| The Slash's Blog - 2008 |
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January 5, 2008 - 12:47pm EST
Well, the shooting is done. Actually, I'm kind of lying. Because, although I
finished all the shooting I will need to do with the cast and crew, there is still
shooting to be done of the sun rising in the morning shot. So, I'll be waking up at
the crack of dawn to try and get the first scene of the movie "in the can." The
final two days of shooting were really great. Not to say that the first two days
weren't good, but if you scroll down a bitty-bit, you'll get an in-depth description
of them. We finished shooting on December 31st, and January 1st I moved
straight into the editing room, and, in 5 hours, basically pieced together a rough
cut of the entire movie. It's not great, as of now. You know, we don't have the
music or any good sound quality, and there are still some bad cuts in the shots,
but it's been put together; the skeleton, and that's what matters. I really believed
that the hardest part of the filming was going to be shooting it... I was absolutely
wrong. Hardest and most complex part, by far, is the editing process, piecing
everything together so that it works well, and trying to cut blips out of the sound,
it's tough. I should say that the cast & crew performed beautifully over the 4 days
of shooting that we did. By the end they were working together like a well-oiled
machine. There was one big glitch in the assembly-line, however, when two of
the PAs dropped the monitor on the ground. Okay, dropped is the wrong word;
hmmm.... let me see.... "pulled it onto the ground?" Yeah, that'll work. So
anyway, it happened when we were shooting the flash-back scene, and we
needed to make the camera seem like it was flying away from the windowsill.
What you first have to know is that my room (the set we were shooting the scene
in) is not at all close to the ground. So, we decided to attach the camera, tripod
and all, to a long pole, and tilt it around to make it seem like it was flying.
Needless to say, however, because we were not up there with the camera, we
needed the monitor to see where to go. So we attached the camera to the
monitor by way of 3 AV cables coupled together. We finally got the camera
hoisted up, when I saw that something needed to be done up in the room. So I
hand off the pole to the two PAs (who shall remain nameless!) and told them,
"You can lower the camera down, just as long as you don't break anything." I get
up to the room, and thirty seconds later I hear a crash, a scream, and a string of
profanity from below. I look out the window and there on the ground, is the
monitor. As they were lowering the camera, they had pulled the AV cables that
were connected to the monitor, thereby smashing it on the ground. It turned out
to be fine, though. It was all in one piece, and there was only one point when the
color was screwed up, but besides that, it was fine. So, that was probably the
biggest almost-bad thing that happened on set. However, looking back on it, it
was extremely funny and has made for some great stories. The cast and crew
have gone above and beyond my expectations and I think, for the future, it will
only get better.
- Joshua Wolfsun
January 14, 2008 - 9:53am EST
To edit or not to edit, that is the question. Okay, not really. Really the question
is, when will the editing be finished? We finished shooting on January 1st, and
it is now January 14. Most of the movie has - as previously stated - been
pieced together, and now I have moved on to the sound editing. Oh boy, do I
wish I had the shotgun microphone before now. If we had it when we shot, it
would have made my life so much easier. Unbeknownst to me, there was a lot
of just plain outside static, white noise - if you will, which is really tough to deal
with, especially if I want to overlay the movie with music. The white noise would
have been fine, however, had there not been an odd buzz in the sound, which
seems to have been caused by the power lines. Yes, in the middle of a heartfelt
conversation I suddenly get this "vvvvvvvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooommmmmm"
noise in the background. I've checked all the takes we did of that shot, and
there's not one of them that doesn't have that horrific little noise in the
background. I guess I'm just going to have to go with it, because there is really
nothing I can do to mend the situation. However, I now know for the future not to
shoot under power lines, especially when using wireless microphones. Now, on
the upside, there is finally snow enough for me to shoot the intro scene for the
beginning of the movie. There hasn't been nearly enough snow on the ground
for the past few days to actually get any shots done. That being said, I'm not
quite sure when I'm going to get the time to do it, seeing as I have rehearsals
for LSSE tomorrow and Wednesday, and then shows Thursday, Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, and then repeat that whole sequence again for next
week. Ah well, I'll find a time, and in the meantime, on this wonderful snow-day, I
will try to finish the rest of my sound editing.
- Joshua Wolfsun
January 18, 2008 - 5:08pm
Oh we got trouble! Right here in River.... wait, oops, wrong show. I've been
doing "Music Man" every night for the past week, and the fatigue is beginning
to set in. I'm all right, though, and on that snow day which I wrote last time, I
was able to record the entire score for the movie, so that's in the can, and now
all I still have to do is shoot that sunrise. But I hear that we're supposed to get
more snow, which means that I have a couple more chances to shoot a good
sunrise. Beyond that, though, the movie is almost finished. There is still sound
editing to be done in many of the scenes, and I'll try to clean up the first scene
a little bit more, but overall, it seems pretty darn good. Besides the
aforementioned stuff, I have all the footage I need for the movie, and there is
just some more editing stuff that has to go into it, but it's really coming
together. To be honest, I never really saw this moment coming, where I would
actually be able to sit back and watch the movie, knowing that there is no
more work to be done on it. Still, there is some work to be done on it, but in my
mind's eye, the day where I can sit back will soon come!
- Joshua Wolfsun
February 12, 2008 - 8:10pm
You know, I think I somehow thought that after LSSE was over, my life would
be a lot less hectic... I guess I forgot the fact that I had scheduled to premiere
Keep Living at the beginning of March. You know, on the 18th, when I said I
was almost done with the movie? I was lying! I had a long way to go. But
finally, I'm really, almost done. The only thing that I need is to get Yeye and PJ
back into the sound studio to do a laughing track for me. Besides that, the
movie is actually done. February break will be awesome as well, because, if
I'm releasing in early March, that means that the setup of the DVDs (which is
everything else besides the movie) needs to be done. I have time for that,
though. But I haven't just been editing the movie over the past couple of weeks
- if you've looked at the website, you'll see that I actually got a fair amount of
cool stuff done. I quickly threw together the trailer for "Keep Living," which I
think is nice (apologies, it is very tough to find the right plug-ins to be able to
watch the trailer - I'm working on getting an easy link up there which will take
you directly to it). But, I'm also getting "The Paper" (my next movie) off the
ground, which we will hopefully begin shooting at the end of May. And, lastly, I
have finally put together the poster for the movie. Which I think is awesome!
This may be one of a few to come, so keep your eyes peeled! (You can also
view a larger version of the poster at the Keep Living page). I'm starting to find
that the ending process of one movie seems to flow into the beginning
process of the second movie. Its all awesome, though, and best part is (drum
roll, please!) I'm NOT cold!!!!! Yes!
-Joshua Wolfsun
February 24, 2008 - 1:48pm
good to not feel stressed about Well, here we are. It's kind of odd actually to
know that the film is done. Not just "done" like before, but done, done.
Everything has been edited, it's final. Got the voice-overs from Yeye and PJ on
Friday, and that finished it. It was a final wrap. What's really funny is to think
that this only started about 2 months ago. I feel like I've been working on this
movie for 3 years or something! But no, it's good to not feel stressed about
this film anymore. Yeah, there's the next one this film anymore. Yeah, there's
the next one down the line, but that will come film anymore. Yeah, there's the
next one down the line, but that will come when down the line, but that will
come when it comes. Now, I can just bask in the fact that I literally (if I didn't
want to) don't have to open up my editing program again, until I finish the next
film. Ah. Well, yeah, the cast & crew (C&C) party is today. I'm excited about it.
They will be the first ones besides my parents and myself to see the Final Cut
of the film. They all worked so hard on it, they deserve a good party. With
candy and popcorn and lots and lots of soda! It's lots and lots of soda! It's
even kind of cool, I was planning to put the DVDs in and lots of soda! It's even
kind of cool, I was planning to put the DVDs in just lots of soda! It's even kind
of cool, I was planning to put the DVDs in just jewel of soda! It's even kind of
cool, I was planning to put the DVDs in just jewel even kind of cool, I was
planning to put the DVDs in just jewel cases - you know, the kind that you get
at any store for CDs? Then Staples was having a big sale, and so I was able
to buy actual DVD cases. I made covers and actual DVD cases. I made
covers and everything, they're so cool. Probably DVD cases. I made covers
and everything, they're so cool. Probably the only everything, they're so cool.
Probably the only problem I'm having (there's always one, isn't there?) with the
DVDs is the fact that I just can't get the menus to be exactly what I want, but
that's okay, because they're pretty near perfect, and for our little movie, that's
as good as we can get. Yet, no rest for the weary. I've already started
recruiting (I sound like the army don't I?) for my next film, The Paper. Which
should actually be a ton of fun, but way more work. next film, The Paper. Which
should actually be a ton of fun, but way more work. The Paper. Which should
actually be a ton of fun, but way more work. But hey, . Which should actually be
a ton of fun, but way more work. But hey, that's what I live for!
But hey, that's what I live for!
- Joshua Wolfsun
May 2, 2008 - 5:48pm
Weird...
Now, if this were my first blog entry in 2 months, wouldn't the three people who
actually look at this page think it rather odd, and possibly be disappointed? It's
true, though, that's the thing that popped into my head when I looked at this
page which I hadn't touched for two months: "weird..." It's just weird to look
back at all this stuff and see how far I've come, and see that I actually thought I
would premiere Keep Living by March (which was so off!). Anyway, it's good
to be back on here. I know there seems to have been a large lull, but trust me,
we have been working! Besides actually getting a space for Keep Living to be
shown, The Paper is well under way. I'm not quite willing to reveal my entire
story yet, I think it might be better if it was a surprise, but I do have good news.
