Well, we’re not exactly done yet, but we’re getting closer.
Yesterday’s editing session went really well, and it was great to know that (even though we had today to make adjustments) we had a good, solid piece to work with. Which is a good thing, ’cause even though I thought today was going to be just an exercise in perfectionism, I’ve been working just as hard as yesterday to get this picture in shape to ship it out this evening. And believe me, this picture is worth the effort; I’m really not exaggerating when I say this may be one of the best pieces we’ve ever done. Great performances, amazing technical quality, tight editing, and some graphics that are absolutely astonishing. I do want to give a special shout-out to those who weren’t as visible on the shoot — Larry Contratti, our writer and editor, Mike Gower, graphics genius extraordinaire, and Brian Wilbur Grundstrom, who has been working with me all through yesterday and today to polish up the music (which will be the most tightly-integrated bit of scoring we’ve had to date).
I’ll spare you the gory details — the postproduction process isn’t the most dramatic of undertakings (which is why it always got such short shrift on Project Greenlight). But suffice it to say that with every little addition or alteration, we could see the quality of this thing substantially improving. Right now, I’m doing a final rendering of the picture to disk so we can start the output process; at that point, we’ll run it out to tape and double-check the tape (lesson learned after the “Quite Contrary” experience). And at this rate, we should have plenty of time to make the 6:30 FedEx dropoff (and if not, we can travel a bit further to hit an 8:00 deadline elsewhere).
Beyond that, we’ll work on getting the film ready for posting online, but we’re hoping to put together a real-world cast and crew screening first. We’re thinking Friday evening — which would give us the opportunity to go out for a celebratory drink (or two) afterward. I’m checking into using my office’s common room (which has a widescreen TV and DVD player), but if anyone has any other suggestions, please pass them along (and soon). If all goes well, we’ll have the online version up and viewable soon after.
I’ve got to get back to work, but if anyone has any additional suggestions or comments, please pass ’em along. In the meantime, I just want to offer my sincerest thanks to everyone for an outstanding effort, and I look forward to being able to show off the fruits of that labor soon!