140 + Final Cut = Done

Yes indeed. January 27th 2010. I've just burned the first disc. I'm excited, little tired, exhilarated and thrilled it's done. Looking back I realise that it's one month shy of a year since I came up with the idea! Beat the year!

I had hoped to have it finished by the end of August last year, which of course wasn't to be. That stretched to September, to October, to November, December was out entirely and I'm just grateful, thanks to the unbelievable patience and support from my wife (who happened to have a baby in the middle of all this) that I managed to get it finished before the end of this month.

I'm happy with how it's turned out. I kept a promise to myself, which was to leave no man/woman/filmmaker behind. That is to say every clip I got was going in. Which made it a little difficult. Normally if something isn't working, for whatever reason, rhythm, timing, theme, quality, it would end up on the cutting room floor (or computer bin), but not here, everything needed to find a home, and I think it did. I hope you agree!

It's running at 82 minutes, which feels right. The music has worked out brilliantly. 4 Original Songs by Eoin McCabe and the Ventilin Pimps, 'Dublin Blue Sky' by Johnny Crean and samples from Terrence Boylan songs 'Miso Soup' and 'Ice and Snow'. And of course where would I be without the fantastic score from Dermot O'Mahony, his music fits perfectly. I think he really captured and understood the spirit of the footage and the film and gave it an overall over.

It will be interesting to see what people think of it. I'm not sure how it will go down. I hope people like it. But it's such an unusual piece. Sometimes I think it would be better suited as an installation piece in a gallery, rather then a film in theatre. It's not your average viewing experience. I hope the audience quickly figure out what it is and are willing to go along for the ride. Personally I find it quite a mediative experience, almost hypnotizing, it's something you can get lost in and enjoy the diversity, never knowing what's coming next. We'll just have wait and see.

I plan to get the film to the filmmakers as soon as I can. At the moment burning and shipping over 100 dvds is not financial viable for me! So I'll make it available to download. My plan for releasing there after is to ask every filmmaker to hold their own screening on the same day worldwide, while also premiering the film on that day online on Vimeo for 24 hours. That's the plan anyway. I'm not sure when that will happen, most likely early March (maybe on my birthday - 11th?!) I just need some time to drum up interest again.

So now I'm on the road. The hunt is over, the prep, the thrill of filming, the anticipation of waiting to get all the videos, the disappointment from those who flaked, the thrill from those who far excelled my expectations and the edit, all over, all done. Now we see if it works.

I hope it does!

As a pat on the back I think I should get an iPad! ;)