Blasto Blog is Now an Underground Operation

Had a few emails askin' me what happened to the Blasto Blog on the website. Here's the deal: we are currently in the process of submitting to the top ten film festivals in the world. Part of their rules/regulations is that the movie MUST NOT have been screened to a public audience prior to the festival. That means it cannot be in any other festivals or have a showing at a theater. The Blasto "premiere" wasn't an actual public screening, it was more of a private showing for friends/families with some extra tickets sold to the general public to fill the empty seats, wink wink, nudge nudge. Since the Blasto Blog is just chock full of comments about the premiere I had to remove it in case any of the festival judges happen to go to the Blasto site for more information. It would be awful for us to have worked so hard on the movie to be disqualified for a small showing in Homestead, PA.

You will also notice that DVD sales are no longer on the site for the very same reason. If you would still like to purchase a Blasto DVD, here's the secret link: http://www.captainblasto.com/dvd.htm.

As for the festivals, we are currently entered into Toronto (the 2nd largest festival in the world), Telluride (in Colorado), and Chicago. All three are international festivals and are among the top ten of the world. We will know come August if we've been accepted into any of them. They all take place in September/October. I'll post on here should I hear anything. Wish us luck and pray that Blasto makes it into the hands of the right people.

The Honeymoon

The night that I have been imagining and we've been working towards for the past few years has come and gone. It feels like an end when we're actually still somewhere in the middle. The premiere was never the final goal. It's more like a celebration, a blessing from friends and family members acknowledging that what we've created is worth continuing on with. It's a pat on the back saying good job and keep going. Kleiber said when he woke up the morning of the premiere he felt kind of like he did the morning of his wedding, which I agree with although I'm not married so I can't say for sure. The analogy is pretty close though. It's that anticipation, the nervousness, the excitement, and then it arrives in an explosion. Suddenly there's hundreds of people and then it's over in a few short hours. Too fast. The wedding isn't the end of the relationship, it's an end to a PART of the relationship and the beginning of the next. There's still a lot of work ahead after the wedding. And right now I'm looking at a list of a couple hundred film festivals and realizing just how much is left.

So the question I've been asked most is: What now? Now comes the festivals. Over the next few weeks we'll be submitting Blasto to 5 of the 10 biggest festivals in North America. Sundance, Telluride, Toronto, etc. And in a few short months we'll either be recieving our first acceptance letters or our first rejection letters. First on the list is the Toronto Film Festival with a deadline of June 10th. Other promotion will be getting Blasto DVD's into the hands of everyone and anyone in the industry. At the same time I begin working on the next script later this week. Not a sequel to Blasto like many have requested, or Ransom and Decoy like many might expect, but a whole new story I've been kicking around for a year or two.

Morning Sickness

No I'm not pregnant, but I just may puke.

It's the morning before the premiere. I'm excited and nervous as balls. No idea why I'm nervous. We did the preview screening with 250 people and I wasn't really nervous at all. What difference is this besides another 300 more people added? It's going to be fun. To be honest I'm probably more excited that my entire family (minus grandma) are coming up from Florida today and that tonight for the first time ever I will have my ENTIRE family (minus Florida grandma and cousin Rebecca) in one room. That's a rarer sight than Haley's Comet.

The local reviews of Blasto came out today. You can check them out on our website. It was nearly all positive except for a few complaints about "immature acting" and overuse of the comic panels. (Most of my friends that saw the rough cut commented that I should have used MORE comic panels.) They also called me the "son of a Munhall bartender" which did NOT make my mother happy. (She's no longer a bartender.) All in all it was neat to hear what people outside of the project had to say about the film and I've got to get used to people giving criticism because NO movie in the history of cinema has been loved by EVERYONE. And at the same time I can't help but feel a little twinge of hurt to see anyone say anything negative, no matter how small, about something we've worked on for so long. It'd be like the nurse commenting on how beautiful your newborn child is except for that lopsided nostril. True, he may have a lopsided nostril, he actually might be an ugly little baby that looks more like Warwick Davis covered in jelly, but to the mother that baby is the most beautiful thing she's ever seen. Especially now that the things finally out. Not sure how this post became so entwined with childbirth analogies.

Remember, the best seats are in the C-section and we'll see you at the afterbirth......I mean after-party.