I am very pleased to announce that for The Paper, we will be working with
ACTV (Amherst Community Television), who has been so generous, and is
willing to let us log out equipment, and train us, and pretty much allow us to use
equipment so far superior to what we've had that I feel like I've been on
training wheels (which in some ways was surely a good thing). They have
been incredibly generous in training my crew, and they are just a great bunch
of people over there. So I have only great delight in hoping that this will be the
beginning of a beautiful friendship! ;-)
I look back at my blog entries from the last film and I wonder how I actually
managed to do it. My first blog entry for Keep Living was about a month
before we started filming, approximately the same amount of time as this blog
is from the start of shooting for The Paper. But this time around, I'm far ahead
of where I was last time - I have already pulled together my entire crew,
booked out 90% of the shooting equipment we will need each day, drafted a
preliminary shooting schedule, nailed down all but one of my main actors,
found someone who is already working on a score, nailed down locations for
shooting, started an inventory of props and costumes, and have had my entire
crew trained. No wonder I was a stress puppy last December! Honestly, I think
I was psychotic, but hey, it all worked out. I am particularly happy that we will
finally be showing Keep Living, because I really need to be able to release the
DVDs, and I swore to myself I was going to be professional and not give them
out until the showing.
showing. As I've always said, talk and advertise about your first film first! And
again, if you see anyone from ACTV, give them a "thank you" because I'm
- Joshua Wolfsun
Weird...
Now, if this were my first blog entry in 2 months, wouldn't the three people who
actually look at this page think it rather odd, and possibly be disappointed? It's
true, though, that's the thing that popped into my head when I looked at this
page which I hadn't touched for two months: "weird..." It's just weird to look
back at all this stuff and see how far I've come, and see that I actually thought I
would premiere Keep Living by March (which was so off!). Anyway, it's good
to be back on here. I know there seems to have been a large lull, but trust me,
we have been working! Besides actually getting a space for Keep Living to be
shown, The Paper is well under way. I'm not quite willing to reveal my entire
story yet, I think it might be better if it was a surprise, but I do have good news.
I am very pleased to announce that for The Paper, we will be working with
ACTV (Amherst Community Television), who has been so generous, and is
willing to let us log out equipment, and train us, and pretty much allow us to use
equipment so far superior to what we've had that I feel like I've been on
training wheels (which in some ways was surely a good thing). They have
been incredibly generous in training my crew, and they are just a great bunch
of people over there. So I have only great delight in hoping that this will be the
beginning of a beautiful friendship! ;-)
I look back at my blog entries from the last film and I wonder how I actually
managed to do it. My first blog entry for Keep Living was about a month
before we started filming, approximately the same amount of time as this blog
is from the start of shooting for The Paper. But this time around, I'm far ahead
of where I was last time - I have already pulled together my entire crew,
booked out 90% of the shooting equipment we will need each day, drafted a
preliminary shooting schedule, nailed down all but one of my main actors,
found someone who is already working on a score, nailed down locations for
shooting, started an inventory of props and costumes, and have had my entire
crew trained. No wonder I was a stress puppy last December! Honestly, I think
I was psychotic, but hey, it all worked out. I am particularly happy that we will
finally be showing Keep Living, because I really need to be able to release the
DVDs, and I swore to myself I was going to be professional and not give them
out until the showing.
showing. As I've always said, talk and advertise about your first film first! And
again, if you see anyone from ACTV, give them a "thank you" because I'm
- Joshua Wolfsun
June 20, 2008 - 10:08am
Well, summer has come, and it brings a boatload of things for me to look
forward to – but maybe I should hold my horses and talk about how shooting
has gone over the last month or so. It has gone brilliantly. Honestly, the shots
we have been getting have looked great, and there is just so much enthusiasm
from much of my cast & crew around this, that it really makes shooting
(although extremely stressful) fun. Why extremely stressful, you might ask?
Everything has fallen into place, and you have schedules and equipment; it
can’t be harder than Keep Living, can it? Well, as a matter of fact, it is much
harder than Keep Living. There are all these little bits that have to fit together
in a certain way, so that the whole thing will work, and if they don’t fit together
in the shot, we have to do it again, therefore making scheduling, a very difficult
challenge. Plus, it’s just a much longer film – double the length of Keep Living,
which means that we have a lot more to get through. It’s also somewhat
difficult for me sometimes, to know how it will look once we edit it. I have no
idea if I’ll be able to fix a sound problem very easily, or whether we’ll have to
get the actors into a studio and dub over the sound – it’s crossed my mind a
couple of times. However, I am not compromising on this film. I don’t mean I
won’t compromise on issues with my crew, and things that need to be done –
no I’m a very flexible guy. What I mean is I am not compromising the quality of
this film, or the shots that we take – ever. Even if it is an extremely difficult shot
to get, I’m going to exhaust everything we have to get it, if need be. Although
we’ve had some serious setbacks, and trust me, its way worse than the
monitor crashing, we’ve all done our part, and pulled our weight, and the
footage looks great. And so I hear, we’ve got another film on the horizon from
a different source than my own, and I’m looking forward to working on that one,
too. Summer though, will be for me and the editing room. Just plop down, set
up, and get right down to work…
- Joshua Wolfsun
Well, summer has come, and it brings a boatload of things for me to look
forward to – but maybe I should hold my horses and talk about how shooting
has gone over the last month or so. It has gone brilliantly. Honestly, the shots
we have been getting have looked great, and there is just so much enthusiasm
from much of my cast & crew around this, that it really makes shooting
(although extremely stressful) fun. Why extremely stressful, you might ask?
