This is another vote of confidence for our gritty little UK Indie feature. 

All the other world wide territories are still available, so we're still trying to sell into those markets as well.  The best way to stay up to date with everything is to become a fan on Facebook which is our new up-to-date info hub.

- EF Team

“A tremendous achievement.”

"Brought me to tears."

"Like a combination of 'Momento' and 'The Shawshank Redemption'."

“Riveting!  I'd see it again in a heartbeat!"

"The acting and story felt true."

"Brilliant cinematography!"

"Layers of taboo subjects well handled"

There's no timescales on this at the moment as we have to make sure that the films are of a standard that suit the Emanation Films brand, but we are currently looking at two films and will make some decisions on these by the end of April. 

It's always been our intention to not only create original content, but to also help other talented people in the world of Independent Film.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Emanation-Films/353245953298?ref=mf

The poster is done.  It looks great.  We'll work on getting it up here on the site shortly.  Neil Richards designed it and he's done a fantastic job bringing together a our key Ryan/William confrontation image (photographed by Dan Regan) fused with the hand written letter elements.  This description hardly does the poster justice when you see it and there has been a hell of a lot of work has gone into it.

Neil has also designed some other collateral for us - twitter skins, twitter logo, DVD sleeve and on-body and some other background and incidental artwork. 

Film - The picture is complete and the sound is 95%complete.  We will be recording some ADR in early March and inserting this, then the audio will be finished.  This isn't holding us up though.

Screening - We had a very successful screening in Vancouver, Canada,  to test the film on a North American audience.  The film was received better than we imagined and a huge thanks goes out to Max and Mike for making that happen.

Distribution - this is our first week of hitting it properly and we have sent out five screening copies and info packs to interested distributors who made the request to see the film after seeing the trailer.  We're continuing to pursue this interest along with broadening our search.

Artwork - We have a great designer on board who is developing the artwork for the film.  This will be used on posters, DVD sleeves and the myriad other things need to promote the film.

We'll keep that up to date and that's a promise (no really this time, we mean it).

In the meantime we've had Philip Bedwell from Additive, a post production conglomerate based in Leeds, agree to take us on and provide our colour correction and final grade.  We're incredibly excited about this because a) it will lift the visual look of the film and add the grittiness we want and b) we're grading addicts (which we know is very sad) but it is an absolutely critical part of the process.

Thanks a million to Phil and Additive for agreeing to come on board.

Okay, this might still get updated from time to time, but if you really want to know what's going on get following us on Twitter!

- The EF team

- Si

They're over looking to see if any British films will fit into their 2010 festival programme.  I'm not going to mention which festival it is yet until I have confirmation from the British Film Commission that they will show our film to these two guys who are coming over to London for three days at the end of September.  The good news is that the Film Commission approached us.

It's our first shot at getting the film out there and being seen by the right people in the industry.  We'll keep you posted here on how this progresses.

- Si

We are now starting to put the trends highlighted in the feedback into action (where appropriate) and also cut the trailer at the same time so that we can start to approach distributors and get it up on the site for everyone else to see.

Thanks again for all your support and constructive feedback everyone.

- EF Team

We've got a test screening of the film coming up on Saturday August 22nd at the Odeon Cinema in Worcester.  The venue is thanks to the Odeon and General Manager Tony Hailstone so a huge thanks to him.  We'll be looking to get some high level feedback from the audience so that we canmake any tweaks necessary (and possible) before we hit distributors in September. 

More info to come soon.

- Si

Si and Dave met last week for a six hour session to review the film.  Si is now continuing to ruthlessly tighten the film by editing out every frame that doesn't need to be there.  Dave is working on creating the flashbacks (he shot them at an incredibly low shutter speed and is now playing with the speed to create some fantastically eerie results).  Penny has some good news on our first test screening of the film that she's been pushing for (you need council exemption because we don't have a BBFC certificate yet), but we won't talk about that now as the detail hasn't been finalised.

So, as usual, loads going on . . . not enough hours in the day . . .

- EF Team

Despite the lack of blog entries there's still lots happening.  Andy has started on the music and we're trying to keep him busy by sending him all the various files he needs.  Si and Dave will be spending some time over the coming couple of weeks making sure the sequence that comes out of our edit suite has the sound files mixed correctly for Andy.

