Update and photos

I finished two rough edits last week and have been gathering feedback.
Tomorrow I will do two new rough edits, based upon what I have learned so far.
And finally, some photos from the shoot. Orginating format is Super16mm. These images are captuered from the DV dub (offline edit).
Cinematographer: Jun Keung Cheung
She: Emma Ashwood
He: Phil Hayden











Scene 1. She (Emma Ashwood) hasn't been sleeping.












Scene 3. And they survey their lives together.












Scene 4. More is unsaid than said.












Scene 5. He (Phil) does talk a lot, but there is no, or very little, dialogue, in the sense of an exchange by way of words.
Instead what is important here is the tone it adds to the whole.












Scene 6. I was more interested what we understand about others through body language and gesture...












Scene 7. ...and how they suggest other ways of connecting, here two people.












Scene 7. And it develops as well.












Scene 8. The film ends by opening out into the city, the first time that the story has looked outward instead of inward.

Post-update

I have finished three different versions of a rough edit. This week I will be inviting some people around to watch on it my projector and get some feedback. I will update you when this is done...

Editing begins

The news is that the transfer to Hard drive was done on Thursday and I began the edit this weekend. I was quite looking forward to it, until I began the tedious task of syncing the sound and picture.
But that done, I began the edit this morning and finished it an hour ago. I have two slightly different edits. Some of you may think this quick, and it is. But then again, I spent a lot of time thinking of the shots, I did two complete workshops, and shot and edited one of them...I have already made this film twice.
(I have to say that so far my experience of film is fantastic. I have the developed roll next to me on the desk, which is quite sexy. I am working an offline, DV dub, and even that looks fantastic. It would very hard to go back to video after this experience.)
I will look again at the edits with fresh eyes tomorrow. Perhaps I will create another alternative. I will see. But once complete, on Wednesday perhaps, I will burn a DVD copy and then garner some opinions.

Post-production update

Some information on the current state of post-production for Reconciliation:
I had the film developed and transferred to Digibeta at Todd AO in Camden. I am now looking for somewhere to have a transfer done from Digibeta tape to an external hard drive (I don't have the kit for such a transfer, eg, a card to ingest Digibeta via a deck).
Ideally this would be the same place where I could get a online edit done in August. The other option is to do the colour myself in Combustion and then find somewhere to just do the final master, but I like the idea of making some contacts in the post-production world. Also finding someone who really knows what they are doing, instead of muddling through by myself.
I will do the offline edit in Final Cut Pro on either a MacBook Pro (laptop) or a borrowed MacPro, with a SATA Raid for the media.

Production update

Another update.
We completed shooting, this past weekend, June 9th/10th. I can't imagine it going more smoothly.
JC and I had spent the Thursday before going over shots.
I found the final crew member, Nichola, makeup, the Thursday before.
We shot 7 of the 8 scenes in one flat. We had an exterior for Scene 8, which we picked up in the courtyard outside the flat. Ed, who provided us with transport, found us a rooftop in Bethnal Green for our second location. Here we shot the last part of the film, 8b, a montage of shots of London seen by the male character from high up in his flat.
The shoot went over two days. This meant we shot 4 scenes, per day, with perhaps 5 set ups per day. This made for a very easy day, but allowed the actors, JC, the DOP, and myself to be comfortable with the performances and satisfied with the framing and angles.
JC asked for one light, but in the end didn't use it. He told me he was quite determined to shoot with all natural light. The stock he chose was Fuji Reala 500D. Plenty fast.
The natural lighting, the fast stock, the stringent shooting style, and the preparation with the actors meant the whole shoot went off without any major problems.
I will post some photos from the production as soon as possible. And update you on the beginnings of post-production.

Reconciliation - Production update

I just wanted to send out a quick word about the Reconciliation project.
We are in pre-production, with the principle shooting taking place June 9th/10th. That is one week from today.
Tomorrow I have another workshop with the actors, Emma and Phil. I have my art director Lara out in the shops gathering the props and costumes we need, and Jun, my DOP is busy thinking of the shots and angles, as they do.
I still have some holes. Makeup, sound, and a second location.
I will try to post again closer to the shooting dates, and then upload some photos of the actual production.

The feedback

Once I finished the edit I was finally able to gain some objectivity.
I began writing notes, where the story was week, where the directing fell down. Still, I knew needed some help deciding if what I was trying to communicate was coming across. I mean the basics. Was it clear he was leaving? Was it too subtle? This has always been my downfall. So I was looking forward to my friends coming over with fear and anticipation.
I called Ana, the designer, David, the photographer and Nic, the DOP. All of them I thought would be honest and have something intelligent to say. I also expected them to tell me the truth. None of them suffer fools.
They had some criticism. Certain things just plainly did not work. The gesture that he makes once he finishes packing was a failure. It looked too much part of the packing. It was not the gesture out of nowhere that I intended it to be.
Some of the shots were clunky (actually I think the worst shots happened just before lunch, and towards the end of the day, as my blood sugar was getting low). Partly this was lack of preparation, but some just failed. I could not solve them. The kitchen scene for example. I was so busy trying to get everything in one shot it became really weak. I realised, without foundation, that I was trying to keep everything in the frame. By accident there were shots wher the characters broke the frame. Some of these shots were the most popular.
A key observation: all wanted the film to be shot in black and white. Why? Colour was a distraction from a film where every detail was critical. Shooting on a small DV camera meant everything was in focus. Clashing colour, and background images which had no meaning were distracting. I took from this that I had to be extra careful in the art direction, and that the costume and props had to be in subdued colours.
But overall I was genuinely amazed at what I had managed to communicate. Not just the basics. Some of the larger ideas that I thought were only obvious to me.