Everything has fallen into place, and you have schedules and equipment; it
can’t be harder than Keep Living, can it? Well, as a matter of fact, it is much
harder than Keep Living. There are all these little bits that have to fit together
in a certain way, so that the whole thing will work, and if they don’t fit together
in the shot, we have to do it again, therefore making scheduling, a very difficult
challenge. Plus, it’s just a much longer film – double the length of Keep Living,
which means that we have a lot more to get through. It’s also somewhat
difficult for me sometimes, to know how it will look once we edit it. I have no
idea if I’ll be able to fix a sound problem very easily, or whether we’ll have to
get the actors into a studio and dub over the sound – it’s crossed my mind a
couple of times. However, I am not compromising on this film. I don’t mean I
won’t compromise on issues with my crew, and things that need to be done –
no I’m a very flexible guy. What I mean is I am not compromising the quality of
this film, or the shots that we take – ever. Even if it is an extremely difficult shot
to get, I’m going to exhaust everything we have to get it, if need be. Although
we’ve had some serious setbacks, and trust me, its way worse than the
monitor crashing, we’ve all done our part, and pulled our weight, and the
footage looks great. And so I hear, we’ve got another film on the horizon from
a different source than my own, and I’m looking forward to working on that one,
too. Summer though, will be for me and the editing room. Just plop down, set
up, and get right down to work…
- Joshua Wolfsun
July 9, 2008 - 7:56pm
Well, I think I can confidently say that I have finally really moved into the editing
room. ACTV is sort of my second home, if you will. And once HSC ends and
August begins, I may spend more time at ACTV than I do anywhere else. We
still have one more scene to shoot - it reminds me more than a little bit of Keep
Living, but hopefully this time the entire movie won't be done before we shoot
that last scene. I am also really getting jazzed about Yeye's upcoming project:
Looking for Danny. I haven't yet seen a script yet, but it looks to be a very good
concept. She has a lot of enthusiasm, which is good. I feel I may have not fully
described the actual filming of The Paper. The first thing that I would say about
it, though, is that through all of these processes it is a learning experience. I
learned a lot from Keep Living, and I think I learned equally as much from The
Paper. This film, got more than a little heady for me, in the sense that I got very
involved in how everything should run, and the process in which we accomplish
everything. I expanded a lot on the numbers of people I had on a set at times,
and it certainly changed the way things ran. And I encountered issues in myself
in the way that I was treating people in those large numbers. It was a slightly
overwhelming experience, handling everyone, and trying to organize that
number of people. I got very caught up in it all, and it was only afterwards that I
was able to look back, and see my mistakes - and sort of get back to the
basics. But that's part of the brilliance of what we all accomplish together here,
in pre-production, production, and post-production of these films, is that we are
always learning how to do it better - how to improve, and we change
accordingly. We're all learning. From the director to the crew to the actors,
we're all trying different things, and learning and adapting to do better. So I
definitely saw many things that I could improve on, but I also learned that we
could do it. We faced bigger challenges than ever, harder shots, different
equipment, sometimes over 20 people on set, but we got through it, and we did
a great job. All of us. The footage looks spectacular. And the beauty of it is that
next time, we can do it better. It's a learning process. And I'm honored to have
been able to learn from all of the incredible people on the cast & crew of The
Paper, and hope that they all have a wonderful summer.
- Joshua Wolfsun
Well, I think I can confidently say that I have finally really moved into the editing
room. ACTV is sort of my second home, if you will. And once HSC ends and
August begins, I may spend more time at ACTV than I do anywhere else. We
still have one more scene to shoot - it reminds me more than a little bit of Keep
Living, but hopefully this time the entire movie won't be done before we shoot
that last scene. I am also really getting jazzed about Yeye's upcoming project:
Looking for Danny. I haven't yet seen a script yet, but it looks to be a very good
concept. She has a lot of enthusiasm, which is good. I feel I may have not fully
described the actual filming of The Paper. The first thing that I would say about
it, though, is that through all of these processes it is a learning experience. I
learned a lot from Keep Living, and I think I learned equally as much from The
Paper. This film, got more than a little heady for me, in the sense that I got very
involved in how everything should run, and the process in which we accomplish
everything. I expanded a lot on the numbers of people I had on a set at times,
and it certainly changed the way things ran. And I encountered issues in myself
in the way that I was treating people in those large numbers. It was a slightly
overwhelming experience, handling everyone, and trying to organize that
number of people. I got very caught up in it all, and it was only afterwards that I
was able to look back, and see my mistakes - and sort of get back to the
basics. But that's part of the brilliance of what we all accomplish together here,
in pre-production, production, and post-production of these films, is that we are
always learning how to do it better - how to improve, and we change
accordingly. We're all learning. From the director to the crew to the actors,
we're all trying different things, and learning and adapting to do better. So I
definitely saw many things that I could improve on, but I also learned that we
could do it. We faced bigger challenges than ever, harder shots, different
equipment, sometimes over 20 people on set, but we got through it, and we did
a great job. All of us. The footage looks spectacular. And the beauty of it is that
next time, we can do it better. It's a learning process. And I'm honored to have
been able to learn from all of the incredible people on the cast & crew of The
Paper, and hope that they all have a wonderful summer.
