David Gillam, the director of Borderlines Film Festival, had a sneak preview of Soul Searcher this week. He said it was “amazing – much better than it’s any right to be”. As a result he’s decided to kick off the whole festival with it, having a screening on the opening night, March 18th, and a matinee the following day complete with a little talk from me.

Andrew’s work on the animated train smoke has been held up due to a corrupt file, but I’ve finally seen a still of it and it looks really nice. The trick will be integrating it convincingly into the live action without it looking like Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

After a weird week in the Hairy Ford on a corporate job, I’m now back on the case with the foley pre-mixing, which has now reached the scintillating stage of adding reverb. The other day I had a play with Apple’s Soundtrack software, which lets you create songs by sticking a bunch of samples from a library together. In five minutes I whipped up a cheesy drum and bass track for the scene where Joe walks past a nightclub.

You know those things that you say, “I’ll sort that out later.” Later is now and that’s why I’ve been attending to several special effects shots and one or two other things that needed improving. I’ve shaved another thirty seconds off the film, bringing it down to 94 minutes plus credits.

I’m expecting Andrew Fidelis’ cell animated smoke for the train in the next few days. So far, thanks to problems with his internet connection, I’ve seen nothing of his work except some concept sketches, but he assures me that the animation is nearly complete with only the colouring then left to do.

Simon Wyndham has completed his sound design for the martial arts sequences, allowing me to start premixing. At present I’m pitch-shifting and EQing the foley to make Joe, Luca and Dante’s footsteps more powerful.

The choir Colla Voce have had their first rehearsal of Scott’s now complete score, which apparently includes nonsensical latin chanting, which I can’t wait to hear.

Finally I’ve been trying to arrange the premiere [readers around the country gasp and choke]. As recommended in The Guerilla Filmmakers’ Movie Blueprint (page 125), I first contacted BAFTA, which is described in the GFMB as “relatively cheap”. I was a tad surprised therefore when I was quoted a staggering UKP4,000 + VAT to hold the premiere there. And that’s with a filmmaker’s discount.

And into my fourth year on the film that still won’t die.

It may not be dead but it is drawing its terminal breath. I’ve just been doing a rough mix for David Gillam at Borderlines Film Festival. Something came over me as I got to the end. As I sat and watched the (albeit still computerized) music swell over the final scene and the closing credits fade up, I found myself laughing with pure, silly joy and my eyes filling with tears. Not because the film’s any good, you understand. (It might be; I wouldn’t know.) Because I’m nearly there.

Nearly there.

Happy new year.

The night before Christmas Eve I finished laying all the foley, having spent six days almost solidly on it. Inevitably the process spat out a list of sound effects I still need to record, but it’s a list of only ten items, not ten pages like the one I was banging on about this time last year.

I got the best Christmas present ever today: the poster. It’s looooooooooooooovely. I’ll upload it as soon as I can get it scanned.

Aside from that, things have been highly tedious here. Unable to put it off any longer, I’ve been doing the foley. Putting on every footstep and clothing rustle, one by one. I wanted to finish it by Christmas but it’s so mind-numbing I can’t stick at it for long stretches. I’ve got an hour into the movie so far. Anyway, all the spot (sound) effects are in and the Banshee shots are all done. It’s very weird how nearly-finished Soul Searcher is.

Merry Christmas.

The first batch of umbilical cord shots arrived today from David Markwick. Adding them in really brought those scenes to life. I was reminded of Geraint Pounder, whose idea the cords were. A killer idea if there ever was one, and now one that’s on the screen.

I’ve also been working on the Banshee shots. There’s lots of fiddly techie stuff to do but essentially the shots are cut in and they look great. They could not be more Ghostbusters if they tried.

I’m moving to London in four days’ time. I have spent this afternoon repainting the half of my living room that’s been blue ever since we filmed the scenes in Joe’s flat here a year ago. As I was squeezing the last drops out of the paint roller (not a metaphor), the phone rang. It was Scott calling me with the fantastic news that the Worcestershire Symphony Orchestra has confirmed that they will perform the score for us. The 60-strong orchestra first expressed an interest back in the summer, but were only able to commit after seeing the score for the first cue which Scott completed last week.

