So What's the Hold Up, Anyways?

With next month being the one year anniversary of casting, I'm starting to get a lot more of "when's this thing gonna be done?" This reoccurring question makes me nervous because I worry if that also means rising expectations. I don't want to let anyone down here but I'll tell you right now, I didn't go out and shoot "Braveheart," so we'll leave things at that. Here's the current status report, detailing the things that are slowing the project down a little:

1. Still no title. I've been making a list of the many suggestions people throw my way, but at this point the project still has no title. Whatever title it will wind up being, I guarantee anyone that's been following this from the start will feel it's anti-climatic. That is to say, odds are good it won't be some insanely awesome "that's perfect!" title, but instead it may be something that grows on ya over time. Next weekend I'm test-screening the film for some fellow creative minds I know, and after our feedback discussion we'll brainstorm some on a title.

2. Editing. Most of the editing (that I'm personally taking care of) is done. But I still have to hand the film off to a guy (or girl) with awesome post-production abilities to master the audio levels and maybe even do a little more color correcting. Plus I'm also waiting on a little bit of graphic work from outside parties. Only then will it truly be finished.

3. Soundtrack. It's really hard to find the perfect match for some scenes, music-wise. The songs I've already got are excellent. I only need a handful more. I've got some new approaches I'm going to try to get some original music. It's just a little time-consuming when you need to contact the artist, get a response, send a contract, and get it back.

4. Time. Remember, I have a full-time job Monday to Friday. When I get back from sitting in front of a computer all day, the last thing I'm usually in the mood to do is sit in front of another computer. Plus I've been doing other stuff (I recently took up exercising...go me!). The point is that I only really get time to work on this on weekends, and that's if I don't already have weekend plans.

5. What's the rush? Any film festival deadline I'm missing this year will come around again next year. I'm working under the assumption that this will be the only bigger-budget movie I'll ever get to make. So, I want to take my time with it not only to make it the best I can, but also to just enjoy the experience while I have it.

Now I hate setting vague deadlines, but I'm hoping this thing gets finished this summer. Maybe mid-summer. I think the odds are very good that it will at least be done before the one year anniversary of shooting.

Another thing that's pushing me to get this finished is that I actually have several ideas for the next screenplay I want to write, and I'm dying to get to them. All three of them are things I won't be able to shoot myself, but I'd still like to write them and see what happens. One's a teen comedy, one's a sci-fi thriller, and one's a straight-out drama. All three have been in my head for years, and even if it takes me to the age of forty, all three will get done.