The Elders is SO CLOSE to being done - and as I type this, I'm putting together the finishing touches in preparation for the Final Cut screening being held at the Paramount Center theater in Boston on Tuesday (April 12th). 

This morning I finished putting the beautiful titles and credits in place (by Jeffrey Jeppesen), and the final draft of the (hauntingly beautiful!) score (music by Lee Strauss) will be in place tonight. Color correction will be wrapped up tonight as well, and then my computer will be working around the clock until Monday to get the film into a format that it can be viewed on any computer. So close!

I've attached a picture of the poster/postcard for the film - and I'd love to know what you think. It was put together by my long-time friend and collaborator Jeffrey Jeppesen who also did the titles for the film.

I'll keep you updated and be on the lookout for an email from kickstarter requesting addresses so I can begin to send out the "rewards" in early May!

Thank you all for your patience as I make this film the best it can be - we're almost "done!"

Nathaniel 

Hi everyone!

I wanted to send a quick update to let you know how things were going - we are SO close I can taste it! I just listened to the first draft of the completed score last night (40+ minutes!), and I can tell you that the composer Lee Strauss has done a fantastic job. A few tweaks and it will be just right. Additionally, I just found out that the artist whose song I wanted to use for the closing credits has responded to my many emails ...

... and has granted me the rights to use his song in the final film FREE OF CHARGE! This is huge - and my eternal thanks to the artist, as it would have easily cost more than what I raised on kickstarter to pay for that license. Amazing. I'm working out the details with his publisher Universal Music as I type this.

The last stop will be color correction and titles, which the very talented Jeffery Jeppesen (my long time friend and creative collaborator) has generously donated his talents and time. Color correction will happen in Las Vegas with the help of my good friend Jerry Thompson (a talented filmmaker to be sure), at the end of March and we should be good to go mid-April.

This is the exciting last push and I'm fairly certain that baring some disaster I'll be able to send off DVD copies and digital downloads by May - making it exactly 1 year from kickstarter launch to finish. What a marathon! 

In other news, I had a "work in progress" screening in Vermont a couple weekends ago, and how grateful I was to have the film received so warmly. I was lucky enough to have the film's muse Louise, in attendance. Without her interview - I'm not sure I'd have the same film. I've included her "trailer" below.

You can read a more objective report of that weekend by the screening's host here: snapdragon inn 

I can't thank you all enough for your support and patience over the last year as I bring this film home. It's been an incredible year for me, and I hope the end result will please each of you in its own way - and that you will feel this journey (and leap of faith!) has been as rewarding for you as it has been for me.

Best

Nathaniel

Louise:

Hi Everyone! I realized about a week ago that it had been quite a while since I had posted a project update. My apologies!

It's been a busy couple months, and while the edit is taking longer than I had anticipated, I'm pleased with where it's headed. In late October, I screened a 50 minute "rough cut" to about 45 people in Boston. Admittedly I was really, really nervous. But the film (even in that rough state), was VERY well received with tears, ruckus laughter, and moments of intense silence. It was one of the most memorable moments of my adult life to see people come together and experience what I had experienced in the summer of 2010. Without all of your help - none of it would have been possible!

One very humbling part of this project, which I anticipated but which I think is impossible to prepare for, is that some of my interviewees have quietly begun to leave this life. While inevitable, it's difficult to learn of their passing. Out of 20 individuals interviewed, I know 2 have passed: Marie Hensell (my grandmother) and John Adams. It is to their lives and the lives of those who participated that this film is ultimately dedicated, and it is my hope that we can take away something small from the enormity of their lives.

In other news, I was thrilled to see that The Elders was listed as one of two other honorable mentions under the category of “Best Short Film” projects on kickstarter this year (2010). What an honor for us all! With thousands of projects to choose from, it’s a pretty awesome feeling to have my work recognized in this way by a community that I have really grown to admire and love. That community has allowed my project to flourish, and for that I’ll be forever grateful.

I’m also delighted that people make the connection to The Elders as a “short” film project. I suppose, technically, that’s accurate as it is a collection of short films that make up a feature-length film (70 minutes). And that was my intent from the beginning: Could I create a feature-length documentary film built entirely on short portraits of mostly talking heads? It worked, and it’s working as support continues to pour in!

http://blog.kickstarter.com/post/2713612870/best-short-film-project

Finally, my updated timeline is as follows:

Fine-Cut sent to composer: Feb 3rd
Fine-Cut screening/discussion: Feb 20th (hosted by the Snapdragon Inn in Windsor Vermont)
Picture Lock: March 1st
Final Touches and completed film (soundtrack, motion graphics, color correction): April 1st

Wish me luck - it's going to be a busy few months and come this spring I'll continue to keep an eye on your mailbox or your inbox for the completed film!

Best
Nathaniel

The rough cut (a rough draft version of the film without things like the score, opening titles, etc) is coming along...it's such a tedious process and at some point one becomes numb to the footage. I had that happen last week and had to walk away from the film for a couple days. Thankfully, I live in a city that can cure inspiration droughts just by walking around outside and enjoying the scenery (Boston is a great city to visit by the way).

I'm nearly up to 30 minutes and will be screening a draft of the film for colleagues at Emerson College on Wednesday night. Hopefully by then I'll have the film up to an hour (my goal is 70 minutes total) - and what I'm quickly realizing is that the website (which is being built right now and is looking awesome) will be a very important part of this project.

The film will probably feature 12 people at the most, but my intention is to have viewers explore these amazing stories on the website - which I view as an extension of the film and which I hope to grow.

I've included a short teaser with some terrific sound bites of most of the folks who will make the final cut. Enjoy, and thanks again for all your support!