- Joshua Wolfsun
July 28, 2008 – 5:18pm EST
Writer’s block. It’s a horrible thing, you know that? Especially when you’re a
writer. It’s not that I’m having complete writer’s block, I think it may just be that
my approach is bad. I’ve turned out two scripts in the last month that should be
fundamentally changed. And when you decide to go drown your sorrows in a
Barq’s Root Beer instead of a Dr. Pepper, because you’re having so much
trouble, you start to wonder whether it’s just a mental thing. Then again, it’s
obviously a mental thing. I’ve decided, though, that I’m starting to come at
writing with the idea of “I want to do a movie,” or “I want to do a TV show,”
without actually just letting the ideas flow. I’m just going to let some of my ideas
percolate for a bit, and then once I’ve got a good one, and a good story then I’ll
decide what to do with it. Even with the writer’s block we’ve got a fair number of
things going on. Editing for The Paper is still under-way at ACTV, and I met
with some musicians over the past couple of weeks and the score is being
cranked out, bit by bit. Then there is still the question (which has been a
question since I wrote the script) of how much – if any – CGI will be in The
Paper. I’m starting to think that it could actually be a possibility and could really
enhance the story. Talks have been underway with my “CGI specialists” about if
it would be possible. Then, Looking for Danny is in good pre-production. Yeye
has a lot of exciting ideas about the film, and it’s really nice to get some new
blood in on the action. It’s really shaping up, and she seems to be putting a lot
of effort into it. She definitely brings a lot of new enthusiasm, which is
something I definitely lost during The Paper. It’s good to see some real
excitement. And new things are on the way as well – beyond The Paper and
Looking for Danny, things which could be overwhelming and enormous, but, as
always, we are pushing the boundaries and limitations of what we can do…
Huh, I just realized the writer’s block might have also been caused by the many
sleepless nights from HSC performances… hmmm… Maybe I’ll get myself a
Dr. Pepper now that I’m feeling happier. ;)
- Joshua Wolfsun
Writer’s block. It’s a horrible thing, you know that? Especially when you’re a
writer. It’s not that I’m having complete writer’s block, I think it may just be that
my approach is bad. I’ve turned out two scripts in the last month that should be
fundamentally changed. And when you decide to go drown your sorrows in a
Barq’s Root Beer instead of a Dr. Pepper, because you’re having so much
trouble, you start to wonder whether it’s just a mental thing. Then again, it’s
obviously a mental thing. I’ve decided, though, that I’m starting to come at
writing with the idea of “I want to do a movie,” or “I want to do a TV show,”
without actually just letting the ideas flow. I’m just going to let some of my ideas
percolate for a bit, and then once I’ve got a good one, and a good story then I’ll
decide what to do with it. Even with the writer’s block we’ve got a fair number of
things going on. Editing for The Paper is still under-way at ACTV, and I met
with some musicians over the past couple of weeks and the score is being
cranked out, bit by bit. Then there is still the question (which has been a
question since I wrote the script) of how much – if any – CGI will be in The
Paper. I’m starting to think that it could actually be a possibility and could really
enhance the story. Talks have been underway with my “CGI specialists” about if
it would be possible. Then, Looking for Danny is in good pre-production. Yeye
has a lot of exciting ideas about the film, and it’s really nice to get some new
blood in on the action. It’s really shaping up, and she seems to be putting a lot
of effort into it. She definitely brings a lot of new enthusiasm, which is
something I definitely lost during The Paper. It’s good to see some real
excitement. And new things are on the way as well – beyond The Paper and
Looking for Danny, things which could be overwhelming and enormous, but, as
always, we are pushing the boundaries and limitations of what we can do…
Huh, I just realized the writer’s block might have also been caused by the many
sleepless nights from HSC performances… hmmm… Maybe I’ll get myself a
Dr. Pepper now that I’m feeling happier. ;)
- Joshua Wolfsun
August 06, 2008 – 2:18pm EST
Well, editing has been going quite well. It probably won’t be done for at least
another month. We have a lot of work to do, still. But one of the brilliant things
about working with ACTV is that we get access to their facilities, mainly
(besides their awesome bathrooms) their editing room. Equipped with Final
Cut Pro and many other brilliant Mac programs which I could no more afford
than work with on my PC, I lovingly told my mother earlier today that I could
make dog crap look good. And although that’s not entirely true, FCP does have
some incredible advantages, and we are making full use of them for The Paper.
