Another hiccup likely due to my old external drive (though I think there’s a good chance my out-of-date editing software may be to blame too) is that my project file was damaged at some point after Fanime, forcing me to work off a backup (auto-save, I love you). Unfortunately, what I didn’t discover until last night was that this backup file was created before I did the audio mixing for the last twenty minutes of the movie. At least all my edits are still in place.

The mixing of these scenes should only take me another day or three, and then all I got to do is work on the brightness issue and assemble the deleted scenes. My current thinking is that Song will be released on YouTube first while I investigate the feasibility of reformatting the video for 16:9 display for DVD/DivX release. I had experimented with making ReDeath 16:9 on its DVD, but cropping ReDeath for 16:9 resulted in a softer image compared to having my HDTV zoom in on the 4:3 letterbox image, so I left it non-anamorphic. But since Song requires subtitles (for most), it seems worthwhile to give it the 16:9 treatment so people with widescreen TVs don’t have to choose between a big picture and being able to read the dialogue. We’ll see.

I’m finally getting back to polishing Song. The biggest headache has to do with the audio mixing where I’m adding or removing footage. Since the audio mixing was applied as keyframes on the entire audio track, any change to the length of footage requires the keyframes to moved as well, which sadly does not occur automatically. Not difficult, but obnoxious.

Also not cool is that my old external firewire drive (a 120GB I’ve had since late 2001, on which Nescaflowné and ReDeath ReDux were edited) is flaking on me. Some footage and music cues were damaged and needed to be replaced. Thankfully, the damage to the whole is minimal, but I’ll definitely be retiring this drive from editing work once this project is complete.

I’ve crossed the halfway point and am currently considering shortening one, maybe two of the action scenes. If I can do it without butchering the music behind them, I most likely will. That’s about it for the edits I think the video needs, everything else is just tweaking a subtitle here and there or adding some sound effects where needed. I also think it’d be cool if I could find someone to translate the end credit theme for me (it’s in Italian), but that’s just extra credit. And then, it’s the deleted scenes and the DVD authoring, but I think I could get this online before then.

King of Fighters 69 Teaser Trailer

I finally got back around to editing! Judy’s been bugging me for forever to make a dub so I figure if I start editing stuff, maybe I’ll get back in the mood to actually crank something out. Anyhow, this is actually an old trailer reborn. I made a similar version of this way back in 2002 on my old editing system. Recently I jumped at the opportunity to get Final Cut Studio for a good price, so I’ve got quite a respectable editing setup now with my MBP and my new monitor. Anyhow, if I’ve learned anything from cutting this KoF trailer it’s that 1) new NLE software and hardware are a joy to use and 2) I’m way rusty at this editing bit. I think I spent about 3 hours total ripping, editing, and cutting this trailer from DVD to Youtube.

Song’s screenings at Fanime this past weekend went well, better than I thought, actually. But then, I always fear the worst. ”It is what it is” was a phrase that kept popping up in my head while I was making this. It’s based on an “old” anime and all rendered in a passable but dated cel-shaded graphics engine. It wasn’t that I instinctually knew it was great CBBB, what was important was that it was more CBBB. But now having seen the whole thing in a non-editing context, I think the story is good CBBB. I think the villain’s motives could have been explained better (particularly, why he specifically targets the Bebop crew), but I liked the new characters of Bianca and Kent and their respective interactions with Spike and Faye. I’m actually quite proud of the last few action scenes which got some good whoops from the audience. And the ending is a classic fatalist Spike moment.

Because we’re Studio Sokodei, this thing ain’t done-done yet. The number one flaw was that the thing was too damn dark (most notably damaged is one of my favorite gags in the video which got zilch response from the audience). I should’ve gotten the hint from how murky the trailer turned out on YouTube. But yeah, that’s at the top of the list. There are a handful of subtitle rewordings I’m considering (Though thankfully, I noticed no embarassing typos during either screening). I compiled the screener DVD three times in the 24 hours before premiere due to volume problems I kept discovering, and there were still some in what got shown, but limited to less than 30 seconds of the whole. I may also trim a few more lines. And last but not least, I’d like to edit and sub the around-6.5 minutes of deleted material.

Kelvin suggested that some of the earlier action scenes are too long and that I need to make the volume range more dynamic. I knew I definitely had to minimize the footage of actual gameplay as much as possible, but it’s a fine line between making something too long and making something so short as to be insignificant. There’re a couple of action beats I think I can reasonably shorten, one where Spike and Bianca are chased by aircraft and a point when Faye gets into two “fight against multiple goons” sequences in less than 4 minutes, and I’ll definitely seee what I can do with them. Volume range is something I’ve never really thought about on any of the videos I’ve edited. As long as nothing overpowered the dialogue, I figured that was all that was needed. But then, Song is far more action driven than the parody dubs and I guess the rule is that action scenes should not be pitched at the same volume level as coversations and vice versa. Another thing I’ll look into.

I’m gonna take a least a week off to decompress from Fanime before jumping back in to fix stuff, but I promise it’s not going to be a 5-year-process to completion this time. Unlike the dubs, I have no reservations about making this available to the public as soon as I’m satisfied with the final cut, and I’ll post that news here when that happens.