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Following closely on the heels of VFX completion, color grading for "The Penny" is complete! 

What exactly is color grading you ask?  The picture above is a great example.  Color grading is a process where the original image is taken and enhanced to produce an even better looking picture.  Sometimes that just entails correcting a shot so that it matches those around it.  Other times it means adding a tint to the shot to help enhance the mood and feel of a particular scene (as in the example above).  Hopefully we can get Micah (our colorist) on here soon to explain a bit more of the process and his experiences grading "The Penny".

This also means that we are one step closer to a completed film!  The final element left is the sound mix which is being wrapped up over the next week.  You should be hearing more about that soon as well...

The ongoing saga to complete a modern film generally entails the successful completion of some amount of visual effects work. The Penny is no exeption. While not a "VFX film" like Pendragon and others, it had a few of it's own unique visual effects enhancements which should go entirely unnoticed in the completed film. In the end there are over 140 effects shots, which we completed on a part time basis. The Penny has been on a long road, but as I understand it, we are literally a week from the finished film. Hold your breath guys!

After the past months of radio silence some of you may be wondering if there is any life left over here at Filmweavers…and I'm happy to report there is!

This time has been filled with many different things.  One of those being my (Nathan) work on the Ace Wonder set.  Those of you following their blog know that the filming wrapped on schedule and was a big success.  The six weeks spent out in TN brought me many new friends and memories!

During my time out there I also kept an eye on the continued work on "The Penny" back home.  These past months have brought that project quite close to completion and we are now officially on the homestretch.  All indications point to a final version of the film being in hand by the end of the month!

The visual effects are all wrapped up and placed in the timeline with the exception of only two shots.  The entire film now has a color grade and only has some final tweaking and polishing to be done yet.  Last week I headed down to the sound studio for an updated viewing session of the sound mix and things are getting quite close on that front as well.

As these last few pieces fall into place I'll keep you updated on the progress and obviously the final completion.  Thank you to everyone for your continued interest in "The Penny"!  Filmmaking is a long slow process often compared to watching paint dry, but each of those tiny painstaking brushstrokes are worth it when the final canvas is revealed...

Early tomorrow morning I (Nathan) will be heading to TN for the shooting of "Ace Wonder".  This is the latest feature film project from Heumoore Productions that starts filming in just four days.  For the next five weeks I'll be working as the on-set editor for the film, taking the footage as it's shot and assembling a rough edit together right on set.

As some of you know, things can get pretty hectic on a feature film schedule, but I'm still hoping to take some time as I'm able to post updates here on my experiences.  You can also follow the Ace Wonder blog for more updates, BTS videos, and other fun stuff.

It's been awhile since we last updated you all on "The Penny", so let me fill you in on all the latest... 

Just over a couple of weeks ago Jurgen completed the last bit of work on the original score for the film!  This is a huge accomplishment and marks the end of many hard months of work.  As the director I'm thrilled with what Jurgen's music has added to the film, and can't wait to share it with the rest of you.  Congratulations Jurgen!

With the scoring now complete, Nate is working to put the finishing touches on the sound mix.  From what I've heard so far the enhancements to the audio are really bringing the film even more to life.  Ethan is almost finished with the last few visual effects shots in the film and they're looking great.  Once those are finished Micah will be wrapping up his color grading and bring the project one step closer to completion!

Whispers have begun again of a new trailer and website for "The Penny" as well.  Check back for more news on those soon!

The four Filmweavers were together again last weekend on the special occasion of Ethan's wedding.  Along with spending some great time celebrating we also had a chance to put our latest piece of equipment through some paces.

Canon's Digital Rebel T2i is the latest addition to the still young video dSLR market.  These cameras are designed at heart to take still photos, and thus do have a few limitations during video capture when compared to your average prosumer camcorder.  However, the benefits of the dSLR cams can often outweigh the limitations if used correctly.

The biggest advantage is the ability to attach 35mm lenses to the camera which produces that shallow depth of field "film look" that everyone is after.  Up until now it was necessary to attach a 35mm adapter on the front of a camcorder to achieve this look (which is what we used while shooting "The Penny").  Another thing that has really stood out to me in my limited work with the camera so far is it's amazing low light capabilities.  Ethan's wedding took place in a VERY dim sanctuary which would have been impossible to shoot with a normal camcorder.  The T2i on the other hand was not only able to capture it, but with an acceptably low level of noise as well.  As a bonus the camera takes really nice still images as well (including the shot of the FW guys above).

You can look for some more in depth reviews and thoughts over the coming weeks and months as I'm able use the camera more.  For now I can say that the T2i has met and exceeded my expectations up to this point.  If you're willing to work around the camera's limitations nothing else at this price point ($800 body only) comes close to shooting footage this good.

Here's the first official poster for "The Penny"!  It's quite similar to design #4 but with a few small adjustments.  Also, as you may have noticed the title has remained "The Penny".  After quite a bit of thought and time working on alternate title ideas, we've decided to stick with the original title.  While some of the other ideas weren't bad, we still feel that "The Penny" best represents the film.  It's just got a ring to it!

Post-production on the film continues to push towards completion as well.  Jurgen is working on the very final piece of the score which is exciting.  Nate and I finished up our last ADR recording a couple weekends ago with Dan Bell, Mario Andre and Amy Levenhagen.  With the score getting wrapped up Nate will now be able to work on a final sound mix for the project.  On the visual side of things, Ethan's effects work continues along with Micah's color grading as well.

Filmmaking is often a slow process and many people don't realize how long it can take to create a film from start to finish (although if you've been following this blog for awhile you're getting a bit of an idea!).  After all that work and time it's exciting to finally be coming down the homestretch.  We hope you're looking forward to seeing the finished product as much as we are!

Three of our crew sped down to Indiana for a 2 day commercial shoot for Newborn Lifeline. It is a pro-life, pro-adoption oriented piece. Even though we could have sworn we promised ourselves we would never shoot outside in the winter again (since shooting The Penny last year in sub zero temperatures) The film included a final scene outdoors, so we had to break our promise. Yup it was cold, but everyone survived, and managed to keep a pretty good attitude!

Also, due to a number of extras not showing up we really needed some help and the Sampleys from www.take7films.com came up from Louisville to save the day. Big thank you for that guys!

This short commercial will be airing on national television in the near future, so keep an eye out!

This past Monday I braved the wintry Wisconsin roads down to Nate Sisson's sound studio for another ADR session.  It was great to see Molly Kunz (who plays Kate Carter) and her mom Debbie again.  As I've said before, things are much more laid back when recording ADR so it's fun to spend time with the actors in this less stressful environment. 

The recording session went great and we even captured some interviews with Molly to use in the behind the scenes portion of the DVD.  Who knows, maybe a few small BTS clips will even show up here before the DVD comes out...

Here's a brand new poster design for "The Penny"!  It's based off some of the input you gave us regarding the first three poster concepts.  Let us know what you think!

You can see the poster in higher resolution on Facebook by clicking here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4864378&l=513a0f2d1d&id=755147215

Here are three brand new poster concepts for "The Penny"!  We would love to hear your thoughts and input on the designs.

For higher resolutions of each one you can check them out on our Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188624&id=755147215&l=b3f158d040

While your there we'd love to have you join the group as well if you haven't already.  It's a great way to stay up to date on Filmweavers and even get sneak peeks at things such as this!