And even all of that, however, could not stop my worst nightmare being realized.
Almost a month after shooting has finished, and I still do not have all of the
footage I need. There is another scene to shoot – which we fortunately have
scheduled – and there are some other shots of the actors which we may have to
add in because they aren’t seamless. However, we’ll do it and make it through,
and with a new-found Associate Editor, even if he doesn’t know he is one yet, it
will make my life a lot easier. And to top it off, I have officially overcome my
writer’s block. I found the story I wanted to write, and I’m in the process of writing
it. It was a welcome reminder to me that it’s not just about how well the movie is
made, but how good the story of the movie is. If you’ve stumbled fleetingly
across this blog, if must mean that you have visited the site. I am in the rather
long process of doing overhaul on the site. You will notice that The Paper trailer
is not embedded by YouTube, but rather I embedded it myself. It will make
sense in the long run, because it is just better quality, and YouTube does have
its limitations. I think we will eventually switch fully over to our own hosting, but
I'm testing it out. Oh, and it all is still on YouTube so it can be accessed there as
well as on the site.
- Joshua Wolfsun
Well, editing has been going quite well. It probably won’t be done for at least
another month. We have a lot of work to do, still. But one of the brilliant things
about working with ACTV is that we get access to their facilities, mainly
(besides their awesome bathrooms) their editing room. Equipped with Final
Cut Pro and many other brilliant Mac programs which I could no more afford
than work with on my PC, I lovingly told my mother earlier today that I could
make dog crap look good. And although that’s not entirely true, FCP does have
some incredible advantages, and we are making full use of them for The Paper.
And even all of that, however, could not stop my worst nightmare being realized.
Almost a month after shooting has finished, and I still do not have all of the
footage I need. There is another scene to shoot – which we fortunately have
scheduled – and there are some other shots of the actors which we may have to
add in because they aren’t seamless. However, we’ll do it and make it through,
and with a new-found Associate Editor, even if he doesn’t know he is one yet, it
will make my life a lot easier. And to top it off, I have officially overcome my
writer’s block. I found the story I wanted to write, and I’m in the process of writing
it. It was a welcome reminder to me that it’s not just about how well the movie is
made, but how good the story of the movie is. If you’ve stumbled fleetingly
across this blog, if must mean that you have visited the site. I am in the rather
long process of doing overhaul on the site. You will notice that The Paper trailer
is not embedded by YouTube, but rather I embedded it myself. It will make
sense in the long run, because it is just better quality, and YouTube does have
its limitations. I think we will eventually switch fully over to our own hosting, but
I'm testing it out. Oh, and it all is still on YouTube so it can be accessed there as
well as on the site.
- Joshua Wolfsun
August 13, 2008 – 8:53pm EST
I’m feeling a little sentimental today, so bear with me. Through the past two
films I have done, I have found that filmmaking is hard. It’s not just the
scheduling and the shots and the organization and getting the actors and the
crew there, and directing them and writing and re-writing and editing – it’s
more than that. It takes something out of you to do a film. I’ve heard stage
directors compare directing to giving birth, and although I’ve never given birth,
it seems like a pretty good analogy to me. You sort of put everything into the
project. It becomes a part of who you are. It’s tough, but would I trade the
toughness for not making films? Not for the world. It's part of the process, and
the process is incredible. 'Cause no matter how much it takes, you get back
so much more. You can’t have one without the other; hence I’ve returned time
and again to it – but is it hard? Yeah. I’m going to make an analogy of my own
here: Filmmaking is like life. Yeah, sounds kooky, right? Because obviously
the films themselves aren’t like real life, but the process is to some degree.
You encounter hardships, and you encounter surprises. You encounter
moments of brilliance and bonding, and you encounter moments of disruption
and, sometimes, failure. All that can become overwhelming, especially to a
filmmaker who is just starting out. But, like life, if you’ve got people who are
around to support you and support the project in those times, you’re good. No
matter what. If they’re dedicated and they want to be there doing what they’re
doing, and they’re devoted to the project, you’ll come out with at least your soul
intact, if not a good film. I was fortunate enough to have a plethora of people
around me who loved the projects and put everything they had into it, and went
above and beyond what they needed to. If not for them, this blog would not
exist. If not for them, we would not be a month from our final edits on The
Paper. If not for my incredible, generous, good-natured and all-around brilliant
Cast & Crew, it would just be me, sitting in the basement, with a video camera.
They don’t just support the crazy ideas that come out of my diluted brain; they
support me in life as well. They aren’t just the Cast & Crew; they are my
friends. Thank you, guys.
