Editing

Although this post is long overdue, it contains lots of great news:

a) We've taken on a new team member (Alexis!) who has been ferociously attacking the footage, breaking it apart into smaller, more digestible chunks. We currently have about 4 roughly cut sequences (about 5 minutes each), and two very rough sequences over 30 minutes long. Alexis has cut the majority of this material; she has really been a godsend to the project!

b) Here's one of those beforementioned rough sequences:
...we're not sure whether or not it'll be in the film, and if it is, it will be more polished. The image resolution will also be much better.

c) I'm heading to Texas in a week, at which point I'll get feedback from some of the people depicted in the film. After that, we'll do a couple public screenings at Stanford, of the unfinished film. Feedback from these screenings will help shape the film's direction (and also give incentives to keep working on it).

school, and the beginning of post-production (editing)

Well, our week-long whirlwind of production (filming) transitioned quickly into a month-long whirlwind of school-related catchup - who knew that missing a full week of classes would be so difficult?
Nonetheless, editors Jon (pictured) and Charlie have stepped up to the plate, and have made great progress already. Charlie finished capturing the footage (transferring it from tapes to a hard-drive) a couple weeks ago, and Jon is about halfway finished cataloging all 19 hours, shot-for-shot.

After this, we'll probably write word-for-word transcripts of the most useful material (probably about six hours of footage). This tedious work will allow us to handle the content physically, separating it into piles and organizing it into sequences for a "paper edit." Right now we're still on track for a Spring Break completion.

So we've gotten a great start editing, but we've got a long way to go... stay tuned and hopefully we'll post some clips and maybe even a trailer.

production!

Well, Jon and I had an excellent week of production, and have returned to California as of early yesterday morning. This year's Texas Rose Festival went quite well, and was well covered in the local media. Jon and I shot about 13 hours of footage, and our friend Michelle shot another 3 hours of Camera-2 footage; we primarily covered the coronation (front and backstage) and coronation rehearsals, and we also got great material from the Queen's Tea and the Rose Parade.


We didn't cover my brother closely, the way that I thought we would. Instead we got a more broad span of many people, focusing primarily on the event rather than the people. My current thought is that I'll be using a voiceover narration in order to string it together into a cohesive story... at this point, though, it's still too early to tell.

My adviser Jamie Meltzer recommended spending a whole week away from the footage, just so that I can approach it with a fresh mind for editing. The editing process will last at least a couple of months, and I'll be greatly assisted by my friend Charlie. I'm looking forward to it.


Also, many thanks to East Texas production companies Tripwire and N-Ventive, for giving us access to inexpensive/free equipment rentals.

Flying to Tyler in Two Days

On Tuesday morning, my friend Jon and I will fly to Tyler from San Jose to spend 5 days filming some of the events of the 2008 Texas Rose Festival, themed "A Royal Tribute to the Rose."

After much deliberation, I've decided to loosely focus this on my brother, Michael Rogers, who is escorting this year's Rose Queen Sarah Clyde. Because I know Michael much better than any of the other people involved in this year's Rose Festival, I should be able to capture him in a way that adds more depth to the film, highlighting the humanity of the people involved in TRF.

And we'll see how it turns out. There's a small chance that this film will be just as much about the Rose Industry as it is about the TRF; If this is the case, then I'll need to shoot some footage of rosebush transportation in December...

This week will be very important in shaping the direction of this film, and I'm looking forward to every bit of it.

first footage

This is a still image taken from an interview with Sarah last week. Sarah is this year's Rose Queen, and I had the opportunity to talk to her on camera while she was in town for a photo shoot.
We talked about how crazy this summer has been for her, and about the history and future of the TRF.
This week I was also able to interview Jill Ramey, TRF historian, as well as the 5 children who are included in the Festival Court.
Next week I'll do two more interviews then head back to California for school. Most of the production will occur during/surrounding the festival in October, when I'll fly back to Tyler with my friend Jon, plus a camera or two.

beginning of a big week

This week is a fairly intense week of training and rehearsal, plus social gatherings, and I'm a little bit bummed that I'm missing great footage opportunities (for example, a shot of the Ladies-in-Waiting being trained in how to position their arms as they walk across the stage), but I think that it's ultimately for the best that I'm not shooting anything until later.

If I was to scramble for a camera at this point (when I still don't have personal release forms signed), then I would just be getting in other people's way and shooting material that isn't well thought-out... everything in its time.

"I'd like to make a motion..."

Today I met with the TRF Executive Committee, to get the final permission to film the event (Backstage at Coronation + Coronation + Parade). They approved the motion, with a few things in mind. Here are the three biggest ones:

1. They'll watch a pre-debut version and discuss it with me, before I make final edits. This is pretty uncommon in documentary, but it's somewhat necessary for this project. They want to make sure that I don't do anything distasteful, and I want to make this a film that they will stand behind.
   
2. They have permission to re edit it for their own uses. For example, if they want to cut an 8 minute version to send out to prospective Duchesses, they are free to use the footage from my film.
3. I won't sell it. I'm planning to submit it to festivals and eventually post it online, but I won't be selling DVD's. If I get a distribution deal later on (eg PBS), then it will be a different issue, but this is pretty far down the line (and really quite presumptuous). The most important thing to convey is that I'm certainly not in this for money.
   

Now that I've got permission, it's time to get to work.

Next week I'm attending rehearsals, where I'll meet some participants and make some connections. I'm still assembling my list of people to interview, and by the end of next week it should be fairly complete.