Interviews

Had a few interviews with press today. Brian Krasman of the Daily News and John Hayes of the Post-Gazette. It's kinda weird. I don't mind talking about the movie at all, but in the back of my head I'm thinking "do I sound like a complete idiot?" The Post-Gazette writer was shocked we made the movie for $7,000 and was almost certain I was the son of rich parents who are simply supporting their sons ambitions. True my family is supporting my ambitions, but by NO MEANS are they rich. Those of you that know my family will understand the humor in this. Not that we're some bums on the street, but I don't think the words rich and Munhall are permitted in the same sentence. That's like putting a Banana Republic on Longfellow Drive. (Only my fellow Munhallians will get that. And yes I just made up a new word: Munhallian.)

The oddest part of these interviews is the balance between sounding passionate about your work and trying to convince people it's worth watching while at the same time not coming across as some egotistical or cocky jerko who thinks they're movie is about alter the universe.

All in all the press has been incredibly supportive of the project and their interest appears to be genuine. I'm really looking forward to what they've got to say about the film now that they've seen it. Make sure you pick up the Daily News on Wednesday, and the Post-Gazette and Tribune-Review on Thursday to see the results.

Best Seats in the House

If you're reading this then I'll reward you with a little inside info on this Thursday's upcoming screening. Now I'm not knocking Loews or anything, but with digitally projecting a DVD you get a better picture the further back you sit. VIP seating is reserved, but there are regular seats up there as well, so if you can grab one of those, you'll get the best view.

Revenge of the Sith

I can say with great pride that the new Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith is amazing. After two HORRIBLE HORRIBLE prequels, we FINALLY have a Star Wars movie worth bragging about. Not only is it as good as I imagined, but terribly dark and depressing. As the credits roll all I could think about was how bad I needed to watch A New Hope so I could see Luke, Leia, and Han return some good to the overwhelming evil that oozes from Sith.

This movie will be seen many, many times over the next few weeks.

Ticket Sales

Tickets are almost gone. If you haven't bought yours yet and you're waiting to get it at the door, get it now. Consider yourself warned.

Star Wars Convention

Here's some random ramblings to read if you're bored.

I went to the Star Wars Celebration III a few weeks ago. For those of you normal humans that don't know what it is, it's four day Star Wars fan convention with approximately 50,000 in attendance. Now I am not denying that I am a fan of Star Wars, but the reason I was at this convention was to film a mockumentary with a buddy of mine (Ben Shull, the other story contributor on Blasto) for his Aegis Films production company (www.aegisfilms.org). Otherwise I never would have paid money to go to something like this. One of the most surreal experiences of my life. There was some amazing things such as 10-20 R2D2 droids randomnly rolling along throughout the convention center, 200+ Stormtroopers marching down the main strip of Indianapolis led by Darth Vader and the Royal Guard, prop replica lightsabre's complete with sound and light fx, that hot chick dressed as Slave Leia, and nearly stepping on Warwick Davis (Willow). Some of the terrible things included: the other 100 not so hot girls dressed as Slave Leia, the lines to get in, the better chance of seeing the new Pope than George Lucas, and the outrageous cost of EVERYTHING. Now I really like Star Wars and I'm all about fans supporting a movie/story that they love. But something just wasn't right, something deep down in my gut that just felt amazing and at the same time wrong. The entire Star Wars saga is about a small band of rebels fighting some power hungry, all consuming Empire. And what has happened is the Star Wars brand name has become some giant money hungry, all consuming corporate empire. All from a MOVIE. Now I know that Star Wars fans are usually compared to Trekkies and just passed off as harmless dorks dressing up in costume, but to actually be there feels a lot different. These people wait in line for 5+ hours just to get in the door. Once inside they will wait in another line for 8+ hours to buy a Darth Vader action figure, and ONLY because it says the words LIMITED EDITION on it. I honestly could sell a moldy cheeseburger to a Star Wars fan just by saying it's LIMITED EDITION. Is that not some form of idolatry? I have nothing against Star Wars fans. They honestly are some of the nicest, most creative and talented people you can meet. The rest of the world has them pegged as awkward, pimple faced geeks who use Star Wars to escape reality, and for some of them that is an accurate assesment. But for every one of those there are mothers, fathers, jocks, lawyers, teachers, filmmakers, costumers, etc. Why do they dress up in costume? Not because they actually believe they are that characters, it's because they LIKE making costumes. The happiest I would see these costumed fans was when some little kid would walk up to them thinking that was the actual character. To see a child back away from a Darth Maul, to run up and hug a Princess Leia, to yell at a Darth Vader is pretty neat. It's like this big old mix of people with one common interest, the story of Star Wars. That in itself, and the idea of all these people gathering because of it is a great idea.

