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Naturally since we like to stay on top of the Web 2.0 world, we signed up. Not much there now, but hopefully it will grow – both in content and most importantly fans.

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How Many Versions?

So how many versions of 3x are actually in existance. Quite a few actually. However there are currently only 3 “official” versions. (Yes, its a very odd coincidence that there are three cuts of 3x). To help you understand what these are I’ve broken it down for everyone.

THE PRESENTATION CUT - This is known as The Presentation Cut as it was the one that we first presented to the class on our “showing” day, April 11th 2007. It was a very successful showing, which resulted in the conclusion to send it to Charlies. However it was deemed somewhat confusing, and also too long for the 15 mintue requirement for the Charlies. As such, we had to go back and start recutting. This cut would also be presented to numerous other classes (including Douglas’ Grade 10 University English class) which would help us determine the changes that needed to be made. One major feature that it included was the full 2 minute credit sequence which had to be (severely) trimmed for Charlies.

(There also exists a version of the film that contains no sound as I forgot to include the soundtrack on the DVD timeline. Whoops!)

Runtime: 19 minutes.

THE THEATRICAL or CHARLIES CUT - The Theatrical cut has become the most viewed version of the film as it was first shown at The Charlie awards (where it subsequently took first place) and at various other events including the Waterloo Region English Awards and The Eastwood Arts Awards. This version contained numerous changes to help clairity, speed up the movement of the film, and other general changes. One major change was the inclusion of dialogue during the planning scene to help clear up the fact that they were plotting to escape, not murder Malcolm. A full list of changes will be released when we put out the DVD.

Also, it should be noted that there were 2 different Charlie cuts finished. The final version differs slightly from the first one that was completed. Most of the changes were purely aesthetic, changing text placement, sound levels and the like. This first version will most likely not be released as there is really no need to since the changes are so minimal.

Runtime: 14 minutes.

THE DEFINITIVE DIRECTORS CUT – Currently being edited. It will combine elements from both versions. The best way to describe it is take the theatrical cut (which featured some changes from the original cut, such as the new flashbacks, better sound mix, etc.) and re-insert some of the scenes that were removed. As this cut is not yet complete there isn’t much to report however we will update everyone once it is completed and include all the changes/additions we made.

One thing is certain, it will contain the longest credits of all versions as it will be sure to include the original 2 minute credits along with full song credits among other things that will need to be added as a result of the Theatrical cut. As such you can expect this credit sequence to be longer.

Runtime: Unknown at this point. We’ll keep you posted.

So there you have it. The official look at the multiple versions of 3x. As I type this I just completed labeling the last of the 7 different DVDs of 3x I had in my CD case. There are more lying around my room somewhere I’m sure.

You can expect to find those 3 versions on your DVD which will be released in the coming months. We’ll keep everyone posted as soon as we have information.

Oh! And be sure to join our Facebook Group to stay up to date!

Surprise Screening.

Well today we were in for quite a surprise. I had been editing in the Radio room first period because I was too lazy to get off my butt and move into the editing room, and so when period 2 rolled around I decided to see how crowded the video editing room was and go move in again.

When I got there I was told by Alex that Douglas was showing his grade 10 class 3x and that Nate was in there as well.

Naturally we ran over to see what was going down.

We were only a few seconds late, and we sat down and watched the film… again.

When the film finished, once again, no one did a thing until the film was completely over.

We then had an incredibly constructive discussion with the whole class. I was shocked with how well this grade 10 class managed to grasp the film and were able to deconstruct it. The most shocking thing was how all the women in the class understood it completely and the only people who had real troubles with it were the boys… who all wanted action movies. When I thought about it I wasn’t all that surprised, but I never thought that these young 15 year olds would fully understand the film.

The general consensus was the class was confused, but not in the same was as Douglas was. They all thought (or at least said that) everything came together in the end and the film was wrapped up.

It also gave us a real fresh look at where the film is flawed and where we need to go back and fix things.

Special thanks to “Mandy” who offered a lot of insight into just what exactly was going on inside of people during the film, even if she hated Paris with a fiery passion.

We also had Charlie selections today. The two films that will be going are 3x and The Day After the Night Before (Martina and Alex’s film). We both have a lot of work to do, but I think it will be a good showing. Congratulations ladies.

Oh and for the record: I do feel bad for Paris.

The Rough Cut.

Well you’ll notice that there hasn’t been an update in a while, and with good reason.

This entire week was dedicated to getting our final rough cut of the film completed. I promised our producer to have the film done by the original due date of April 2nd, to ensure we would be finished by the official due date of April 10th.

And so Wednesday was my full day off for editing which allowed me to get most of the picture cut, and to get all our foley in. That night we went back to do reshoots for the darkroom sequence (funny story about that…) and then the rest of the week was spent getting the rest cut.

And so, here we are on Saturday and we have our entire rough cut complete. Now, admitedly we are missing a few shots, mostly inserts, however if need be we could show this version and be very happy… even if it is 19 minutes.

We also have been discussing how to cut the film down for the upcoming Charlie awards, and I made a decision on what we would do. This version is drastically different from the original but also incredible. I’ll be sure to post it once it’s completed… but that will not be until we finish the actual original version of the film.

