Now I’m truly done with this short, REFRACTORY . I let the movie ferment for a week; now I made the final adjustments today. Nothing major, just some minor clean up and tweaks. Probably the most significant thing I did was trimming a shot and add a few quick flashes of something else. I have Megan making a sudden movement forward and I now cut the shot before she stops, whereas she clearly stopped before the shot ended.
I like this piece. It’s not for everybody. Not everyone will like the choices made, but I accept that. Overall, it’s something a bit darker and more dramatic, but it is something I like and relate to in some weird way.
This past Saturday was interesting. No less than 3 film projects were running at the studio at the same time. Shane Howard did some technical work converting frame rates for the feature film MINUS ONE. Rachel Hanna edited on her segment from DREAM 13 while I did some graphics on the next Sonnyboo short. I love that every single editing machine was working and creativity was abound. It made me feel like a lot was being accomplished, even when we horsed around and conversed. That’s what editing sessions should be if you’re not being paid, so I love having fun and chatting, but still getting work done.
The graphics work on the next short is killing me. Each shot takes about 2-3 hours to create, animate, and then render. Part of what gets me is that I have too many options on the animation I can do. How do I have the graphics appear on screen and then leave the frame? They can get small into infinity, they can move off screen up, down, left, right, or they can just fade off. Then there are the colors, the placement, framing, and trying to come up with a thousand little tiny graphics to fill in the spaces. This reminds me of the screens in the back of the bridge of the Enterprise where someone has to create all that crap that no one looks at but everyone sees. Unfortunately, I’m that guy. TJ made the main graphics, but I’ve got nothing for the small, illegible stuff that fills out the frame. Getting the pickup shots I need (all 2 of them) are on hold as the actress loses some of her tan from vacation. No problem as without the graphics, I’m in no rush to finalize this.
Last night I made the trek down to Cincinnati for a SOFA meeting. That’s the SOUTHERN OHIO FILMMAKERS ASSOCIATION, a good group of people. The movie theater where they gather was a 1941 building all tricked out with modern stuff, still retaining its original designs and style. I highly recommend people get out and mingle with other filmmakers, even in other parts of the state. Building bridges and sharing resources are what can make a better whole.
I love inspiration. It’s impossible to truly know where it comes from or why it strikes in the way it does. I’ve had an idea for a movie for over 10 years and I wait for them to grow. Much like the short with graphics I’m working on, sometimes the ideas just need to finish themselves before they come together. Half baked ideas are never as tasty as the ones that ripen just right and get consumed when everything comes together. Describing this half baked idea to someone else opened up a ton of fresh ideas and a fuller picture came into focus for me. I’m using too many metaphors, but when I don’t want to discuss details and still have someone understand something of what I mean, this is what I do.
Anywho. Good day to you all. I’m going to make bread and eagerly await a final render.
- Peter John Ross