- Joshua Wolfsun
I’m feeling a little sentimental today, so bear with me. Through the past two
films I have done, I have found that filmmaking is hard. It’s not just the
scheduling and the shots and the organization and getting the actors and the
crew there, and directing them and writing and re-writing and editing – it’s
more than that. It takes something out of you to do a film. I’ve heard stage
directors compare directing to giving birth, and although I’ve never given birth,
it seems like a pretty good analogy to me. You sort of put everything into the
project. It becomes a part of who you are. It’s tough, but would I trade the
toughness for not making films? Not for the world. It's part of the process, and
the process is incredible. 'Cause no matter how much it takes, you get back
so much more. You can’t have one without the other; hence I’ve returned time
and again to it – but is it hard? Yeah. I’m going to make an analogy of my own
here: Filmmaking is like life. Yeah, sounds kooky, right? Because obviously
the films themselves aren’t like real life, but the process is to some degree.
You encounter hardships, and you encounter surprises. You encounter
moments of brilliance and bonding, and you encounter moments of disruption
and, sometimes, failure. All that can become overwhelming, especially to a
filmmaker who is just starting out. But, like life, if you’ve got people who are
around to support you and support the project in those times, you’re good. No
matter what. If they’re dedicated and they want to be there doing what they’re
doing, and they’re devoted to the project, you’ll come out with at least your soul
intact, if not a good film. I was fortunate enough to have a plethora of people
around me who loved the projects and put everything they had into it, and went
above and beyond what they needed to. If not for them, this blog would not
exist. If not for them, we would not be a month from our final edits on The
Paper. If not for my incredible, generous, good-natured and all-around brilliant
Cast & Crew, it would just be me, sitting in the basement, with a video camera.
They don’t just support the crazy ideas that come out of my diluted brain; they
support me in life as well. They aren’t just the Cast & Crew; they are my
friends. Thank you, guys.
- Joshua Wolfsun
September 8, 2008 – 5:37pm EST
Ah, the last swim of the season, the end of shooting, and an astonishing
discovery! I will get to all of the above – minus the swimming. I’ll start with the
astonishing discovery: someone actually reads this blog! It’s incredible! Now I
actually feel like I have something to write for! Thanks PJ! ;) Ok, now to the latest
update on all things Riverwolf. A big thing occurred just a week ago, and it was
that I was finally able to say to my C&C present that it was, “a final wrap, guys!”
Yes, it was a long journey to have the official final wrap. We had to shoot the final
scene of the paper, and it had been difficult bringing everyone together to shoot
one more scene. In the end, we were able to shoot what was to become known
as “the lost scene,” due to the fact that no one, besides myself, seemed to know
that it existed. We had a major setback a day prior to the shooting of that scene,
and that was really the only time we could do it, so I worked the script a little bit
and we were able to work around that actor’s absence. It wasn’t what I originally
thought, but it was okay. Of course, I fell ill that afternoon, so I was unable to do
any editing that week, so we lost the first week in September. Our deadline for
editing of the actual film to be finished is at the end of this month. It’s a little
scary, but it can’t stay in the never-ending editing process forever. All that said,
the rough cut looks great, the footage from the other shoot looks great, and it's
all going to be awesome! Everyone really put in their part, and we’re going to get
a great product!
- Joshua Wolfsun
Ah, the last swim of the season, the end of shooting, and an astonishing
discovery! I will get to all of the above – minus the swimming. I’ll start with the
astonishing discovery: someone actually reads this blog! It’s incredible! Now I
actually feel like I have something to write for! Thanks PJ! ;) Ok, now to the latest
update on all things Riverwolf. A big thing occurred just a week ago, and it was
that I was finally able to say to my C&C present that it was, “a final wrap, guys!”
Yes, it was a long journey to have the official final wrap. We had to shoot the final
scene of the paper, and it had been difficult bringing everyone together to shoot
one more scene. In the end, we were able to shoot what was to become known
as “the lost scene,” due to the fact that no one, besides myself, seemed to know
that it existed. We had a major setback a day prior to the shooting of that scene,
and that was really the only time we could do it, so I worked the script a little bit
and we were able to work around that actor’s absence. It wasn’t what I originally
thought, but it was okay. Of course, I fell ill that afternoon, so I was unable to do
any editing that week, so we lost the first week in September. Our deadline for
editing of the actual film to be finished is at the end of this month. It’s a little
scary, but it can’t stay in the never-ending editing process forever. All that said,
the rough cut looks great, the footage from the other shoot looks great, and it's
all going to be awesome! Everyone really put in their part, and we’re going to get
a great product!
- Joshua Wolfsun
October 12, 2008 - 6:04pm EST
Ah, it's cool all around, but my room is nice and warm, and James Taylor is playing
in the background. Reminds me a lot of the first blog entry I had on that December
3rd, almost a year ago now. Hasn't changed that much has it? And yet so much
has changed. Over the course of one year, I have learned tons. In one year, I went
from using my home video camera, to a manual, high quality ACTV camera. In one
year, I went from using my little editing program to one that is an industry standard.
