Year Zero Feedback

Thanks again to all who participated in selective screenings and wrote feedback. Its been very helpful! I’m currently writing up feedback and combining it with my own list to make one final batch of revisions. Current plan is to have all corrections finished and final edit to begin next week.

Sundance Submission Complete

Our submission to Sundance arrived in LA on time this week and we now have an official locked copy! We’re taking this week to decompress and have some selective showings to people removed from the project. Thanks to all who have volunteered to help with this and I look forward to hearing feedback on the cut. I will be collecting and making final notes for one last batch of edits in early October. Although it was roughly two years ago I began formulating a plan for this project, its exciting (and scary) to have it all fit on one DVD!

Update from LA

Things have been moving along GREAT in LA the last few days. Arrived last friday morning and went directly to Jesper’s studio downtown to meet about schedule and goals for following week. Outside of navigating LA’s network of expressways, things went on without a hitch.

Spent the weekend in Santa Barbara finalizing the technical details and video/audio exports with Melissa. Compressing/exporting 2 terrabytes of material into a timecode-embedded DVD takes a bit of time and organization and we couldn’t have done it without Melissa’s organizational and technical abilities. Thanks Melissa!

The exports and hard drives made it to Jonathan at Batpack Studios and both Jesper (composer) and Jerry (sound designer) had what they needed by sunday evening.

I spent monday and tuesday watching the film with Jesper at his studio and laying out the 24 tracks we plan on using for the film. All the timing and notes were sent off to Jerry in Pittsburgh by tuesday evening and both Jesper and I are anxious to watch the film with a complete score in the near future!

Remember, for all you Chicago natives out there, you can view the ten minute short film “Living with Landmines” at the REEL shorts festival this weekend…Saturday, 4pm: http://www.projectchicago.com/

Year Zero Production Update August 27th

We are proud to announce that the Cinema Verite Institute in Paris has completed a 2007 festival highlights video on their website www.cinema-verite.org. The video sequence features segments from our award winning short film “Living With Landmines” that won last years Cinema Verite Laureate prize of 30,000 Euros (though for some reason says only 15,000 on the web video!). It’s a bit tricky to get the link to see the video (you have to click on the British flag to get the English version of the site first). Once you are on the English version you can click “2007 Trailer” and follow the link. Prize money from this award is helping to bring the film to the finish line.

Director John Severson is not doing much sleeping these days as he is spending most of his nights in the final stages of rewrites and edits bringing us ever so close to a final picture lock. Graphics and titles are also in the works and it is hoped that we can have the film in Los Angeles by next week to begin composing music for the score. We are happy to have the support and participation of Oscar winning composer Jesper Kyd and look forward to the magic he will bring to the film. We hope to have this “in the can” by September 15th to meet the deadline for the Sundance Film Festival!
We will let you all know when any more exciting news comes our way!

Assembly Critique Complete

Just got back from Los Angeles and Denver this week.

After a month of showings/feedback on our assemblage, I spent a week with writer Jeff Long (http://www.jefflongbooks.com/) at his home outside Denver, CO.

We re-worked the assembly into a focused outline and synopsis and are currently in the process of revising it and geering up for the next stage in the edit.

I also met with music composer Jesper Kyd (http://www.jesperkyd.com/) in his studio in Los Angeles where we discussed some themes of the film and picked out some potential elements to focus on.

More meetings/feedback/revisions this week and should be back into the editing room soon!

Assembly Complete!

Hard to imagine nearly five months have progressed since my last entry but much has happened since my departure from Cambodia.

After nearly 8 months spent in Cambodia in total last year, I headed straight for Portland, OR to work directly with our editor, Chris Parkhurst, in initial preparations for the edit. This involved working out some of the technical issues that are associated with editing over 3 terrabytes (about 125 hours of HD footage) down to a 90 minute feature.

After about 10 days of preparing translation booklets and organizing footage, I left Portland and returned to Chicago for a much needed weekend of R&R.

The following week, I met Jonathan, Rich, and Brooks in Bayfield, Canada to meet and discuss a thorough plan and schedule for the post-production stage of the film. Meanwhile Chris was finalizing a cut of our trailer which can be viewed here

Assemblage of the film began December 1 with a completed assemblage by february 22 of this year!

This stage could not have been completed without dedicated assistance from our Chicago based Cambodian translator who also sings in his part time:
Pheap Singing during editing break

And, of course, nothing could be done without the dedication of Chris “Sabres” Parkhurst:

5 weeks of 12-16 hour days in front of screens:

+ Pheap’s home cooked Cambodian lunches:

= One Assembled Film!

We are currently entering the next batch of cuts and screeners and are all excited at the building momentum. Check back for more on this later!

