Michelle Lombardo and Steve Zahn
Andrew Wilson
Abe Benrubi and Jeremy Sumpter
Diedrich Bader
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
More Pics from Calvin Marshall
Michelle Lombardo and Steve Zahn
Andrew Wilson
Abe Benrubi and Jeremy Sumpter
Diedrich Bader
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Print Complete
Coach Little (Steve Zahn) and Calvin (Alex Frost)
A 35mm print of CALVIN MARSHALL unspooled in 5.1 at Deluxe on Friday.
With the exception of 7 opticals, image color and density were corrected photochemically over five days. The blacks are black and the whites are white. Specific shots were corrected warmer or cooler. Colors are bold. All without a Digital Intermediate.
While this way of making films is dying, our experience demonstrates that a DI isn't always necessary. The evidence is in how gorgeous our print looks. Shooting 35mm and cutting the negative is still an effective/viable work flow for filmmakers.
We are now in the final stages. The next month we'll be completing our HD master. This is the copy that will live on -- TV, dvd, blu-ray, VOD, etc.
Lots of news to report soon on marketing, publicity, our premiere, and distribution.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Sound is Finished
Yesterday we listened to the final sound mix of Calvin four times. It was especially exciting because there are no more changes left to be made.
A Dolby Rep was there at our approved dubb stage to create an MO of our work. Only Dolby can do this with their hardware. The whole process feels dated in a way but it's quite effective. The MO is basically a cartridge that holds about 2 GB.
On the cartridge is both our 5.1 mix and a 2.0 mix. These will be striped directly onto our prints so that when our prints play in theaters they will be in Dolby SR and sound great.
More news to report soon.
A Dolby Rep was there at our approved dubb stage to create an MO of our work. Only Dolby can do this with their hardware. The whole process feels dated in a way but it's quite effective. The MO is basically a cartridge that holds about 2 GB.
On the cartridge is both our 5.1 mix and a 2.0 mix. These will be striped directly onto our prints so that when our prints play in theaters they will be in Dolby SR and sound great.
More news to report soon.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Still in Post
Our theatrical sound mix will be completed this week.
Print mastering with Dolby is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14th.
Color timing at Deluxe for our prints will be completed the last week of January.
Shortly after, EFILM will give us our HD master so DVD screeners will finally look and sound like they are supposed to.
Also in the works...
1. New website, blogs.
2. Trailer, teasers, marketing materials.
3. Details on our premiere and release schedule.
Print mastering with Dolby is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14th.
Color timing at Deluxe for our prints will be completed the last week of January.
Shortly after, EFILM will give us our HD master so DVD screeners will finally look and sound like they are supposed to.
Also in the works...
1. New website, blogs.
2. Trailer, teasers, marketing materials.
3. Details on our premiere and release schedule.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Mixing
Last week we mixed the film. It was an exciting experience to hear it all for the first time.
Tomorrow morning is the first official playback of our new 5.1 theatrical sound mix.
The rest of the day will be spent making final tweaks. Sound mix will lock tomorrow evening.
Dolby is scheduled for Tuesday's print master.
Deluxe is handling our picture. Early next year we'll be doing the color correction for our release. Very exited for this process.
Soon after we'll have our 35mm answer print and marry that to our new sound mix. Getting closer.
Tomorrow morning is the first official playback of our new 5.1 theatrical sound mix.
The rest of the day will be spent making final tweaks. Sound mix will lock tomorrow evening.
Dolby is scheduled for Tuesday's print master.
Deluxe is handling our picture. Early next year we'll be doing the color correction for our release. Very exited for this process.
Soon after we'll have our 35mm answer print and marry that to our new sound mix. Getting closer.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Dubb Stage
Next week we're dubbing the film for our theatrical release. It will be executed in Dolby Digital (SRD) 5.1.
Hundreds of audio tracks will be mixed between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day. Dialogue is generally front and center and everything else falls around the space between the 4 other speakers-- score, backgrounds, sound effects, foley, loop group, etc.
CALVIN MARSHALL is 5 reels long. Each day one reel will be mixed -- approximately 17 minutes of film.
Every little decision on the dubb stage is critical. Each has the potential to help (or hurt) an audience's experience of the movie. The goal, of course, is for the sound experience to help keep an audience engaged in this imaginary world and tracking the story emotionally. The wrong frequency or volume of something in the soundtrack can shatter the illusion of reality and take the audience out of your film.
Hundreds of audio tracks will be mixed between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day. Dialogue is generally front and center and everything else falls around the space between the 4 other speakers-- score, backgrounds, sound effects, foley, loop group, etc.
CALVIN MARSHALL is 5 reels long. Each day one reel will be mixed -- approximately 17 minutes of film.
Every little decision on the dubb stage is critical. Each has the potential to help (or hurt) an audience's experience of the movie. The goal, of course, is for the sound experience to help keep an audience engaged in this imaginary world and tracking the story emotionally. The wrong frequency or volume of something in the soundtrack can shatter the illusion of reality and take the audience out of your film.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Double Feature
Synecdoche, New York and Happy-Go-Lucky are currently in theaters and make an interesting pairing. As you would expect, Charlie Kaufman's movie is a mind-bender and Mike Leigh's is a slice of life character study.
On the surface they seem like very different films and in many ways they are -- but I was surprised how they needled me in similar ways. Both grapple with fleeting happiness and the futility of our lives. Both put the main character's life under an uncomfortable microscope.
And though Caden and Poppy are polar opposites, our protagonists seem to press on through the squeeze of everyday life with their own brand of reckless abandon.
In the end, Happy-Go-Lucky has more silver lining.
We would do well to duplicate Poppy's ability to smile in the face of hardship and shake off Caden's grim, existential plight -- however unrealistic that might be.
On the surface they seem like very different films and in many ways they are -- but I was surprised how they needled me in similar ways. Both grapple with fleeting happiness and the futility of our lives. Both put the main character's life under an uncomfortable microscope.
And though Caden and Poppy are polar opposites, our protagonists seem to press on through the squeeze of everyday life with their own brand of reckless abandon.
In the end, Happy-Go-Lucky has more silver lining.
We would do well to duplicate Poppy's ability to smile in the face of hardship and shake off Caden's grim, existential plight -- however unrealistic that might be.
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