Pokemon: The Resurgence - Post Production Update
Things have been ticking along at quite a nice rate, obviously we would all love these processes to go far quicker than they actually do, but I feel it's far better to take that extra time opposed to rushing a project out and being unhappy with things that could. I think this is important on the whole in those early days of a production company. It all comes down to how you want to be perceived, so the standard of work you release needs to be at that level right from the beginning. Anyway this is just to keep everyone updated on our progress and where we sit right now. We are finally on the home straight of this very long process, which is a very exciting prospect considering we are getting very close to a year since we began filming. I have been very big on not putting a great deal on deadline but it is now looking like we are only three to four months away from a finished project that we will be able to show you all, and the team that has been there to see it to this stage so far can't be more excited for that moment.
You maybe wondering what I have learnt through this process now that I have experienced it first hand. Where do I start? This process has been long and gruelling, I always knew post production was a big process but as an actor that has never been any of my concern for the past 15 years. Shooting a film is the greatest accomplishment I have currently achieved and the filming process was one of the most enjoyable moments in my life so far, even if I burnt myself out in the process. However the Post Production side of things is a completely different kettle of fish. It is very rewarding but feels far more like work than filming ever did. Being an independent film company and funding this on my own it meant we had to work around our current lives. My editor lives in another state, so we would need to organise Skype sessions to edit, generally going for 6-10 hours per session once or twice a week.
Yes it took a very long time as we tried to balance our schedules and some weeks just wouldn't line up. But as we stitched it all together we found out how important certain aspects of a film are that we just didn't have. It wasn't because we didn't think about them but rather once we got there we became so focused on the actual lines of dialogue time just slipped away. A cut away can help tell a story but also transition between takes that are just not quite fitting together properly. Establishing shots just like cut always are always put on the least important list, then you look through all the footage and realise you have none! These shots really help transition between places while also setting up an environment. The upside is you can pick these up at a later date, like we had too. Once we had those it really completed the whole film and was the icing on the cake for the edit.
One element that is harder to fix, is that little thing called continuity. This is the first time I saw how crucial it actually is when stitching a film together. As an actor I want to feel the freedom to react the way I feel moment to moment. This is all good and said, however when actors repeat certain movements on different lines of dialogue in different takes it becomes a very tricky thing to edit around. For example if it was a dinner scene and I was to just eat my food with out paying much attention to each bite, come time to edit there is a high possibility that each and every take I could be eating even on the takes that aren't actually focused on me. This is a problem we faced early on in the edit. Lucky for us we shot these particular scenes on 6k which gave us the ability to punch in a bit tighter and crop out the repeated actions with out sacrificing the quality of the image. But I could image this isn't always an option.
Once we completed the first pass of the major edit it was straight into the tweaks. Just like writing a script, you need to go over this thing with a fine tooth comb, get an outside perspective and really see what is working and what isn't. The things that don't work, how do you fix them? Even though this is a short (30 minute) film, we still found a couple of scenes would end up of the editing room floor. You can't afford to be precious about these scenes, no matter what extremes you may or may not have gone to get them done on the day. After around four months, and a thousand little tweaks (which would probably seem insignificant) we reached a final product that we were all very satisfied with. That brings us about up to speed.
Right now I still work with the sound team getting everything up to the same standard as the visuals, however this is far less collaborative as they work away before showing me and making changes from feedback. My editor now does his thing with the colour grade making everything pop while I also look for the final part of the team, the VFX and graphics.
The end is finally in sight, and we are very very excited to show everyone the final result. I have been working for around two and a half years on this film and to complete it... Well it's very hard to describe. I have been so fortunate enough to have a team that has helped me get this to where it is today and to where it will be in the next few months. Differences were put aside and the odds were against us constantly but it has been done. A small handful have seen the edit in it's current state and the response has brought me to tears. I am humbled and proud, but it doesn't stop there. I have so many more ideas I need to bring to life so I find myself already prepping for the next project. Almost as if I wont give myself a chance to savour the moment. Regardless I really hope you have enjoyed following the journey and maybe even learnt something along the way. It wont be long now.