I was watching a gathering of the 501st (www.501st.com), which is a group of fans from around the WORLD who dress up as stormtroopers for different events. They were the guides and security for the weekend. They would show you around, help you out, etc. The head of the 501st gave a speech asking them all to be as helpful and accomodating as possible. He told them that by them helping someone out in this very chaotic environment you could literally change a person's weekend and make it an incredible experience for them. Does that not sound like the advice we give to church leaders and greeters?

So there's good to this convention, but who's to blame for the bad? The blame lies on Lucasfilm. The very name of the event is CELEBRATION. That brings to mind the idea of a party, a reception. But instead of a thank you to fans for their support, the entire thing is a bottomless void, devouring your money and time. It's not about how they can give back, it's about how they can take more. It's about exploiting the love and support of fans under the illusion of a thank you.

If you actually read throug this whole post, thanks for hangin' in there.

Preview Screening

Sorry I haven't updated the blog in a while, but I wanted to leave the instructions for buying tickets up so people could come to the premiere. We had our preview screening tonight and I feel compelled to write about it.

Tonight was the preview screening of Blasto for high school students around the area along with press. Honestly was expecting a little over a hundred people or so. Ended up 250 people and we sold out of all our DVD's. I wish I had something creative and insightful to say about it all, or some tidy little quote but I got nothing. All I can say is that it's overwhelming. Not only are you watching three years of your life go by in 2 hours on screen, but then you have all these people reacting to it, excited, not knowing what's coming next even though I know every detail down to the pixel. There is no single emotion, only a big old mix of excitement, nervousness, fear, panic, joy, and some that don't even have a name. You want to smile, you want to puke. And this was only the preview screening. I can't imagine the premiere.

All in all, a simple thank you to every one of you that came out tonight. I greatly appreciate it.

How To Order Pre-Sale Tickets

So a lot of people have been asking me, "How do I get tickets?" Fairly simple.

Tickets are $10 a piece. Simply write out a personal check or money order for the number of tickets you would like made payable to Chris Preksta. Put it an envelope along with the address where you would like to recieve your tickets. You can also request us to hold them at the door for you the night of the premiere. Mail the check/money order to:

Christopher Preksta
2703 Tilbury Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217

And we'll mail you out your tickets, or have them waiting for you at the premiere. Whichever you prefer. Tickets will also be available to purchase at the door, but as I've said many times, it is guaranteed to sell out. There's 571 seats and we sold 100 of those the very first day, so get those checks in the mail. All the proceeds from this premiere go to covering the cost of renting the theater and the future costs of film festival submit fee's and travel expenses. DVD's will also be available for purchase at the premeire for $10 each.

If you've got any questions/concerns call 412-377-6140 and Ashley the ticket lady will help ya out.

Looking forward to seeing all of you there.

Blasto Premiere

It is finished.

Well, sort of. The movie is done. But now it's a whole new ballgame. The premiere. If you've been to the website you'll notice that the premiere is set for:

Captain Blasto Premiere
May 26th, 7:00 PM
Loews Theater, Waterfront

Ticket's will be $10 at the door and we will be selling presale tickets because it WILL SELL OUT, I guarantee you. We will also be selling DVD's there for $10. All proceeds will go to paying for submit fees and travel to film festivals around the country.

So now it's into the publicity and advertising. The DVD artwork is in it's final days and should be getting printed early next week. I'll be making up flyers, press packets, posters, and all that. For those of you that would like to pre-order tickets I'll give you information soon. Just check the website.

Man this is crazy.

Head Games

DVD is working now. It was all in the transcoding, which means nothing to 90% of you reading this, which equals roughly eleven people. It's really neat to see the menus and music and all that. No matter how the movie does its nice to know I could always get a job doing credits or promotional design.

