If this were a marathon (and it is, indeed, it is!) maybe we'd be at mile 16 give or take. Julia and I are on that unbearably long and lonely stretch of road--every day, it's just you and your footage. And the constant pounding of progress.
It's been awhile since I've posted an update. Not because things haven't been progressing. Quite the opposite. We've had a lot to get done in the first months of 2011, and only so many waking hours each day to fill. Blogging kind of fell off the list of priorities for awhile. But as Fast Eddie once said, "I'm back, baby."
We now have a rough cut. And we've been focused combing through it for the last few weeks. Watching...discussing...checking alternate takes. Et cetera. We've also had the benefit reviewing an alternate cut that was put together by students at The Edit Center in Manhattan--some really great ideas in there that we'll surely borrow from on our way to a fine cut.
The bountiful morel season around NY and NJ afforded me the chance to shoot some very pretty seasonal b-roll out in the woods. And I was most pleased to get to cook some of the delicious fresh black morels and ramps that I found for our stalwart producer, Kit Bland, and new friend Karin Chien.
I also helped prepare a mycophillic feast in Brooklyn with writer/director David Barker, photographer Barbara Ess, filmmaker/artist Nida Sinnokrot, and editor/filmmaker Rica Linders. Three kinds of morels (Morchella elata, Morchella esculenta, and Morchella semilibera) and all kinds of talk.
Next up in the process are pick-ups (just a few odds and ends that will help smooth out a few scenes--no major re-shoots, praise be to the mushroom gods) and some sound booth recording of voice-over. Then we're back in the edit suite for the rest of the summer. Hoo boy!
We'll be posting at least one official trailer in the coming weeks as well, as part of our next fundraising campaign. Stay tuned!
I've also started shooting a series of mushroom time-lapses for inclusion--here's one of the first tests:
