Sod it, I can’t be bothered to whine about anything except the sound dubbing expert who I’m not paying anything and who is still putting the brakes on my film after six months. I’m sure I could have found someone equally as talented willing to do this favour in the meantime. What a pain.

Should I take the gamble that I can get it all finished in a month with no visible means of financing and fill in the Cannes Festival application today? That would mean bullshitting about a couple of things and not actually having a completed video to send them. Or should I go watch some television for a bit and procrastinate? Maybe I’ll just go back to bed.

It hurts my head…

Oh bugger.

“A print or video cassette from the applicants must reach the Selection Committee before April 1, 2001.”

So no Cannes do this year then.

Next.

…

Okay, things to do:

Neg Cut
Deliver negative (ten large heavy cans), Edit Decision List (EDL) and 2x videocassettes to Neg Cutters (Andy at TrueCut)
– timescale: tomorrow (there’s a tube strike today)
Get new EDL for Fate & Fortune to include shorter title sequence, phone editor to arrange
– next week (he’s out of the country until April 3)

Titles and credits
Visit graphic designer and finalise opening titles, font, layout and closing credits. Find cash.
– tomorrow 12.30 (appointment made)

Grading
Requires cut negative and cash, so phone bank and arrange outrageous loan for this and various other things. Re-cost out everything on this list in Excel, then take deep breath and contact bank
– today

Sound mix
1. Last Train – done, so go to optical
2. Fate & Fortune – kick sound editor on a daily basis, whine a lot and get numbers of alternative sound editors (in hand)

Optical sound negative
1. Requires Tascam cassette (done), cut neg (in hand) and cash (bank)
2. Requires Tascam (see sound mix), cut neg (in hand) and cash (bank)

Effects and opticals
Forget it, you’re broke!

Final print
1. Director of Photography wants Grade A 35mm print in addition to graded print. Tough, unless he’s paying. Will probably go with Super16 print only.
2. DoP wants Grade A 35mm print (surprise surprise) but will go with it because I do too. Takes priority over Last Train as it’s shot on 35mm for a quality look.

Exhibition – festivals
Find names and dates and enter. Note Cannes will only accept first run films so that’s missed. British Short Film Festival, Birmingham Festival, Europe, Australia and USA. Plan for print falling apart in approximately three months and ponder cost of replacement.

Exhibition – television
Ensure print is immediately telecined to digital format ASAP. Then, helloooo distributor! Channel Four/BBC specialist units. No? Okay, BBC first stop via new BBC Choice scheme which probably involves handing over all the international rights to everything in exchange for bugger all and a chance to win a few hundred quip. yip.
– early May (application form on desk)

Get more work!
By sending VHS copies to those responsible for hiring freelances at major channels, film companies and agents.
– early May

Hmm. Sounds like a plan…

…

Re-cost post production
Find that it comes to �11,000-plus. Feel nauseous. Phone lab next – “Do I absolutely NEED to have an interpositive and an internegative?”

…

Take out one disolve
To be replaced with a cut, no matter how difficult that is. It saves A&B roll surcharges. Re-cost comes out to �9,800. Still feel queasy. Might be able to get it down to around �8,000. �6k would be do-able or I’ll barf up a lung. Sales manager at lab is out of office until later…

…

Procrastinating
Watch some TV including last night’s episode of Star Trek Voyager which was lame. I also mess around on the internet for a bit and check my stars – which are ridiculously positive at two different sites – and my bank balance online – which is not quite as bad as I thought. Phew. My finances should actually survive the month.

My heart pricks me into a misguided attempt to make life better (and live up to the astrological promises) so I send an email to a friend who isn’t speaking to me. No reply comes back which could mean I’m the world’s biggest pain in the ass except I know I’m not, I’m just fed up. The lack of response means I’ve probably just pissed that person off more which was obviously not the intention so it makes me feel worse so I come here and beat myself up about it.

Phone the lab again. The sales manager is back in the office but on another call so I leave my number. His secretary gets the number wrong – twice – then she says he’ll call back later. He’ll probably call back next week. I think Mercury – the planet of communication – must be taking a vacation from my sign this week as it seems like no one wants to speak to me. Yes, I’m whining about that too. Bite me.

…

Lab costs and loans
Lab finally calls back too late to get in touch with the bank but the new figures are fed into my Excel spreadsheet and several unneccessary lines are deleted. The labs are really helpful and it looks like it’s going to cost around �4,500-�5,000 which is still shitloads of money but after the �11k panic, it sounds pretty reasonable.

Hey, I could get this sucker finished in just a few weeks!