Another Unknown

Yesterday I conducted the absolute last interview of the whole production process for this documentary.
..
..... Now what do I do?

Julia is doing a great job of editing, we are working remotely, so I sent her an external hard drive with all of my footage up to when i sent it, and have been shuttling two 32 gb thumb drives back and forth via USPS since then. We meet via skype every Friday at 9:00Pm, and talk about the progress for the week, which is when she uploads her current final cut pro project file to Google Drive, so I can load it on my computer since I have an identically organized external hard drive.
   You know.. just in case you wanted to know how remote editing collaboration works.

Christine is still doing a good job with the music, and we are going to get that remastered for a few hundred dollars by someone she has worked with before. on top of a full time job, She just spent over 30 (maybe 50) hours in the studio with her band The Jean Jackets, recording their new double-album which consists of I believe 24 songs. Which I'm excited to hear.

Now my job is to begin applying to festivals and generating interest amongst potential distributors. Which means i need to learn what that means, what that entails, and figure out how to do it as a first-time filmmaker whose film is still in progress.

I'm sure I'm forgetting / don't know something about my current task set, but that's how I see it for now.

Oh and I'm going to be making an animation of a map of Binghamton being sketched. this will allow Julia and I to create graphics that place wherever footage is happening in geographical relation to where other scenes have occurred.. That should take forever.

That's all for now.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but all I had to say was "still filming"

-Kevin

Being an Adult

Making Tough Decisions...

              that's the barrier between youth and adulthood, isn't it?
Well I didn't get the production assistant position, and I passed up the opportunity to work on that web series due to scheduling restrictions, but I have made the professional move to commission an editor for my documentary. Julia Jin, a fellow BU alumn will be remotely collaborating with me on the editing process.
       I turned to the linkedin community for advice on how to transfer footage to her, since I'll still be shooting throughout the summer, and I got plenty of responses, most leading to the conclusion that I would need to ship Ms. Jin an external Hard Drive (which she received today), and send subsequent thumb-drives.

       Suddenly life is clearer and I can enjoy filming again. The deadline is less frightening, even a little exciting again.

More updates to come.

-Kevin

Battling the Riptide

       Recently I have been going through bouts of self doubt and anxiety, as I'm sure you've noticed even from my infrequent posts. Today is the day I get back on track. I will be filming multiple times a week even if there's nothing formal to film, I am searching for an assistant editor, and as soon as I get more footage (tomorrow) I will be editing nearly every day as well. I think it took the time crunch to do it for me. I realize I only have little over a month to finish the filming of this project before I have nowhere to stay in Binghamton, and I realize that worrying helps me zero percent.
       From experience with academia, I have come to understand that I'm most productive and I create the best work when I'm busy, and so I have taken on a few side projects. I will be taking photos for an art collector, helping her categorize her collection, I will be helping one of my backers improve her IndieGoGo campaign, and I will be the videographer for a local group trying to create a web series. OH! and I'm applying today to be a PA on a short video in Elmira which is being shot in a few weeks by a fellow Binghamton Alumn from Lucky Duck Productions, based out of NYC.


       Three cheers for getting back on track!

-Kevin

Legal What?

       "It's been a while since I've posted." I feel like this is how I should begin all of my entries. The past month has been taken up by the end of my academic career, some finals, lots of goodbyes, and a whole lot of wonder about the future. While this post doesn't have a whole lot to do with filmmaking, it does have to do with trying to be independent as a young person.
        People keep asking me how filming is going, and the times I manage not to say "NO. I don't want to talk about that right now." I attempt a flippant "Progress is slow, but I'm on schedule to finish in the Fall". Just thinking about my project fills me with anxiety, I can't help but second guess my decisions, and since I have nobody to work with, all the back-and-forth goes on inside my head. How is my audio, is there really anything here, why am I not enjoying the progress of this city, isn't that the point? Where will I take this, what if I get the interviews and they DON'T make everything better? I didn't know anything about color grading before and barely do now, is that going to make my documentary look too amateur?
        In an attempt to ease my worries I have begun hunting for an assistant editor, someone who doesn't have the contextual memory to go along with the image, because what I have discovered this past month, is that I have trouble seeing with my eyes. I see with my mind.. I know it sounds lame, but how I experience my surroundings largely takes place only in my head.
         I keep thinking I just need to get my act together and bang this out but for some reason I can never find the path or maybe something about me doesn't want to find the path.
         I did a bunch of research on what it means to be an LLC (Limited Liability Company) and what E&O insurance is. My conclusion is this: I don't know anything about business or law, I have never wanted to be a businessman, but if I decide to go down the road of independent filmmaking, I will have to be a businessman, not just a filmmaker. So I've started rethinking my decision to not look for jobs with a preexisting company.
          Oh well, lots to think about, just know that I WILL NOT quit.


-Kevin