What Should I Do? (Advice Solicited)

[ericMartinJarvies]

well said.

[mattias]

Some people would think of it as arty pretenstious bullshit, which would not be totally unfair: the scenes are from dreams I had over the course of about six months.

actually, can dreams really be pretentious? seems to me that they are by definition the the least pretentious of all, although making a movie about them might be just a little. :-) keep it up. sounds really good to me.

/matt

[ericMartinJarvies]

i have conditioned myself over the past year or so to take and document my naps and when i go to bed at night. i find that the period right before i am falling asleep is when come up with my most creative ideas of something. during the afternoon when i put the kids down for a nap(full time father, mom works a day job), and once we have all calmed down and the energy is not bouncing off the walls(of my kids bouncing off the walls), and i am laying there in that still awake almost asleep state, i drift off into thoughts that take me from being aware of my awake responsibilities and realities, into some contribed thought pattern that seems to meld the awake world with my loosely organized thoughts that some how come together collectively and build scenerios of sorts that are possible to a certain degree, but mostly would never happen as a result of our inhabitions. without keeping my left eye open, i keep a tape recorded on my stomach clasped in my hands, so if something awakens me from this drifting session, i record it and try to explain it as best as i can, and then usually i fall asleep directly afterwards. in the evening hours, i typically go to bed at midnight and am up at 7am, at least the last coule of years with my lastest 2 children, and my new filmmaking education process, i tend not to sleep as much as i used to or would like to. but if i am able to crawl away from this computer with an ounce of brainpower left, i can fall asleep in that same state that i have with my afternoon naps. but lately that is not very often, as i have overloaded my mind with too many ideas, problems, solutions, and so on. so i typically just fall into deep cycle sleeping until i wake up in the morning, or am woken up by kids yanking on me, fighting for on top of my face space(i have no idea why kids have to feel the need to make themselves feel closer to parents by smothering them ... its their form of grabbing some kids chibby cheeks and squeezing them to the degree that you start to hurt the poor kid because you just cant help but to squeeze harder and harder. a form of consumption.

however, i hope to reclaim my nighttime drifting times one day soon, because the ideas that spawn from those periods are usually my best ideas. if i am well rested, i will often wake up in the morning up to my neck in one of those drifts ... and if i am lucky, i can articulate the experience to words and inclue it with all my other ramblings.

one more thing ... taking showers i find is the best time to write music ... little jingles. i find being in the water, cleaning yourself is just an all around happy period ... and for whatever reason i makes me feel like singing ...sometimes those old frank sinatra songs, the ones you have actually convinced yourself to get up and sing one drunk night as you found yourself a victim of a kareoki bar. or the exageratted version of your favorate songs, wherein you seem to hone in on one particular part and end up getting yelled at by your wife telling you to shut up or sing something else. and then those songs you make up ... the hybred ones unique only to you, and for those moments you actually convince yourself you are on to something, until later when you are no longer in that state of mind, and if you record your shower singing sessions, the moment you listen to what you had thought to be the next best song since 'teen spirit' you wonder to yourself ... what was i on? i must of been hyped up on goofballs or something. and humility sinks in and shower recording sessions take a back seat to a temporary bout of pride, or a battle of embarrasment on reason inside your self perspective mind trying to confirm your state of being and feeling terribly trivial in the process, the kind of result that makes you smirk for a second, and sort of laugh at yourself without doing so outload, and nodding your head following up the laugh with a thought that speaks loud and clear and tells you ... well, some of it was good. and then you discard the whole self realization and put your head back under the water and start singing another frank sinatra song, and as soon as the moment happened, it was forgotton even sooner.

but where we are by ourselves, we can be as we so dsire, even if it means we are being goofy. good writers and actors are able to take this goffyness in front of other people, and deliver the points that will either make you laugh, cry, or get angry ... and it is this confidence and ability to not be embarrased or ashamed while in front of other people that makes succesful entertainers so interesting ... they have no shame, but lots of pride and live in their own world ... most fo the good ones anyways.

eric

[calgodot]

So let me make sure I've got this straight. This is what I have as my process thus far, with some minor questions for more detail.

