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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 8:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I spent Saturday working on the show.


Just tweaks. I did splice in the same UN segment from the beginning to the ending of the movie just to make it just all the more obvious that we had gone full circle. But the show is getting better and better. Then I watched the movie "Fight Club" which had the same thing doing the full arc with the same segment appearing at the end. That was comforting as I wondered about doing that. On Sunday I will start transcribing the narration for Scott and I will also add the Facebook page to our application and also add a link to a new press kit page we will have for the movie. I'm off to take a walk and then hunker down to a day of more work. Actually not so much work as I am enjoying this right now. But whatever - that is your update for today.



Later.....





http://thefortressexperiment.com/Press_Kit.htm
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well a weekend working on the movie.


The movie is definitely better, but we are getting close to the final format of the movie. The only thing is to keep the elapse time down and at the end it becomes a frame by frame snipping away at the footage. But it is all there, it is complete. That does not mean it won't get cut down in the future, but for now our movie has it all in there.


So now I will just review the changes and make sure they seamlessly click with the other segments and then forget about them and move on. Moving on means the best codec for the on-line viewer I am using. I'll try something today and see how it goes. I am also transcribing the narration for Scott and that should finish shortly. Then it's stuff around the house. Bills need to be paid, yard work, and even things like personal grooming. I tend to let things go when I get deep into editing, but now that I am on top of things we preen up the appearance a bit. I'm finally starting to trim down a bit - finally.....


What else? Well the Sudbury Film Festival happens at the same time as General Assembly at the United Nations so I may have to multi-task at that time, but I took time off for that so the festival needs no changes to my schedule at least. Same with my attendance at the 57th Session of the Commission for Social Development that happens in February of 2017 at the United Nations. Sundance happens at the same exact time so I also took time off then and can multi-task within the USA if need be! Just dumb luck there though many will think I had all this planned from before, and I know it looks staged but it wasn't.


And that is about it for now.



Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

While AVID backs up I may as well update things here.....


I've nailed down Scott's lines and they start after the FOFSTOCK segment. FOFSTOCK was the unofficial end of the experiment and the start of advocacy. I got our membership to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO at the same time as FOFSTOCK was happening so this shift toward me and advocacy is where Scott comes in. So he is introduced during FOFSTOCK and you keep hearing his voice as narrator from then on. This defiantly works as we have these bio statements on each character and mine starts with the advocacy. Me mouthing my own bio and saying literally: "And here is his story." Is simply bizarre - so Scotts says it now and keeps going to the end. It works; it's a cool shift in perspective as the experiment was my concoction so my voice ass narrative works. But after that it is out of my hands so the omniscient voice is Scott as I live out my part of the experiment. That also cuts down on the work as there is too much narrative up till that point. Some like Jessica didn't have a problem with my voice and I think it is the sound or speakers. I sound better if I clip the high end off the spectrum and give all the bottom end to my voice as it needs it, being this whiny thing. On a decent system you hear the high end and it sounds bothersome but on a crappy system it sounds alright. So I break out the equalizer and keep my narrative until FOFSTOCK.


Outside of the movie - there is no outside. It is all the movie until the Sundance application is in. Then I take a breather. I am still toying with the best settings for the best file for the viewer but no luck yet. It is what it is so next is an uncompressed MFxHd file imported into Sorenson Squeeze and exported as some generic video file. That is next working away in the background.



Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-68z7GY_Ew0&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 4:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So I finally got a big break today, as in I have my workflow to get the movie in HD and also have the file size down and got rid of all those compression artifacts.....




An AVID workstation!



This is thrilling and at the same time frustrating. Thrilling in that you now have beautiful HD files with inserted SD material and files from all sorts of cameras and now it is all one beautiful seamless HD file. Even the moving night time files are grain and artifact free! It just does not get better than that! The frustrating part is not being able to have sent that version to the Sudbury Film Festival - but the deadline was last Friday so I had to send something in..... I should have also sent this movie to the Pope and Bhutan instead of the eight shows - but these are the breaks.


But you can't go back in time... Our show keeps developing and as time limits come (and go) and all you can do is give them the most current and best version. But in any case, this new work flow is a God send for us and our aspirations for Sundance! Now it is just constant tweaking and off it goes!


So for Wednesday I will give Scott his narration papers and when that is done we literally only have to send it in. I also have to get our press kit ready but man, things are moving along rapidly.....




Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 2:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A full working day with audio and video. I will give the full update tonight with pics.