We have day eighteen of filming this Saturday.  It's a full day, but with important but quick things to film.  Welcome aboard to Dean Aston who Iain Burton-Legge put in contact with us.  Dean is playing the model in our dream sequence as we'll be filming his shots on Saturday. 

Lots more going on.  We'll endeavour to keep these shorter and more frequent.

-The EF Team 

So a huge welcome from all of us to Andy Stuteley who will create the music over the next two months.  Andy's originally from Brum, but now lives down in the big smoke.  Besides his ability to compose music for film, he also is a sound designer and will be able to create the final sound mix for the film.  Being able to have both of these skills resting under the leadership of one person is a great advantage for a film on our budget.

We're all very excited here about the prospect of seeing such a huge element (sound) come into place.  Dave has finished about eighty percent of the initial sound mix and should have the rough cut mix complete by the end of the week.  We'll then be in a position to get this to Andy so that he can work his magic.

- The EF Team

I have viewed the first very rough cut and the pace of the film is good.  There's still a lot of work to go, so we have got a number of things underway in the past couple of weeks so that certain work-streams can now run concurrently (sorry about the absence of blog entries . . . it's been a very busy time!).  Dave's working on the initial sound mix and he, Penny and I are deciding to how to make the final cuts on the film which currently runs at 101 minutes.  That's a relief as I was aiming for a picture locked cut of between 90 and 95 minutes and so for the first cut to be 101 . . . it's definitely acheivable.

We are choosing which sound designer and composer to bring on board.  Out of over fifty who applied we are down to our final two and will be making a decision in the early part of this week.  This means the composer will start working on the score immediately and there will be initial talks with the sound designer so that when we have a final cut of the film he can get onto it immediately.  In the meantime he can start sourcing effects and ambience.

Rough timescales?  Well, as always, this is what we're aiming for and there are always a lot of factors that can affect these, but here we go anyway.  By the end of June I want to have a cut that we can show to test audiences - a lot of the people who read this (if there are a lot of people who read this, which is doubtful) will be amongst those who'll see the film at this stage.  This means all filming finished (yes, we still have one day of principle photography left and a day or so of second unit stuff). Editing finished to a locked cut for test screenings.  Score and all incidental music 90%complete.  Sound design complete for a test cut.

Yep, it's a lot to do, but we're moving ahead at full speed with July and August as polishing months and creating the right files, trailers, promotional materials, etc. to approach distributors.  So that means we hit the selling phase of the film in September.  (Stop laughing, it's going to happen)

There you have it. That's all from me.  (Stop cheering)

- Si

Our thanks goes out to everyone who has been in touch with us and I am trying my best to respond to every e-mail personally.  Obviously, with everything else that's going on, there may be a delay of up to a week in my replies. 

- Si

Unfortunately for us Dave's edit suite is giving him some unexpected grief (as all good edit suites do from time to time) so he hasn't been able to start cutting yet.  He's got a couple of ideas about bringing the edit suite back to life so hopefully by the end of this week we should both be working on the film.

It'll be great to see what he can do as I know there's room for improvement, but I'm just too close to the material to be able to see where the improvement can come at the moment. 

I'll leave this topic now before my ego returns and gives you the real situation which is that the first forty five minutes are frame-perfect and to change a single cut would be like drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa.

Yes, I'm a bit nervous as I have agonised over every single frame of every second in that first forty five minutes.  But I know I have to go through this process and life will be better in the future. As soon as Dave gives his edit suite the breath of life then we'll be moving towards final footage that will make our first cut of the film to be previewed to the public.  When we get there it will be a very interesting and exciting time.  

Anyway, I've got to run and sabotage Dave's edit suite again . . . I mean, of course, get back to editing the rest of the film.  I definitely have not touched Dave's edit suite and corrupted any of his software.  Definitely not, your honour.

- Si

Things moved on after we got that scene and we then shot our final scene of the day which involved William explaining what it feels like to stab someone for the first time and the strange thoughts that go through your mind. 

This involved a little bit of action where William punches Ryan as hard as he can in the stomach, throws him to the ground and then pulls a blade on him.  Thank god for Chris that AJ knows how to pull up on a punch.  It looks great on film.  The moment should really catch the audience by surprise and this is one of those times where I want to see people jump off their seats. 