Now that we're in the final day of the DVD I'm having to watch the movie OVER and OVER again. I watch for any errors etc. and then fix them and then watch it again and then fix them and then watch it again. It's starting to mess with my head. When we had the first screening with a small crew of us, I enjoyed it tremendously. I thought, story's good, it's got a neat visual look, the characters are easy to connect with, sure there are things I'd like to fix, but overall I'm happy with it. Now that I've watched it 20 more times and had to pick apart all the little problems, I hate it. Now I find myself thinking more along the lines of the story's weak, it looks like a home video, the characters are two dimensional, sure there are a few things I like, but overall I want to light myself on fire. It's so odd to have worked on something that can be measured in YEARS and then sit here with this DVD that can now be measured in MINUTES. This feeling has been the major documentation of this blog. These head games. One minute you love it, the next you hate it. Had a conversation with Eric (the guy that did the Blasto theme song, who you can check out at www.ericjames.com), about this phenomenon of being an artist. It's like at first you come up with an idea for something that your convinced is amazing. You work and toil to make it into something real with that same vision in your head, all the while loving it, hating it, loving it, hating it. Finally you've got a product, like some wrinkly little newborn baby that's all purple and gooey, and you show it off looking for some sort of validation. "Like me and what I'm doing, please." And it's like having a kid because those closest to you are going to say it's beautiful no matter what. Who goes up to a new mother and says her baby looks like Don Rickles has been taking a bath in grape Kool-Aid? There are bad movies and there are ugly babies. But, no matter how good or bad the product ends up being, the whole experience is just weird. And unforunately right now I'm in the middle of the "hate it" phase, where you question even ever having the vision in the first place. It's all head games. Too much time of lookin' and analyzing the same stuff. Just today my mom's boyfriend Tom said he saw the trailer and he's really excited to see it. Melanie Reevers' IM'ed me out of the blue and said the same thing. And there's about 20 - 30 other people who have said similar things. If all these people have seen footage from the movie and are excited to see it, then there's gotta be something there.

So what am I doing now besides complaining? Currently rendering what I believe to be the very last of the changes. From there I'm going to compress the movie down into one big old video file and make a few little changes to the DVD menus. From there I'm going to start this bad boy burning tonight and will have myself a finished Captain Blasto DVD. While all this rendering and burning is taking place, I will be working on the packaging artwork so that this all can be ready to send to be duplicated early next week.

Why Would This Be Any Different?

Currently making the DVD. Got these nifty menus. Figured out the buttons, chapter points, commentaries, and all that crazy DVD stuff. Go to burn the DVD. Doesn't work. Just some error. No explanation. But EVERY time I try to burn it, doesn't work.

Why would making the DVD be any different from anything else I've tried to do? It just never works out. The first time anyways.

I've set a deadline of this Friday to have the completed film and DVD 100% completed. I really hope something this stupid doesn't stop me from accomplishing that.

Making the DVD

The few times that I've been able to screen the movie it has been a direct video link from the computer to the television. But there will be slight differences once it's burned to DVD. Music levels and so on may differ slightly. Therefore I cannot officially call the movie done until I've watched a DVD copy. As I type this, the movie is in hour 14 of the burning process. My best guess is that it has about 8 - 10 more hours. Just to record one disc. Crazy. What sucks, is that it's tying up the computer so I can't do any work until it's done. To be honest I'm not really sure whether the computer froze or not because the progress bar has been at the same spot for hours.

In the meantime I've been working on creating the menus, buttons, etc. for the DVD's we'll be selling. It's a lot harder than it may seem. I'm using legit DVD production software, none of this Create Your Own DVD stuff they sell at Best Buy so that families can make a collection of home movies and old photos to give to grandpa on Christmas. It's kind of frustrating to sit here with this movie and be pretty much done and then have to turn around and learn how to make a DVD and all. It's such a slow finish to the project.

Had a good conversation with Scott about all this. There's lots of guys out there that can direct a good movie, and there's lots of guys out there that can edit, and there's lots of other guys out there that can make neat credits, or storyboards, or posters, or act, or write, etc. But what's been a blast with this project is that I didn't just get to try my hand at one or two of them. I did all of them. That's got to stand for something when we try to sell this badboy. This isn't me saying, look what I did, I'm great. Because there was a LOT of incredible help. It's that I got to learn and take a stab at each of those areas. So even if the film goes no where, the primary goals has been fulfilled: the story and the training.

The progress bar just moved. Computers not frozen.

The New Trailer

The new trailer is complete and on the website. Unfortunately the only format I could upload is Windows Media which isn't that great looking. Hopefully I'll figure out how to do Quicktime soon.

For those of you who have seen the original trailer you'll notice it's similar with a different look and feel. It's got a very 60's Pink Panther/Rat Pack film feel to it which is neat. It's also modeled after the opening credits to Blasto.

Had another screening of Blasto Thursday night and only had a few minor changes. Changes that can be made in a few hours. So it'll be Monday that I make the changes and watch another screening. And that should be that.