Later.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Taking a break from working on the movie.....




Scott doing audio work in my Mustang!






Dan at Metalworks back in the day!





Almost done and then we review the past render and make changes to bring out the best of the film. Scott...s audio work is in there. I also had to change some titling along with it. One small segment of me talking and we should be good to go. I...ll make one or two passes on the weekend to cut things down a bit but we are really pushing it on time. The problem with this show or experiment is that it is too big for a 90 minute typical doc, but too small for a typical series for TV. But we squeezed it in at normal feature length for traditional movies at fewer than 2 - hours so there is that. That allows us to push it as a film. Being a film means we can go to film festivals. I don't know of any TV series festivals with people binge watching shows and such, only for the films. And at the festivals are people from the distribution industry looking to pick up stuff cheap. It's a much better environment for an indie organization like ours.


But how things changed! When we started we were at the best studios - aka - Metal works for Dan and Michael. Then when we did some adr with Ainsley it was in our office but still sort of professional. Finally with Scott in my car - real ghetto style but it works! Taping stuff literally on old camcorders but we are done on this project. If we do anything else it will be 4k and up. But for now this experiment is coming to an end.



Oh, and I am taking an interest in theaters and ciniplexes. I was doing that just a half hour ago. Just being honest there.....



Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 6:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So it seems you got cheated out of and update.....


But there is little to update as I am finishing up this latest version of the movie. This one goes to Sundance early as there is method or that madness. I am a nobody to them, so I have to grow on them like fungus. But we are almost there. This reminds me of finishing for broadcast. Sweating the details.....



Later.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 10:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have my movie master as a 229 gig DNxHD10 broadcast file and will now mix down he 720p file. When that is done I will try to mix down a 1920X1080p file but that is not an urgent need at this point. After I post this it is off to buy a hard drive and store the master and all the project files and duplicate hard drives off-site, just like the pros!


Man what an effort at the end! Me a filmmaker - Ha! But it is done for now. I will copy the files to DVD and share with my gang and look for unforeseen errors and problems and then we upload and submit to Sundance. But really my mind is in Sudbury. I want it and prefer it there as the world premiere on my home turf, with the people who participated in it able to see it at the premiere! That is the plan, now watch it all go wrong. I'm so used to rejection you almost see it as fate. But we do have a good chance.



Goodnight.....




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzoV38vKle4&feature=share


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-7s_yeQuDg&feature=share


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghS98BKy29Q&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok - I was able to get the latest version of the movie off to my gang for review.


But I thought I might get away with it so I watched the movie from start to finish non-stop and surprised myself at actually being able to sit there the whole time. That is why I was so "giddy" at some of my gang actually watching the movie in its entirety, that really means you have something. To keep someone's attention for a 15 second advertisement is hard. A half hour show in very hard, one hour is twice as hard as 30 minutes. But 2 - hours and for a doco is twilight zone time! But we could only do it with two hours and just under thirty minutes. But it is there at feature length times. I watched "Interstellar" on Sunday and that was 2:48 and kept my attention. Not saying I am Christopher Nolan - but - If you can keep people squirming in their seats for that amount of time then the movie has something there..... So this is thrilling but also makes your life harder as full length feature films shot in four countries and such like ours is - get slotted with the best and so they compare you to the best even though this is your first time. But this may be my only shot so we go for the brass ring!


I needed to take a piss at about 90 minutes which is the ideal time for a doco. So people will get up and run to the can for relief at that time and I will make sure nothing vital is happening then. Now you know why 90 minutes is the ideal - it's the time the Coke and popcorn need to work its way to the other end as piss or gas and many start scurrying to the washrooms. Some movies have intermissions and just loop elevator music for ten minutes. See: Now I think about stuff like that - never in my life would I have imagined.....


So Monday is finding errors and color correction. I found one title error and such. Then another DNX_HD10 file and then another render which hopefully is clean and then one stab at 1080p for comparison and then apply to Sundance. And this has to be quick as I still have to run the orgs. Things have to get done.


Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Today is nothing but rendering the movie to formats so I am catching up on everything else.....



Other things besides the movie has to be done. Like new members at IAIJ reporting o9n areas of importance to them personally:



http://iaij.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=964



Bills have to be paid and I even had to buy some new runners. Stuff like that. The movie took all my time when I was working on it, but with the last revisions last night I can't think of anything else to do now with the movie so it gets the DNxHD file and rendered 720p file. Then I will look at it till my eye-lids droop and then one stab at the 1080p file and then decide on whether to submit that file to Sundance.