For when William pulls the knife on Ryan we went with our usual reality approach.  This meant a real knife being pulled out of AJ's sock and thrust towards Chris's face.  I was a little bit nervous on the day and, in hindsight, probably should have shot this last just in case AJ slipped by a centimeter or two.  If this was an insert shot on Chris's last day at least we could go to his funeral knowing we had all of his scenes in the can.  Posthumous awards are all the rage . . . maybe we missed a trick for you Chris.

Anyway, we shot it, the knife came out, Chris is still with us and the scene is genuinely frightening.  So a good result all round.  Dave cut a version of this scene to be promoed in front of a couple hundred people last year and when it stopped they were all sitting in silence with jaws close to the ground.  Bearing in mind they saw the scene completely out of context - simply as an excerpt from the film - I thought this shocked reaction was good.  A few people came up to Dave and I afterwards and said that they really enjoyed the scene and wanted to see more.

I've recut it - we always knew we would as we had to fit it in with the flow of the film as a whole - but the essence is the same and hopefully the reaction will be as well. 

As a last note on these scenes I've been able to be very bold with the editing because of the great shots we achieved on the day which is down to Dave and Adam Boyle's camera operation.  Really great stuff here, in particular a fifteen second hand held tracking shot over a hedge starting on William and ending on Ryan as the two walk very quickly down a road one after the other.  This came from Adam and it was one of those shots you do after you've shot everything else because the chance of it working is slim.  Well it did.  Nice one Adam.

- Si

It's always heart breaking to film shots that you want to look bad.  We filmed several actors as news reporters doing on location pieces to camera circa 1978 and this meant bad framing, bad little zooms and sticky pans (as in panning the camera).  Dave had to be on his game to make this stuff look bad and, surprise surprise, he did it.  I'll leave out all the obvious jokes about Dave and bad shooting . . . so much material, so little time.

In context, however, the stuff looks great.  It will now be put on YouTube and macro shot off there because it's part of Ryan's research scene.

A massive thanks to Iain Burton-Legge for sourcing such great late '70s wardrobe for us.  Absolutely brilliant and thanks also has to go to Tessa, his accomplice, who owns the shop where we borrowed the costumes. 

Doing their respective pieces to camera were actors Oliver Newton, Catherine Phillips, Andrew Warren, Martin Murphy and even our own camera operator Adam Boyle makes a cameo appearance looking like something right out of Life On Mars.  Everyone put in a good performance so thanks to all the actors for a) getting to the location on time (it was the day after the heavy snows and half the country was closed) and b) for trusting Dave and I on the delivery, the look and minimalist lighting approach.

I've just started cutting a scene where William gets a knife from a garage - we shot the exterior of the garage in Cheltenham and the interior of the garage months later in Worcester - and once again top marks to AJ for not trying to do too much with the thirty second scene and for looking meanacing, disturbing, mildly psychotic and  . . . come to think of it he didn't really have to act in that scene.  Top marks for showing up AJ.

- Si

I've just rough cut the end of the film together.  So currently I have most of act one and a good deal of act three in a rough cut form. 

What I've just cut together is the denoument, right after the climax, where we learn our characters various fates and, a couple of shots from the end, we throw in the last of our twists.  The pacing is working well and the last scene between Karen (Lucy Studd) and Andy (Craig Rogers) really leaves any hint of feelings nicely open ended.  This was always the hope when I was writing the script as I wanted a number of things left open to the interpretation of the audience.

On the day - a fantastically sunny day on location in Sandhurst, Gloucestershire - Lucy and Craig brought the right subtlety to the scene while Mike Westley (playing Karen's father) gave us a protective patriarchal couple of lines to set the stage.

Once again I'm pleased with it and I am now prepping act one to be handed over to Dave so that the first phase of grading and sound design can begin.  After hours and hours of discussions over the past twelve months I can't wait to see the richness these two elements bring to the film and I know Dave's dying to get his hands on it.

- Si

We're also getting a mention this Sunday (March 8th) on Wyre radio (107.2 in Worcestershire) as Iain has informed me that Tessa, who supplied all the period costumes for us, is being interviewed at 1:00 pm.

I've just seen the trailer for 'Ditto', a short by Cheltenham based director Phil James.  It is shot by DOP Dave Buxton, whom I have had the pleasure of working with on a few occasaions and looks good.  The film stars our very own Chris Hatherall who sports his usual man-on-the-edge look, so check out the trailer if you get a second on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDiB78lI2x4&feature=channel_page

- Si

The location did exactly what locations are supposed to do.  It didn't just provide us with the right look, but the atmosphere of the place definitely added an intangible element of reality (our buzzword - horrible term, sorry) to the performances.  Chris and Siobhan are full of energy on screen and they run the perfect line of sticking to the script and ignoring it at the same time. 