I Hate Computers

So what's the hold up on this movie? I mean I've been saying it's almost done for something like two weeks now. Well, I'll tell you what the hold up is:

Saturday I spend the ENTIRE day rendering each chapter (Rendering is compressing all the layers of video, audio, effects, etc. into one single video file.) We're talking a 10 - 12 hour day here. Every single chapter, opening credits, end credits, all rendered and ready to be transfered to DVD. Wednesday night I go to load all the chapters in and something miraculous has happened. The video is fine, but the audio for every file is sped up to the point where everyone sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks. An entire day of work, wasted. So, I decided to render audio and video seperate. I stay up until 3:00 am Wednesday night (after a 12 hour day at my actual job) and render ALL the audio. It all sounds great. Only thing left is to render the video the next day. Wake up Thursday, start the rendering. It starts at about 10:00 am and finishes around 3:00 pm. All that's left is to load the audio and video in and BOOM, something miraculous has happened. The computer deleted ALL the audio files I stayed up until 3:00 rendering. Didn't know the editing computer was capable of so many amazing miracles. Heck it's giving Jesus a run for his money. So not only was my first day of work wasted, but the second day of work to FIX the first one is wasted. So now I've got to re-render ALL the audio and keep it in a seperate folder so it doesn't get deleted again. Do I know if it will work? Nope. Will something else happen to stop this movie from completion? Probably. Am I frustrated that it's taken my three days to accomplish one day of work? You betcha.

Balancing The Movie and The Mundane

It's the very essence of the film. Trying to find the balance between some big adventurous dream and renewing your registration. It's so tough to have all these big questions going on in your head, all these big plans, or artistic expressions, and then you have to call the bank to find out what that $31.00 miscelleaneous withdraw was. I don't presume to think I'm the only one going through this because I've got the movie. I'm sure all of you have something that really gets you fired up that you have to set aside because a bill needs paid, a car needs washed, a shelf needs put up. And that's what Blasto is all about, the lifelessness of life. Ooooooo...deep.

So what's going on? Well, I've been recutting the trailer because the first one was just practice at getting acquainted with editing the footage. The new one is ALMOST where it needs to be. A few more hours on it and it'll be top notch.

Tomorrow night (Thursday) I'll be watching what could possibly be the final cut of Blasto. I fixed all the problems with the rough cut. If I watch this and don't find any more that'll be that. Although those of you who know me also know I'll probably find at least one.

And for those of you who just happened to type in captainblasto.com into Internet Explorer might just happen to find our brand spankin' new website, still in it's beginning stages of course. The trailer is not up yet, and the cast/crew list isn't completed, but to hold you over there's some nifty wallpaper to adorn all those delightful desktops. I figure all of you that are actually taking the time to read this should see the process of creating the site as well. I'll let you all know when the site is updated and completed. (Note: those of you who are using FireFox as your browser, it'd be best if you viewed this using Internet Explorer. FireFox doesn't display the page quite right.) Next week I'll be adding the trailer along with some cuts from the soundtrack. Exciting times eh?

Steven Spielberg Doesn't Exist

I think it's safe to assume that most people share a common perception of the film industry and Hollywood. It feels like some kind of fantasy land. It's harder to get into than freakin' Narnia. And just by some lucky break or freak chance you may stumble into it, much like Sandra Bullock or Tara Reid. Having boobs usually helps. But honestly it all feels so unreal to the point where Steven Spielberg feels like a fictional character. He's like Superman or Luke Skywalker, not that he's some great hero, but that he's somebody you've read stories about and seen on television since you were a kid. All of 'em, the actors, directors, it all just doesn't feel real. The fact that George Lucas' job is to sit and think up a Star Wars movie to make (and subsequently ruin, but that's a whole nother blog) seems absolutely ridiculous. Steven Spielberg could literally make ANY MOVIE he dreams up. Anything. That just doesn't feel real. It's like being a kid and having an action figure factory at your disposal. Any figure, character, that you can think up, they will make an entire toy line from, including vehicles and playsets. I didn't even choose that analogy because any movie they make a toy line actually does get made from it, even though that just adds to the ridiculousness of it all.

At the same time the industry all feels like some elite group that you can never be part of. Like the popular kids in school. Even though Hollywood makes 90% crap all year, if you were to bring them something better than all of that, they'd still kick you to the curb just to keep you out. "I mean really, what were you thinking bringing something like that out here to us?"

