The Scoop: September - Doing It Backwards

Screenshot of "Wraiths and Shadow" before any effects

Stranger Things Studios is now officially back in action!  Last Friday we made our long overdue return to YouTube with “Wraiths and Shadow.”  If you haven’t had the chance to check it out yet, stop reading this, hop over to our YouTube channel, watch it, and then come back. (www.YouTube.com/StrangerThingsFilms)

There’s plenty more coming down the pipeline, too!  The only problem is we’ve been going at it completely backwards.  Here’s what I mean:

Our plan sounds pretty simple:  Do all the filming before the end of Fall.  Do all the editing during Winter.  Release the movies regularly as we go.  Pick up filming in the Spring.

However, I’m finding it’s easier to do at least a preliminary cut of each film as we go while the idea is still fresh in my mind; and in case we need to reshoot anything.  So, a lot more work is getting done now rather than later.  It’s just happening in the wrong order.

The movie slotted from February release is about 70% filmed.  I have one or two involved shots we need to pull off, and then the rest is indoor green-screen work, which can be done later.  Currently it looks like a 4-5 minute film.

I have the preliminary cut of the December release nearly finished.  I’m trying to shave it down to an even 10 minutes in length.  I’ll wrap that up this weekend, which is a week later than I wanted to, because I have other movies I really really really need to be working on.

Still image of the February STS film

For example, the October release is scheduled to be filmed three weeks from now, and outside of setting a date and securing two or three actors, I haven’t done anything.

As for the September release, I haven’t started.  You’d think I would have started with that one, not end with it.  I do have all the footage I need, and the music is all done; I just haven’t started laying it out and editing it yet.  I want to wrap up the preliminary editing on the other stuff and get that off my plate first.

What I’m saying is…

We’re putting up a video of “bonus material” this month to fill in the gap.  That’ll come out next Friday, the 9th. 

The actual September release will come out two weeks later, on Friday, the 23rd.