The film is finally done. Actually it was done last week, and I had the press kit all ready to Fed-X to the first festival (Sundance- because everyone enters Sundance), and then I ran up against technology. I've been running up against technology throughout the entire process of making this film, so I shouldn't have been surprised. I guess that's what I get for being on the cutting edge.

The film used to be two hours and forty minutes long, but I cut it down to 2:16. Now this is a problem because consumer DVD burners can only accommodate two hours of material, until recently when dual layer burners were released, which can fit twice that much. So, I upgraded to the dual layer DVD burner and was all set to create my DVD to send off the festival when it became apparent that my software was not adequate to the task. By which time I had used up all of my blank dual layer DVDs. So, after waiting for more blank DVDs to arrive and buying new software, and wasting a few more DVDs trying to figure it out (no one seems to know anything about dual layer technology yet), I finally managed to get a dual layer DVD of the film. Of course it doesn't break where I would like it to, but at least it doesn't have the long pause the other versions had.

Anyway, the film is now finished and out the door to the first festival. It's a strange feeling. People I have never met will be watching the film. But, I suppose that's the whole point. The more overwhelming feeling is knowing that I don't need to sit in front of the computer and work on it for hours each day. Now I need to sit on the phone and try to sell it.

The feedback I received form the people I showed it to was helpful and varied. My general impression is that people have been a little overwhelmed by it and that they haven't really known what they think at first. But their comments did help in trimming over 25 minutes off the running time. The most interesting part of receiving the feedback was gauging the differing opinions. Some people liked the Daimons, some didn't like them as much. Some loved Ben and Harriet, others preferred the story of the Farmers. This was actually the best response I could have hoped for. As long as everyone has a favorite aspect, and there isn't a collective judgment against one particular part of the film, I figure the film is doing what it is intended to do-appeal to a diverse group of people and stimulate discussion.

The next step is finding a producer's rep to help get into festivals and try and sell the film to a distributor. So if you know of a producer's rep that might be interested, let me know.

I've also posted a new trailer. Please check it out and let me know what you think about it. I think I need to remix the music to be louder and check the compression again.

Something to do with the rest of my week.

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