1. Shoot my movie on 16mm film. Timecode is burned into the film (in the sprocket area) by manufacturer. Lab processes film.

2. Have "work print" made of all camera originals. But instead of traditional film work print, a digital version with timecode that is readable by editing system. (Best tape format for this?) (Should this be a 1-light telecine, or should I go to something like Roger's Work Printer?) (Timecode visible on screen or not?)

3. Using a "professional" editing system, digitized originals are transferred to disk and edited ("rough cut"). (Plan here is to rent FCP rig or hire an actual editor who can help all the way to final steps.)

4. Once editing is completed, export an edit decision list (EDL). (Timecode in human readable format?)

5. Using EDL, cut negative accordingly. (Splice negative together?)

6. Negatives are then printed to a "master positive."

7. Master positive is used to make DVDs or release prints.

(As an aside: MAN, am I learning alot about post-production. It's an area I've neglected in the past, partly due to intimidation but also because I've never *had* to pay attention to it! Post in the video-only world is way different it seems. But then, I was only tangentially invovled inthe post on anything I ever worked on, even my own stuff. It was always easier to just hand shit over and "supervise".)

And thanks all for the good input.

[pheboglobi]

1. Shoot my movie on 16mm film. Timecode is burned into the film (in the sprocket area) by manufacturer. Lab processes film.

It's Keycode that the manufacturer burns in on the side of the film by the sprockets. Timecode is video realm. The editing system is video and uses timecode to keep track of the Keycode (film realm) for the EDL.

2. Have "work print" made of all camera originals. But instead of traditional film work print, a digital version with timecode that is readable by editing system. (Best tape format for this?) (Should this be a 1-light telecine, or should I go to something like Roger's Work Printer?) (Timecode visible on screen or not?)

If you put your dailies on DV, you will be okay as long as you use an editing program like fcp4 or xpressDV pro. If you are using VHS or SVHS, you will need to make sure your deck can read the TC as a consumer deck will not be able to in addition to using the right software. If you are using BetaSP, DigiBeta, etc., then you will obviously be using a pro setup and it should be a non-issue. Most of your costs will be the telecine itself and not the tape stock, so go for the best quality that you can afford to edit with.

For the Timecode and Keycode burn-in window on the video dailies, it's a good idea usually. It costs more, but it is a built-in safety margin for you. It may also be required by your negative cutter. You should be able to get a "clean copy" without the burn-in window too with only the additional cost of tape stock. Some labs will try to be sneaky and try to charge you an additional telecine session under the guise of having to run it over again because they only have one deck - which is BS of course. If that happens, try to talk to the Telecine operator/colorist and/or goto another lab.

If you are going to finish back on film, a 1 light would be fine. The color-timing can be done when the answer print is created.

3. Using a "professional" editing system, digitized originals are transferred to disk and edited ("rough cut"). (Plan here is to rent FCP rig or hire an actual editor who can help all the way to final steps.)

Yep, you will have the least amount of problems if you hire an editor or an asst. editor who has edited for a film print before.

4. Once editing is completed, export an edit decision list (EDL). (Timecode in human readable format?)

Actually, it's Keycode because that is on the side of the film. Timecode is only for the video editing system to keep track of the Keycode. And you will need to output your sound as well so it can be turned into an optical track.

5. Using EDL, cut negative accordingly. (Splice negative together?)

Yep, and you would probably need to include a rough cut copy on VHS with Keycode and Timecode burn-in window depending on your negative cutter. The splicing is hot-splicing and very permanent unlike the tape splice, this is due to the rigors of the printing process.

6. Negatives are then printed to a "master positive."

Usually the first print is called the answer print. You will also have your optical sound track married to your print in this stage. Unless you sit in on the telecine session, you are more than likely to need more than one answer print. It costs more to sit in with the color-timer initially, but it may save you more in the end.

7. Master positive is used to make DVDs or release prints.

You can use the answer print to make the DVDs. If you are looking to do release prints from a master positive, you will incur extra costs for the Inter-negative and then the release prints from the inter-negative. (this will incur a large loss of quaility for 16mm due to the extra generations) Unless you are looking to print an additional 20+ prints, you should be alright using your original negative for release prints.

--Garrett

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