Nov 03
Where are we?
Basically, I thought you’d have watched this film weeks ago. The final hurdles have been many, high, and seemingly never ending. I sent a copy of what I thought was the final HD film to Sara and she reported back that there was a 1 second glitch (a rendering artifact) at one point during the video. 67 minutes of footage, a 1 second glitch. I can’t leave it in, so back to the editor, back to the rendering process, the muxing process, the faffing about, and I’ve now got another final HD version. Hopefully this one will be fine.
I could work on this film for months more, on things that no one would ever notice. Are they important? That depends. I think that a film shouldn’t force you notice what’s going on, you should just enjoy it. You need not notice how much work went into a particular shot, because you should be absorbed by what’s going on. I think that’s a nice goal to strive for. Saying that, I won’t be working on this film any longer. It’s done (if Sara reports back with positive news).
The DVD version went to the printers last week. The artwork was a hotly contested race, and there were some great entries. My friend Mike didn’t even ask for a brief. The mere mention of a DVD cover sent him off into a frenzied state and he took it upon himself to name the film and design the cover in one fell swoop. Only when he came back to earth did he realise I’d already named it… This was his effort though, churned out in probably less (apparent!) time than Usain Bolt running the 100m.
Thanks for the effort Mike! The next version of the cover came from a designer friend of mine in England, Sam Beeson. He was given a ridiculous deadline and a remarkable lack of information but still managed to come up with a concept I really liked. I apologise for being so useless Sam. His proposals looked like this;
A late entrant to the game came from none other than Thomas Mills. In between creating wonderful spaces to exist in and broadcasting the purest techno this side of Berlin, he conjured this up;
James decided that knowing nothing about photoshop or design shouldn’t be a hindrance, so he set about his climb along the learning curve of cs4. What he eventually came up with was a big surprise to me, because he’d gone from zero knowledge to actually producing something decent! As a bi-product of undertaking this task, he know has a rather good working knowledge of photoshop! The advent of the internet and the power of community has made it possible for nearly anyone to do nearly anything… if you have sufficient motivation!
But the final choice, and gold star award, goes to Sander Pick. I can’t really explain how much effort Sander put in. He put up with my constant nagging emails, my ridiculous deadlines, and produced something which I think is amazing. In an ideal world, I would only work with people like Sander, and not the useless cretins that have plagued other aspects of this project. He is a perfectionist, which means that quality comes before deadlines, but in my opinion the world would be a better place if there were a few more perfectionists… although it might take longer to get there, it would certainly be worth it! I can’t recommend him enough if you need some design work, website work, or generally something very good looking. So the final DVD artwork is thus;
I’m really happy about it. It’s simple, it’s to the point, and it’s great. Tolstoy once wrote “There is no greatness where simplicity, goodness, and truth are absent”. In that vein, I think Sander created something great. Thanks man, I’m in your debt.
So, the DVD is being pressed, the artwork is being printed, and I’m awaiting news of a delivery date. Once I have an idea of when a box of DVD’s will arrive at my door then the pre-order will be open. I should hopefully know that information tomorrow, but I’m not having a huge amount of joy with the dvd manufacturer to be honest. I’ll keep you updated though, as everything else is ready to go. Behind the scenes it’s all going on, even though the surface appears still, a geyser is set to erupt any moment…
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Aaaarrrgghhhhh, I cant wait any longer….. keep us posted mate.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Agreeing with “Toad”.
But this post really made me rethink the whole thing. Do I want to have the DVD, with it’s fantastic polished product style, or do I want the HD download version, which offers better picture quality?
Can you make a deal, lets say DVD Price + 5 bucks and I can download it AND receive a DVD?
Cheers,
Marv
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:08 pm
I like the final dvd cover, very visually appealing. Being the perfectionist that you are, I thought I’d mention that I spotted a typo on the back cover blurb; on the third line it should (I’m pretty sure…?) read “goes” rather than “gos”. I don’t mean to criticise but I thought you might appreciate a heads up before it goes to the printers.
Can’t wait to see it!
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Good eye, but you missed some others… forest has two r’s as well. Luckily this error is only here, and not on the final artwork I sent to the printers! I’d fixed it but uploaded the wrong image to the blog. Well spotted however!
November 4th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Really looking forward to getiing a copy of this. Cover looks really good.
November 4th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
wow.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Oooooohh imo beeson won it, but sander’s is very nice too. Can’t wait to nab me a copy of the dvd. Looking forward to the big “Buy it now!” update.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
so psyched I cannot wait!
I’ll definitely want a dvd for home but will probably pay for a download as well for portability. L’etranger is now on my iphone and will be used for running beta on my next trip to font and until then is keeping me psyched for training! my only problem is that the HD get a bit squished by the converter so the quality goes in and out, any ideas for a better conversion programme (currently using real which seems whack) or could you maybe issue a lower quality version that might convert better?
November 4th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
You are torturing us. Can’t wait to see Ty crushing bloc.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:15 am
“”"”"” my only problem is that the HD get a bit squished by the converter so the quality goes in and out, any ideas for a better conversion programme (currently using real which seems whack) or could you maybe issue a lower quality version that might convert better?”"”"”"
With Snow Leopard, at least on mac you can convert everything that you can play with the free quicktime for your iphone/ipod. Quality is pretty good. And I’m pretty sure you can get this quicktime for windows, too.
But no, if there’s a download, pleeeeeaase…in better quality than the dvd
Cheers,
Marv
November 5th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Good effort Brad, i know what its like when your film is about to be released on the world. I am sure it will be ace, after all you put a lot of effort in and i think the world is ready for some Tyler porn.
November 5th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I’m sorry that I thought on so late to ask you about the cover having seconds to churn something out for you but super happy that you had a friend labouring and doing it justice. Really really nice Keith and I’m ultra pleased for you.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:10 am
proper psyched for this latest release Keith, you are a filmmaking inspiration, looking forward to it
November 8th, 2009 at 5:43 am
Any word on the finished product? ……………………………. Ah well, will check again when I get up!!