The Music of BYSTANDER

Here are three tracks from composer Sir Richard Wentworth from the 'Bystander' soundtrack (including the theme). As expected, Rich did a perfect job evoking the mood and tone of the film (clips as proof to follow in upcoming posts).
It's not often I can play a sort of abstract version of 'SUPER PASSWORD', where I throw out vague musical names and themes...like 'Jon Brion', 'witching-hour twilight', 'Claudine Longet', 'Distant news trucks', and 'Dream Academy'...and the other person somehow produces just the right thing.

I know he won't be upset when I say that Sir Richard is our Charles Nelson Riley.



Sir Richard's Blog


Sir Richards's MYSPACE

1st draft complete

1st rough draft is complete. Amazingly, 45 minutes long...as expected. Efficient, yes...
...but is it any good...

Lots of peaks and valleys in mood as I edited it. Technical problems tended to get me down, but a great shot here and there was enough to (generally) keep me going. Performances from the leads are spot on throughout, so we have that going for us.

One or two scenes may or may not require a re-shoot day. There's only so much I'm willing to cover-up with editing trickery before it starts to distract, I think. Lots of choices to be made...perhaps thousands of little ones...

Overall, though, I am encouraged by the pacing, tone, and performances. This next stage just means we analyze the hell out of it, score it, and go at it with a toothbrush.

More later,
Mike

Bystander - Promo #1

Greetings from Camp Moviehaus-
Hope the holiday ramp-up process is moving easy and smoothly for all of you. As promised, here's the first preview/promo of 'BYSTANDER'. Hope you enjoy. The music is by Sir Richard Wentworth, and I couldn't be happier with the stuff he's coming up with.
The rough edit will follow soon after the holiday marathon ends (and a viewing party):

- BYSTANDER - promo#1 -

It's in compressed Windows Media format, so it's a little pixleated. If any of the cast or crew want a DVD copy, send us an e-mail and we'll get one out to you.

Send us an e-mail anyways to let us know what you think of the promo and what you're up to!

Happy Holidays, and thanks again,
Mike McQ.

Obscure DVD site

Here's a great site for hard to find DVDs (most notably for me all the Hal Hartley films):

http://www.microcinemadvd.com/about/about/storefront.html

Watch out for the regions, tho...some are PAL.

your PAL,
McQ

Stuff to Remember - PT.1

After the 3 week-long self-doubt fest I threw for myself, I decided to take the plunge and fill the blank page with something. I poured over the footage, grabbed 2 of the 6 or so songs completed by our composer, and went to town. I'll post the rough 2-minute promo on the next post, but for now I'd like to expound on the wonderful world of post-filming regret!
You know...those technical problems that somehow go unnoticed whilst lost in the busy haze of production...things to look out for so you're not stuck with the something considerably less than the best possible image/sound...things I wish I told myself every damn day...

To wit:

• IMAGE GAIN: Never crank the gain on a camera, especially when using 24p. If it's too dark at a medium or recommended gain (aperture size), GET...MORE...LIGHT
• CLEAN THE LENS: At the beginning of every shoot...CLEAN THE DAMN LENS
• CHECK THE ASPECT RATIO: 16x9 or 4x3...pick one and stick to it, then check to make sure EVERY TIME
• PHANTOM MIC POWER: Turn off phantom microphone power unless your mic needs it. This results in a slight hiss that's almost undetectable during filming, but becomes ALL TOO detectable during editing
• USE A MONITOR: Most cameras have a video out interface. Plug it into a damn monitor and look at the monitor...instead of looking over the camera operator's shoulder into a 3" screen. (That's right...one more thing to carry. If you're going to whine about it, buy a 10" flat screen with input for $99...then shut up and plug it in)
• COVERAGE: Not sure if you have enough angles or static shots or environmental pickups? You probably don't...keep FILMING. Entertain every conceivable shot (within reason) but, at the very least, get the reverse of every conversation
• WATCH THE DAILIES: Ever wonder why they're called "Dailies"? I don't wonder anymore...

Sure I sound angry...but it's all directed at myself. These are rudimentary steps that I really should have applied. I'm pretty sure most of the problems are fixable, but they almost all represent some sort of concession or compromise in image or sound or composition. Please...save yourselves...I'll try to create some production CHECKLISTS in later posts. Perhaps after I finish this Bourbon...

Capturing = Done-ified

Well, the capturing phase is complete. I actually had only 11 tapes (rather than the previous estimate of 13...a statement which, as of now, can only be interpreted as a blatent lie). It took about 10.5 hours, so about an hour a tape (with an average 40 minutes of footage on each tape). I've included a helpful comparison photo above, the stack of tapes next to a can of my new favorite super-drink, JOLT blue-raspberry. Althought blue is pictured, I'd get the GREEN can if you are able, as that's the only no-carb/sugar-free variety.
The capturing phase is good for people like me (i.e. "crappy memory-havers") that need to get re-acquainted with all the material at every phase of production. If it gets done in one or two marathon capture sessions, I am able to wrap my head around all the footage and stay lucid and focused on the flow of the piece. This part is also a great unearthing of blooper material (welcome surprise) and technical oversights (surprise, sucker).

I will post the list of screwups after I'm done striking this gong with my head...

Editing Begins

October 10th...Editing begins.
We started capturing the footage this evening. 13 MiniDV tapes. Roughly 12 hours of footage. Each tape takes about 30-45 minutes to capture.
I honestly have no idea how long the finished piece will be. In my head it's roughly 40 minutes. A little too long to be a short-film. I've heard a few different designations here and there for something this long, but the one that sticks out is 'Featurette'. Featurette! A bite-size feature? Isn't that just adorable? Almost offensively so!

I spoke with Rich about his movie in progress. His is full-length and he's looking at 30+ tapes so far. Wow. I feel a little daunted loking at my measly 13 strong stack of dv's. Clearly I'd be lost in the tempest of ones and zeroes were it not for our whip-smart Script Supervisor Landon. He took notes during the filming, noting the characteristics of each take with pithy details so that, at this point in the filmmaking process, we wouldn't be asking "Which take did we really, really like?" or "At what point during this scene did that safe fall onto the set?"

We still have a long way to go, but at least, with these notes, the path is a little clearer.