Digitizing Complete

It might not seem like such a big deal to some, but.. all the tapes shot so far have been digitized. To put this in perspective, I started the digitizing process in October. Approximately 95 hours of footage later, the process is complete.. until I shoot more. It was actually the digitizing of Geno's interview from earlier this week that put Odell and I on the kick to finish it up. I also received a new case for the tapes when I returned from our Shania Twain gig in Mexico, so they are now ready to be moved offsite to a climate controlled facility for storage.

For perspective..
A000 - A077
B000 - B008
C001 - C003

We took in a couple of gems in these last hours too, even beyond the new material with Geno.
The Catholic confirmation mass ceremony. (Singing galore!)
Interviews with Sudanese women in Meheba.
Arianna teaching HIV classes to village women at Road 15.
Various scenes from the High School.
Geno giving a tour of the AAR compound.

All this new good stuff is going to influence our editing to be sure.

On other fronts..
FORGE finally seems to have a logo. It's not a 100% signoff, but I'm hoping it will be before this weekend is over. This will allow Odell and I to complete the video side of the FORGE promo, put it into the sound mix next week, touch up the DVD interface, and deliver the final product. We might even beat the contract date. :)

We are also creating a sample disk of the doc to show to potential investors. We hope to have this completed next week to give to Kjerstin for meetings she is scheduling with the UNHCR in April. This material, in addition to the promo piece, should be quite a convincing combo.

I wrote to Kodak today to begin my search for S16 stock for my A-Minima. If I go back to Meheba this summer, I won't be chasing around Forgies quite as much, so I'll have some time to really concentrate on b-roll. And since I have a S16 camera, I want to make use of it. If Zambian Forge ever bumps up to HD (or projection prints) in some form, having S16 material would, alongside the digital stills, go a long way. Plus, Meheba is one of the most visually stunning places I have even been, so it deserves to be filmed.

I have started to consider what may be the same in Meheba, and what will have changed. I know that the LWF manager for the Repatriation has moved on, as have Patrick, the Sisters of Charity, Marie Lobo, and Mr. Gubertalla. Not to mention 10,000 or so Angolans..
The high school will have a complete Basketball court (as will Road 36), the library should be completely functional, and the sport league should have been operational for a year.
Meheba will be a different place, even if I'm still exploring it with Tom Silverman.

I wonder if it will teach me as much again as it did last year!
David

FORGEing on

The last month has shown a lot of progress in the development of Zambian Forge.
Editing something this long and complex is extremely difficult, and progress is slow. However, every week, we creep closer. Some parts of the film are really starting to come together. The sports league especially is providing a lot of compelling material.
On that front, several Forgies were in town this past weekend, as Kjerstin and Brandon gave a keynote speech at the COOL conference being put on at Cal Berkeley by idealist.org. (Which I taped.) Geno was also in town, and we used the opportunity to shoot another interview with him, filling in some gaps and building our themes.

Speaking of building.. I am considering returning to Meheba this summer. FORGE supports the idea, as it would be an opportunity to focus on the sustainability and impact of the projects beyond their implementation. Tom Silverman is returning to Meheba as a group leader this time around, and so there would be continuity with characters - him, and some of the refugees. I am in search of some funding to make it happen..
I also want to follow some refugees the whole way into Angola, past the border limit I hit last year.

There is a lot to do, and even more I want to do, and not enough funding to pay for it all, but I am forging on.

David