AFI tech run through

last friday, me and paul stopped by the AFI for a technical run through for the screening of the film in june. we basically, projected the first few minutes of the film and made sure everything looked and sounded just right. it also gave the projectionist time to jot down notes on the specifics of the screening - masks, lenses, etc. in any case, it was incredibly exciting to finally see the film on the big screen, even though it was only the first few minutes.

the screening is going to be awesome. all the hard work has finally paid off, and it basically moves the film into a phase where the concentration will be on publicity and promotion it, and film festivals and distributors, and film markets...yikes. yeah, it's a ton of stuff.

but i guess the most important thing is to enjoy the fact that film has gotten this far. i think the film has turned out beautifully, and i'm sure that tom and andrew will be overwhelmed to see themselves on the big screen at the AFI.

ironically, i'm not sure if i'll stay in the theatre the whole time the film is being screened. i've seen it so much, i might prefer to stand near the back, and sneak out when i feel like i need a drink...

anyhoo, the screening is going to be awesome, and PRAXIS is really finally coming together.

press kits

having finished all the digital output of the film from the avid to the digibeta deck that i subrented last week, i've shifted my focus on putting together a decent press kit. everything worked quite well last week - and i didn't have any technical hang ups or probs, and i was able to make several copies of the movie on digibeta, and even dumped the trailer onto a couple of digibeta tapes as well. putting together the press kit is turning out to be a little more complicated than i expected, but so far, i think it's coming together really well. i'm taking my time and focusing on every aspect to make sure that everything that's going into it looks cool. my friend is helping me write a decent press release, which is essentially the most important part of the kit, but i'm also including publicity materials, stills, postcards, and i'm even putting a CD-R with production and publicity stills in both a 300dpi (print) and 72dpi (web) format, along with the trailer and a promo interview comp of everyone talking about the movie. the promo interview seems to be the most complicated so far, there's a ton of material to go through, and it's just a question of deciding what material to include to make it as short and concise as possible.

the screening is in june, which is coming up really soon. i've gotten a really good response on the people i've invited so far, and i think it'll be really great to see everyone again. though, there's still a lot of loose ends that me and paul have to work out so that the screening goes smoothly.

i was able to rent a DVD series off of netflix called A Decade Under The Influence, which was a documentary film series that aired on IFC. i haven't seen it in a long time, but i do remember enjoying the amount of content that was in it: pretty much every major director inside and outside of hollywood is covered, and there are a ton of interviews of famous directors talking about their influences, and who they learned from, and who they looked up to. it's pretty incredible. so far, i think the most important aspect that everyone goes through is that certain directors and filmmakers just went ahead and made the movies that they wanted to make, regardless of everything else - pure independence, and an amazing drive to challenge all the everyday norms of a typical hollywood movie. i started to remind myself that the point of being an independent filmmaker is that you can challenge an audience and express things that a typical hollywood movie can't do.

that's the point of being independent. but sometimes, you can get caught up in all the logistics that you can forget the true reasons of going out and making a movie.

digital output

as i write this post, i'm in the process of doing a digital output of the final cut of the film onto a digital betacam deck that i've hooked up to the avid. it's pretty much the final stage of the film other than producing a digital intermediate - though there's a good chance that we'll never have to go to this stage. in any case, it's still kinda funny to have such an expensive piece of equipment hooked up to the avid. so far, everything looks swell. i'm going to have a couple of copies to work with just in case. in a couple of weeks, i'll stop by the AFI for the technical run through of the film for the screening in june. i basically have to have this digibeta copy good to go by then, since this will be the final screening format.

i've sent out a bunch of invitations to the screening, and i think it'll be a great turn out. i'm also going to send a couple of press kits to some of the local press to see if anybody might want to write about it. hopefully we'll get some good press, which will help with the publicity of the film. i'm planning to concentrate on the publicity of the film and the festivals pretty much right after the AFI screening. it's a ton of work, but the film has turned out so beautifully, it would be a shame to be do a half-assed job of putting it out there. i've also been out of the loop when it comes to the festival circuit, and it would be good to jump back in.

this past week, i was able to get a couple of movie posters made as well, and they turned out just grand. the website is up and running, though i'm still going to add a couple of things. this dream of producing my own feature film is finally becoming a reality - now it's time to start working on a new one...lol