Apologies for the long delay with no update.
Frankly, the last year and a half has been pretty frustrating. We hit a lot of technical brick walls. Rather than post vacuous "rah-rah" updates, we decided to just focus on fixing the problems and then report on progress when we had some progress to report.
At long last, we're ready to share an update. Things have been happening.
EDITING
If you've been following this blog, you know about our massively-corrupted editing project file. We spent much of the last 18 months figuring out the problem and then trying to fix it. At one point, we were processing all the imported clips and edited scenes through a painful 18-step process that involved two separate editing programs and hand-hacking raw XML. Some of that "progress" was mentioned earlier on the blog.
Then, over the summer, we hit a problem that we couldn't get around. The file was too messed up and just couldn't be saved. The corruption existed in all archived older versions of the file. Perhaps it had lurked there like diseased DNA, ready to replicate as our file grew. Regardless, we were stuck.
So we had no choice but completely start over our editing project file from scratch. U. G. L. Y.
That's right, roughly 2500 video clips (and hundreds of audio clips) needed to be re-imported, re-organized, re-named, re-tagged, and re-synced.
So we just went to work. And over the last five months, that's what we did. That's why you haven't heard from us.
And now it's all done!
We have a completely new, completely UNCORRUPTED project file on a new (more solid) editing platform.
In case you're wondering, all of the actual footage is fine. We've got at least five copies of everything, including two copies of the video and audio files that are offsite.
A huge shout-out to Sam Mestman of FCPworks.com, our Post-Production Consultant. He's amazing and if you're finishing a film you should talk to him. Better yet, talk to him before you shoot it so you don't end up in a mess like us. His help has been crucial.
Unfortunately though, we also lost our entire edit. All we have now are unedited clips -- though beautifully organized.
However, that's not as big a loss as it sounds. We only lost our assembly edit (it was not yet even a rough cut with temp music) which needed considerable revision and countless scene-by-scene tweaks.
In other words, the previous edit needed to be re-edited and this gives us a chance to start from a blank slate.
Okay, maybe we're trying to make lemonade out of lemons, but dammit we're pretty thirsty for something positive to come out of this whole damn editing nightmare.
Regardless, we're finally editing (again).
Our goal is to have picture lock (a final cut) of the film by end of July.
And once we lock the picture, we start work on the VFX work. We expect that to take at least another year.
How will we get it all done on this schedule? Where do these dates come from?
Allow us to introduce our....
NEW PRODUCER
We're thrilled to announce that the extremely talented Gordon Wittmann has been promoted to Producer for the film!
Gordon was already onboard as our VFX Producer, but as we talked further about steering the film through post-production and into distribution, it became clear he was the right man to help us get it done. Gordon is easily one of the best-respected VFX producers in the Bay Area.
Gordon's worked at ILM, The Orphanage and is currently at FotoKem's Spy Post in San Francisco. His IMDB listing includes some of the most high-profile FX films in the industry: Iron Man, Star Wars II, Narnia, Terminator 3, Grindhouse/Planet Terror, Van Helsing and many many more.
Already, Gordon is kicking things into action, setting deadlines and taking names.
VFX CONCEPT ART UPDATE
Despite the setbacks with the editing file, all along we've continued creating and revising concept art for the many VFX shots in the film. Amazing weird stuff, like you've never seen in any film, sci-fi or otherwise. Here's a quick sampling of concept art from a few of our talented artists for the most VFX-intensive scene in the film.
Concept art by Katie Jones
Concept art by Riley Chen
Concept art by Jackie Lo
Concept art by Katie Jones
Still, there's more to be done and we're always interested in talking to upcoming artists and UI designers who want to break the rules and create something great. Get in touch.
