BTS - The Road To Park City: Frayed Ends
When the call came in for Slamdance, we were initially caught off guard. I had submitted a very rough cut in September and assumed we’d be passed over. I planned to lock picture in December, affording a few months to mix the film and wrap any loose ends before the spring festival slate. Fortunately, the programmers saw through our rough cut and we found ourselves with a January premiere in Park City!
Although unexpected, the news was well-timed: we had held a series of screenings in November and were close to picture lock. However, there were several issues to deal with. First, we were lacking high-res stills, which are VERY important. Publicists and distributors will want a variety to choose from. Normally a photographer shoots hundreds of these during production, but most of THE NEW YEAR PARADE was shot with a one-person crew – normally Mark Doyle. Mark was already unpacking the gear, setting up lights, wiring the actors for sound, setting up the mixer, booming, and sometimes operating the B camera or acting as a background extra. It’d be unrealistic to have him shoot photos as well. For print, all images should be 300dpi, which rules out screen grabs.
I called Greg Lyons, who plays Jack in the film, and asked if he’d be willing to fly in from LA for a few days. Greg was excited to help so I spent $250 on a plane ticket and began calling the other actors and locations. It always puts my stomach in knots to ask more from people who have given so much already, yet everyone was jumping to go. In two days we hit 7 locations and shot a wide variety of images that will be great for posters, postcards, DVD art, and magazine articles. I also filmed an interview with Greg that will be the first of several with the cast and crew to be used for online press kits, viral marketing, and DVD content.
During the preview screenings there was one character introduction that came up as confusing: Julie, Jack’s love interest. Since Greg was coming in town I asked Irene Longshore, who plays Julie, if she’d be willing to take the train from NY to film a new introduction for her character. On Monday morning I drove out to Bucks County to pick up Greg, down to Philly to meet Irene at 30th Street Station, then hurried to the South Philly String Band club to film the scene. I was fried and a little scattered while directing, but Greg and Irene know their characters and were total pros while some of the band members acted as extras. We managed to wrap just in time to get Irene back to the train and Greg to the airport by 2 PM. It was an exhausting morning, but after cutting the sequence together – well worth it.
As production wore on for several years, not having a producer sometimes caught up with me. Often the first thing to fall by the wayside during a stressful shoot were release forms, which are important to have. Now I’m scrambling to get them together. Fortunately, I did keep detailed contact lists so getting in touch with everyone has been very easy and we’re nearly finished collecting them.
Finally, we had planned to score the film in January and that is now impossible. We’ve been working on some incredible original music with the Mummer’s, but because it is one week from the parade, there is no time to set up recording sessions before our mix. So, we will premiere with a temp track and then add in the original score when we can spend the time to do it properly. This means that we must obtain festival clearances for the tracks we’re using. I’ve been making calls and sending e-mails over the past few days and hope to lock most of these in right after the holiday. I hope to have a more detailed report on that once I post about the mix.
Of course, it is always ideal to get loose ends tied during production. I’ve been very fortunate that my actors are willing and able to get into town and that my locations are still available. If you can get your hands on a high-res digital camera during your shoot, I’d advise doing so. Remember, behind-the-scenes photos are great, but you’ll need hundreds of quality scene shots when you prepare for deliverables. At the same time, you have to get the film done by any means necessary and for us that meant, sans producer. When you don’t have money to buy arms, you can only juggle so much.
In the past few weeks, we’ve also begun to build awareness of the film both locally and nationally. Of course, Philadelphia is home to 15,000 Mummers and will be a major market for the film once the distribution strategy is in place. You can listen to a KYW podcast HERE (bottom left, below ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS).
Next week: LOCKING PICTURE
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great post. each getting more exciting.