|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
     
|
Journal |
|||
|
07-03-02
It is finished.
July 3rd, 2002 5:52 a.m.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
06-26-02
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
5 days remain.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
06-12-02
We had a momentous weekend. July 1 is fast approaching and Stephen and I decided that we really needed to get the foley done. At about midnight on Sunday night, we completed the last cue on the list. Holy cow, did that feel good! We still have redubbing, titles, and some image correction to complete.
I've been putting together opening titles and Stephen has been working on the dubbing. We've started to figure out our completion process. Now that we can both be working independently, we'll continue using Stephen's machine for dubbing and my machine for the final mix and mastering. The audio mastering should be pretty interesting. We have to take all of the sound: redubbed voices, ambient sounds, and foley, and blend them together in a pleasing, invisible fashion.
19 days left.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
06-05-02
The Man Watching
I can tell by the way the trees beat, after
The storm, the shifter of shapes, drives on
What we choose to fight is so tiny!
When we win it's with small things,
Whoever was beaten by this Angel
Rainer Maria Rilke
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
05-30-02
Sound is 70 percent of the experience of watching a film. I don't remember where I heard that. Maybe in a film theory class at the University. As Stephen noted before, we have opted to go without a score of any kind in 'nomad'. Beyond the credits at the beginning and end, there is only one piece of music in the film, and it actually comes from a source within the scene. It's incredible to me how much music is used in modern films. Star Wars Episode II, for example, has music from beginning to end. I don't think there's a scene that lacks music. Even films like About a Boy and I Am Sam are rife with soundtrack. So much of the music is designed to tell the viewer how to feel. I have real problems with that. Music is such an emotional thing. And the emotions stirred by music have a substantial effect on my experience and subsequent memories of seeing movies. I'd prefer that the audience figure out how they feel for themselves. I think there's a lot of validity to the Dogme rule about sound: The only sounds we should hear are those that are actually recorded on the set while the filming is going on. If music is in a scene and the characters hear it as well, then we the audience are on the same ground that the actors are. Scores tend to be emotional narrators, guiding us and our emotions through the film. They seem to take the viewer away from the experience onscreen by commenting on it. It's like looking at a painting and having music piped in in the background. It feels manipulative. I'd rather just look at the painting. At the same time, I do enjoy a lot of movies that have very descriptive scores, and I don't always mind being lead like that. It's one thing to be in an audience and another to be creating with one in mind.
We go back and forth on how detailed to be in 'nomad'. Do we record footsteps or don't we? Do we need to hear a character stand up from sitting down? What is the balance? And, should there be a single balance across the entire film? Or do we instead follow the individual scenes? Scenes with dialog are much more forgiving, because the most important sounds are those coming from the actor's lips. Many of the scenes in this movie are silent and consist of people doing things other than talking: walking up stairs, shuffling through bags, eating apples, flipping through mail. There is a lot of sound out there in the world. I think if we were to include all of the sound that was actually in the scene, it would be terribly distracting. It's very reminiscent of framing a shot with the camera. With sound, you guide the viewer toward or away from visual elements on screen. You give sound to those things that are expected, and then to those elements that are important.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
05-24-02
Last night after our foley work Matt made the comment, "Well, we've whittled away some more sound shavings." This describes the process perfectly, work for 6 hours and the list seems just as large as it was when we started, but we are making progress; like a boy trying to fell a tree by whittling at the trunk with a penknife makes progress.
Once the process is finished it will be worth the effort. A couple nights ago when Matt & I watched a scene we had just completed foley work for we had tears in our eyes. The foley sound for the scene is beautiful. It is not perfect, but it is beautiful. We are crafting this film and the finished work will be a work of art. The critics can decide if it is good art or bad art.
If I may be so bold to compare it to the sound in El Marioche, which I haven't seen with the original sound, but rumor has it that this overused example of independent film was shot for about $7,000. The director recorded the sound with handheld tape recorders and mixed it into the film. When it was picked up by a distribution company it cost about $1,000,000 to redub the sound.
