Deadlines Almost Kill Filmmakers

Now the team understands where the name 'deadlines' come from... No sleep, bad diets, insummountable technical issues, failing computers and impending time contraints, the team broke through some mental and emotional walls this last week to meet our deadlines. With two big film festivals deadlines on August 01st, the team struggled to get the film ready, burnt to DVD (who uses this technology anymore!) and sent off in the mail... Here's how our week of hell panned out. Monday 10:30am - 2:00am Tuesday- Easy picture fixes and checks. Tuesday 10:00am - 05:00am Wednesday - Correcting sound mix. Wednesday 08:00am - onwards (no sleep) - Final checks and correcting sound mix and picture. <<<Computer incapacitated>>> Virus downloaded whilst trying to free DVD burning software. 22:00pm no shops open to fix computer. Attach harddrives to another computer 50% media offline. LOW POINT. Editor attempts to reconnect all media on new computer whilst director stalks the grounds outside the edit suite depressed. Director miracolously fixes the orginal computer by bypassing the virus and downloading anti-virus software, wiping the computer and restarting windows. Very techinal explanation no-one understands... WE ARE BACK ONLINE! Roll into Thursday from Previous day (no sleep) - Final checks. Burning to DVD works! Upload to Vimeo for other festival. Thursday 15:30 (30 minutes before post office closes) - Mail to film festival. :) :) :) Here are some pictures to show you as it happened. Our super computer, bought especially for this production is broken! The Brain is dead!!!

What we see on our screens....circa 19 hours before deadline...

Somehow manage to bypass computer that won't boot to download the fantastic AVG anti-virus software. At 70% 55 virus's were found. 27 of them 'serious trojan intrusions' according to AVG's interface. Rapid Tap 'Remove!!!!'

01:00am day of deadline.The computer pings back to life.

Back in the hotseat. The legend, half asleep, half insane cracks on with the film. Hours behind schedule and still unsure if the ropey computer will work.

Disrupting the peace of the post office, two wide eyed white men communicating rapidly manage to produce the sentence "This must there by tomorrow" in Korean.

Deadlines...what deadlines?

Snapshot on directors phone...28 minutes to spare....time for a beer.

The following day the legend finally accepts his body is flesh like everybody elses. He succumbs to the pressures of the week and is hospitalised.

The director is found in this hotel room after repeated attempts are made to reach him.

There is nothing left of him. Doctors say he may return if the room is left in darkness for 14 days. The room is paid for by loved ones and the door has been closed.

This is the final version of the film soundmixed, graded and finished. If we are accepted into the festivals we need to make a DCP and do a 5.1 surround sound mix.

Essentially though we've finished the film for internet and television viewing...You guys have to wait a little longer though until we confirm distribution to see the film... What a week. Thanks Jim. You got us there...