Getting Back to Work

Boxes and boxes of stuff were in my grandmother's attic. We've
since gone through and cleared out most of the house.

Many of you know that my grandmother passed away recently. We've been busy settling her estate, which has left me no time to think about Abandoned Allies.

It was not an unexpected death, but that hardly makes mourning easier. We were close, and I miss her. Going through her house, packing things up, finding a new place for her things, and saying goodbye to a her home (that has been there my entire life) is not easy.

We are close to the end of this chapter, though. The majority of the work there is done, meaning her house is almost empty. This also means my house is full, and desperately needs to be put in order. This has been a great shuffling of stuff, though not entirely a negative thing as one would imagine.

Processing someone else's stuff takes time, energy, and emotion. We have been doing it slowly, to be sure that everyone is happy with how it is done, and I am incredibly grateful for that. It's been tough, but necessary. Spending time with my dad, uncle, and boyfriend in that house as we slowly take it apart has been therapeutic.

We have found countless photos of ancestors, and I've been spending evenings scanning them. When I can, I email some to my family so they can have them, too. Ironically, I found an ancestor's old notebook who was learning to sew. My sister gave me a sewing machine for Christmas, and I have been hoping to finish this film so that I can learn to sew on the machine. What a timely find.

So today, for the first time in a very long time, I feel like I am ready to get back to Abandoned Allies. It's a good feeling, and I think it comes with a little peace in having some affairs in order--and knowing that what's ahead of you isn't too overwhelming anymore.

While I was handling family matters, my crew was hard at work. Patrick and Zach finished most of the motion graphics. Willie finished mixing sound. And many others were working on different aspects of marketing and distribution. With the iMac saga over, I actually have a working computer so I can finish editing.

It seems things are coming together, and we just may have a finished film to share very soon. There's a film festival submission deadline next week. I hope to meet it immediately.

Great News: iMac Saga Ends

Some seriously great news in the life of a filmmaker: my new iMac is finally running Final Cut Pro (FCP) properly! This is the delightful end to a three-month saga with the new computer. I'm so thrilled to finally be using it to finalize Abandoned Allies!

It's a LONG story, so I'm not sure about putting it in writing yet. It has drained me of a lot of energy over the past three months already. The bottom line: that part of this story has ended and a new one has begun. We're putting together the final pieces of the film, burning it to DVDs, and submitting it to a film festival ASAP.

Stay tuned, friends. I'll be sure to tell you more very soon.