September already!?

Say it's not so....where has the time gone??

My show has been keeping me super busy but in between I am trying to find the time to get stuff done with 'ninety-one' among other things.

The biggest news is that I finally got a chance to host a cast and crew screening and it was a huge success!! It seems, I am very happy to report, that people really liked the film. They were moved by it, had questions about it and were taken enough by these 5 characters to ask for more. Everyone is asking about a feature. I am not sure it gets better than that!! So thank you everyone - for coming out in support!

I am still waiting on festivals but you know how that game goes.....

In the mean time I have a hiatus this week and I am away writing.... procrastinating?...no writing! It is the first time I have left the city to write and I think it is a really good thing for me....well so far anyway.

I promise there will be more to come.....
Jill

The waiting game.

Well - the waiting game is the name of the game. So far I have made about 9 submissions to festivals. So fingers crossed!

Over the Canada Day weekend (ok mid-week) get-a-way to Ottawa we screened 'ninety-one' for a small group of friends and family. We wanted to say thank you for the support. Sylvie (exc-producer) and Suesan (co-writer/co-producer) hosted the party at Suesan's house. It was a really nice evening - full of well wishes, love and support. The response to the film was terrific! One of the attendees was Tom Shoebridge (friend of Suesan's - his daughter is a filmmaker as well). Tom founded the film school: Canadian Screen Training Centre - now in it's 28th year. I had just met Tom that evening and he is a lovely man and he gave 'ninety-one' two thumbs up so, you know, pretty pleased with that one. All of this makes me even more curious to see how the festivals will receive it.

In the mean time it is back to more submissions, getting more of the press-kit stuff together, finding a place and time to finally host my cast and crew screening, sending off my clip to Frank for the 140 project, developing a stage play, thinking about shooting a short with script I didn't write, getting down to writing one (or all) of the 3 features I am working on and finally on to a 'day' job. I am starting work on a new TV show next week - Copper - a Grey's Anatomy for cops. You will find it in the future on Global in Canada and ABC in the US.

I think I have my work cut out for me - so I better get cracking! Later......

Yippie - It's Done!!

Brendan Wall (Ben) and
Shauna MacDonald (Simone) hard at work.







So I just had a family gathering over an extended long weekend....But now I am back and even better - so is the film. I am pleased to announce that 'ninety-one' is now complete and I have already made a few submissions to some film festivals.

These photos are from the week before, the sound mix and the tiny little bit of ADR we had to do. I never did ADR on my last film so it was interesting and fun, especially since we didn't have the pressure of having a lot to do. Not to mention some of the dialogue was off screen so that also made it easier. I am still learning about sound mixes but I feel like I am continuing to grow which is great.

You know it's funny - almost everyone working on this project in the post end of things has at some point pushed the film towards the more serious or heavy side and I have fought them on it - feeling like the story and performances will carry the audience where they are supposed to be. Again it all comes back to trusting the story you have told and the film you have made.

I am really excited to see what happens to 'ninety-one' and am very proud of the results. All the hard work that everyone has put into making this film possible has been fantastic. Thank you.

Over the weekend I showed the film to my mother and I was touched by her reaction. When you finally see the film you will understand.

So it is on to a new stage - wish us luck with the festival submissions and stay tuned to this spot for updates! xo

Round two.

Well last week was a big learning curve for me. The most important thing I took away was to 'know your film' and 'trust you that you know your film'.

This end of production...the post end with color corrects and sound mixes, as I have mentioned is the area I am not as familiar with, so help and guidance was what I needed. I had my color correct session and through a series of conversations, suggestions and compromises found myself when I left unsure of what we had done. It did not feel right. Now it is not anyone's fault and we were all there to do what we thought was best - agendas can sometimes be different. With that said though I found that after sleeping on it and showing the results of the session to someone close to the film I trusted I realized I had some changes to make. I know I did the right thing. It looks and feels right now and I am really happy with the end result.

So let my lesson be a lesson to all of you out there feeling the pressure of making important decisions regarding your film. You have lived with the film longer then anyone else. At times that can be a bad thing as it might be hard to have perspective but it can also make the difference in situations like these. I learned that sometimes no matter what you have talked about - pulled and selected for reference before making your film - in color palette or what have you - when all is said and done, what does the film you actually shot and edited say to you. Does where you thought you were in the beginning really hold true when you are done? I found that 'Ninety-one' become its own being irrespective of what intentions I had for it. That is not to say that I didn't make the film I set out to make it is just to say that it is now it's own life force and speaks to me from that point.

Thank you to those who indulged me last week, I really took a lot with me.

So bring on the this new one. I am ready!

Brand New Day

So tomorrow starts a whole new part of post. We have final picture cut and we are locking it in the morning. I'm very happy - looking good! This week we start the color correct, sound mix and all the things that will come and go in between.

On Friday I vetted the cut at School (edit company) with Chris (my editor) - Kyle (asst. editor). Kyle rallied a couple of people who had no connection to the film or even knew anything about it. The response was great. A huge sigh of relief. It is always good to vet the cuts as you go along so it is not just you and your editor thinking you are done or that it's working. Hopefully the people you ask will be honest with you.

Music is still not nailed down so I will continue to work on the with the gang that is helping me.

I am really looking forward to getting on to the next stage. It is the part of post production that I know the least about and have the most to learn from. So it is going to be challenging but also really interesting. I will definitely be relying on the experts to help me out.

Two weeks and we should be done!

Mine that Bird

As you may have guessed from my headline.....were are almost at the finish line of picture lock! In fact I am at my editors right now pulling a late one. This is my editor - Chris. I am getting excited! Looking forward to the next stage of post.

Also some things that have been a little tricky finally look like they may be falling into place....like music. We found a great song.

Tonight I may have also secured and amazing graphic designer to help with posters and such. All is happy in Jill's film world.

Keep the blood flowing.

I almost gave my editor a heart attack today. I didn't mean to...an innocent comment to give him something to think about while I was out snapping photos to maybe use as a back drop of my title card. Chris is over worked and over tired - definitely burning the candle at both ends. The fact is, this puppy has been in need of an edit for a while - but timing is everything, so they say and some of us work better under pressure so here we are. Under pressure.

The music was leaving something to be desired - not in the fact that is was bad but more that it just wasn't working with the picture. Here I was thinking....oh - it went so smoothly last time I don't need a music supervisor just get myself a composer and away we go. Wrong. So guess what I have now.

I am still not sure the deadline will be made with the changes we have had to incur this week but we are working diligently - so we will see where we get and hope for the best!!