This post first appeared on Ren’s Patreon page.
Fun fact: I spent yesterday evening adding a CG dagger into a character’s hand. Follow-up fun fact: it’s the same dagger model used in the opening titles. Frustrating fact: I’m not going to tell you where it is. Goodie bag for anyone who spots it in the finished season!
I see that I haven’t done a proper blog post since filming wrapped in early May, so let me try to round up everything that’s happened since:
- We did a cast panel and a crowdfunding workshop at MCM London Comic Con.
- We won Best Costume Design for Season Two at Die Seriale in Germany.
- Kate and I were interviewed on a YouTube channel called The Outcasts Creative.
- Season Two was selected for Hollywood Series, an online festival happening at the end of the year.
While all this was going on, Alan, Jo and Mark were hard at work editing their episodes with Cat Ashenden (301 and 305) and Sophie Black (303). These were test-screened last weekend to a select few, along with 302 and 304 from last year, making it the first time that the whole of Season Three had been seen by anyone. We couldn’t have done it without your generous backing, dear reader!
As usual, the test screening was to determine if people who hadn’t read the script and spent weeks on set could follow the story and understand character motivations, whether everything made sense and if the pacing was right. Here are some random comments from the many notes I made: “I wanted to see more awe after that moment of magic.”/”I was expecting a flashback.”/”Why do you need a big knife to cut a flower?”/”She could have planned that better!” (By having a dagger ready, perhaps…) /”Very good season finale, but who fell off the rooftop?”
It was also interesting to hear what people thought of 302 and 304, versus their thoughts at the test screening last autumn, now they’re seen as part of a larger narrative. I was glad to hear that the changes we’ve made have brought the best out of them. It’s amazing what you can do with a simple pick-up shot, a few dubbed lines of dialogue and some canny trims. The fact that the VFX, colour grading and most of the music are finished for these Block One episodes also helps a lot.
Editing on 301, 303 and 305 will now continue for a few more weeks with the test audience’s feedback in mind. The next step for me is to determine what pick-ups are necessary and to get those organised.