WELCOME TO THE LAND
WHAT – THE STORY
At a remote East Texas farm, a young professional is entrapped by an estranged friend and wanted fugitive. Under the desperate threat of deadly force, does he side with the blood-thirsty media and refuse quarter to the accused killer or abide in their friendship, trusting that the encroaching sheriff has yet again resorted to prosecutorial misconduct in the despotic pursuit of political gain?
In this suspense drama, an unplanned reunion pits a life of fortune against one of unwanted fame. When Landon’s success and knowledge of events that transpired give him power over Ron and his life of crime, animal instincts of survival create uncertainty as to how far a criminal will go to protect his interests, even with his own childhood friend.
WHEN – TIMELINE
The film negative has been cut to match the 16mm work print and the sound team of myself, Joe Mendoza, and Isaac Pena have finish up the main round of composing, A final sound sweetening/mixing phase has yet to be performed. The marketing team has recently completed our first Indiegogo campaign which raised $4,400 that was used to pay for our Film to Digital scan at Fotokem in Burbank. The funds also covered the costs of a professional colorist who completed the final look for our 2k, 10 bit, DCI-P3 Master. We were in the process of testing a new workflow for digital dust-busting when COVID-19 hit. We were able to finalize the testing with excellent results but the film lab was able to finish scanning only one of our four picture reels.
The most recent update received from Burbank (August 2020) shared the good news that, while operating on a skeleton crew, the staff of Fotokem will likely be able to finish our scanning in the coming month. Once we get it, we just need to complete, dust-busting, sound sweetening, record and mix a voice-over. The finished film will then be test screened for momentum and any final editing decisions will be made before submitting the film to the festival circuit. Hopefully we’ll get good news that festivals will reopen soon, as this will impact our release date. In the mean time, Blake is writing more material that can be filmed after our current release.
*For specifics on progress visit our “Project Updates” link at the top.
WHY – THE IMPACT
Study of mythology shows that we understand our world through story. It’s a part human DNA and movies are how we tell stories in the modern era. I found myself in film school at age 20 where students are trained to develop our unique voice which is the core of story. Unfortunately developments in the world of movie distribution have created new obstacles to getting a distribution deal. The path into an indie film career has obscured by heavy competition ad deep pockets. Backing indie artists directly by simply following those artists that you identify with means that you support a unique, home grown voice and you have a say in the media that gets produced throughout the world.
HOW – THE METHOD
These days most films are shot in new digital cinema formats. While digital has developed to the point that it is very cinematic, the new workflows have changed the craft. Producing on traditional celluloid carries with it an artistic demand which requires a increasingly rare discipline for the filmmaker and his team. This affects the final work. Presented in rare form, The Land, shot on 16mm film, in Cinemascope widescreen has a unique look and feel. The 20th century optical engineering lends an extra element of authenticity to the story’s modern era problem. The 16mm negative is transferred to an inter-positive as were all major motion pictures in the 20th century. Then we scan it to a 2K Digital Intermediate where the rest of the work is completed. When finished, we’ll output to a DCI Master Print, the same standard used currently in first run theaters around the world.
WHO – THE TEAM
CAST
KEY PERSONELL