Rest in Peace, Sally Menke

Although I try to stay abreast of the latest news around the film editing community, I was a little late finding out the sad news that Sally Menke passed away on Monday, September 27. I just met her at EditFest in August, where she looked perfectly healthy and happy, so it is all the more shocking that this happened. My heart goes out to her family, friends and colleagues. More here.

EditFest LA

Here I come editing world! I haven't been to L.A. in almost a decade, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it with fresh eyes. I'm also really looking forward to meeting my fellow editors, and hearing what our esteemed colleagues have to say at the discussions. The all-star cast crew of editors is really impressive. A very big thank you to all the organizers. See you there.

Waking up from the Dream

Have you ever woken up from a dream, and wanted to go back to sleep to continue that dream? Well, working on my latest film was kind of like that. It was such a pleasurable experience that I didn't want it to end, which is in sharp contrast to the rule of thumb that you're not done with a film 'til you're sick of it. As with any feature project, the job itself was an immense undertaking. I spent four long months entrenched in the miracle of breathing life into an unborn film, an otherwise messy heap of raw parts. I guess it's a little like how Young Dr. Frankenstein must have felt.

While I would have liked to relay some play-by-play during the process, it's a little late for that, but I do have some great news: IT'S DONE! As in done, done. Narration, sound mix in 5.1, color-grading and online 4:4:4 finishing (both done by yours truly) are all locked and loaded. Only the final step of mastering to HDSR remains. And who shall master our precious gem? None other than Matrix Professional Video, who has been truly remarkable throughout the whole making of this film. I've always enjoyed the personability that comes with their high-end professional services, but now even moreso. They recently expanded from merely sales and rentals to offering many post-production services, including digitizing, conversions, and mastering, as well as in-house Apple Color suites. But I digress.

Journey of a Dream is kind of very much nothing like Inception, but an equally awesome dream... in a very different indie doc sort of way, which is to say, far more real! Check out the new website, and spread the word. As I said in my previous blog post *cough, when I first started working on it in February, cough* this is a story that crosses several genres, which means it has mass appeal (RIP Guru).

Journey of a Dream

I'm working on a new feature documentary about a Tibetan refugee born in exile, turned activist and heavy metal musician. The title is catchy, Journey of a Dream, and so far the editing, a journey of its own, has also been a dream. The cinematography is top notch, some of the best material I have ever worked with; will be award-winning for sure. The story is one-of-a-kind and compelling; it bridges too many genres to count: political/human rights, musimentary, travel/adventure. And the editing... well, I'm making the magic happen for an exhilarating cinematic experience.

Check out the Teaser (early promo) and more info at JourneyofaDreamMovie.com.

Journey of a Dream, Feature Documentary

Humble Beginnings

For those who don't know, I found a new space for my edit suite last October. I moved in on a Saturday, and was hard at work the very next day, cutting a music video for a new client. The space was embarrassingly baron. And cold. We all sat in office chairs, huddled around a space heater to keep warm. We got the job done. A couple months have now gone by, and the edit suite is feeling much more like an edit suite: comfy couch, halogen lighting, bigger desk, bigger and better monitors, blackburst generator (that I scored for $10!). Yep, now I just need a rug to tie the room together.