Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I Love This Game!

Monday morning. We all got together at Post Modern Sound to watch the wizards of the mixing board do the sound mix. The experience was awesome! Music, Sound effects, dialogue, all came together and the movie sounds just awesome! Seeing it on the big screen with a pounding Dolby 5.1 surround sound mix was just awesome! It was quite the experience. Did I mention it was Awesome?

And we me with the folks at Finale Editworks on Tuesday. Looks like we'll be getting together in the next few days to do the on-line edit of the picture and start playing with the colour. After that, it's just a matter of days until this Kick Start film is Done! I can't wait!

Oh and speaking of Kick Start films, I was going to write a post-mortem about the films, but decided against it. I couldn't get rid of the headache I had from watching these films. Actually, the headache was not a direct cause of watching the films, it was from the banging of my head against the wall after watching these films trying to figure out how these people get their grants. I'm still trying to figure out why these some of these films were made.

Entertained I was not.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Kick Start Time!

Tonight is screening night for all of last year's Kick Start award winners. It looks like they all completed their projects on time, regardless of the issues faced by the filmmakers, (see previous posts about that rant). They all deserve a hearty congratulations for getting their works completed. No small task, so good on you all. Looking forward to seeing the finished products tonight.

I have to say, watching some of these films in the past have brought me to the point of complete and utter frustration. I wonder, usually out loud, maybe too out loud, how some of these people have gotten their grants, and why the hell I keep getting passed over, (I can't bitch about that anymore). Some of these films are sooooo artsy that they leave most in the audience scratching their heads. Most of the time, after the film stops rolling there isn't a noise to be heard. These filmmakers try to make their film into the most thought provoking, poignant piece of art out there. They try to illicit an emotional response from the audience that they hope will propel the them into the stratosphere of filmmaking elite, but all they end up with is a 15 minute, $20,000 waste of time and effort. The quintessential "Canadian" film. And by that I mean a film that explores and tries to uncover the greater good or the moral deficiencies of today's society. Films that depress the soul, question one's existence, make you feel guilty about splurging on that $5 latte while street people have to weigh the options of either saving a friend's life or freedom? How many people really want to see that?

Now not all of the films made for the Kick Start program fall into the above category. A lot of films are good, entertaining and have done very well on the film festival circuit. Some have even gone into the distribution realm, something one can only dream of for their film. These are the few and far between. However, more and more are emerging.

And that is the direction this program should go. This program should be about choosing scripts and filmmakers that will generate some excitement in the film industry in B.C. They should focus on scripts and filmmakers that have the potential to take filmmaking in B.C. to the next level. Growth in the industry. Give these chosen director the tools and contacts to help them further their careers, get them to the next level to enhance the industry, employing the talent that this province is so rich in. No one goes to a movie to see films that, on a regular basis, is going depress them to the point of tears. This theme occurs all to much with Kick Start films, and for the benefit of the industry in Canada, maybe the focus should shift more towards entertainment and less on the moral questions facing the world.

And with that, I will go tonight to support my fellow filmmakers in their triumphant moments, showing off their films.

I better be entertained.

Oh, and by the way, here's the official poster for Serum 1831

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Something to pique your interest

We're in the home stretch.

Dropped off the material at Post Modern Sound yesterday, and looks like we'll get a spotting session Thursday morning. Here is one of the things I was looking forward to. The chance to work with real post production people. These guys will take this thing to the next level. Only a few weeks to go, then we're all done!

Until then, here's some artwork for the film, as well as an option for the poster.

Enjoy.





Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Looking Good!

Got a chance to sit down with Alan today to look at the films again. But this time, it was a version Alan has been working on that takes this thing to another level.

I know I was saying that I wanted to have this film done and out on the festival circuit by the end of March, but after missing that one festival that I really wanted to get it done for, getting it for the end of March didn't really matter. Having a job to pay the bills also helped in this decision. So, after re-thinking the priorities, it made sense to take a little more time to get this done to the best of our abilities. And boy, did Alan ramp this sucker up!

What I saw today looked absolutely amazing. This is going to be a great looking film, and the extra time taken to bring it to this level is well worth it.

I can't wait to see this thing completed. We should be sitting down with the folks at Post Modern Sound next week sometime to do our spotting session, and we should have the mix done on the 25th. With a little luck, we'll have a screening before I head on down to Australia in the middle of June.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Oh, and I finished off my new website. If anyone other than me reads this, have a look,

www.anandkanna.com