SAW THE RUSHES TONIGHT!

Yeehaw!!!!! They ROCK!

Yes, I DID lose my loops, and earlier than I hoped (but not as early as I feared). And there WAS a bit of light leakage early in the second roll. BUT — Thanks to finding my frame rate dial set incorrectly, I re-shot everything that I needed to re-shoot. It’s all dead in-focus. It’s all correctly exposed. The titles kick butt – better than any others in the class so far. The slow motion really looks good.

I played with the idea of getting my unedited footage telecine’d so I could digitally edit it in parallel and have a copy to post on the web before September — but el Professor vetoed that, in that he REALLY doesn’t want to know if I do any such thing. VERY strictly against LAVC policy. *sigh* I may yet do it, but only as a backup — this thing of working on reversal film and therefore having NO backup and physically cutting the film itself is nerve-wracking.

But if I do that, then I won’t be able to start editing until, possibly, Tuesday. This telecine-now idea occurred to me this morning and I asked about it at Yale, but their telecine machine is booked through tomorrow — and they’re not open on the weekend. So it would be done Monday at the earliest, which would eliminate Saturday and possibly Monday as editing dates. So — I think I’ll pass.

On a related note, Mari brought me a lovely album of prints of the production stills — and there were many great shots I didn’t have! I’m missing 24 photos because she was having trouble sending them to me. She’ll resend them as soon as practical, so I’ll have even more wonderful photos on the web site.

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Errands…

I finally got the film to Yale Lab! and also got my editing gloves. Since I went to try editing at school, I now know WHY you need editing gloves. Still, I’ve done more physically difficult things this semester already. Prof. Swelstad didn’t get (or possibly didn’t recognize) the email postcard announcing the production stills website; so I’ve sent him another at his request. Still need to clean up my camera reports before turning them in Thursday, but I’m almost caught up with all (except reading).

Post-production begins

I tried to get editing gloves and to submit my film for processing today. No dice. This morning I got caught in a massive SigAlert (mondo traffic jam to non-LA people) and barely made it to work in time – no time to stop in Burbank to drop off film or buy gloves. This evening I got held up by a student I suspect is cheating, so didn’t get to Burbank in time to buy gloves or drop off film.

On a positive note, I DID manage to return the armor to Western Costume. And having my computer in Paul’s Old Room/ The New Studio is going to help as I can have my music playing at any hour, and otherwise can work w/o disturbing the spousal unit.

Tomorrow night, after editing practice, must sit down and clean up camera reports. Blah.

Cleanup

I got the easel and other stuff out of the car at last. Taking advantage of the fact that I’d actually moved my art gear for the first time in ages, I began the process of moving the studio into Paul’s old room. Tomorrow’s agenda includes getting my film to the lab, and buying a pair of editing gloves at Christy’s. Next hurdle: the editing practical exam.

Apres shooting

Today I decided to kick back, telling my conscience to shut up about practicing for the editing practical exam next week, and the work that’s waiting at my Real Job. Instead, I mostly fiddled with my network and started up this way cool website with the production photos Mari sent.

Shooting day, Enroute to Agincourt

Working with people is the GOOD part. There was fun. There was sillyness with costumes and props. There were spontaneous group hugs. There was the challenge of getting everyone to work together to contribute to what was, after all, MY concept! and being a teacher is GREAT training for the management side of being a director. I STILL want to be a director when I grow up! I’ll post a link to some production stills later when I get my network connection back up to my Macintosh.

Now for the Dark Side of the Force….

{begin rant }

In the beginning there is Moving Picture Film, and it is unexposed and unprocessed and it is called Raw Stock. It liveth not in a Canister like decent respectable still Film, but dwelleth on a Spool with wide Flanges, which keeps out neither dirt nor all the light from the Raw Stock. And behold, if one droppeth the Spool of the Raw Stock, the hours of effort of director, cast and crew have gone for naught.

There is also the Camera, which is named the Krasnogorsk-3. The Instructor calleth it the K-3, but the Student calleth it the Krap-3. And the Krap-3 came to the student and had not a Hood for its Lens, nor a Filter for the rays of UV, nor even a Battery for its Light Meter. And the Student was distressed.

And behold, the Instructor said, “Thou needest not the Filter, but thou must purchase a Battery.” and the Student said, “I shall purchase a Battery in the early morning, and shall make a Lens Hood of construction paper.” And it was so, and the Student was 30 minutes behind on her Schedule, and behold her Cast and Crew waited on her arrival.

Then the Student trembling took the Raw Stock and fed it to the Krap-3 through a Film Path as complex as the Thread Path of a Sewing Machine (which the Moving Picture Cameras doth strongly resemble). And it was Good, and several Shots were Filmed, both the first Take and the second Take of the Shots were filmed.

The Student then noticed that the Frame Rate Dial of the Krap-3 was not on the Frame Rate that she intended, for the Frame Rate Dial of this particular Krap-3 was loose and stayeth not where placed. And after shooting the third Take and the fourth Take, she heard a faint but dire clunking sound within the Krap-3.

“Alas! I have lost my Loops!” said the Student. (These being the words of the Filmmaking craft for the Raw Stock slipping off the Cogs of the Motion Picture Camera.) And she knew not how long the Loops had been lost, nor how much of her precious Raw Stock had been ruined.

Again trembling, the Student removed her first Spool of Raw Stock, and replaced it with her second Spool. And looking through the Krap-3 Viewfinder, she saw that there was much dirt, for the slipped Cogs of the Krap-3 had ripped bits of Emulsion from her Raw Stock.

The Student opened the Krap-3, and removed the Raw Stock, placing its Spool carefully in the shade. And she cleaned the Krap-3 of the bits of ripped Emulsion. Then she looked up and was greatly afraid, for the Sun had moved while she cleaned the Krap-3, and the Spool of Raw Stock was in a small spot of sunlight!

And with this last Evil, the Malice of the Krap-3 and the Raw Stock were spent, and the Student finished the Shots, and re-took some of the Shots that she had done earlier and thought were perhaps ruined by the lost Loops or the Frame Rate Dial. But still, the student knoweth not how badly her second Spool of Raw Stock was damaged by the Sun, nor how much of her first Spool was ruined by the Frame Rate Dial and the lost Loops. Nor will she know this until the Screening of the Dailies, which happeneth Thursday next.

{end rant }

The film purists can have this hassle. Just give me back my video camera, and nobody gets hurt.