In one year I learned how to organize my time, how to deal with people, how to turn
lemons into lemonade (figuratively and literally), and more technical terms and
aspects of filming, editing and producing than I could possibly list in fifty blog
entries. I came to realize last week that if I had been told how much I would have
learned over the course of the coming year on October 21st, 2007 (the day I wrote
Keep Living), I would have cried, sobbed, and pounded my fists on the table. But
more than me being a crybaby, I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't have embarked
on this most incredible journey that has brought so many wonderful - and stressful -
experiences that I wouldn't give up for the world. It's been incredible. Now I can
hear some of you out there asking, "Josh, why are you being so nostalgic?" And
my first response would be, "I'm not being nostalgic, and why do you care?" and
my second response would be, "because it's the new year, and it's part of my
letting-go process." For all of you that are unaware, this past Thursday was Yom
Kippur, the "Day of Atonement" but also a beginning of the Jewish new year. A big
part of the process of moving into the new year is to look at what's come before, in
the previous year. So, as I see a light at the end of the tunnel for post-production
for my second film, I can't help but think about what came before, and how far
we've come, and how precariously this whole journey began. With the cancellation
of an LSSE class and a book. Seems crazy that all this came from that. And then
there's the second bit there, it's part of my letting-go process. It's part of my
letting-go process of The Paper. I wrote the first draft of the script for The Paper
on December 25th, 2007. It was the day before our first day of shooting for Keep
Living, and I had nothing to do. I had a weird dream the night before, and that
compiled with my experiences of the ARMS school newspaper sort of sprouted
into the thing you will see in finality in November. November... Wow. I have been
with The Paper for almost as long as have been with Riverwolf Productions. It's
sort of always been there, and that's why I need to let go. Because, although it will
be a very, very happy day for me at the showing, once the production is shown in
it's finality, it will be done. My work of creating it will be done. I will surely be
relieved, and my work won't be completely done (oh yeah, it's going to festivals,
baby!), but it will be a little strange for me to not be constantly thinking about going
to either shoot or edit it. Then again, it will be nice to finally get cracking on my next
big-ish project, The Bard. Oh yeah, we've already got another project in the works,
and it's coming down the line soon. You just wait! ;-)
- Joshua Wolfsun
Ah, it's cool all around, but my room is nice and warm, and James Taylor is playing
in the background. Reminds me a lot of the first blog entry I had on that December
3rd, almost a year ago now. Hasn't changed that much has it? And yet so much
has changed. Over the course of one year, I have learned tons. In one year, I went
from using my home video camera, to a manual, high quality ACTV camera. In one
year, I went from using my little editing program to one that is an industry standard.
In one year I learned how to organize my time, how to deal with people, how to turn
lemons into lemonade (figuratively and literally), and more technical terms and
aspects of filming, editing and producing than I could possibly list in fifty blog
entries. I came to realize last week that if I had been told how much I would have
learned over the course of the coming year on October 21st, 2007 (the day I wrote
Keep Living), I would have cried, sobbed, and pounded my fists on the table. But
more than me being a crybaby, I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't have embarked
on this most incredible journey that has brought so many wonderful - and stressful -
experiences that I wouldn't give up for the world. It's been incredible. Now I can
hear some of you out there asking, "Josh, why are you being so nostalgic?" And
my first response would be, "I'm not being nostalgic, and why do you care?" and
my second response would be, "because it's the new year, and it's part of my
letting-go process." For all of you that are unaware, this past Thursday was Yom
Kippur, the "Day of Atonement" but also a beginning of the Jewish new year. A big
part of the process of moving into the new year is to look at what's come before, in
the previous year. So, as I see a light at the end of the tunnel for post-production
for my second film, I can't help but think about what came before, and how far
we've come, and how precariously this whole journey began. With the cancellation
of an LSSE class and a book. Seems crazy that all this came from that. And then
there's the second bit there, it's part of my letting-go process. It's part of my
letting-go process of The Paper. I wrote the first draft of the script for The Paper
on December 25th, 2007. It was the day before our first day of shooting for Keep
Living, and I had nothing to do. I had a weird dream the night before, and that
compiled with my experiences of the ARMS school newspaper sort of sprouted
into the thing you will see in finality in November. November... Wow. I have been
with The Paper for almost as long as have been with Riverwolf Productions. It's
sort of always been there, and that's why I need to let go. Because, although it will
be a very, very happy day for me at the showing, once the production is shown in
it's finality, it will be done. My work of creating it will be done. I will surely be
relieved, and my work won't be completely done (oh yeah, it's going to festivals,
baby!), but it will be a little strange for me to not be constantly thinking about going
to either shoot or edit it. Then again, it will be nice to finally get cracking on my next
big-ish project, The Bard. Oh yeah, we've already got another project in the works,
and it's coming down the line soon. You just wait! ;-)
- Joshua Wolfsun
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