Getting the post-production done: jumping through hoops

Domino:  Caught in the Crisis is shot and the rough cut editing is done.  So why isn´t it out yet?

Well, it needs something referred to as more "post-production."  This consists mostly of "sound sweetening" and "image correction."  Both of those cost a lot of money, and right now, well, I don´t have that money.  That´s kind of par for the course when you´re an independent filmmaker, especially since funding for independent film has gotten really, really hard to come by.

At one point, we thought a television station in Spain was going to do the work for us, but that didn´t pan out.  SIGH.

So here I am with a work I poured my heart and soul into, a work which a number of other people ALSO poured their hearts and souls into, and it´s sitting in my computer.

This is the setting where all the errors occurred.  We just didn´t have enough space to work in.

Not to worry.  Ok, so "image correction" costs a lot of money.  A whole lot of money.  It partly consists of making things disappear...like the microphone you can see in that scene in which we were filming in a small room, and with the crew and actors it was really crowded, and the crew member in charge of being sure the microphones were not visible to the camera did not do a proper job.

So there you have it:  a microphone sitting right there, next to the actors.  Clearly visible.  And this isn´t the only little problem.  All in all, there are four places where little accidents like this occurred, all of them in the same very small set.

Since I don´t have the money to pay someone to fix the problems, I have signed up for a class in which we are being taught a program (AfterEffects) which will take care of most of them, especially when used in conjunction with PhotoShop.  And the place where I´m taking the class has AfterEffects on its computers.  Since I´m a member, I´ll be able to use it free of change after the class is over.

This means I´ll have a lot of work to do plus the new program to learn, but I will be able to take care of the "image correction."

And what is this wonderful place, offering this great class and letting members (for a very modest annual fee) use their equipment?  Berkeley Community Media (BCM).  Good people.  Great people, in fact.  You have to live in Berkeley or have a business in Berkeley in order to be a member, but anyone who fits that criteria can join.

OUR NEXT POST will be a few more details about finishing up Domino.