Nothing is ever as easy as it should be....

So, I didn't get to sleep until 1:30AM last night because of various complications in putting the scenes together.

First, for some reason the orchestra software I use doesn't like being exported to a wave file when there is a video track in the project. It kept dropping notes during the mixdown, whereas during regular playback it sounded fine. Took me about an hour to finally figure out that if I removed the video track, it worked properly.

After that, I found that a render I did for Scene 3 of MILZ had a few seconds of black in it for no good reason. So I had to go back into After Effects and figure out why the layer had been shifted over, and where it needed to be shifted back to, based on the timeline in Premiere. Then I had to re-render that part.

Then, I exported everything to DVD and started the compiling/burning process. When I came back 45 minutes later, I found that it had stalled because my hard drive was full and it never created the files (the drive was full because of this stupid "conforming audio" thing that Premiere does, where it basically dumps higher-quality audio of all of your clips (even ones you're not using) to your hard drive to speed up processing. It's a really stupid feature and you can't turn it off). So, I had to start the DVD process over again.

Finally, at about 12:45AM, the DVD was done. Popped it in the player, and all was good until the last scene, where the audio was badly out of sync. So I had to go back into Premiere, realign the audio, re-export the audio, re-encode it to AC3, put it back into the DVD project, and burn the whole DVD again.

Sometimes technology is cool; sometimes it's just a pain in the ass. Either way, I'm tired, and with all of the Hondance prep work that needs to be done tonight, it seems as if the day won't be over for a long, long time. But, at least there will be beer, and that tends to make even the worst situations tolerable.

Ryan

Putting it all together

Well, I finished the music for the Hondance scenes. It all turned out pretty well, and while I might tweak it a little for the premiere, I'm mostly happy with it. It's cool to have an orchestra in the computer, and to be able to control it with either a keyboard, my midi guitar, or my electronic drum set.

I found myself struggling with the "Corporate Zombie" scenes, however, so I'm thinking of putting an ad on Craigslist and Dragonuk's list to see if I can get someone to score that section. Given the budget of the film (next to nothing), I can't afford to pay someone, but hopefully there are people out there who want to do this professionally who are looking to add something to their resume/demo reel. Maybe some Peabody students?

Tonight I have to put all of the scenes together in Premiere, and then export the whole thing out to a DVD. Also have to add some fades and stuff like that. Hopefully this won't take too long, and I'll actually be able to relax for part of the evening, instead of working all night, as I have been the past few weeks.

Ryan

Sound Stuff

Over the weekend I managed to finish the dialogue and sound fx editing for the Hondance scenes. Everything sounds pretty good, and the foley and background ambience I added makes it all sound much more "film-like".

I also trimmed three minutes out of Scene 3 in "Mother In-Law Zombie" (a scene where the main character is giving the back story at a therapist's office), which was about half the scene. I trimmed another three minutes out of Scene 10 in "Corporate Zombie" where one of the characters is ranting about her parents' "sub zero refrigerators" and whatnot. The full versions of each scene will hopefully be on the DVD, as the stuff that got cut out is really pretty funny.

Last night I started working on the music for the scenes. I finished a muzak/bossa nova version of "Raise the Dead" that plays in the lobby of Kashgrab Records in Scene 3 of "Rock Zombie". I also finished a classical piano version of the same song that plays in the background at a cocktail party in scene 10 of "Corporate Zombie". The last thing I worked on and finished was the theme for "Mother In-Law Zombie", which consists of a tuba, oboe, and some flutes and piccolos. It sounds like a Danny Elfman score for a Tim Burton movie; slightly creepy but with a little bit of off-kilter humor.

Tonight I'll start working on the music for the "Corporate Zombie" scene. It's all underscoring, but will still be tough because it's orchestra-based, and because the mood of the scene really moves around. So, lots of strings and horns, with some percussion thrown in for good measure. If I have time, I'll also start working on the MILZ underscoring, which mostly takes place during the death scene, and during the dream scene.

Other than that, I need to add some music to the newscaster scene, where the zombies are first reported to be coming back to life, and will also probably put the bossa nova "Raise the Dead" in the background of the "Rest Home" commercial made by 37.5 member Curtis E. Crispin.

And at some point in all of this I need to find time to make 20 Hondance DVDs. Apparently I won't have any time to work Friday evening because we'll be setting up for the festival and possibly practicing for the DMFS show, so all of this needs to get done by Thursday night. Hopefully inspiration will strike, and I won't be sitting there for extended periods of time trying to force myself to come up with decent music.

Ryan