Horrorview.com
presents the
DEADWOOD PARK
Production Diary
written by director Eric Stanze
DEADWOOD PARK editing is complete. The movie is done.
I had set the entire month of May aside to complete DEADWOOD PARK, but post production lasted longer than I expected. Having never finished a movie this big, I underestimated the length of time post-production would require. I edited right through to the end of June and finally completed the movie. I was editing long hours, nearly every day. In fact, I think I only took one day off during the entire two-and-a-half month post-production process.
Then, in quality control of the mastered movie, I discovered audio problems. So I had to get back into the movie and spend another week fixing the problems... and another week after that meticulously checking the movie, trying to catch any more pesky glitches in the audio. Then I mastered the movie again. So I was actually done in mid-July... or so I thought.
The day after finishing DEADWOOD PARK (for the second time), I left town for a month. No, not for a vacation, but for another shoot. I was flat broke and I took a freelance camera operator job to revive my bank account. The shoot took me to Chicago and Toronto, Canada. I was gone from mid-July through mid-August. While I was gone, yet another DEADWOOD PARK mastering problem reared its ugly head.
When I got back to St. Louis, I jumped back into DEADWOOD PARK to fix the newly discovered mastering problems (this time in picture, not sound). Jeremy suggested that while I was dealing with the mastering issue, I take the opportunity to cut another bit out of the movie. Also doing his part in quality control, Jeremy had watched DEADWOOD PARK about a million times while I was gone on my Chicago/Canada shoot. He said that after multiple viewings only one chunk of the flick stood out as being a problem. Jeremy suggested I edit the scene down a bit. Actually, that sequence in the movie had been bothering me too... for different reasons than Jeremy’s... but obviously, if we both had concerns with it, then the sequence should go away. So, the second wave of mastering problems gave us an opportunity to improve the movie by cutting out a problem spot. A blessing in disguise, as the kids say these days.
Finally, on August 26, 2006, DEADWOOD PARK was done.
To celebrate, too much alcohol was purchased and consumed. David Moore snagged a nice video projector and we aimed it at a blank wall in the Wicked Pixel building to create our own mini-drive-in. We then proceeded to enjoy a wonderful Polonia Brothers triple feature.
It was actually difficult for me to unwind at first. I had been working non-stop for who knows how long. The problems encountered in the final stages of DEADWOOD PARK just made me tense. I simply didn’t feel like celebrating the completion of our biggest project ever. But as the evening went on, I relaxed. I was surrounded by my team, who all seemed happy with what we accomplished with DEADWOOD PARK. And they were all insistent (especially Jeremy) that I take a night off, kick back, and just have a good time for a while.
Here is what I think of DEADWOOD PARK, now that it is done...
I cannot tell if it is my best work as a director or not... but this is certainly the most attached I’ve ever gotten to one of my movies. I’ve never put this much concentration into any of my past movies. I think this was the first time I went into a movie knowing I’d have distractions thrown at me continuously, so I was better prepared to maintain my focus. Plus, I had a more professional team around me who all did their best to deflect those distractions so I could better concentrate on what I was doing.
I thought about DEADWOOD PARK a lot. I knew exactly what kind of atmosphere I wanted it to have. I had a unique tone in mind for this movie. It is not a dead-serious thriller. And it is not a flamboyant horror film. It was my attempt to find an interesting balance between the two. I wanted the theatricality of a gothic Mario Bava movie mixed with the grim reality of a gritty murder tale. I am happy with what I achieved in maintaining this tone. And if you’ve never directed a feature, you have no idea how difficult doing something like that is, or the level of concentration one must maintain for years to achieve this.
From writing the screenplay to completing the final edit, I was constantly thinking about DEADWOOD PARK’s characters, locations, and virtually everything else that was in every shot of the movie. I was constantly evaluating everything, deciding if it fit the tone I was going for. I got to know the fictional town the movie takes place in very well. I understand the story and the characters very well. I know the subtext behind the Drive-In movie theatre also being a real estate office. I know why the town Sheriff has a toothpick in his mouth. I meticulously designed a simple shot of a flyer, taped to the outside window of the general store... and then I cut the shot out because it did not fit exactly the tone of the movie. I evaluated every detail of this production, from shooting exteriors on the exact right day of Fall to get the tree colors and the falling leaves just right (I think we nailed it)... to the color of Bill Clifton’s coffee mug (I was never happy with it... it is white... it should have been a light brown). Looking back, even I’m impressed with how many details of this movie I agonized over.
Is the movie flawless? Far from it. I am painfully aware of the dips the movie takes. But these dips seem overshadowed by the triumphs... and by what we accomplished over all as a team in creating this movie... an accomplishment made more impressive given we had the most limited of budgets and absolutely no outside corporate studio support whatsoever.
We made this thing from scratch. And everyone who worked on DEADWOOD PARK should be very proud of the results.
What are the results? DEADWOOD PARK is a movie that some will love and some will hate, I’m sure. But, aside from the flaws that I know are in there, this is the movie I wanted to make. If certain aspects of the movie fall flat for certain people, that’s okay... because, bottom line, what you’re seeing in DEADWOOD PARK is intentional on my part. (And nobody else had to live with DEADWOOD PARK for a continuous three years. For this reason, the member of the audience I’m most interested in pleasing is me.)
That said, I really do hope you enjoy DEADWOOD PARK. The movie makes me happy, and I’d love for it to make you happy too. Give it a chance... I’m sure you’ll connect to some aspect of it. If nothing else, DEADWOOD PARK is a fine antidote to the hyper, CGI-packed, brainless action-horror annoyances that Hollywood tends to thrust upon us.
Jeremy and I are now investigating our distribution options. I am genuinely surprised at the interest distributors and agents have in this movie. The trick, though, is not jumping at the first decent offer thrown our way. Jeremy and I want the movie to fit as perfectly as possible with it’s distribution company. Yes, we want as much money as we can get. But we are also interested in making sure DEADWOOD PARK, and the company that distributes it, can move us into the next phase... which, of course, means we get to continue making movies.
Maybe you’ve read all of my production journal entries since the day this project began, way back at the beginning of 2004. Or maybe you’ve just checked in every once in a while to see what’s going on in Eric Stanze’s head. Or maybe this is the first you’re reading about DEADWOOD PARK. Whatever your situation, I am honored that you’ve taken some time out of your busy day to check out what I’m doing.
If you’ve been reading from the beginning, I genuinely appreciate you tagging along for this frustrating, agonizing, rewarding, and amazing experience of making DEADWOOD PARK. Your interest in the production of this movie really does mean a lot to me. Thank you very, very much.
Thanks for reading.
-Eric Stanze
September 4th, 2006 |