The editing process in a documentary film is often long and tedious. I interviewed 20 people for this project, with a few more still on the list. Most of the interviews lasted for about 2 hours, which means I have approximately 40 hours of footage to be trimmed down to 70-80 minutes. A mammoth task, for sure.

These short clips help me get reacquainted with the interview footage, and force me to think about creating a beginning and an ending. Once I've selected the best interviews, I'll go back and flesh them out by filling in the middle.

I'm excited about this short clip, as it's the first interview with someone who has directly impacted my life. I was lucky enough to meet up with my 5th grade elementary school teacher, who still lives in Colorado. She is one of a handful of people I think of when I ponder on those who have influenced my life path in a dramatic way. She was the first educator who really understood how to handle me (to say I was a handful is something of an understatement). She knew exactly what to say, and she listened.

We shared a wonderful half-day together and this short clip is just a fraction of the advice and wisdom she dispensed during our interview.

Enjoy

http://www.theeldersfilm.com/interviews/dorcas/

What an amazing trip it's been and what wonderful people I've had the chance to meet and film! June, July and August blazed by and I find myself sort of lost being back in Boston and NOT being on the road for the first time all summer.

In total, I clocked just over 13,000 miles on the rental car. To my surprise (and delight) they didn't bat an eye at the shop when I returned the car.

I'm editing now (after taking a few weeks to distance myself from the project before diving back in) and thankfully I have recruited some talented help to assist as I wade through 40 hours of interview footage.

I wanted to share this clip of "Jack" that I cut on Thursday. He is a well respected cowboy poet who lives in Elko, Nevada, and I think you'll find this short version of his story both entertaining and insightful.

I hope your fall is shaping up nicely, and I'll be in touch as the project moves along!

http://www.theeldersfilm.com/interviews/jack/

Hi Everyone!

Things are going really well and I'll hit my 15th interview here in the next two days or so. Had three wonderful interviews in Portland Oregon, now off to LA, then Las Vegas, Elko Nevada, SLC, and possibly Grand Junction Colorado. I wish I had more time...I could keep doing this full time!

Enjoy this little PG-13 clip (right at the end) of "Coach"

I wanted to share this short clip from an interview we had with Doy in Summersville, West Virginia. He had plenty to say and we enjoyed his stories and occasional blunt wisdom. We're headed to Atlanta, GA and then back up through North Carolina for several more interviews over the next few days.

I hope you enjoy this little teaser video as much as we enjoyed the interview.

I had the good fortune of spending the 4th of July weekend with old friends in Windsor Vermont. While there, they introduced me to the mother of their high school drama teacher, Louise, who was raised in Waco, Texas. At 94, she was incredibly sharp. A gifted writer and orator, she made my job easy.

Louise is a fascinating woman, and I'm very excited about how well the interview went. She was dynamic, articulate, genuine, and full of good stories and advice. I've posted a short teaser video of her interview that I hope you enjoy!

If you know someone you think would make an awesome candidate, send me an email.

I'm pleased to announce that ZEISS USA (a high end still photo and cinema lens manufacturer) has partnered with 'The Elders' project and have donated the use of $10k worth of prime lenses for use on the project! The lenses will arrive this Wednesday, and just in time for my final preparations for the first interview since the project was successfully funded. Special thanks to Zeiss USA for supporting independent film, and for supporting this project.

Some more news to follow in the coming days - some exciting developments I can't wait to share once they're official.

Until then!

Nathaniel

Hi Everyone

I just wanted to post a quick note and let you know that the new website is live, so feel free to check it out. In the coming weeks, I'll be posting there daily so if you're interested you can follow along once I hit the road. There will be a few updates before July 1, hold on to your hats after that!

http://www.theeldersfilm.com

Things are shaping up, and I've got some really interesting prospects that I'm looking forward to meeting. Not all of them are confirmed, but hopefully withing the week I'll have a better feel for who's in:

83 yr old South Boston bartender
85 yr old Sugar Farmer in Windsor Vermont
88 yr old Retired CEO of fortune 500 company in Brooklyn NY
78 yr old Photographer/Filmmaker in Atlanta Georgia who covered clan rallies, the JFK primary, civil rights events
76 yr old Miner/Gravedigger in West Virginia
90 yr old POW from Java who lives in Salt Lake City
96 yr old Bank Clerk and mother of 7 in Portland Oregon
82 yr old Teacher in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Stay tuned and thanks again for your support!

Best
Nathaniel

I hope to have a couple of exciting announcements over the next week, but until those developments are more "official" I'll pass along this article that was just published on the documentary magazine site "Documentary Tech" who interviewed me earlier in the week about the project.

http://documentarytech.com/...

Enjoy! And stay tuned for some exciting developments.

I'm still in shock. I was expecting to be stressing well into the evening on this - but I'm happy to report that "The Elders" has met the minimum funding requirement I set out for the project (Kickstarter may have already notified you of this).

The project will remain open for pledges until 11:30pm EST at which time it will officially close. I have decided, for those who had expressed an interest, to keep the "personal profile" pledge option open until the end of August. If you want to discuss that further at any point between now and then, just contact me directly.

Again, I can't thank you all enough - What a wonderful conclusion to this project's first phase.

I'll be building a website soon, and will notify you once it's complete so that you can keep tabs on the project as it's produced over the next 6 months.

My sincerest thanks,

Nathaniel

It'll be a photo finish, and I'll have no fingernails left come 11:30 pm tonight. And I'm certainly going to have more gray hair on the sides (as if that's not happening fast enough already!).

I'm hopeful we'll raise the remaining amount before the deadline so this project can officially hit the ground running. Thanks to your support, we've come a long way over the last 18 days.

$9,014 Pledged
151 Backers
$1,986 Remaining
12 hours to go

The final countdown begins!

Nathaniel