Previewing the Rough Cut

This past Thursday I previewed a rough cut of "The Egg Timer" for a select group of people. I wanted to get some preliminary feedback on the film. As the writer, director and editor I am so intimate and involved with the film that it becomes difficult to stand back and assess how the film is working for the viewer.

After watching the film, we had a good 40 minute discussion and I received a number of very helpful comments and suggestions. After the discussion I was able to approach the film from a little different angle; and yesterday I sat down at the computer to begin to make changes which I think will define the story and characters a little more clearly. I'll continue to work on these changes in the coming week as I show the film to more and more people.

This is a fascinating experience and I've learned so much. Once again, I thank all the folks at Splice Here for their tremendous help on the project.

Polishing the off-line edit at SpliceHere

This past week, Joe Martin, editor at SpliceHere, and I have been polishing the off-line edit. Joe has a great feel for the mood and timing of the film and has really smoothed out the edits. Mary Ahmann stopped by a second time and also gave me some really good ideas for making the film better. I recorded a rough version of the piano sonata I want to use for the soundtrack. I think it's working well with the story. I have a few more ideas for polishing the off-line, but I'm taking several days off, so I can come back next week with fresh eyes.

Post production at Splice Here -- the off-line edit

For the past two weeks I've been spending most of my time at Splice Here, working on the off line edit -- or the "rough cut" of the film.

I've gotten to meet everyone at Splice Here -- Heidi Schuster has been coordinating my project and I can't thank her enough for all the time she's spent helping me. The folks at Splice Here are the most cordial, helpful people and fun to work with. Carl Jacobs has been mentoring me on the off line edit. He showed me how to log in all the clips from the film; and he's been helping me with editing on Final Cut Pro. My editing platform at home is a PC using Premiere Pro, so I've had a few issues adjusting to FCP. But, with Carl's help, I've been able to cut the film in the way I want.

The rough cut process is going very well. This past Thursday Mary Ahmann, my off line mentor from MCTC, stopped by. She looked at what I've been doing and gave some excellent suggestions. I've incorporated them into the rough cut and they really add to the power of the story.

This coming week I will be continuing to tweak the rough cut and plan to show it to other people at Splice Here to get their feedback. I will also be recording a temp track of the Haydn piano sonata I plan to use for the montage and credit sections of the film. I'm interested in seeing how this works with the film. I also plan to meet with Andy Reynolds at Motion 504 about the animations and TV cable news look for the beginning of the film.

I think we're on track for completing the film by the beginning of July. Once again, thanks to everyone at Splice Here. They are great!!

Yet more production stills...taken by Shannon McCarville

More Production Stills taken by Shannon McCarville -- the Process Trailer

More Production Stills

Here are Delaney Burke and Adam Thompson in the flashback scene.