If a distribution company picks up Nomad the sound will be able to stand as is. But hey, if a distribution company picks it up they can do what they want with it... at least with the sound. Of course we've spent more than 7k on Nomad and the equipment we use is so incredibly cheap for what it is doing than even a couple years ago. (Thanks to Apple and Final Cut Pro!)
The actors who have come in to do their voice-overs have done an outstanding job. They are very professional, dive right into the work, are patient with the tedious process and the voice-overs turn out better than the original work. They are astonishing!
The "sound recording booth" the actors sit in is a small closet constructed of blankets hanging over a frame of PVC pipe. Click on the links below to view the setup.
This doesn't create a sound vacuum, but it does help with echo and some slight sound diffusion.
By the way, if anyone who was in the film is reading this and hasn't heard a call from us please contact us at this email address:
Matt and I have been discussing how much music will exist in Nomad. There are two songs that Matt found for the beginning and the end that fit effortlessly into the film. As for in between those two musical bookends, we don't think there will be any music. When we "listen" to the film, it tells us it doesn't need it, what it wants is the foley, ambient sound. It's incredible how much music is used in films, overused in my humble opinion. Usually it's to manipulate the viewer into feeling an emotion or because the marketing company wants to have a soundtrack they can sell along with the film. But I wonder if music first began in film to help cover up sound deficiencies? It's possible. I know the first silent films had a piano playing right along with the film. Don't get me wrong, music in film is gorgeous and adds to the film, just as special effects can add to the film. I think it is more a question of, what is the heart of the film? What does everything follow? What are all the elements subservient to? Answer this and then let it dictate to the elements what is required of them.
But as for Me and Matt Eggers,
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
05-21-02
Well, the final shot is done and in the film and I think it works pretty well. I took yesterday off of work and did foley work with Stephen all day. Actually that's not entirely true. The first 4 hours of the day were spent trying to isolate the origin of a strange intermittent noise we keep encountering. First we bought a new firewire card, and while that removed some noise, it didn't solve the problem. Stumped and frustrated, we determined that the only item that could be causing the problem was the iMic. It's a little contraption for getting analog audio into the computer. When we plugged it in and recorded, the noise was there, when it was removed, the noise was gone. So we decided to buy another in the chance that the one we have was defective.
We came back with our new iMic, plugged it in, and... no more noise! So we spent the rest of the day tackling the foley on the largest of the remaining scenes to complete. We finished up by about 7:30 pm and watched the scene, satisfied with the results.
Six weeks left...
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
05-18-02
We are shooting tomorrow. This will be the first time a camera will be used to capture a new image for Nomad since 1998. It is a scene that we just didn't get to before. It is the last shot of the film, if you can believe that.
While I love reading critics' reviews of movies before I see them, I'm not one for spoilers, so I won't say what it is we are shooting. But what I will say is that it is a very appropriate final shot, and while the film could have worked with its absense, it will be the better for it.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
05-15-02
We worked on the film last night. We've been dealing with a high frequency hum that has somewhat dogged us during our recording process. Stephen bought a new sound board that does a much better job of amplifying the microphone and keeping the sound clean. Now, we can keep the gain down and quash the noise. We have so much buzzing equipment all plugged into just a couple of outlets that it doesn't surprise me that we get dirty electronic sounds. Thankfully this board enables us to manage it better.
This is just one of the many challenges we encounter on a daily basis.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
05-14-02
I can't get over how fast time passes by. May already...
Since our last posting we have been working really hard and we are making great progress. The work is sort of a three-headed beast at this point: foley (sound effects), ambient sound, and actors redubbing their lines. They are all time-consuming, all tedious, and yet all very rewarding. Having seen a couple of scenes that we have completed, we are certain that this work is necessary and worth it. Comparing the completed scenes to the original camera-noise-laden sound, there is a crispness and a quiet that allows the viewer to focus on the characters and story.
We have set a deadline: July 1. The day is quickly approaching and we still have so much to do. We would not finish the film were it not for Stephen's diligent, daily travail on the project. While I write code at Sopheon, Stephen may be recording ambient sound at one of the many locations in Denver or re-recording an actor or syncing up the sound on the project in the computer or investigating the buzzing noise that often dirties our work. And then, I show up on Tuesdays and Thursdays and he shows me all of the work that he has done and all I have to do is say "Yes, that sounds GREAT!" We work on the foley together, I go away, and then return two days later to look at the work he has done. Amazing... I am so grateful for his commitment.