But the other night I started to re-read Robert Rodriguez's book "Rebel Without A Crew." I read this back in high school. It's the director of Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Spy Kids, and the upcoming Sin City. The book is his journal as he wrote, directed, and ultimately sold his first movie that he made for $7,000. He filmed some half decent little Mexican action movie with blah actors and so-so action scenes, all subtitled. It's not terrible, but it's not amazing. He took the trailer to this thing out to Hollywood and showed some execs and within a month he had been hired for Columbia Pictures to develop scripts and to direct a picture for them and was being payed something like $800,000. And THEN they bought his movie when he was finished for another $125,000. Just like that, boom, you're in. The wardrobe opens and there's Mr. Tumnus with some turkish delight. Studios FOUGHT over him (Rodriguez, not Mr. Tumnus.) Columbia, Tri-Star (now part of Columbia), Miramax, Disney, Universal. All them chomping at the bit for this guy who just rolled into town without a dime, but a good trailer to a decent movie. And suddenly all my perceptions of Hollywood are instantly shattered.

Do I think that I could just take the Blasto trailer into Hollywood and sign the check? No. But it gives me a lot more hope that something big could honestly happen. Those studios fighting over this guy, why? Well one, he's kinda lucky. Luck, God's blessing, whatever you wanna call it, it plays a bit into it. Right place, right time, right person, whatever. There's gotta be SOME connection. Two, hard work, which can usually negate luck. He worked his tail off to make that movie and then worked it off again trying to get the movie out there. And finally three, talent. They all wanted him because he was talented. Why do they want talent? Not because they really wanna make great art that will last for generations. They want to make money. And talented people can help make them LOTS of money. So Rodriguez gets to make the stories he wants and the studios get to make money off of those stories. Seems like a fair trade, right? So right now Rodriguez has his own production studio based out of his own home, complete with sound stages, editing studios, special effects, the whole works. All because he did exactly what we're doing. Are we following the same path. I don't think so. But I also can't help but think that the Hollywood safe just got a little easier to crack.

Monday Musings

"A truly good movie is interesting and easy to understand."
-Akira Kurasowa

Right now, as the editing process comes to an end, there's a couple things that scare me. 1) That the movie isn't good. This scares me even though I don't really believe it (which I've discussed in previous posts.) I heard the above quote by Kurasowa today while watching his film Stray Dog (the first Japanese police drama ever made) and it made me feel a bit better about my own movie. Because I think it is interesting and it's easy as balls to understand. 2) Sin City scares me. All the concepts for Blasto were conceived years before Sin City will premiere. Blasto was filmed and began editing before Sin City ever saw their first day of filming. But since Blasto took SO FREAKIN' long to complete, Sin City will hit theater screens first. Why does that scare me? Well it's a comic book movie that has been advertised as a "true adaptation, capturing the very comic book panel image on screen." If that includes the comic panels and dialogue boxes like Blasto, than no matter what we say, it's going to look like we copied, even though the stories could not be further from each other. Not to mention they've got millions of dollars and hundreds of crew and Tarentino guest directing. They'll be seen as a revolutionary new style and we'll be seen as someone copying that style like every movie that used the Matrix effect (even though the Matrix wasn't the first movie to use the "bullet time" effect. It was Lost in Space.) I was worried when the Hulk came out because they attempted the comic book panel thing. But it sucked and so not that many people saw it or cared. But Sin City looks good, and it's getting all the hype it needs. At least those of you reading this know the truth. On the other hand, Sin City really looks good so I am looking forward to seeing it.

I'm currently doing some final reviews as I compress each chapter. That means that I will watch the chapter, make any little changes, and then compress it into a single video file. Once I've done that to each chapter, I will have the full final rough cut. I will watch that cut for one last look for any small problems or changes, if there are any. Once that's done the film is officially finished. That's scary.

From there it's on to DVD production, as in menus, graphics, package artwork, along with other promotional items that need made, website, etc.

End Credits

Finished with all the little touch-ups from the Rough Cut Screening, so now it's on to end credits. The credits are kinda tricky. For one thing there's not really that many people that worked on it to fill a whole end song. And when the majority of the work was done by one or two people, you don't want to just keep seeing their name repeating. Credit does need to be given, but at the same time it looks egotistical. So there's the trick, how do you give yourself credit for a lot of things without making yourself look like an egomaniac?

I've come up with a neat design for the cast credits. The shot will look like a comic panel (much like many of the scenes do) and in one panel will be their name and character title, in another panel will be an outtake or behind-the-scenes footage of them and in the remaining panel will be a storyboard drawing of the person. What's funny is there's some people that have more screen time for their credit than they do for their actual scene.