What a Year
As we’re approaching the new year, it’s hard to believe that “Rainbow Around the Sun” has come so far. What was originally conceived as a video accompaniment for the brilliant album by Matthew Alvin Brown has taken on a life of its own as “The Indie Rock Opera from Oklahoma,” and Team Awesome has grown from a tongue-in-cheek name for some filmmaking buddies into a rock-solid creative partnership.
We always hoped for the best for “Rainbow,” but never imagined the path it has taken thus far. Oklahoma City is a ripe environment for for indie filmmaking; there are many talents here hungry to sink their teeth into a fresh project, and as we got further along into production, more and more people gave their time and resources to make the film everything it could be. Our original goal was to get it made by the end of 2006 so that we could premiere at our hometown film festival (deadCENTER Film Festival…highly recommended, BTW), but we were quickly encouraged to set our sights outside our own state. Then came the call from the IFP Narrative Rough Cut Lab.
Back in June, we thought we were pretty close to finished, and were about to begin submitting to film festivals. When we were chosen for the Lab, however, we decided to put the festival circuit on the back burner. It was the best decision we could have made. The Lab forced us to step outside of our own support system and look at our film with entirely new eyes. To be honest, we were so deeply immersed in the details of the production process that we had lost perspective on what were were originally trying to accomplish, which was simply to tell the best story possible. We came back from the Lab with fresh ideas, more energy, and a clearer vision of how “Rainbow Around the Sun” could work as a feature film. Within weeks we had overhauled our edit, and added new scoring to supplement the already fantastic songs that made up the backbone of the movie. The result is a film that flows much more seamlessly through its story, and we owe it all to our lessons from the Lab.
Simply put, it was an incredible experience. Often we’ll take it for granted, but when you actually stop to think about it, it’s unbelievable. Here we have a wonderful organization that has made it their priority to make sure we and our peers get the support we need to not just make a better movie, but take that film into the world. It really is a blessing. At our session in June, one of our lab leaders, Scott Macaulay, spoke about the different ways to measure success, and as we told him at the end of that week, for us the thought of us even being considered for such an experience was a measure of success.
So here we are, nearing the end of the year, six months after the Lab. We’re in the midst of preparing our sound mix for the next level, and we can’t wait to see what happens next. It’s exciting to take the next leg of the journey with the nine other groups we’ve come to befriend at the labs. We can only hope to keep reuniting over the next several months on the festival circuit. There really is an unbelievable sense of camaraderie among all of us. For “Rainbow,” we hope to begin our festival journey soon. Stay tuned.
Kevin, Beau, Matt, and Kim
Team Awesome Productions
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Yo Awesomites!
I’m so impressed that you started this process a year ago - it’s incredible what you’ve pulled off. The new trailer you guys posted on Myspace is amazing - a great mix of visuals, storytelling, killer music, and tons and tons of fun. I can’t wait to watch it!