I'm taking off next Monday to do an all-day foley session with Stephen. We did that two weeks ago and got a lot done. I had a little taste of what it would be like to work full-time on film and it was very satisfying.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
04-02-02
Every delay is for the good.
I came across this quote today and it reminded me of the delay we had with doing the re-dubbing of Nomad. The delay ended up saving us a lot of time and sanity.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
03-30-02
We have begun the foley work and some of the character redubbing. Both of us had our doubts about whether the re-dub would look like an old kung-fu movie. We have done a couple of tests and are impressed with the precision we can achieve with the tools we have. We'll see if we can post up some before and afters' soon.
A huge help has been the latest release of Final Cut Pro 3. Included in this software package is a Voice Over tool. It appears to have been made more for a narrator dubbing over a documentary but it works beautifully for our voice over work, especially when compared to what our process was before this version.
The process we were using before was:
The process now is:
There’s a Divinity that shapes our ends
Matt & I continue to be surprised at how much we can do with our limited resources and the amount of money we have spent on the film. Especially when compared to how much the work we are doing would have cost 3 years ago! Technology is picking up her skirts and beginning to jog.
This is the final stretch for us. If we don’t finish it in the next few months, it may not ever be finished.
And so we press on, eating the future, digesting the present and leaving a trail behind us.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
02-04-02
The new year is now upon us. We are ready. The time has come.
Whose woods these are I think I know.
My little horse must think it queer
He gives his harness bells a shake
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
-Robert Frost-
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
07-05-01
Nearly two and a half months since our last post. Steve and I are currently in the midst of a short sabbatical that began at the end of May. Having finished the 3rd cut of the film, confronted with the enormous effort of completing audio post-production, and given the fact that we have been working on this film in some capacity for the last three years, we decided to take some time and recharge the batteries.
We are both committed to finishing this film as well as we can. Toward the middle of May, I began to feel exhausted. I found myself getting sloppy, caring less. I am not interested in rushing to complete Nomad. We've put in too much time and work to do that. We both decided that we would take a couple of months off this summer to regroup. It's nice to be reminded what it is to live normally again (rather than working 40+ hours per week at our day jobs and then another 25 hours on the film). I will say that the extra 25 hours have filled up quickly, although I'm not quite sure with what. I've been enjoying having whole weekends, more time to watch movies (A.I. was fantastic and flawed. Kubrick's spirit emerged at unexpected turns; Spielberg took bold chances), read, and just relax. I've also started working on some new film ideas. It's good to feel oneself breath, to follow the breaths in and out, without distraction...
So here's the plan. We are going to recommence in the middle of August. We have some more ambient sound to capture. We also want to shoot some more train movement. Then we will dive fully into re-dubbing the audio, doing foley work, mixing the sound, and scoring the music with Adam. Our steadfast goal is to finish the final video cut before the new year.
