATE* I did NOT receive the grant. Bummer!)
So, this PHASE 2 of my Alchemist Post Production is coming up on Tuesday, when we're going to have the film transferred to SD miniDV tapes and I can begin a rough edit of the film!
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