I locked the edit (again) today. A few more feet of film need scanning and all the sound effects need shifting about to fit the new picture arrangement. Henning will be adding a lot of new sounds to the mix over the coming months and hopefully giving it a lot more shape and definition.

Henning Knoepfel, a lecturer at SAE, has come on board to do the 5.1 surround sound mix. Meanwhile I’m fiddling with the edit to see if I can’t make the first scene just a little bit smoother.

One of the editors from the Harry Potter franchise very kindly took a look at the pilot and provided some useful feedback, all of which concerned the first of the two scenes – the one that almost didn’t get shot at all. I’ve just been trying out some of his suggestions, so far as the material we filmed will allow. Having two months away from the edit naturally gives me some fresh ideas as well.

Last week I met up with Aidan and Joe about the work still to be done on the pilot’s digital FX. Although no-one who’s seen the pilot seems to realise that the FX aren’t finished, when you start going through it in detail you realise that there’s a hell of a lot left to do. The aim is to have it all complete by the end of the summer.
Meanwhile Carl Schoenfeld, now helping the project along in an informal capacity, has been seeking out experienced industry mentors to give second opinions on such aspects as the grading and the editing. The idea is to get the pilot in A1 tip-top form before we hawk it around.

The Dark Side of the Earth featured in April’s issue of Vision, Kodak’s magazine.

The on-line edit was a very pleasurable experience, involving a sofa and a big HD screen and a man named Jamie who really knew his stuff. Oh dear, that all sounds a bit dodgy. Anyway, Jamie brought out the best in Ollie’s lighting work of four months ago, so big thanks to Pogo Films.
Marring the on-line slightly for me was the need to complete the documentary, leading to a round-the-clock scenario for me in the middle of the week. The same was also true for Aidan and Joe, who laughed (or possibly yawned) in the face of sleep whilst finishing their temp VFX shots.
The screening went very well. The turnout was good for a Saturday morning and the reception was extremely positive. The roto and compositing work was particularly praised, with more than one person admitting they hadn’t believed all those puppeteers could possibly be removed until they saw it with their own eyes.
Lao and Lou’s miniature Swordsman was universally admired, in a little case they had specially constructed for the purpose.
And thanks to the guys in the front row who have been following my work for a while. It’s people like them that make it all seem worthwhile.

Less than a week to go. The sound is mixed (apart from the music) and the pickups are scanned. There is still a lot of FX work to do, but the guys don’t seem too worried about getting it done in time. Tomorrow they have to shoot rope elements to track into some shots of the Swordsman which, to speed up principal photography, we shot without Dante’s Disc.
For me, tomorrow is the start of the on-line with Pogo Films, who are kindly lending me a Quantel suite and an editor or two to grade the pilot. Somehow I have to finish the behind-the-scenes doc this week as well.

I’ve finished cutting the extra material into the pilot. It gives it a whole new lease of life.
With just two weeks to go until Sci-Fi London, it’s become clear that a finished, polished pilot on 35mm with surround sound isn’t going to happen in time. Instead viewers will see a nearly finished pilot with a few FX unfinished and a temporary mix, on HD video. And, of course, a fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary… which I still have to edit. Eek!

John and I had a progress meeting with Aidan and Joe about the VFX yesterday. They’ve made excellent progress. One particular shot looking down on the Swordsman and Isabelle, which used to be crammed full of puppeteers, has been completely transformed by their removal. You really buy that the ropes are controlling the puppet…. as, of course, I always knew you would. Ahem.
Tomorrow is the Borderlines preview showing, 4:15pm in the studio theatre at The Courtyard, Hereford. Many times have I stood before an expectant audience in that room and screened my wares.
And tickets are now available for the proper screening at Sci Fi London. They’re free but you still need to book them. It’s at the Apollo West End on Lower Regent Street at 10:30am on Saturday May 2nd.

This afternoon I met with Lao, Lou and Beth to try out their two pieces of the miniature together. The mini Swordsman is almost complete and, like his full size counterpart, gained a new dimension when he was tied to the ceiling mechanism. Since the model is going to be shot upside-down, we had to make sure it was all going to hang correctly and not give the game away, but it looked great.