The edit is still coming along with all the expected challenges and revelations. The subject matter that I have been working with isn’t the most cheerful stuff, as you might expect. I thought I would post a little taste of the music that is going in the film, something on the peaceful side. My brother, Brendan Dyer composed it on several different instruments.
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Soundtrack
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The end of Combat Operations.
Unless you live in a cave then you have heard that all the combat troops have been pulled out of Iraq. Well, if your definition of a combat troop is the same as the media and the white house then I guess I took a dusty vacation in 2004-2005, because the troops that are left are of the same type that I was. I find this classification funny, there’s a few mortar and ied craters that would disagree with not qualifying me as a combat troop. Also, a couple convoy routes might have something else to say as well. Oh, but what’s this?http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/world/middleeast/19withdrawal.html?emc=na The void of combat troops is going to be filled with private security contractors. Who by the way are mostly former troops just trying to do the same job and get payed fair market value for their work.
In true form, anything that I could say on this Stephen Colbert can say in a more entertaining way so here you go:
the-word—what-if-you-threw-a-peace-and-nobody-came-
Oh yes, the film is going well. I am editing.
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Roughing the Edit
The past week I have been charging through editing. This is where it all comes together. All the planning and preparation is starting to pay off, and where some of that fell short is becoming evident. But that’s where the art of it comes in, working around the problems, or so I’ve been told. I do have a rough draft done and am now working on getting some music in there. The music by the way has been provided by my brother who uses a “whamola” to create some interesting sounds.
The biggest challenge in this is something that most doc. filmmakers find tough. What to cut? Each of my subjects have shared some really hard stories with me and I have to boil it down and figure out what is deserving of your attention. It’s hard. If I had my way I would strap people into seats and make them hear the entirety of each interview. These Veterans haven’t had the luxury of the III act story structure. This has been and continues to be their lives.
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Desert
I just got back from the desert. Desert Hot Springs that is, specifically Sky Valley. I can tell you two things about the time I spent there; it was productive and it was brutal hot. It got up to 118 degrees Fahrenheit on several days. If any time and place was going to replicate Iraq while staying within the safety of the U.S. then this was the week and this was the spot. It’s hard to believe I used to do some pretty tough physical labor in this kind of environment while wearing a flak vest and a helmet. To think that people still are while I write this gives me the inclination to shut my mouth.
Joe Mielich helping get the outdoor animation table set up.
I shot the above clip because I couldn’t help but shoot it. I didn’t have any specific thing in mind about where it might fit in the film, although it very well could somewhere. Consider it a gift to you.
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Media Attention
Last week I was pleased to receive some attention from the media. First was the Ventura County Star, which I mentioned below and includes some photos and then CNN blog gave me a little tip of the hat (I’m the fourth one down). The links are below.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/jul/03/veterans-tell-war-stories-on-film/
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/05/mondays-intriguing-people-18/
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Studio Animation Complete
With what I estimate to be a solid 9 minutes of usable animation I am breaking down the studio. In the past week I polished up the rough trailer that is below and also had an interview with Scott Hadly of the Ventura County Star. The latest trailer is set to be released with the article that Scott is writing about my project. I’ll post links to both when they come out next week.
Working the military beat in a county that has several active military posts Scott has plenty on his plate so I was pretty happy to have him come out to the studio and pick my brain a little. He’s no newbie either, the Star has sent him to Iraq to cover the SeaBees.
Stay tuned and Happy 4th of July!
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Rough Trailer
In the thick of animating I found a little time last weekend to put together a rough trailer. There is no title card on it because I have yet to animate that part and it still needs some post production work to pretty it up. I sat down with my supervisors at In Their Boots and we brainstormed a title for the film; it will be called “Enduring Erebus.”
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Teaser photo
I am still very busy animating in the studio. Luckily, this week Joe from ITB was able to come out and help for a couple days. Here is a teaser photo just to give you an idea of the “look.”
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Animating
I have been really busy this week animating and fine tuning the set. I hope to finish my first scene over the weekend and move on to another key element to the story next week. In the meantime, my brother Brendan, who is composing the music for the film has sent me a disc that has been on repeat while I am working. The figure you see on this set will not be in the film, that was used as a stand in for lighting.
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Behind The Scenes
Here are few photos from earlier this week when Joe Mielich (ITB Staff) and I set up the studio for animation.
Animation Table.
Animation Table wide with Frankenstein lighting grid above.
Joe Mielich painting the backdrop.
The final product before set dressing.
