The origins of the word ‘deadline’ apparently have their origins in American prison life. It referred to a barrier erected 17 feet inside the outer walls. Anyone crossing that line was liable to be shot, and become, quite literally, ‘dead’. In common usage it came to refer to a line which could not be moved, used in theatre, the printing trade, and ultimately as shorthand for a date by which certain task must be completed. I guess the original source influences the phrase ‘death by deadline’.

We are facing several deadlines for The Insatiable Moon. One of them is for the music mix, which is due to be completed by June 15. It’s a date etched in the mind of our composer Neville Copland. Another, 10 days later, is June 25. That’s the deadline for delivery of the finished film. By my calculation that’s just 30 days from now. After years and years of planning, preproduction, shooting and post-production, we will have the film in a form which by and large is set to stay. There’s also another deadline which I’m not allowed to speak of at the moment, but will become public very soon I hope.

In order to meet these deadlines, a small army of people are bringing their talents to bear. Among them are musicians, visual effects artists, foley artists, colour graders, sound engineers and graphic artists. They now join the team of hundreds who have worked on this one project. When you see the interminable list of credits at the end of a film, pay some respect to the art of cinema which brings together such a massive pool of talent for the telling of one story. And when you get to see our film, those who stay to the end of the credits will get a small reward for doing so.

Beyond the deadline, what next? Hopefully no one will get shot  But then the real journey of the film begins. Toward the final group of people who create any film – the audience, and their interaction with it. I suspect this last journey will be a long and fruitful one.

Posted in news