The past few weeks have flown by as post production kicked into high gear for The Beard to meet the early submission deadline set by the Toronto International Film Festival. Fortunately the film was finished with time to spare and submitted to TIFF this past week!
The toughest decision I came across in the post process was settling on how to end the film. I was torn between two potential endings for some time, both of which would have had different implications on the story and its character, but as days passed by and feedback was collected, it became obvious that one stood above the other. I suppose sometimes you just have to wait it out and let time do it's thing. Once picture was locked, the production moved on to post-sound and colour correction.
I was very fortunate to be put in touch with Tricia Hagoriles of Alter Ego Post. Tricia is an amazingly talented colourist and went above and beyond in helping us create the perfect look for The Beard - Crushing blacks, heightening contrast and finding effective colour tones to depict the mood the film called for and maintain it through the piece. I am consistently amazed and surprised when I see what can be achieved with an image through the colour process and the exciting part is that with advances in technology, it's only going to get better and better.
For post-sound mixing and design I was lucky enough to work with Mitchell Arend of Made By Other People. Mitch and I have been good friends and creative collaborators for a long time, but this would be the first time we'd be working together in this capacity. Mitch has a solid work ethic and brings his own creativity and ideas to the table while working with other artists, which is always appreciated and essential to the creative process. I was extremely pleased with the final mix and it shows once again the world of difference good sound can make to a film! Check out Mitch's blog over at Foley Fridays - it's always makes for an entertaining read.
Overall I'm thrilled with how the final product has turned out! More than anything it was an effective exercise in filmmaking that I learned a great deal from. Now it's on to promotion and sharing the film with audiences, and of course, it's time to get Skinned!