And now, the End is Near....

WOW..... to say that the 3 years have flown in is an understatement of gigantic proportion!!!

We watched our films yesterday - our mini Oscars - haha!!

Thoughts: I was so proud of my finished piece :) people laughed when they were supposed to, they sighed and ooed and aaahed appropriately and all over it went down very well :) I felt a huge sense of accomplishment watching it and thinking 'I did this'.


Reaction from the lecturer: Yvonne was really impressed. She still thought it was very cheesy but hey, I say 'embrace the cheese'!!! She said it looked very american, kinda like Friends.... emmm.. was bound to happen sometime, that show is coming out of my pores at this stage!!!

Hopes for the future??  I have entered a sitcom idea into a TV competition and I'm hoping this will take off, more on that later.. stay tuned ;)


My next step forward is to enter the finished film into the Galway Film Fleadh, so until then I can't put it up on Youtube, as per the rules if the festival!! But eeek... ROAD TRIP!!! Should be another fun and exciting experience!

Changing music for copyright issues: I have used Ed Sheeran and Bon Iver among others to make the soundtrack for my movie, but as I dont have ferocius amounts of money, I will need to change them if I want to put my film up on Youtube etc - soooo if anyone is seeking recognition for their band?? Or any music students/graduates willing to do a movie soundtrack... get in touch!! :)

College may be over but this isn't the last you'll hear from me...

Stay tuned - new posts every Wednesday!!!! :)

Emma x

The Final Cut!

It all comes down to this...

I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm proud!!! My eyes hurt, I am verrrry tired of editing, listening to the same things over and over, I am starting to panic that what used to be funny will flop terribly... But you know what - there's nothing I can do about it now...

The film is finished! I have to say I am so proud of it. The Cheshire cat grin on my face was a dead give away as I sat in front of the Mac and watched for the final time before hitting Export!

We will be holding a screening in college on the last day of the semester (next week) - we will watch through everyone's short films... it will be the first time our lecturer and marker gets to see them too!

I am in the final countdown in college next week too!!! All very exciting and new!

Though my lectures may be finishing up, I still have 3 exams and 2 essay deadlines to meet!

After that.... who knows?? :)

Stay tuned - new blog posts every Wednesday!! Although from here on in they will mostly focus on my undying mission to become a successful director - it promises to be wildly entertaining!!

Next week is worth keeping an eye out for - last week in college EVER!!! aaaaaah! :)

Emma x

The Rough Cut!

Ok, it's been a week since I started editing. I organised all the clips into Scene folders and began compiling the Assembly Cut.
Once I had everything in order, I began to trim it all down, work on transitions: the works!
Credits and cutaways were added.... but OOOPS the duration is now 16mins....YIKES!!!

WHERE am I gonna trim 4 mins from???

Is this why they call it a rough cut??? I've heard the expression leaving millions of clips on the editing room floor, but I never imagined it would be this difficult. There are so many scenes that I love and wish I could keep in the film. But ultimately the deadline for college assessments is 10-12 mins maximum....

I now understand why our lecturer recommended we get an outsider to watch the film in the early stages - they can objectively help with any plot-holes or continuity blips or confusion that may have slipped past my tired eyes. Apparently as writer, director, producer and editor, I am too close to the project to see these potential flaws.

But as I said - I now understand! :)

I do try and leave a few days between the editing sessions - it's very easy to spend (I was going to write 'waste' but it's really the complete opposite of a waste of time) 3 or more hours staring intently at those beautiful iMac screens.

If I could pass on any advice to student/amateur editors ... it would be this:
1. Organizing the clips into 'Scene' folders is a life-saver. It makes editing a breeze!!
2. Never forget your headphones - other people have no regard for your need for silence/concentration.
3. SAVE  ~ SAVE ~ SAVE your work as you go....
4. iMacs are AMAZING! :)

oooooooooooooooh preeeetttyy!

That's all from me this week.. Lots of other college deadlines to fulfill before I can become totally absorbed in my future as a Media mogul ;)

As always, stay tuned for new blogs every Wednesday!
& feel free to get in touch with any questions/queries :)

Emma x

The Short Film that Kicked it all Off...

A very quick run through of the college project that changed my life!!!

~February ~
Audition casting call sent out to Gaeity website...
30+ replies.... WOW!!!

~March ~
Auditions: Monday 4th.... 3 people showed :(
1st Pre-production meeting
Script draft 4 finalised.
Shoot date settled - April 6th.
Production schedule set.

~April ~
Finally cast all my characters - in the nick of time too!
Thurs 4th - collecting 'do-not-break-very-expensive' equipment
Sat 6th - crew call @ 7.30am
LLLOOOOONNNGGG day of filming..

BRILLIANT fun!!!

SLEEEEEPPP zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Mon 8th - Editing begins!!!

Woah - you caught right up! That was fast..

Still editing right now, have alot of work still ahead of me.

I started this blog to keep track of the amazing opportunities I hope to have with my newly created Freelance production company :)

Stay tuned :) ~ Updates every Wednesday :)

Emma  x