Episode 7... Countdown!

Brianne, who has been the quiet (and often unsung) hero behind the editing of every episode in the series, completed the editing of Episode 7 at 4:30am last night (this morning?). On of the hard parts for an editor (I can only imagine) is that you work very, very long hours on a project and then, before anyone else gets to see it, you have to show it to the director.

And the director tells you to change everything.

Well, actually, I never tell Brianne to change everything... but there are certain things that I look for that have to be changed and the changes are never, ever easy ones. In Episode 7, I was working with several actors who had never been in front of a camera before and we had two premium locations (South Kitsap High School and ArtsWest) but for very limited amounts of time. Though most of our shots for the episode wound up taking three to six takes, sometimes the final take still wasn't perfect. Tricky takes went like this:

Recorded speaking from behind the camera, Jennifer says: "Okay everyone! Speak slowly. Stay in character until I say 'cut.' And never, ever look at the camera." Lots of nods.

And then we have six takes of little eyes looking directly at the camera :D

I find humor in this because also recorded before and after these takes is laughter and chitchat and everyone having a lot of fun. "Ghost Sniffers" doesn't pretend to be a glossy, serious show with an entire cast of professional actors. Yes, we have some amazing actors who have done years of school and many films and shows. And yes, we have some individuals who have never acted before but who clearly have a natural talent and poise. But we also have kids cast because they have a passion for empowering other kids and that passion is something that CAN'T be faked and DOES look great on camera.

The episode is a stand-alone episode in many ways -- a classic investigation cut with scenes of Forge hanging out with her friends at CPAC, an acting club she founded and belongs to. The episode has some of my favorite vignettes (vignettes are little scenes that stand alone) of the entire series. Without spoiling anything, I'll just name a few keywords that you'll all understand once you see the episode -- spork, limo, hair blowing, and creepy.

The other incredibly cool thing about Episode 7 is that there's one timeline (the acting club) and there's Forge remembering an investigation in the past. The investigation is shot in selective color so the whole thing is black and white except for shades of red (which is the episode's special color). It was strange and wonderful to shoot that way and it made from some strange and wonderful shots :)

You know, I'm so proud of what we've all accomplished. I wouldn't recast a single person or redo a single episode (even all these episodes before we got our boom mic) because the REALNESS of what we're doing, and who we all are, just shines brighter than everything else. When I work on other Blue Forge Productions projects -- projects where I get a million takes to secure the perfect shot and where I'm working only with fancy actors who demand perfection in everything they do and from everyone around them -- I will miss the silliness and the laughter and the gentle hearts that have made, and continue to make, "Ghost Sniffers" the sincere show that it is.

The cast of "Ghost Sniffers" -- all of you -- have made me fall in love with film. Thank you :)

Now... I better hurry off to score the episode before Brianne comes home from her (real, paying) job and yells at me for not having the episode ready to post! Okay, she never really yells... but she looks at me with squinty-mean eyes and that's even worse ;)