I have to get back to work, we still have titles and credits to do, however I will keep everyone up to date with our progress.

The Music of 3x.

One of the most important elements of a film is its musical score. When Nathan first delivered to me the script for 3x it featured a number of musical cues that he intended to be used in the film. Originally these cues were all “needle drops” which is a term meaning songs taken from albums (since you would have to drop a needle on a record) rather than songs written specifically for the film. While I have no idea who actually coined the phrase, I first heard it used by Stanley Kubrick… but that’s not important.

As we got further and further into pre-production, Nathan and I spent a good deal of time looking at and discussing music that we would eventually use. As the script went through numerous revisions it became clear that the film was generating a far darker tone and that many of the songs that were originally intended for the film were no longer going to work out. Not only that, many of them featured vocals which I strongly felt would be out of place in a film that had no dialogue (I felt that it would cause the audience to analyse the lyrics which would be a bad thing because they had absolutely nothing to do with the film).

So we started a brand new music-bank. We both agreed that what we really liked was string quartet music, as we were trying to make a very operatic film. Some of Nathan’s brothers music was an option, and there were quite a few pieces that I felt would work. I also went and collected as much string quartet music as I could. Through this I managed to discover The Tallywood String Quartet who produce string quartet tribute albums for rock/pop bands. I went and got a hold of as much of it as possible and started listening to all of these tracks trying to find stuff that would fit.

In the meantime we kept working on the script and the film and started talking with Bill. He said that he could probably write some stuff for us which would allow us to have more original music crafted for just this film. This really excited me, because if we were able to get an entirely original score, and use open source sound effects we could ship the film off to just about any festival and not have to worry about any rights clearances.

Eventually we rolled into production and had a pretty good idea of what music would be used where, and where we were still looking for tracks.

Once we got to the editing process the fun began. I started placing in tracks that I liked some as temp. tracks, others as final. I gave Bill a rough workprint which he was then able to write music to and he came up with a few cues. We even got Robin in on the process, adapting a song that she had previously written for a scene in the film.

All in all, I am very excited about the music and sound of 3x. We are putting as much time and effort into these two elements as the actual edit of the film itself because when your film has no dialogue it is what is going to hold everything together.

I hope to release a soundtrack (most likely for download possibly bundled with the DVD) eventually. I’ll be posting an update very shortly about all the music we ended up using so be sure to stay tuned to that.

In the meantime here is the list of songs from the original script and the scene in which they were to play.

Scene 1
Postcards from Purgatory – The Dears

Scene 3
Remember (Part 1) - Nick Storring

Scene 6
Many Lives -> 49 MP – Final Fantasy

Scene 9
Track 05 - Nick Storring

Scene 10
I’m Afraid of Japan - Final Fantasy

Credits
Calling on Blue - Kevin Fox

No Coldplay.

When it comes to student films there are many rules that one should follow, however the number one rule is as follows:

Do not use popular songs in your films as it will ruin it almost instantly.

I won’t bore you with the reasoning because it more or less speaks for itself.

However this year Mr. Douglas created a new rule which we are all to follow that branches from this previous rule.

No Coldplay. I do not want to hear a single Coldplay song in anyone’s film. If I do I’m going to blow a fuse.

Now it should be mentioned that two years ago we did use Coldplay, and we did get away with it. However this was because the song was off of their brand new album (and I do mean brand new. It was released 3 days before the film was completed) and it fit the scene perfectly. Of course now that the album has been around longer it doesn’t work quite as well but since it was never released as a single we still get by.

Now this time around we won’t have that problem. Our entire score is string quartet music, string music from Nathan’s brother, or string music composed by Bill. There isn’t a lick of Coldplay to be had. While some stuff may be string covers of pop-tunes you most likely won’t recognize them, and even so, they won’t be Coldplay tunes.

But then I started cutting, and noticed something… we had dressed my room pretty well as Paris’ apartment however there was a section we ignored. I expressed concern about one poster in the background however Nate assured me it wouldn’t be an issue… naturally I thought nothing more of it. Then I realized, on a small LCD screen on a camera it’s not an issue… however when you get larger… well you be the judge.

Do you see it? You’re most likely distracted by the dead body in the centre of the frame… but if you look closely off in the background you may notice something (click the picture to see what I’m refering to.)

Looks like we’ll be getting away with it again!

For the record, I probably could digitally mask the poster out, however I’m keeping it in as a subtle nudge to the rule. Because quite frankly I think its funny. So while it may have started unintentionally, it’s ending up very intentional.

Thanks Coldplay. Another Moving Pictures film will be all the better because of you.

Editing Begins…

Well I spent the whole day logging and capturing, and worked on some of the film tonight…

I’ve got about 4 scenes in a rough cut shape and let me just say this…

THEY LOOK SO FREAKIN’ GOOD!

I can’t wait until Thursday when the cast and crew are getting together to watch what I have so far. I think they’re all going to love it. I’ll be sure to try and get it online ASAP for everyone’s viewing pleasure.