The Pearl of Greatest Price

Hey all!

A lot has happened on the movie since this time last month. If you haven’t been keeping up with things on a more regular basis (www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pearl-of-Greatest-Price/87035591913 AND Twitter: @pearlproject), let me tell you - We are now working on the final edit!

Yes, I said the FINAL edit. What does that mean?

Well, basically, it means that we now have a movie put together, and all the work is now going into making it presentable and enjoyable; in other words, removing as much of the stuff showing our shortfall of time, professional talent, and resources as possible. And, as you can expect, there’s a lot.

But what continually builds encouragement in me is to see the movie shaping up and, taking those shortcomings into account, it looks exceptional. Everyone who participated in the project and knows the limitations we worked with will be proud: And my goal is to step that up and blow you away. I will knit together a new trailer, once I have a sufficient amount of music to do it with.

Let me make sure you understand this element though: Just because it’s the final edit, doesn’t mean it’ll premiere in a couple of weeks! There’s an awful lot of things besides the edit to work on, like music, promotion, and distribution… So I’m shooting for a finished product sometime in April.

Please, pray for me. This project has taken it’s toll on me and my family. I’m not going to tell you details, because I don’t want to portray myself as a victim of circumstance, looking for sympathy. Suffice it to say, we’ll all be glad for a break after this is over.

…but then, we’ll start talking about the next movie!

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Hello, Pearl fans!

Here it is, on the downward slide of January - and here I am, still working on the Pearl of Greatest Price. I never thought it would take this long.

I guess that’s really the update this month, that’s it’s taking so long. For the most part, I’ve been cleaning up the sound track - which is a tedious process, but one that is worth it. I thought I’d have to go in and re-record a lot of the dialog between the actors, but it’s turning out that I can salvage quite a bit more than I had originally thought I could.

Where does that put the end date? That’s the bad news. Two things continue to make this drag out. One is, I’m actually still correcting mistakes that were made in the filming process. If it weren’t for… this or that… Oh, never mind. I can always find something to blame it on, but that’s the past. I’m just thankful there’s more there to use than I had thought originally.

The second thing is, I’m all by myself in this editing process. Oh, believe me - I’ve tried my best to find help in the process… but that remains a very strong but elusive hope. Strange, it is - that I try to pick a software package that is more “standard” than my favorite video editing program, so I would have a better chance of finding help - and then discover that it’s not so “standard”, at least in San Angelo. I have offers of help, but for each, there are barriers that stand in the way.

So - here’s the prayer for this month: Find a way, a process, a tool, that will allow more people to become part of the post-production process. Oh, and encouragement… It is so hard to maintain focus on this project, when life crowds around. For the sake of all who have been involved in the Pearl, and also more importantly, my family who need my time and attention, I need to be through with this.

Thanks for your determination to stick through this - I pray some of that will rub off on me.

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Well, here it is - another month has gone by. What news of the movie?

Well, for starters… the rough cut is finished - again. If you remember back a few months, you’ll recall that due to a cascading string of errors, the work done on the previous rough cut was erased, forcing me to start again on it. With every other part of my life pushing forward, the time I have had to spend on it had been very little. But, praise God, the rough cut, minus a couple of scenes (I have to digitize a little more footage) was finally completed last week.

What that means is that now, I am focusing on the scenes, one by one, and making sure I can remove as many problems as possible, making it a distraction-free movie. I, uh… well… there’s a lot of those, according to my viewpoint. But, there’s more about that at the end of this update.

Coming up in January, I’ll be capturing the actors’ voices on their characters where the sound on set wasn’t very good. Also in January, the music will hopefully begin to take shape. The release date continues to be pushed back further and further. That’s mainly because of 2 things: I’m the only one working on the movie, and I am learning as I go… So that adds up to a lot of guessing and wishing when it comes to a release date. And those reasons also drive the next few comments:

Some might take this the wrong way. Please understand, if you’re hurt by any of this, I have already beat myself up and down about how much time, energy, dedication, and money that was given to this project, and you can’t even imagine what affect the process of putting this thing together has had on me. But after months and months of working, I believe I am finally coming out of my denial about The Pearl.

