I know I've posted this on the Panasonic P2/Letus Forum, but I figured I'd put this here as well for those who are just interested in Independent Films (not camera specific, etc.).

Drawing With Chalk sneek peak (http://www.drawingchalkpictures.com/previews.html)

We shot the film over a course of 6 months (seasonal and financial reasons) with an extremely small crew (everyone was paid :) ).

Todd

wow - that's looks wonderful and I'm sure there is an audience for it. The questions of being a middle-aged artist without financial wealth weigh heavy on a lot of minds. I loved the shot of the guitar slamming into the wall.

Best of luck. I'd watch it and I bet a lot of other people will as well.

Thanks Lori,

Congrats on your film as well! The trailer was good and interesting (you can see all of the hard work that went into it) and I hope the best for you, the cast and crew. If 'The Watermelon' ever roles into NYC I'll try to catch it :)

Todd

Great sound (and that's saying something!)

wow, now thats a trailer. Looks and sounds amazing!

Superb! Beautiful!

Wow, that looks like a fantastic film! Looks like a good story and the trailer is great - I especially liked the composition of the shots and the sound - what make/model microphone did you use? Fantastic job all around!

Thanks everyone for the comments. I spent a lot of time with the audio. I specifically purchased Schoeps mics (Schoeps CMIT-5U Exterior Shotgun Mic Schoeps CMC641 Set Interior Mic) and the Sound Devices 722 as the recorder (double system) because of reviews. These items weren't cheap but I was going all out (of course the credit card bills remind me monthly just how much I went all out).

I ran a feed to the HVX200 from the SD 722 just as a guide track. Unfortunately I didn't have timecode so I had to replace each cut/edit with the track from the 722 (I had over 1200 tracks total and I don't even know how many cuts in the film...). Fortunately when each take was slated I also had written down the track number from the 722. Made editing a little easier. As far as replacing the tracks, I got pretty good with being frame accurate just from listening to the guide (phasing also helped out); and of course once you've done a few thousand cuts... I also ran each track from the 722 through Izotope's RX using Peak Pro to clean up the audio and remove noise. It was a long process (some nights I wondered if I'd ever finish) but I finally got through it all. And at the same time I was doing all of this audio editing, I had to record the music. My computer must have ran 24/7 from early July to Sept 18th (the day I sent in the Sundance screener). :)

Todd



Good sounding audio is a key in making the indie film seem 'less indie'.

Todd

Forgot to mention that my sound operator (fellow DVinfo user Marco Leavitt) also had a Sound Devices mixer. He ran two signals (one hotter than the other) into the SD 722 which allowed me to choose tracks depending on the delivery of the lines. He really couldn't mix as he recorded since he was a one man show (boom and recording).

I will always say when it comes to your indie film, do not go lightly with the audio. Treat it equally with the picture (audio is a dead give away of a 'low budget film').

Todd

Hey All,

Didn't really know where to post this, but I recently put up the movie poster on the website:

Welcome to Drawing Chalk Pictures (http://www.drawingchalkpictures.com)

I know a lot of people like poster art so I thought I'd share this.

Todd

Looks beautiful man. While watching it I was thinking the story sounds synonymous to the indie-filmmaker's struggle. :)

Hi David,

Yeah, this really is a struggle that most of us in the indie world go through. I think that almost all of us involved in the arts face this issue since we really aren't involved in what's perceived as a typical or real career (most people look at it as 'just a hobby'). Funny, it isn't until you've 'made it' that people except our craft as a true career.

Todd

I'd really like to see the movie. Is this coming out on DVD anytime soon?

I'd really like to see the movie. Is this coming out on DVD anytime soon?

Hi Eric,

We are just entering the festival circuit so we have to wait and see if/when a distributor picks the film up. If affter we've exhausted all possible outlets and nothings happened, then we'll distribute ourselves on dvd or possibly Blu-ray (if we can afford the license fee and manufacturing costs).

I'll also let everyone here know when and where it screens (festival).

Todd

Hey All,

We are having a Cast/Crew screening on December 12th, at 7:30 pm at the Tarrytown Music Hall ( Westchester's Best Music Venue - The Music Hall (http://www.tarrytownmusichall.org) ). We are opening the invitation to others as well to help us see how the film plays to a general audience. If anyone wants to attend please feel free to do so.

Admission is free.

Todd

Hello All,

Forget the above message. We just received notification from the theater that we are being bumped from the 12th due to someone else with a lot of money wanting that date (that's the problem with having no money).

Sorry for anyone who wanted to attend.

Todd

Looks good. My two suggestions would be to cut it shorter and work on your title credits. They look at little cheap for my taste and take away from the rest.

Great Trailer and you can see that you put alot of hard work into it! Amazing.