After one month away from the film, I miss it. It was scary to walk away like that. A small part of me feared never returning. That fear has subsequently died. I am bound to this film. It is a part of me. I will take great satisfaction in finishing it.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
04-21-01
We have finished the 3rd cut of Nomad. Technically this is the final cut, but we will probably be making some small tweaks as we begin the process of shaping the sound. We still have a couple scenes to shoot: the beginning, the credits and one small scene for the coup de gras. In every pass of the film it has grown, matured and become stronger. We showed the film to Adam Revell, who will be composing the score, a couple of weeks ago. His observations were the seeds we needed for some of these potent changes.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
04-09-01
On Saturday, we completed our second cut of Nomad. We made significant improvements over the first. We put the structure of the film in place and really focused on sanding down each scene, attempting to make the film itself invisible. I don't want watching this movie to get in the way of experiencing it. To be aware of and contemplating the machinery- the image, the sound (to which we will be putting forth a great deal of attention in coming weeks) removes the viewer from the events, the matter of the film. To this end, we removed about five minutes of content. Five minutes that I am happy to let go of.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
04-03-01
This last Saturday, Steve and I sat down and watched Nomad from beginning to end for the first time. We made a videotape copy of it and took it to my place. We decided it would be a good idea to watch it somewhere other than the studio. The tape was made on a crappy VHS machine and so the image quality left a lot to be desired. However, to watch the film as a continuity was altogether a new experience. It was strange to take everything we've done editing-wise over the past five months and condense it into an hour and forty minutes. I was encouraged by the pacing of the film. The first thirty minutes proceed slowly, as I think they should. That is where we get to know Jack. It's like any relationship. The beginning is always gradual and observed. Over time we begin to take for granted another's idiosyncracies. The pace of the film then really picks up as the matter of the plot unfolds. Overall I was really pleased. It was great to see these characters come to life. There was a glitch with Final Cut Pro that prevented it from dumping the final 10 minutes of the film. AHHHH! That was so frustrating. We went through the whole story and then were denied the denouement. So, we watched it again after lunch at the studio, and experienced a much better image and an ending as well. I honestly don't think I have any better idea about how the film works than I did before the screening. It's hard to be this close to the film and have any ability to judge it. I know these characters better than any first time viewer ever will. I am really excited to share it with people, just to find out what they take from it, to find out what this story actually communicates versus what we are trying to communicate. And of course, for everyone, it will be slightly different.
We took notes during the second viewing to prepare for Version 2.0, which we will begin working on tonight.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
03-24-01
We finished the initial cut of the film on Thursday. For the first time we are at a place where we don't have any virgin footage left to view and edit. There's still tweaking to be done, small changes to the ebb and flow of the film, but the lump of clay has been laid on the wheel. The form has taken shape. And now we polish. We still don't have a sense of Nomad as a film. We've been working on the individual scenes for about 5 months now. Our vision of Nomad is on a micro level, making sure each scene fits together. My concept of Nomad consists of faint memories I have of each scene. Next Saturday we will watch it as a 1:40 film for the first time. We will see if this film works on the Macro level. There's a mixture of excitement and fear as we prepare to view it. A film is the outcome of many small decisions. Nomad is the result of those "insignificant" choices.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
03-19-01
We had a great day of editing Saturday. There are 112 pages in the screenplay, and we are on page 110. Without giving too much away, the scene we are working on is the final interaction in the film between Lucy and Jack. Over the course of the day we probably had 5 or 6 different approaches to editing it of varying degrees of complexity. As we went along and worked with the shots we continued to simplify, simplify, simplify. And then a bit of magic cropped up when two shots were put next to each other unintentionally melded perfectly, adding a wonderful element to Lucy's performance.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
03-10-01
Here's a behind the scenes look at how we were able to complete a full length feature film shot with a 16-mm camera on a tight budget. The margin for error is narrow when you have a limited supply of film. Much depends on having a top-notch crew operating at the peak of efficiency. Actors who are prepped and ready to go when the director calls out those fateful words 'Action'. Click on the link below to see some behind the scene footage of nomad's production.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
03-10-01
Today we edited a major artery of nomad. This scene is the pinnacle of the story, the point where everything changes and Jack's future seems uncertain. Only Jack knows how he will be affected by these events.
I am amazed at the quality of actors we have for such a low budget movie. They worked for free with the promise of a share in the profits if the movie makes money. We couldn't have asked for better actors from the three main performers. I believe a large factor for their quality is they didn't have major aspirations of being actors. They loved what they were doing and I know they would jump at the chance to be in another movie. I hope they get that chance. But many aspiring actors focus so much on acting the characters become tainted. The actors in nomad were able to act, forget the camera, loose themselves and let the character emerge. This is the charm that many professional actors have developed. They don't think about acting, they don't become the characters, they just are.
Matt & I have realized how important it is for the director to be somewhat separate from the shooting of the film and not always assume the responsibility behind the camera. When you are focused on the shooting you are thinking more about composition, keeping the actors in frame, what's going on around the actors. You can't pay attention to the subtleties of the actors' performance.
