4,3,2,1….Count down starts!

Well it seems as if I have been stuck in a world of constant stress ever since I wrapped on my film 2 years ago. Some of my stress has been due to not having the man power to do a whole film in post. Other parts of the stress have had to do with learning new software and doing things Ive never done before and acquiring new skills I never thought I would need. The biggest part of the stress has been attributed to the constant paranoia and fear of losing the entire film that Ive devoted my entire 2 years to. I guess that little nightmare came true on the 11th but I’m not gonna go there so read the previous 2 blogs if you already haven’t. The wounds are still too fresh. BUT…since that incident I have become more confident and have had to pick myself back up and go at it again for the sake of the movie!

I am now scoring the entire film and am doing it in only 2 days! This is all the time I have for now before my Cuban side kick kicks my ass because I have not met his deadline and expectations. I am pretty sure I can meet his request and have the entire film scored by using everything I have in my “loops” library as well as any music I get submitted and acquisitioned or purchased. Wow just writing all the things I need to do for music it seems like yet another insane undertaking which once again I have no choice but to bare. However I do know a thing or two about music so I think I may impress even myself! Fingers crossed. The bonus of me doing all my own music on the film is that the music credit will read, Music by: THOMAS NEWMAN. Of course everyone will assume its the famous Thomas Newman that does all the major films in Hollywood.

Once I meet Andres’s deadline and get him the music for the entire film, he and I will be setting up camp for another 4 days from the 26th-29th! This time will be used for us to mix and master the entire film! Andres has already performed miracles when he set up “ADR camp” at my studio and we banged out an entire film recording all actors dialogue again. He then did the amazing job of mixing all the tracks with the sound FX as well as folly. Once we complete “Sound Camp” the film should be complete 2 weeks into December!

The count down to the finale begins on the 26th!

The count down begins!

Well, I cant believe I’m about to write an actual date which Bong will be done by! It has been an incredibly exhausting trip from day one of pre production to filming and then especially post. I must say I have had more near death experiences while in post than I did during pre and actual filming of the film itself. I guess the majority of my stress has come from bizarre software related issues in post which caused my film to not be accessible at some point or another. The amount of technical glitches and mishaps were honestly enough to make me want to quit many times and find the nearest bridge! However having been through many sleepless nights which blurred into days then weeks, I can say that it has been worth it. I never expected to take a film which I shot for only 5 thousand dollars and then turn around and make it look like a couple million all in post. The truth is I have done my best with what I have had available and I believe Ive succeeded in proving that I can do it. Along the way I have made a few new close friends and lost a few but some how through it all I managed to end up exactly where Im supposed to. Im glad to have had the help and support of all my friends and family who contributed their efforts to help me pursue my passion and dream. The film will be finished at the end of this month and ready to hit the circuits. November 30 th is the official completion date of Bong Of The Dead. Since I am at the end almost I decided to celebrate by designing a final film release poster which I will post here. Its almost the same as the last one but has a lot more grit. Ill keep you posted!

Bong Of The Dead Film Release poster

Finaly 260 shots done!!!

So it has been one year and a bit since Ive been stuck in the dark confines of my theater slash Office where every second of my life has been dedicated to finishing my film entirely by myself now that in post! At the rate of 30 frames per second and shots varying from 1.5 seconds to 18 seconds long you can imagine the amount of work involved in trying to complete this movie when adding 260 shots which required compositing!

Through it all I have changed immensely not just as a Producer/Director but as an individual all together. Ive discovered who my true friends are and who are not. I feel a lot more knowledgeable of my craft now then ever since I had to submerge myself into editing and composting and learning software that is new to me in order to make it all possible. I can finally look back at all the hard work it took right from the start when I set out with to make a movie for only $5000. Had it not been for my loyal friends and family I would not have been bale to pull it off by spending so little and getting so much. Im now hoping to have the film done sometime in October as I push forward with Audio part of the project which deals with some rerecording of actors dialogues, sound FX and music.

I will hopefully have a new official trailer and some new mini documentary footage coming soon!

Thanks
Thomas

The first wave of Composites start today!

Now that Ive finally finished the 3rd and final edit of the film, the fun begins! I started the first series of complicated composites for the whole film. Its very tedious work and extremely time consuming but well worth the efforts. Im able to enhance certain shots and add elements to others seamlessly. As soon as I plow through the Vis FX shots I will then start on getting sequences ready for my Sound FX wiz Andres who will then do the magical post sound engineering. I will post some of the progress before and after shots as they are completed.

Thank you You Tube!

After two grueling days of trying to get this video up on You Tube and its finally done! It was no easy task this time for some reason. Continue reading ‘Thank you You Tube!’