yakitori nyc

so it's been a couple of days, and me and paul just came back from the weekend in new york. it was such a wonderful trip, particularly being able to catch up with tom and andrew and shoot their interviews, and also hang out and grab a couple of beers as well. the interviews went really well, and i definitely think that there's enough there to edit a couple of minutes of the interview down for promotional stuff later on. they turned out really well.

after shooting andrew's interview on friday, we met up with tom, and me and paul took them to our favorite japanese yakitori restaurant in st. mark's place. we got there early, and we were the first in line, but soon after we got there, a line of people started to form around the corner. paul and andrew started talking to a couple of people that said that they were visiting from san fran, and had heard about the place, but was it was their first time there. whenever me and paul are in nyc, we always try to go there, just because it's so different, and it has such an authentic feel to it, and the food is awesome except for the more unusual things on the menu (octopus dumplings...) i don't know if andrew and tom liked the food, but either way, we had a great time and it was very cool to take them someplace different. andrew said that he'd always walk right by them place, but in a way, never even knew that the place was even there. after dinner, we walked a few blocks, and had a few beers just around the corner. it was great to catch up with tom and andrew, and also to see that both of them are doing really well for themselves.

now that we're back in dc, it's time to buckle down and finish the film. i finished synching the couple of foley scenes that i did last week, and i'm also re-editing a lot of the scenes in the first half of the film. i like the new changes so far, and i think the film has a much more concise and tighter feel to it. Bob Massey is starting to compose music, and next month, i plan to purchase an Avid system to on-line the film. the goal is to have a fine cut of the film by late january. there's a lot of things to work on, but i think that this is totally doable.

the trip to new york was awesome, tho, i'm glad to be back in dc.

time to get focused and finish the film.

foley scene 45

this past friday, i recorded some foley work for scenes 45 and 60. there were a couple of scenes in the film where we weren't able to record synch sound when we were filmming them, so these scenes required foley work, which is basically recording nat sounds and imitating the actions in the scene, after the fact, so that it looks real. fortuantely, there wasn't any dialogue in these particular scenes, so the foley work was relatively simple. most people don't really notice these things, but when they're missing, it's really obvious. i also think that it's really cool that technology has become so advanced that i was able to record this stuff with what i have. i'm amazed that there are a ton of different digital sound software that even if you have a half decent sound recording, you can clean it up with just a few mouse clicks. before, this would take a ton of mixing, and was a pretty long and arduous task. anyhoo, being able to foley a couple of scenes kinda took me back to making sounds some of film classes way back when. it was kind fun to play along to the actual scenes.

i also spoke to bob massey over the weekend, and i'm happy to say that it looks like that we've come to a mutual agreement to begin work on composing the music for the film. i'm really happy about this, and i think that he'll be able to add a lot to the project. i'm looking forward to working on this aspect of the film, since it can add so much dimension to the project.

so, this coming week, me and paul are getting ready for our trip up to new york to interview tom and andrew. i think this will be fun, and i'm looking forward to the trip. it'll also be great to catch up with them, have a few beers, and do some shooting in new york. like i said, i love new york in the fall. we also plan to meet up with our friend will, and even do something a little touristy - we're going to take the circle line ferry and visit the statue of liberty. i haven't been there in a really long time, and i also hear that you can get some really cool shots of the manhattan skyline from the ferry. should be a really fun trip.

but for now, let's get through the work week, yeah?

constructive criticism

Over the weekend, i received an email from my friend Bob Massey. he said that he was able to view a copy of the rough cut that i sent him, and he gave me some very important constructive criticism. me and bob have been friends for quite a long time, and as long as i can remember, he has always been able to give me the most productive feedback on any of a number of different projects that i've worked on over the years. bob is the first person to see the film in its current stage, and i sent it to him so he can assess the amount of music score that will be needed for the film. but i do value bob's opinion very highly, and i think he's quite good at pointing out problem areas and giving the right kind of feedback. he definitely pointed out the couple of issues that i had with the rough cut, and i'm currently re-editing some of the scenes and tighting up the project as a whole. it kinda feels like i'm breathing new life into the project. and i'm still very confident in the project as a whole.

so, me and bob are currently negotiating a suitable contract to begin the work on the music for the film. i think that it's important to make all things clear and have a contract in place before doing anything, and i think it's important that both parties are comfortable on both ends to colaborate on a project. make sure that everyone understands what is needed and what are the expectations, and get this in writing. it'll save a lot of headaches later.

in a couple of weeks, me and paul are heading up to nyc to meet up with andrew and tom and shoot a couple of promotional interviews. it'll also be cool to just catch up with good friends, and hang out in new york. fortunately, i've decided to not to attend the IFP this year, but concentrate on just shooting these interviews. they're good to have, and i think it'll be a lot easier to get them out of the way now while andrew and tom are still around, versus later on.

my hope is to have a fine cut of the film on digi beta by mid to late january, and hopefully have a cast/crew screening then. of course, this deadline is not set in stone.