Sundown For A New Day

In 7 short weeks the world has changed... and today we solved the biggest issue:  relinking the media files. My wise and generous editor came by this afternoon and we sat at my counter -- doors open, me with a frosty frappuccino, he with a tall soft drink, and Sagan on the floor munching chips and playing with the light saber -- trying desperately to figure out why the files wouldn't link properly and, most importantly, why his files (which he created the film with) had time code and formatting data embedded in the video. Even he was baffled, and he's the master. I paced until we found our solution and now I sit here patiently while Shooting Days 3 and 4 are re-transcoded and re-linked. THEN on to the issue that got us here in the first place -- color correction to the mirror shots.

But I'm jumping to the end here, because yes, I did successfully screen the film to multiple audiences in Europe. Glowing praise, rave reviews, kind generous words. However, I quickly realized at the first showing (in Dublin, Ireland) that 2-3 scenes, plus the credits, had not been color corrected. As the director, I take full responsibility for this lapse. Although Scott and I went through the film pretty thoroughly over a few hours for the color correction, I did not stay to review the final film in its entirety, something a true director would and should always do. But I raise my hand in my defense: Scott was sick with a terrible cold. Sneezing, tissues, nose blowing. And we had been sitting in a small room, tight quarters, close together, for more than 3 hours. I was leaving in just a few days for Europe.  I don't think I need to say more. And yes, for those of you wondering, I was 100% healthy during my European trip.

Matt graciously re-created the closing video credits with the color corrected video and now the ball's in my court to make the final corrections, insert the new video footage, render the whole thing, and burn the DVDs. *whew*  I can do this without too much thought, just some babysitting, so maybe I'll make it a little party this weekend -- wine, beer, mexican food, editing and rendering.

Chinatown 7D Color Correction Example from Stu Maschwitz on Vimeo.
color correction example

My great friend Paul Alvarez once told me that if you keep on smiling and being nice, one day you wake up and you're it. I'll work on that... although I'm feeling more like an exploding star than the "it" girl I used to be. Some people get juiced from drama or the pain of life. It's probably good (and healthy) that I get inspired by love, peace and fun, but it would be great if I could harness the crap too. Maybe that's why I'm in a rock band. Get your juice where you can, I guess.

The film festival submission list is short but focused. We're considering submitting to at least one festival in France, which will force me to write my own subtitles. Perhaps I have some sort of mental illness, or maybe I just enjoy little challenges like that. Not committing to that though, just mulling it around. For you crazy people interested in my festival list, here it is, in no particular order:

• Sundance
• Santa Barbara International
• Ashland, OR
• Port Townsend, WA
• Austin Film Festival
• Cannes
• Cinequest
• Los Angeles Film Festivals (Int’l, Short, Latino)
• Palm Springs
• San Francisco
• Seattle
• Slamdance
• Toronto International
• Uppsala Short Film Festival

* a quick note here, I already submitted to Sundance with the uncorrected version, so I have a little time to replace it with the new one... uhhh hopefully

I'm also perusing the list of short film festivals... ahhhhhh
In the meantime, I'll be making margaritas and rendering. 

Sun has set on the summer
A new day dawns for the fall
Go forth and conquer