We have time but sometimes the thing to do is submitting then and there and move on to other matters. So that is where it is at now. The funny thing is that I have no urge to make structural changes in the movie. It could be argued to wait until we hear form Sudbury before we submit anywhere else as we may have some fatal flaw in the movie that we don't know about yet. That "is" a valid idea - so we shall see.




Later.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0DfToOgWQE&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another phone update.





Shane Murphy and Maurice Ali with their first film production: Real Life!



I reviewed our latest version and found one clip that should be HD but is SD and a fade out that should have been longer and I removed a name plate for me that was redundant. There is not enough there to make copies for the others and that may be it for them. For me I will add some white noise to Scott's background to make the audio less sterile and desaturate some of my shots and we are good to go!



In other news, Shane got mugged and robbed and wacked on the head. Things are always happening around here so I just roll with the punches.....


Later.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 2:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another phone update.


I had to ferry family for some medical tests in the morning but I still had a productive day on the editor. Now I only have to de-saturate a clip and check text and such and create another master and review video. Even Scott's audio was solved with me recording white noise as in freeway traffic at a standstill and the narration problems disappeared. I needed Scott as when we get to my stuff you don't want to be seen narrating your life!


Later.....






https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwKNzCl_ZPY&feature=share
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I made one small change to one clip and if the render is ok I will make another master and make another review reel.



After this it is decision time. Do we commit and send it off to Sundance, or wait and see what happens with Sudbury. That will happen on the weekend. I will also get the press kit finished at that time. Remember that all this is still advocacy for an idea, concept and philosophy. All this is getting the message out there to the general public. This is no vanity project!



But we shall see what happens. We will weigh the options. It is crunch time and things done cannot be undone. Once we send in the video submission it can't be undone. That is what you send and that is all there is to it. I'm tending to wait and see even if it is more expensive. But life has to go on and just doing it now has its merits also.




Goodnight.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 1:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well the long weekend is off to a good start.....




Gianna during a screen test!



I am reviewing the 720p submission file of the latest version of the movie and I'm also looking at the actual Dnx_HD file in real time now. I am happy that the files look really good as both SD and HD on an HD background. We can tweak it some more for projection viewing but we are really pushing the limits now. Maybe titling all in HD and such but that is minor. We used to have some motion in the grey background and I,m kind of torn about that. Having motion makes that whole 1920X1080p background come alive. It shows up a bit here and there to remind people that it is not some lame color bars and such but a video background in HD. So for now we let it be, but we will think about it prior to the final pass for projection. But yes, I am comfortable in the files and comfortable in its ability projected on a theater screen - and that is huge now! We used the best codecs we could when we shot the material and so no regrets there - it is what it is for the periods involved. I am satisfied with the project and the final outcome!



I am off to celebrate with some greasy chicken and, like I said, review the submission copy. Then painstakingly go over the broadcast version with any nitpicks about color, titling, audio or whatever. We are so close to the final product.



This weekend I also get our press kit together, pictures and maybe a statement from and maybe a clip but I am still wary of that type of thing.


We then wait for the answer from Sudbury and take it from there. I am tending to wait on other submissions until we hear back from Sudbury as there could be some fatal mistake in our admission process that can be changed; so we will probably wait - but that is not laid in stone yet. But that is the situation at this time. I know I sound like a broken record everyday about this but this is how indie movie life is. At least I am having a taste of that now.



Later.....
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Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7654
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 6:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Updates - Updates.....


All day working on the movie bit by bit making sure everything is taken care of and corrected all the way through. I have like maybe twenty minutes left to finish the thing. I am bleary eyed and lacking sleep but the movie is very close to broadcast grade especially in audio. In the movie theaters the audio is really played up. That rumble I got rid of yesterday would seem like artillery fire at a theater but probably barely noticeable on TV speakers. So there is a difference between getting something ready for the theater and the TV screen.


Oddly enough I feel that the bigger picture in the theater is not so much an issue most worry about, as the audience is further back from the screen. But the audio is better in the theater unless you have a home theater set up at your place. So I nitpick everything now. You do this now even before acceptance as you surly will run out of time to do this if you get the green light. I am not a fan of crisis management so I sweat the details now.....


In other news I am handing out DVDs to my performers and such. All about the movie business right now. In the end this is all advocacy, all philosophy and idea dissemination in an entertaining fashion. Just keep the eye on the big picture.



Goodnight.....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiXcioOXpzA&feature=share
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