So the WSO is booked in for February 6th, and on the day before we will record the choir, Colla Voce, also based in Worcester. Colla Voce counts amongst its number Paul Bellamy (General Garrett from The Beacon), Mike Staiger (who also appeared in The Beacon, as well as helping out with the train shoot last month) and AJ (though possibly not any more – I’m a bit confused).

Curiously, I’ve justed looked back at last year’s journals and it’s exactly a year ago today that I posted on Shooting People for a composer.

Jonathan Hayes has a nice little workshop in a Bristol building mainly home to small engineering firms, complete with greasy spoon cafe. On the door is a sketch of a pneumatic sci-fi lady with a laser gun. Inside is a workbench strewn with tools, above which are three pictures of the rabbit from Donnie Darko and one familiar illustration of a screaming Banshee.

The real Banshee had been fitted with Barbie-style hair, so Jonathan’s first task was to whiten the platinum locks. The 30cm-high puppet had two rods protruding from its back via which it could be attached to Jonathan’s chest harness. He would then operate the arms with two smaller rods, whilst his close acquaintance Mr. John Moore walked along behind him operating the head and tail movements. Both puppeteers were dressed in black, complete with executioner-style hoods, and shot against a black backdrop. Colin’s job was to follow them around with a fan, blowing the Banshee’s hair about.

The day passed slowly, with many of the shots requiring alterations or repairs to the puppet. But the results were of the finest quality once the problems had been ironed out.

So what was the last shot? 409 days after Ray uttered the words “And another thirty quid out of my wages,” to a bollard in High Town, what was the final moving image committed to tape in this epic production?

It was an insert shot of the Banshee’s hand grabbing the chain link which hangs on a cord around Ezekiel’s neck. John Moore donned the Soul Searcher’s armour and cloak and since Jonathan’s moulds for the full-scale insert hand had failed the previous day, a quick make-up job was needed to allow the modelmaker’s real hand to be used. Unfortunately, even with conical Finger Mouse extensions and a bit of plasticine, there was no disguising the fact that this was a human hand. Finally we hit upon the idea of employing forced perspective, with the small-scale puppet hand in the extreme foreground and a piece of thread tied to the chain link. With the right timing between myself on the thread and Jonathan on the hand, we were able to make it appear as if the tiny Banshee hand, in the correct scale, had grabbed the link.

Wind Roll And Print. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s a wrap.

A year ago today was the final night of shooting of the main production block – on the roof of the Courtyard. The following day we held the wrap party. Of course, we hadn’t really wrapped. And we still haven’t. There is still the Banshee yet to shoot, which will take place this Thursday. Meet Neil Oseman, the director whose shoots go on so long he makes Stanley Kubrick look like Robert Rodriguez.

AJ came over this evening to do his looping – all three words of it. Well, two words and a scream. Unlike the rest of the cast, who got a nice hi-tech studio to re-record their lines in, AJ got the floor of my living room, under a sleeping bag.

Some of the Moat of Souls shots have now reached 44 layers, with another 20-odd to add tonight. They’re nearly done, but it’s a long trial-and-error process when you have to leave the shot to render overnight every time you want to see what it looks like. These are definitely my favourite effects in the film though.

My goal is to finish the moat, train and Banshee effects plus all the sound design by Christmas. This will just leave recording the score (two days plus prep), the mix (two weeks), grading (three days) and compositing of the umbilical cords and train smoke (one week).

I borrowed a mic again from good old Rural Media and have been mopping up the last of the sound effects. Today I’ve been to the Severn Valley Railway in Kidderminster to record steam train sounds. It was cold and wet and miserable but I think I’ve got some useable stuff.

I’m also working on the compositing for the Moat of Souls shots. James Parkes has finished all his stop motion and it’s now just a case of me putting it all together. My five-year-old computer does not like rendering 25 layers of bluescreen creatures, splashes and other elements. As always, it’s very satisfying to see the concept art and the script come to life and finally exist as a moving image on the screen.

This time last year we were filming in the Crystal Rooms. Which are being knocked down to build some posh flats. Ha ha.

I found out the other day that Richard Brake (Van Beuren) is in the forthcoming Bat Prequel, Batman Begins, as Joe Chill. And he’s now in Prague shooting a part in Doom. I wonder if he gets to battle the big spider-robot-brain-thing?