Deadline, schmedline
OK. So I’ve got a rough cut done. And trying to get it on DVD in order to ship out by tomorrow’s fest deadline. Of course, it’s all last minute, having tweaked and nudged and filtered right up until the last possible moment.
And, of course, some things are going wrong technically. Having a little bit of trouble compressing the film to fit on a DVD (although I think I’m using the correct setting in Compressor, but I’m trying another one as I type this). The problem is that it takes about 6 hours for Compressor to write the file needed to author the DVD. And then after that, I have to import that file into DVD Studio Pro to encode it, which takes another good couple of hours. So it’s not like I can just tweak something and see of it works right away. It takes fooooorever.
But I’ll get it. I hope. Also have to fill out my online form for the title design competition, and fill out the other festival forms. Ugh. And pay money I don’t have for submission fees. Double ugh. And get it all postmarked by tomorrow. Ugh, ugh, ugh! OK, take a deep breath…
But it’s a deadline that we will have met, for our own sake, at least.
I’m excited about the next phase, though: color-correction. I spent 5 hours the other night applying all the “film dust” filters, which was mind-numbingly laborious (it also took 2 hours to render), but I got it. And I love it all. It’s exactly what i wanted (using the brilliant Magic Bullet software). I’m going to post some samples of the film looks I’m experimenting with soon.
And I’ve finally found and contacted the brilliant sound designer we used on “Sleepdancer,” Sergio Sanmiguel, so hopefully he’ll be able to work on this film, too. As soon as I get picture locked. Which should be in the next month or so. I hope.
Anyway, if I could just get a DVD to work, for now. Damn technology kills me. Ugh!
-r.