I am proud of this film. There are things that could be better. I wonder how many professional directors are 100% pleased with their film. The analogy of a child comes to mind again. Can a child make better choices in their life? Sure. But your love for them doesn't change and you love them because of who they have become, which in a large part is due to their mistakes.
The major strength of nomad is the screenplay Matt wrote. When I read it, I knew this was a vision I wanted to help bring into existence. T hrough the low budget and rough feel of the film, the story is the foundation and gives nomad strength. In fact the roughness to the film augments the story in a beautiful way. I've heard it said that when people have been together for a long time, they begin to love the flaws. If they break up, it's the flaws they miss.
Matt & I are so close to finishing the rough video cut of the film. The time is quickly approaching when we will see the film laid out in its entirety for the first time. That's when we see how the actors, the shooting and the editing translated the screenplay. It is still a mystery how nomad will turn out. Of course we are biased. Once the film is finished we will see how this child will stand on its own.
Nomad has been a great first film for both of us. It has given us the first step. We now have a frame of reference for future children of the Mandarin Picture Company.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
03-06-01
We have been hard at work over the past three months. There are now only a handful of scenes that remain to be edited. We are approaching the end of our first cut. It is a really exciting and defining time. As we go farther and farther along, the film becomes more concrete. More of a reality and less of a possibility or aspiration. The film is beginning to come into its own. I haven't seen the first 45 minutes since before Christmas. But the thing is, those first 45 minutes exist, in order. The bulk of the decisions have been made. We will soon see if this child stands on it's own.
There is still a lot of work remaining to be done. In the next couple of weeks, we will be showing the film in its rough form to a small group of people who know nothing about it. I anticipate that that will be nerve-wracking. While it's protected, hidden inside the G3, for only Steve and me to contemplate, it seems safe and possible and good. Taking the curtain off and presenting it to people who have not been part of this three year process is thrilling and incredibly scary. The implications seem enormous. What if it really, really sucks? This is a possibility. I personally want to be able to use this film as a platform from which to leap. I want to be able to show it to people and say, 'This is what I am about as a filmmaker. Would you like to see more?' There is a lot at stake with this film.
I have a feeling that some people will really like 'Nomad' and some people really won't. It's a hard film to be in the middle about. It is rough, fairly gritty, and slow. The shooting style is documentary, which should be heightened by the fact that we are going to time stamp each day in the film with a day-month-date-year inter title. The main focus of the film is character. I don't think it will appeal to the summer blockbuster crowd. It's a quiet film, a simple film. I am proud of the work Steve and I have done up to this point and I am convinced that the film will be as good as it can be.
It's exciting to have the end in site. It's exciting to know with certainty that we are going to finish this film. It's been a long, hugely satisfying struggle.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
12-09-00
Today we edited a scene that contained quite a bit of unusable footage. When the film was shot we failed to notice the camera speed was set at 30 frames a second instead of 24. This slows down the image when viewed because the rate at which the film will be shown is 24 frames per second.
The scene involved Jack & Lucy walking to one of Jack's benches. During this stroll we hear them discuss many different aspects of Jacks life, how he moves around, what his family life was like growing up, and why he lives the way he does. We were very attached to the footage and are mourning its loss.
The film continues to teach us to trust its growth and potential. We've watched mistakes develop into beauty. Synchronicity reminds us that we are involved in a dance and are part of something larger, not mere controllers of celluloid. The scene turned out a lot shorter, about 1/2 shorter, but after editing what we had, we are pleased. It could have been worse, a lot worse. Even though these scenes are important they are not critical. There are key scenes that if lost would be devastating to the film, to the flow of events and story. Fortunately these milestones have always been intact and the movie is fitting together.
There is part of me that enjoys when certain pieces of film are not usable. It makes me feel there is a greater force at work with us, helping us to make decisions by removing any opportunity for a decision. Sometimes in our attempts to make a scene work we stumble across an edit we never would have attempted if we had all the footage. I enjoy these 'forced' solutions more than some of our original ideas. But there are times when the forced solution is not better than the original vision.
