01.31.09
This is one of the better stories one gets to tell, serendipitous moments that allude to some sort of "magic" alive within the process. As I understand it, James was out to eat in a little restaurant in Chicago with some friends. He was sharing with them about some of the various projects he was working on, and the topic of recording instruments for a short film score came about. He began to list some of the musicians he had recorded, and the waitress perked up-- "That's my professor!" It turns out, their waitress, Cathy Litaker, is studying to play the harp. Et voila.

 

01.28.09
Everybody, please welcome Evan Benjamin to the team! While Bruce was whipping our foley into shape, we realized we needed to bring in the special ops to get our edit into better form. A friend gave us Evan's name, and while I knew from our first conversation that he was going to be a perfect fit for us, IMDB revealed to me his distant connections to our Dayton crew... Evan worked on my good friend Ed Radtke's film, The Dream Catcher! After a swift (albeit virtual) double thumbs up from Ed, we were off and running.

I'm consistently humbled by the people working on this film, and can't say enough about how incredible it is to get to be so close to every part of the process. After our first spotting session way back in the fall, I remember how rejuvenated I felt hearing Bruce talk about the film from a sound perspective and some of the incredible ideas he had. This week, I finally got to hear these sounds, much of which Bruce made by hand in the foley studio. As stop-motion is such a tactile medium, I always felt the foley would be very important for the aesthetic of the film, and I think this was proven quite true. Sitting with Evan in his studio, Adam and I got to hear the film. I don't even know what to say about that sensation. This film has been silent for almost 3 years...

 

01.24.09
James has been very busy producing Jon and Josiah's score. He spent some time in the studio today with some amazing musicians from Chicago.

 

01.09.09
So Jon has finalized the writing of the score, and the very next step is to bring in the musicians! As promised, Ian Baggette drove up to Chicago for the very last time before moving to New York City, where he'll be going to grad school for musical performance. It was an incredibly moving gesture—recording through the night Thursday, driving home Friday, packing all his things Saturday and then driving on to New York City the same day. Don't worry, Ian and I have spoke since, and he got here safely, already tackling NYC like it's his own! Good luck to Ian, and if anyone wants to see more pics, I’ve updated the post-production gallery.