Last Day in Cambodia

After a very full 6 weeks, I’m making my way back to the states tomorrow. Recent Highlights include:

Watching many firework displays along the riverside in Phnom Penh: the old King’s birthday, the new King’s financee, Independence Day from French…

Had a minor accident leaving Siem Reap. Had to stop our car suddenly to avoid a pedestrian and were immediately rear-ended by a motorcycle. Although damage was very minimal, the police were on the scene immediately. One hour and $15 later, we were back on the road.

Stopped at the famous 1000 year old bridge on the way back…still used and often holds heavy traffic ranging from ox carts to 6 people on a moto.

Attended the 4th Colloquium of International Prosecutors at the ECCC in Phnom Penh. Busses from all over Cambodia and a wide range of media outlets attended the event simulcast in three languages (english, khmer, french). Deputy Prime Minister Sok An opened the event before exiting soonafter.

This 1989 Toyota Camry drove over 1000km in less than a week over numerous types of terrain without a problem.

Interviewed one of the “100 most influential people in the world” (according to Time Magazine), Youk Chhang at the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

Shot some aerial shots of the Phnom Penh surrounding area from an ultra-light plane.
www.wingsovercambodia.com

Confrontation

After a full day of getting footage organized, repairing equipment, and co-ordinating the next trip we prepared for the second trip to Anlong Veng in the same week. This time we would be bringing along two survivors of Khmer Rouge labor camps who were courageous enough to confront their former leader in the previous Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng.

Lavalier microphone stopped working but managed to find two replacement microphones and just as I was heading out of town, we found someone to fix the original microphone…took ten minutes and cost $2.00.

Picked up our two brave characters at the bus stop and were in Anlong Veng by lunchtime to relax and prepare to confront their former leader. The rest of the afternoon was filled with tense moments of uncertainty and unexpected gestures and emotions of compassion. Although I had major second thoughts about setting all this up when we first arrived, things could not have worked out better for the individuals and the film combined.

Spent the following day visiting Pol Pot’s grave, Ta Mok’s house, and filming some other Anlong Veng broll. Was back in Siem Reap by early afternoon to put in my last visit to Aki Ra’s landmine museum before heading to Phnom Penh the following morning.

Northwest Cambodia

After filming the finished land mine museum for a couple hours, Tom and I left with Aki Ra to Anlong Veng. Travelling to Anlong Veng during the wet season usually leads to a few of these:

Stopped for dinner at Rait’s house (friend of Aki Ra) before arriving in Anlong Veng. Early start the following morning to visit Sokha at her house and a Khmer Rouge photographer who has plans to open an art gallery showcasing his war photos. Took Aki Ra to meet Im Chem at her community hall afterwards. This was the first time the two had ever met and they exchanged many interesting war stories. The rest of the afternoon Tom and I filmed broll of Anlong Veng and Ta Mok’s grave site.

Went deep into the jungle the following morning to film some land mine laying and de-activating scenes. Recruited three young children who gladly and expertly played their roles to perfection. Had a very good interview with a friend of Im Chem’s and filmed some jungle tracking shots before heading back to Siem Reap.

Less than 8 hours after arriving back in Siem Reap, we departed for Traipaing Thmar to revisit the infamous Khmer Rouge irrigation site. Some follow-up interviews with people we spoke with back in March, broll of the lake and surroundings, and an old prison building converted to a community hall.

Found someone to take us out on a boat to the middle of the lake where it is estimated that more than 100,000 people are buried. The lake has become a very popular tourist and vacation site for Cambodians who often know nothing of its history. The lake is not more than 20 feet deep at its deepest point but it stretches on as far as the eye can see. Politely declined the offer to swim and float on an inner tube as many of its visitors do and was very relieved to return to dry land soon after.

Sorry there are not many pictures with this entry but internet is VERY slow today…

Phnom Penh pickups

Had a bit of a cold after returning from the provinces this week so took it easy for a couple days and watched nearly every film made about Cambodia in the past thirty years. Took notes on their strengths, weaknesses, and gained more ideas on remaining footage to shoot.

Visited the Ministry of Culture on thursday to request a meeting with the new, recently appointed Minister of Culture to continue the quest for the KR footage. Also visited the office of cinema and cultural diffusion to pickup my filming permit but it was not ready yet.

Friday was a full day of production in/around Phnom Penh. Started the day with an interview with Dara, an employee of DC-CAM (www.dccam.org). Shot broll of the DC-CAM office, pictures, maps before heading across town with Tom to pickup a wheelchair.

Felt “truly Cambodian” driving back on Tom’s moto balancing a folded wheelchair on my lap.

Used the wheelchair to film all around Phnom Penh: central market, Monivong Street, others. Finished filming at about 4:30 and had about 45 min to backup all footage, export a videofile of the interview we shot that morning, and deliver it for translation. Only with a p2 workflow was it possible to shoot all day and in 30 minutes of computer access have a 45 minute interview exported and delivered to begin translation.

Gotta run to catch the bus to Siem Reap….