The Land of Post-Production
Discover more from Him the Film
The Land of Post-Production
What's happening and what's next
We have reached a major milestone: we are sharing a cut of the movie with a select group of test audience members for feedback this weekend! This is an exciting moment for our process and we are excited to keep making Him the best it can be.
Here is a little bit about our journey to this point. It has involved countless hours of work from our outstanding editor, Kelsey, many in collaboration with Rebecca and Tess - who have also been working hard on various other elements of the film.
Editing
Editing has been a huge undertaking. Kelsey delivered her Editor’s Cut in mid-April. She and Rebecca then spent several weeks making adjustments in order to get to the Director’s Cut, which was shared with Tess last week. The adjustments span from tiny, one-second changes to restructuring of entire sequences. Even as late as last week, Tess made a great suggestion about the climactic sequence of the movie and Kelsey turned around a completely new version in 24 hours.
This weekend’s text screenings will be essential for the next steps of our process. The edit has to be set in stone (“picture locked” in the biz) before sound, scoring, visual effects, and color can do their parts.
Sound and Scoring
The next big elements are sound and scoring. We are excited to announce our really, really amazing sound mixer in an upcoming newsletter. Luc, our composer, watched through the entire cut with Rebecca to “spot” where music will be needed. We held a recording session in NYC last week to capture five female voices that Luc will use for much of the score. He’s creating custom instruments from their voices! We are also working on securing the rights for the two pop songs that we want to include.
Administration
The glamorous part! Another way we spend our time is completing the administrative tasks that keep our company afloat. Rebecca handles interviews, hiring, and contracts and Tess handles all of the financials. We both do social media and write this newsletter (check out the reels that we’ve posted on Instagram recently!)
Funding
We’ve had some great successes in the world of grants and funding for Him. Rebecca has put together several grant applications this year, many of which are still outstanding. We were awarded the inaugural Sylvia and David Steiner Film Fund of Carnegie Mellon University grant, which has been a game changer for our post-production budget.
Back in November, we were awarded the Panavision New Filmmaker Equipment Grant, which allowed us to use the best camera and equipment in the business for free. We went with the ARRI Alexa Mini, which is the same camera that movies including Knives Out, The Irishman, and Promising Young Woman were shot with. Check it out:
We hope to announce additional fiscal awards in the coming months! We are also anxiously awaiting the results of a few programs we’ve applied to. If you would like to support our post-production process, remember that donations under $1,000 are always accepted through our PayPal. If you would like to learn about gaining a producer title with a contribution of over $5,000, please send us an email. We would love to talk to you about the specific difference that your support at that level will make to our movie and how you will be recognized for your contribution.
Personal Updates
We’ve both been busy outside of the Him-verse, too! Rebecca wrote her thesis and graduated with her MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon. Tess has been working hard in her improv classes at UCB in LA and networking with other indie filmmakers, all while continuing to audition and teach piano.
AND… we’ve both started writing new scripts 👀
On the horizon…
There is a lot of journey to go! Up next, we will be majorly focused on sound and visual effects. We are also focusing on casting the role of Xav, the mysterious off-camera producer (more on that soon). Then it will be time for color and finalizing the look of the main titles and credits and before you know it, we’ll be submitting this baby to festivals!
Special thanks
Rayven Bailey, Ceara Ledwith, Meghan McLeod, Vivian Lemons, Sunday Saari for participating in our recording session for the store. Thanks, ladies!