The result?  Energy and passion.  Fantastic giving that we had to shoot four short scenes in the four hour window that we had at the location.  The planning was great, the execution was great and it is a perfect example of how being really prepared can lead to increased spontaneity on set with vibrant results. 

A case in point was that we were able to add an unscripted scene which was created on the spur of the moment.  This was the only time that this was done on the production and credit has to go to Chris for suggesting that we need a more defined introduction to Kat and her professional relationship with Ryan.  We improvised a quick scene and, now that I've cut it together, I can't imagine the film without it.  Thanks Chris. 

Despite our shooting style I'm not usually a fan of full improvisation, but on this occasion Chris laid out the argument well (actors are very very occasionally right), we were ahead of schedule (believe it or not!) and I knew it could be pulled if it didn't work (yep, my OCD means I always need a Get Out Of Jail Free card up my sleeve).  This is the kind of collaborative approach that we've been trying to achieve on the film and hopefully this is a feeling that has come through to everyone who's been involved. 

- Si

All of this comes without having made much of an effort to get coverage.  In the future there'll be more of a need for publicity, but right now we're focused on getting a rough cut together. 

- Si

But as I cut together the scene where Karen (Lucy) and Andy (Craig) meet this is an unlikely comparison.  On the day of filming back in September we were blessed with beautiful sunshine and what seemed to be an almost endless golden hour colour temperature.  It was always the intention that the scenes between Andy and Karen would have warmer, richer colours.  This look reflects the mood the two of them feel when they're together. 

And the weather delivered.  Dave and I were very pleased with what we were seeing and, yes honestly, on camera the Severn can pass for the Seine.  Andy and Lucy have done a great job creating a familiarity and honesty between their characters in what was a very short working life on the film (a single day).  These scenes clash very nicely with AJ and Chris's intense and often unnerving confrontations.

- Si

I think the fact that the Cathedral was open to the public helped.  This was a conscious decision because Susan MacLeod, the Operations Manager there, said they would close it for us if we wanted.  We decided against this because throughout the whole film we always wanted it to feel as real as possible.  Reality was a word used constantly on set and in all filming preparation. 

Susan was fantastic at making the location work for us.  It took about two months of correspondence and meetings before we were granted permission to be the first feature film ever to be allowed to film in the Cathedral.  It would have been very tempting to make the scenes in there look very grand, but Dave and I were committed to keeping the style of the film consistent and relevant to what was happening between the actors in the scene.  So, even though we're in that fantastic building, the look is still raw and intense.  Hopefully we've done it justice, time will tell.

A huge thanks to Susan, the staff and volunteers at the Cathedral and to The Dean Of Worcester, The Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, for not throwing me out of his office as I began to explain the story and for ultimately giving us the green-light.

- Si

I am in touch with several well known actors, am getting in touch with more, and am in negotiations with one . . . who would be absolutely perfect.  It would be innapropriate to mention any names at the moment because that's how rumours start and I'm committed to remaining on schedule and in reality.

- Si

http://www.britfilms.com/britishfilms/inprogress/?&skip=60

I know I've said it before, but it's worth mentioning it again . . . this is where the distributors, sales agents and other people in the industry keep an eye on what's happening on the British circuit.  This is a site run by the arts council and the industry.  There are a lot of illustrious names who's celebrity stock will now go through the roof because they're rubbing shoulders with the likes of AJ Nicol and Chris Hatherall. 

The reporter to camera pieces looked great as well.  Lots of stuff to choose from and the outfits look perfect.  Now we'll just create that late seventies TV look (which is absolutely awful) and cut it into scenes of Chris, as the character Ryan, researching on a lap top.  So we'll still have to shoot these off a laptop.  There are a lot of these little finishing peices of filming - the little details - that Dave and I will have to tackle in the upcoming months

Catherine wrote a story on her experience as a reporter in the film which was in last week's Worcester Standard.  I haven't seen it yet, but once again thanks to Catherine for getting involved and for spreading the word.

