Kickstarter

On February 15, 2012—almost a year ago—we fired the starter pistol on the fundraising for Smoke & Mirrors. We not only met our goal, but we surpassed it, thanks to our backers. In the flurry of subsequent meetings, we hotly contested our options. Obviously, we could follow through on our word and make the short film we'd committed to, but we had other considerations. We don't keep minutes of our meetings, but key words such as road trip and Vegas do stand out in memory. We decided to put it to a vote, and ultimately chose to postpone our Vegas adventure and put your generous backing to proper use (though it was a very close count).

After nearly a year of various updates and behind-the-scenes photos, we're at the 99% mark, and we can at last give you a glimpse of what the bloody heck we've been doing for eleven months in an underground bunker with a bunch of bootleg medical gear and exotic birds. There's still a little sanding around the edges to be done on the final version, not to mention mastering and pressing of the DVDs, but nonetheless what follows is evidence that we did not go to Vegas (man, so close…).

It's more of a teaser than a full-bore trailer, given that it's a short film. That said, you'll get a definite feel for the story to come. If you've got some headphones, we recommend using them in order to appreciate the stunning sound design of our super sonic man, Richard Ross http://thresholdstudios.info/.

Once again, our most heartfelt thanks to everyone for the support over this last year.

And lastly, feel free to spread the love far and wide. And by spread the love, we mean, please post this link to as many places on the web as you possibly can please and thank you.

Cheers,

-6fF

Indeed, Smoke and Mirrors is still smoking and, well, you get it. Since wrapping the shoot, we’ve been neck-deep in post-production and in general honing our hurry-up-and-wait skills, and doing our best to make constructive use of the waiting. To that end, some of you may have received your premium packages by now. We’ve been mailing them out in waves, as lots of the premiums have become available to us. However, given that pressing the DVDs will happen in the first quarter of 2013, we’d like to consolidate further shipments so as to not further sap our funding via postage fees. All said, everything else will be mailed out by March.

Here’s where we stand right now: We have picture lock and the accompanying audio cleanup is finished. The sound design and digital effects will be completed by the end of January, after which come the final color and sundry finishing (the devil is in the details, as they say). The good news… with picture lock, we needn’t wait on the other details in order to cut a trailer (yes, we’re doing a trailer for a short film; it’s a tough market out there). In fact, work on the trailer is already underway, so y’all should very soon get a peek behind the curtain at the fruits of our labor and your generosity.

Once more, you have our sincerest thanks and our wishes for a healthy, prosperous and very lucky 2013 from all of us at,

–6fF

We finished another rough cut of the film today, and are rapidly approaching picture lock. With that, we'll hand it off to our sound designer, Richard Ross, and our composer, Aaron Goforth, both of whom will be working their magic while the digital effects crew picks up where the live action stops.

Most of the premiums are in house—t-shirts, books, etc.—and we're looking at shipping everything out by the middle of October, with the exception of the final dvd.* All said, things are looking good, thanks to all of you.

More news in due course.

With our deepest gratitude,

-6fF

P.S. If you've signed up to receive a copy of either one of Craig's previous books, please email us back asap, if you'd like any inscription beyond his signature. Thanks.

*(And the manuscript... the manuscript will not be shipping in mid-October.

—Craig)

Yup, you heard correctly. Smoke and Mirrors is in the can, digitally speaking. The cast and crew wrapped up shooting last week, with post-production underway. As post-production will take some time, we'll keep you updated on the milestones as we pass them. In the mean time, here are some choice stills, courtesy once more of Ray Bussolari, from our subterranean shoot:

Another master shot of Twenty Long's underground operating room.

Tools of the trade.

What could he possibly need with that cage?

Fun fact: That shelf was built from the crate the camera dolly was shipped in. (Okay, we thought it was a fun fact, anyway...)

Good lighting is critical for a safe working environment.

Smoke (or is that Mirrors?) has some notes for our Director of Photography.

Twenty Long and the Surgeon Birds.

Icarus getting quite literally picked on, as Smoke and Mirrors forage for buckshot from his wounds.

Smoke: "Um... line...?"

As always, there's more to come, all thanks to our backers.

Many thanks,

-6fF

Finished the outdoor sequences and spent the day dressing the primary set, Twenty Long's subterranean clinic. More to come.

-6fF