When I started this project, I had this amazing vision in my head about how this movie would look like in the end. But, after cutting the film together, I have had to come to terms with reality: This whole movie project has been an experiment in making a movie with volunteers learning on the job, using borrowed equipment and very little money, filmed under tremendous time pressure - yet still stretched out over months and months of production. I do believe this experiment has been a success, and everyone who accepts the same reality will be very proud of their accomplishment, and of the final product.

But for me, coming to grips with that means that I must also take responsibility for leading people along - right along with myself - in having grander visions of what would be. There’s too many strikes against this production to reach the level I believed early on that we couldn’t help but reach. I have been operating under the idea that, if I treat this like what I think a big-budget movie should be, then even our meager abilities should be enhanced, and it will be tons better quality.

Not so.

As a matter of fact, treating it as such probably has had more of a negative impact on the footage than positive, and is causing the vast majority of headaches in the post-production phase. For instance; we should never have filmed parts of the same scene at different times. It’s true, we couldn’t avoid it, while we worked around everyone’s schedules. But still, we shouldn’t have. trying to assemble it all together and make it look great is, well, almost impossible.

So, are you still supporting this movie? Here’s the prayer: May God make me a liar, and a fool, for doubting what He can do. In a sense, we’ve done exactly what we set out to do - something so big and so audacious that only He can receive the glory from it. That’s my hope. So… just pray for the best, expect the worst, and be surprised when God does what He will with it.

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Hey all -

It feels like my monthly updates are becoming rather predictable, but here goes again:

The rough cut continues to take shape… about 20 more scenes, or about 15 more sequences. I hope to be able to spend quite a bit of time over the next couple of days, and hopefully finish it before Sunday.

What happens then? Well, then the work starts on refining it, polishing it, and generally cleaning it up for a public appearance… what should have been going on for the past month or so. And, the clock is ticking - According to my calculations this big, powerful computer I’m using to edit on is due back to Computer Bytes (a local computer store here in San Angelo) on the 20th of December. That means, a lot of the work that needs the horsepower of a big PC will need to be squished into about 80 hours.. and that’s not very much. What does this mean? Just another mountain to climb, nothing more. The edit will go as God planned. And the movie will be released early next year - about 8 months after the very first plans were laid down.

What else can I tell you? The production staff had a final meeting to discuss what went right, what went wrong, and what needs to change… for the next movie. Yes, folks, there is a next movie! But don’t hold your breath for any more news, ’cause there isn’t any. I have no sript, no schedule… not even an idea for a story at this point. But, surveying the staff, there’s no loss of desire to put ourselves through all of this again - though it will probably be on the magnitude of years, not months. We’ve learned a lot of lessons, and we intend to do things… more right next time.

But as far as the pearl goes…

While the editing process is still in process, you can begin to pray for the release - to the public, to festivals, to… whatever ways we can get it released. That’s the pinnacle of our climb, the climax of our story. And we can now actually see a hint of it on the horizon!

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I know I’m late… But October 31st still qualifies, doesn’t it?

The Pearl has been a blessing and a struggle this last month; a struggle, because I can’t ever find the time to sit down and edit - or when I do have time, I don’t have the drive; a blessing, because we have finished with shooting all the main characters, with a possible exception… (could I really ever say we’re through?)

But in reality, I have resigned myself to making the best movie possible with the footage available. That’s not a negative thing: What we have is, for the most part, great. What I’m talking about is the final conclusion of shooting the movie, the part I’ve enjoyed the most. It was definitely bitter-sweet to say, “You’re done.”

One by one, the actors finished their job, and I had the pleasure of telling them they were “wrapped” - that they could separate themselves from their character… to cut hair, change looks, and otherwise be free from the way things started, a year ago. Yes, it’s been almost a year since shooting began.

