I think I broke a speed record for myself by editing four scenes today; that’s eight minutes. I started with scene two, followed by scene one, then three (a) and (b). My eyes are sore and I need a rest. Watch a snippet!

Long time no post! OTWOTW (as I affectionlessly like to call it) is coming along nicely. In fact, it is almost finished; just a day or two of shooting
left. I was busy this month with shooting so I could not post any updates. Take a look at the recent schedule.

Of course, you do not know what scene is what, but you can guess when the movie comes out. There are fourteen scenes altogether. I do not remember how many there were in TFII, but I think OTWOTW is going to be about the same length. This time I have done a lot more planning, and I think it is going to show (especially in the editing).

After principal production, there is a scene at the Turkuaz grocery store in Brighton that needs to be overdubbed due to adverse sound conditions (i.e., half a dozen fridges that could not be turned off). Other than that, it has been smooth sailing.

We are using an XL-2 in 16:9, 24PA mode, and honestly I have to say I love the camera — especially the lens. As good as anyone can ask of DV (admittedly, not saying much). The film looks pretty good for a no-budget production. The greatest technical difficulty that we faced so far, in my mind, was getting smooth dolly shots. They look fine shot wide, but reveal every little imperfection in close-up. I may have to investigate digital stabilization options. Easy to do when the camera is supposed to be still; not quite so otherwise, but I’m not afraid after all the rotoscoping I did in TFII.

A quick picture from the set, courtesy of Eugene:

Another interesting topic: the turmoil of imperial disintegration. Are ethnically heterogeneous empires more susceptible to collapse? It is a reasonable supposition: the ethnic and religious diversity would provide strongs faults along which the empire would partition. If so, it is something of a conundrum: that which makes a country stronger (diversity), also makes it more likely to eventually collapse. The bigger they are, the mightier they fall. If my hypothesis is true, of course.

A recent article in the NYT, Strange City. Thankless Job. Heartless Russian Winter writes about how people from the corners of the former USSR are flocking to Moscow to avoid unemployment.

That is easy to understand: people who have been living under Communism can’t be expected to suddenly wake up with entrepreneurial talents. The interesting part is how people who lived in peace before the collapse have turned on one another. I think it is a defense mechanism; a way of justifying the separation, believing that the “other” people weren’t worth living with.

Conflicts Between Cultures Win Awards at Sundance

Maybe it’s new to American audiences, but Turkish film-makers have beaten this topic to death in the Old World. There is even a name for the genre (immigrant cinema), so our film won’t be the first out of the gate, but it won’t finish last, either. OTWOTW deviates from the genre convention because our characters are not struggling in the same sense as immigrant Turks in Europe. Plus America is not as homogeneous as Europe. What was that about melting pots and tossed salads?

The second draft of Once There Was, Once There Wasn’t concludes with a final bedroom scene that is symmetrical to how the film opens. It provides an aesthetic sense of balance and closure, but isn’t really necessary for advancing the plot. Which wins out: fancy form or pithy plot?