Matt & I are learning how to relate to a piece of art, how to listen to where it wants to go, how to give up some of our desires for what we want the film to be and allow it to participate in its emergence.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
11-22-00 We have made a lot of progress. Last night we watched the first 44 minutes of the film all strung together. I was struck by how much 'Nomad' feels like a documentary. We follow Jack through the mundane details of his day to day: feeding his dog, washing himself in a public restroom, shopping at the supermarket, memorizing lines for a performance. I think this gives him credibility. The scenes play for me quite a bit like reality, unpredictable, full of bumps, bruises and uncertainty, awkward pauses, non-sequitors, and genuinely humorous moments. It works a lot like a patchwork - a piecing together of a life, how that life works, what makes Jack tick. I've been really pleased by the performances. Matt, who plays Jack, is brilliant with his nearly invisible acting. He reacts to his environment without thinking about it. In one of the park scenes, Jack sits on the bench going over lines for his performance, and a gardener's truck rumbles through. He acknowledges it and makes it part of his performance, genuinely surprised to see a huge truck driving through the park. He does this type of thing again and again. Amanda, who plays Lucy, is tempered, reflective, and reflexive. She plays off of Matt really well. She brings a lightness and truth to Lucy. A scene that comes to mind is the first theater rehearsal. Her performance is full of these totally real reactions and looks at Chris Mast, who plays Oedipus. She brings a playful reality and levity to the scene. We have been blessed to be working with these incredibly talented people. At this point we are nearly halfway through the first cut. We've decided not to watch the first half again until we are done with the film. We've made it through what I believe to be some of the most challenging scenes of the film. To my very happy eyes, they work together well. I am excited to see where the rest of the film goes. As Steve is so fond of saying, "One day at a time..."
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
11-03-00 We began the evening walking backwards. Somehow Final Cut Pro lost the editing we completed on Tuesday. It didn't take us long to reconstruct the edits. Funny how easy editing is once you've gone through the process. I love watching Jack's character develop while editing. Each stage, screenplay to casting to editing, reveals another side of the characters and the story. I wonder what the film would be like if we lost everything in a freak accident and had to start from scratch. Would the film be better? Would the development of characters be more succinct after the insight we have into them now? Reminds me of questions about our lives we tend to knaw on. Would I have played the past differently knowing the future? One of the dangers of knowing the future is the loss of syncronicity, the 'accidents' that make the film larger than our vision. Therein lies the balance of control and letting go. We finished Jack's first bench. The initial development of Jacks life is wrapping up. We editied a scene where Jack feeds bones, for the second time. This take we make extrememly quick cuts, just enough to show what Jack is doing, relying on the length of the previous 'feeding bones scene'. Both of us are developing a sense of rythm in the edits. We finally see how Jack moves from bench to bench. Matt did some amazing dissolve edits on the scenes where Jack deposits his bags at the new bench. The timing is beautiful. There were 2 traveling shots that we were connected to because of the unique locations they were filmed at. Both lie on the editing room floor because they didn't add to the story or flow of the film. It all comes back to story and the ability to 'hold on tightly, let go lightly'. The last scene we editied is Jack's second performance. This is a crucial scene that lets the audience into the character of Jack. We were amazed at how well the actors delivered their lines. Unfortunately some of the best performances are cut short due to running out of film. I'm amazed again at how Matt was able to shoot so tightly. The sceen edits itself and almost magically we have the footage we need for the scene to work. We had our anxieties about this scene as the camra was slowly breaking down mechanically. While shooting the scene in downtown Denver a man walked up to us and inquired what we were doing. We gave him our usual speil, griped about the camera and our frustrations with postponing production while the camera was in the shop for a couple weeks. He mentioned to us that he had an old 16mm camera that resembled ours, and would be happy let us use it. Turns out it was the exact same camera. Coincedence? We fear people will be bored with the film, of the Shakespeare and character development. But we have seen many a great film ruined by the filmakers fear of being boring or the marketers fear of not turning a profit. We are too close to the film to know if it is good or not. Sometimes we catch a glimpse but how Nomad will turn out is still a mystery. All that's left to do is take the next step.
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
10-26-00
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
10-19-00
|
|||
|
|
|||