Despite my statements claiming the status before, the movie is now irrevocably into post-production. It is definitely another step closer to finishing. Please, keep up your support… in your Facebook posts, in your coffee conversations, and in your prayers! There are so many more hurdles to jump through: Music is a big thing, which must be started on NOW. I have asked for permission to use 2 songs (and still haven’t heard back), but we need more. Pray that God sends the right musicians to cover it.

Well, until next month, thanks for supporting the project!

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Well, this update is going to be somewhat negative. That’s because times are tough! But don’t let this update get you down… Things are still progressing, despite trials and tribulations.

September has been… well, what can I say. Tough. There are a number of reasons that finishing this movie is proving to be the hardest thing about it. Let me tell you about a few of them.

The biggest news is, all the work that was done on the rough cut is gone. What happened you say? Did we lose everything? Is that the end of the movie? Let me answer those questions one at a time, is reverse: No, the movie continues. None of the footage was lost. What happened, was, I decided to update the backup copy of the footage with the reshoots and all. A very smart thing to do, right? So, I hook up the external drive that holds the backup to the computer, and proceed to back all the footage up. But what I don’t realize is that I mistakingly tell the backup to go to one of the internal drives instead. When I realize my mistake, I think “well, having 3 copies of the footage is good”, I think - so I let it continue.

Two hours later, I find out that the new program I was using (and unfamiliar with) went ahead and removed all the files on that internal drive… including every bit of work done on the movie to date.

Needless to say, I have to start over, technically from scratch. But truthfully, I am familiar with the footage and it shouldn’t take long to get back to where I was.

…that is to say, if I have time. Another element affecting the movie is that I am extremely busy at work. As a matter of fact, This has been one of the busiest I can remember. Once school starts, it has traditionally been a time of “catching my breath” before the Christmas season starts. Well, not this year. Things are really jumping. Is that bad? No. I love where God has put me. I think He’s doing things and growing a church, and I’m very happy to be a part of it. But because this movie is done on off-time, well… the time I have to give to it gets chiseled at over and over again. I made a decision that when I got through with filming, I would give more time to my family. The movie has moved further down the priorities list, and I’m finding it hard to find time to work on it.

Not everything is negative, though. We’re working on music, we’ve done some great reshoots, and the movie looks OK at the rough. But the prayer is, that I can keep a focus and find the time to edit. Maybe, find a process to spread the editing out to other people, too. I’m really open to anything. So please, pray. A lot has to happen in the next 2 months. Pray that the obstacles are removed, that I can prioritize correctly, and pray for a lot of time.

As always, if you want to get weekly(ish) updates, become a friend on Facebook. Search for “The Pearl of Greatest Price”. If you want daily(ish) updates, we’re on Twitter: “pearlproject”

Until next month…

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FYI:
If you’re on Facebook, become a fan of the Pearl!
If you’re on Twitter, you can usually get daily updates!

Hey all!

It’s been another month, and things have really gone up and down with the movie. On the up, final editing is in progress, and the final round of filming has been scheduled. On the down, find all the little things wrong with the footage is excruciating. To think of all the effort that a a lot of very dedicated people invested into a shot, only to ultimately have it become unusual… It really takes it’s toll on me.

The other thing that takes its toll is the fact that life goes on around the movie. Since principle photography wrapped, my family has gone through quite a number of adjustments, the most impacting is my first high school graduate and first-time college student. Many pressures at work have also presented themselves. Combine that with the movie, and you might understand the extreme personal stress that I have had.

I was looking forward to the editing process, because I expected to do it on my own time, with less impact on the family! But the reality is, without a schedule and people to whom I owe my focus, things just end up being put aside… So it’s not progressing as fast as I expected. There’s a lot of work to do, though the bulk of it has been completed with the rough cut.

All is not negative; there’s encouragement in the good shots, to be sure. I love it when a plan comes together! I’ve even placed music with the opening credits, and with the first montage. It’s not the final music, but it’s much closer to what I envisioned the music to be. I have also sent off a request to the management of Fireflight, to ask permission to use one of their songs. Haven’t heard back yet - pray that the request is granted, and without breaking the little bank we have - and the same request for the group Sanctus Real, too.

