Work on the interactive film ‘The Last Hurrah’ is ongoing.
The following tasks have been completed in recent months
1) Script
Final script development – the completed script consists of a 15 page primary narrative and 12 embedded narratives (4 lines – 2 pages each). The software package Adobe InDesign has been used to present the primary narrative script with graphical locators to identify the temporal location of the embedded narratives.
Script writer Esther Doorly was hired to develop the script / dialogue based on the original idea. Her theatrical experience has proved invaluable in allowing each embedded narrative to extend our perspective on the story and characters while never leaving the metanarrative altogether.
Several actors were employed to improvise new scenes based on the primary narrative. Again, the actors proved to be very helpful in developing dialogue and character interactions that were believable within the scope of the story, while not necessarily being part of a single perspective.
The success of the interactive film rests on the embedded narratives each giving a different perspective of the story and its characters.
The dialogue has taken some time to write. The backstory relating to the main characters has become more developed and this has led to necessary rewrites. The scene presentation has had to be slowed down to allow enough time for user interaction. The interaction should be a natural part of the story, as if the audience is simply ‘asking a question’ by clicking on the embedded clips. It is envisaged that the scenes will play out in a similar fashion to Tarkovsky’s ‘Stalker’.
2) Storyboard
Award winning animator Peter Donnelly has been employed to draw the storyboards for the film. Peter has extensive new media production and storyboarding experience. Peter will consult as art director throughout the production.
3) Interactive Engine
The film will be presented in spatial montage. Clips will be displayed using Macromedia Director. Viewers selections will be recorded into the database. Certain clips will only be available if previous clips have been selected. Andrew Tully from Curam Software is developing the Lingo script and Director database necessary to present the film. Several meetings have been held to brief Andrew on the film being developed and to view similar works.
4) Production
Casting has begun and several parts have already been cast. A final casting session will be held at NMTC in 2 weeks when the shooting schedule has been finalised.
Eoin Holohan has begun pre-production work on locations and facilities. Eoin is an experienced locations manager who has worked on several features including ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ and ‘King Arthur’.
Equipment and camera stock tests have been carried out on CP16mm, Chinon Super 8 and Panasonic DV cameras. Shooting footage on different formats including colour / b/w reversal, b/w neg and colour neg will produce a range of aesthetic results that will allow the embedded narratives to exist seperately without becoming lost in the delivery of the primary narrative. Some footage was shot around St. Patricks Day celebrations for possible inclusion in final film. Special digital effects testing has been carried out using AfterEffects. This is primarily concerned with slow motion effects, high-speed effects and frame blending. These effects were tested using Final Cut Pro but were unsuccessful. The production company Windmilllane Films will carry out some post-production work including telecine of 16mm and Super 8 footage. Some telecine tests carried out at NMTC resulted in grainy and high contrasy footage which would not compress well.
5) Soundtrack
Dublin DJ Diarmuid Slattery has written a number music tracks for use in the film. Diarmuid is Head of Music Technology at NMTC and is studying for an MA in Music at Trinity. The music has been authored to match the atmosphere of the script and to create a relaxed ambient mood. Copyright for these tracks has been granted by the author. No other copyrighted works will be used in the film. The suggested style for the music was the soundtrack for the film ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’.
