Standing Firm (cover) 1.0
Hello everyone! It’s been a long time since my last entry, sorry about that. Lots has been going on this month. God is bringing forth a lot of opportunity for 2010 for myself personally and Standing Firm.
I’ve been finally feeling like I’m heading towards the last stretch of work on the film. I have MONTHS and months of work ahead of me but, I can finally see an end point, the path towards the end. Before now, it was always an unknown. I didn’t have any solid answers of when, what, where. I’m so excited that I can see the steps I need to take. Is it all set in stone? Of course not! But it’s comforting to know I have direction. I even began for the heck of it working on the DVD Cover for the film. I think it’s coming out pretty nice (I love doing this stuff). Take a look at the back cover as it currently stands after two days of fiddling around. Note the incredibly cliche fake reviews on the back, haha. 
There’s a ton of dead space to figure out, and a lot of shifting to get everything right on things like this, but I like the colors and the image I chose. I’m telling you, if your a low-budget filmmaker…either get a great DSLR or make sure you have a great photographer on set. Besides following simple color/layout guidelines, that back cover is practically sold by that beautiful image! If I knew any better I’de swear this film was much more expensive 
That’s the goal folks, make it ALL the best you can. Make it pro, make it count. When someone picks that thing off the shelf or sees it on a table, you only have a few seconds to grab their attention and only a few seconds after they pick it up to keep it. These are not small issues, they’re extremely important. Does your DVD Cover say “eh, maybe I should buy this,” or does it say “I have to buy this.” Think about it next time…
I’ve been able to spend a lot of time with friends/family in the last month as well, which has been fantastic. God has been teaching me some great things and I have much adjusting to do for the new year. I’ll post an entry at the end of the month about how 2009 has been, and a recap of all that’s happened. Let me tell you it’s a pretty insane list.
I’ve been getting a handle on the edit of Standing Firm, talking with some composing folks, figuring out with a friend how I’ll secure the funds for post-production/distribution, and what we’re going to do with this film. It’s such a complicated process. We’re looking at possible self-distribution which has it’s drawbacks/benefits. I know some filmmakers reading this just felt their neck tighten up. Cool it, I’ll be just fine
There are countless promotional videos to finish, the edit to lock OFFICIALLY (Reel 4 and 1 are close, 2 is in the worst shape and 3 is getting there), start the color-correction process, get a sound-mixer started on the audio (and choose one at that), develop a solid marketing plan for 2010 leading up to a hopeful late summer release, gathering and listing media contacts, building a database of church contact information (I’m going to grow this a bit each month via online searches and various methods), building the online fan base, etc. As you can see this is easily a time sucker.
We’ll see what God does in the next few days here in regards to me working. I’m working on making a deal with a friend (some of you know him) to work for him and his website. I’ve mentioned this in the past but it’ll be more official. I’m looking forward to making the conditions clear and having some peace of mind about it. He’s a great guy, I trust him.
The holidays are going to be a great time of fellowship, I can’t wait! G’night!