- Si

For anyone who cares (all three of you, if my dog counts) I may revisit some things that have happened during filming so that there is a record of it here.  There are nine entries since we began principle photography ten months ago . . . and three of those I've added in the last few days.  That's not really a functioning blog in my mind and that's my fault.   

Dave, Penny and I have been very busy making other things happen, but that's no excuse.  So I will now endeavour to bore you stupid with the next chapters in the life of the film . . . post production and distribution (oh yeah, we do have one more little filming day to do . . . just one, promise [with my fingers crossed]).

Thanks to everyone who visits this page (yes, that's the sound of tumbleweeds).  Sorry it's been a disaster.  Can't guarantee it won't continue to be a disaster, but I can guarantee that there will be more of it.  You can never have too much disaster.  Anyway, the blog's alive.

- Si

- Si

It is a day that has been a long time in the making and it all came together smoothly . . . we even wrapped on schedule!  We had a lot of new faces in front of the camera so thanks to Jonathan, Catherine, Sam, Oli, Martin, Hannah and Andrew for braving the elements, trusting Dave and I, and putting everything into it. 

- Si

- Si

It's a long process though, so hopefully we'll be able to start to preview a first cut to select audiences in early March (but don't hold me to that).  The organisation in post is crucial so that when we go to do a proper conform at a post-house, after Dave and I have cut it and done an initial grade, we can go in with a solid and orderly project which will keep the workflow straight forward so we can concentrate on creative decisions.

- Simon

A big thank you must go out to Jenny and Mike Westley for allowing us to film in their beautiful home, and for letting us rope them into two small roles. Simon assures me we now have only 4 days of principle photography left, with 2 days of pick ups to get. I just hope we can get them done before the rains come.

- Dave

- Dave

The footage is looking great and the performances have been wonderful. The two leads, Chris Hatherall and A.J. Nicol have surprised all of us with their level of commitment to the project. And everyone else involved in the film has put in so much hard work, thank you everybody.

- Dave

A definite working method has developed between the crew and we got some really lovely footage. The next big day is 24th May and we're all looking forward to getting even deeper into the project.

- Dave

- Dave

Left:  If I use my hands a lot while I talk, maybe people will believe me.

Center:  Chris and AJ rehearse - notice, no scripts, they kow it backwards.  Unfortunately it doesn't make any sense backwards.

Right:  I'm trying to explain my thoughts to Elise which is why she has a bit of a blank look on her face. It's not her fault.

- Si

Left:  I explain things to the group.  People are polite and don't laugh at me.

Center:  A rare shot - Chris and AJ being serious.

Right:  And after hearing the budget Iain considers never working with anyone from Canada ever again.

- Si

- Dave

We’re also in talks with a sound designer who will create the final sound mix in post production. Considering we might have in excess of fifty layers of sound for some of the more challenging scenes this is a crucial part of the process. It’ll give Dave a chance to lead this by developing the first rough mix in Final Cut Pro (the editing software we’ll be using) and then we can do the final mix in Pro Tools (industry standard sound design software/hardware).

- Si

- Dave

- Dave

Keep a look out here for confirmation of the final cast.

- Dave

- Dave

- Dave

- Dave

The first few initial tests, performed against an television industry standard DSR camera, have proven the convertors mobility, ease of use and versatility… Expect some beautiful imagery in this film.

- Dave

- Dave

- Dave

- Dave

We also met with the film department, whom are currently consumed with what seems like a blockbuster of a project about fire safety.

We will be holding our next casting session at the Tech on Saturday 1st March, and there's an actor applying for William that we're extremely excited about seeing. 

- Dave

- Dave

We also met with Ian Tomlinson who we're hoping will take on the role of Production Designer and significantly raise the level of the final production. All in all a great day.

- Dave

- Dave

- Dave

The first level of script breakdown is done. Scene by scene what, who and where we need. Now we just have to find all of these little things.

The look – Dave and I started pouring through the script scene by scene. It took us over two hours to get through the first fifteen pages. Mostly me rabbiting on about a million and one things about story and character that have been in my head until this point, which is unfortunately the time for me to infect Dave with this stuff.

- Si

- Dave

- Dave

- Dave

With the website up and running we're gonna start casting early in the new year. We'll be focusing mainly on local talent but also contacting actors that responded to our Mandy.com ad.

Unless there's another whopper of a flood we'll be starting principle photography in the first third of 2008.

Happy New Year y'all

- Dave