All in all, like I always answer anyone who asks, progress is slow - but it is progress. Please continue to pray for this project, that it’s not just a movie, but it’s one that people can use to connect to others with.

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Things never are perfect.

This month, when I should have finished the rough edit and already scheduled our reshoots, life interrupted my dreams. Not that this is all bad, not at all: For instance, my family and I took a vacation. Not a visit-the-family vacation, but a true, go away and unwind vacation, probably the second or third in our 20-year marriage. We needed it, to be sure - but there goes one week of editing. My job… who knew that being in the dead of summer, I could be so busy? Fixing this, planning that, designing this, producing that - many extra days have been spent doing what’s necessary. Not that I’m upset, it just eats away at my movie time. To top it off, my youngest kid broke his leg… he’ll be in a cast the rest of the summer. That has it’s own way of draining time.

Needless to say, we’re closing in on the end of the month, and I’m (once again) way behind. Thanks go out to those capable friends who are willing to help me catch up. But here’s what you’re reading this post for:

I am quickly closing in on the first very raw cut of the movie. When I say raw, I mean, “Let’s just see what we shot”. No work on sound, no worrying about lighting or other errors yet. It’s just, put together what we’ve shot. From this, I will know what needs to be re-shot, what holes or angles we missed completely, and I’ll have a good head start on timing and music score.

So far, I’ve cut from scene 29 through almost the end of the movie. I didn’t realize it, but that’s quite a chunk! The only thing I can say about what I’ve seen so far is, when it’s good, it’s awesome!!! …when it’s not so good, well - I’m hoping we can fix a lot in the editing process. Hopefully, the next report I write here will be about how the reshoot went, and the progress of the true edit.

There’s lots of details to go through after that - sound and music, color correction, advertizing and then finally the premiere. Of course, that continues to be pushed back - I’m now looking at October as the release time frame. Please, keep praying. That’s the only thing that’s keeping this project moving.

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June has really flown by. Not as fast as May, but it has. Progress on the editing has come fairly slow, too. I’ve only really been able to concentrate on the movie since the middle of the month. But, in that time, I’ve been able to rough-cut about a dozen or so scenes.

What does rough-cut mean? Well, it’s taking all the pieces of a scene that were shot and finding the best shots that were done, and putting them together so that the scene makes sense. No particular importance is put on sound, color-correction, or even if the places that the shots connect even look particularly good. It’s just the first step in many to get a scene down to as close to perfection as possible.

Having a dozen scenes done in about 2 weeks is a great step forward, but please keep in mind, there are more than 80 scenes in the movie - so there’s still a long way to go. Please continue to pray that the process will continue to go smoothly and expediently. I’m just as anxious to see this movie as you are!

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Hey all:

Today is the first official day of editing; and I am immediately aware of how difficult it is to make a movie. I have trimmed out the opening sequence (which actually won’t be finished until the titles are done) and begun work on scene 8. From capturing all the 35+ hours of footage that was shot, Already I know that I’ve learned some lessons in this process; One is, I will not shoot another movie unless I have someone specifically in charge of continuity! It’s unbelievable how many different ways someone can do the same thing - We’ll see how much can be taken care of in editing.

There are so many things that go into making a movie, and a lot of them are very specialized. It’s really asking a lot from a single person - even if that person is a professional in their field; now, we’ve taken a dozen or so non-professionals and beginners, sprinkled in a little experienced veterans, and now we’re expecting something worthy of our time.

This movie we will no doubt be proud of, but be in prayer for me, and anyone else in the post-production process, as I know it’s going to be a love-hate job over the next few months, being first depressed at the raw footage, frustrated over the editing process, and then amazed at what the final product ends up looking like!

For those of you who want a more rapid update, join twitter (twitter.com) and then follow “pearlproject”. You can also join facebook and become my friend (Jamey Halfast), where I will soon be building a fan page for the movie.

There are details still outstanding (KLST still needs to connect with us on the filming of a scene, and… oh - let’s get the uniforms back, Karen), so please continue to pray for the project!

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