Quick previews from Gibraltar

I've been running around Gibraltar, meeting people, making phone calls and filming like crazy. I won't be editing most of this footage until I'm back in Seattle, but I wanted to share a few updates from my first day of filming. Things are coming along well but I still have a lot to do while here so I'll be spending less time editing and more time filming!



And here are just a few more clips!

Andrew Rosindell MP discusses Gibraltar

Here's an interview with Andrew Rosindell MP that took place a few days ago in London. Mr Rosindell has represented Gibraltar's interests before the House of Commons in the past, and was eager to discuss the trade and human rights implications of Spain's insistance that the Rock is theirs.

This is a nearly full-length interview, not color-corrected or with processed audio (it will all be cleaned up for the film), just for those who I know will want to see the whole commentary.

Fundraising effort

Donate even $1 through the Kickstarter campaign and your name will be featured in the movie credits! $30 will get you a download of the final film in HD and $500 earns an Executive Producer credit in the film. Here's my favorite: if anyone will donate $1200, I'll buy you an iPad, load the final film on it, and deliver it to you.

Expanding The Film

Since making this short film in 2008-2009, I have been flooded with requests to return to Gibraltar and expand the scope of the film to include members of the Gibraltar GSD party, Gibraltarian musicians, culinary artists and athletes. I will return to Gibraltar during the first two weeks of March 2011 to finish filming. That trip will be funded out-of-pocket but I hope that this campaign will help recover some of the expenses.

An estimated 750-1000 hours have been invested in the research and development of this film, along with roughly $10,000 in travel expenses, rentals and expendables. My goal is to raise $1,500 to pay for the off-season flight to Gibraltar and cover a few lodging expenses while there. Any additional donations will go directly to film festival submissions and post-production costs related to this film.

The original film was shot on a standard-definition TV-grade DV camera in 2008. Since then, HD television and movies have become standard. All new footage is being filmed at 1080p on Canon HDSLR cameras. The old footage has been upscaled to 720p HD using industry-standard conversion techniques and will be intercut with the new 1080p footage filmed in 2011. The final film will be mastered at 720p to avoid excessive upscaling of the original standard-definition footage.

Sharing Gibraltar's Story With The World

Once the film is completed, it will be submitted to film festivals across the world, especially festivals known for documentary films and for dealing with political and social issues. Whenever possible, I will attend these showings to hold discussions and help raise awareness of Gibraltar's political plight. Any surplus funds raised with Kickstarter will go towards film festival submission fees (often around $100 per festival) and travel costs to represent the film.

Detailed updates will be sent to all of the film's supporters. Some updates, photos and video clips will also be available on the film's Facebook page. Large announcements will also be made on this blog.

Thank you for making this film happen!!!

New Trailer

Here's a new trailer I've put together to help people understand the film in a nutshell. Obviously, this footage is all from 2008, but more updates will follow after I get to Gibraltar in a few weeks.

Llanito Motion Graphic

Progress on this film has been sporadic.

Lately I've been re-narrating the film, revising about 200 editing decisions, adding a few minutes of previously-unused footage, and trying to secure a deal to use footage from Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation's local TV shows (which feature excellent "unguarded" Llanito).

Some of the concepts discussed in the film are abstract enough that I wanted to provide some sort of visual representation to supplement the narration and interview descriptions. One of these topics is the organic way that Spanish and English (along with many words and phrases from other languages) are mixed in conversation. More previews to come!

Film to go offline, New Facebook page

As the film continues to develop and be polished in mostly minor ways, I am preparing it for film festivals in 2011. Many festivals require that the film not be shown online, so as this updated, new film is completed I need to keep it under wraps.

The core of the film ideas will be the same, but most of the content is being updated or polished.

Meanwhile, more frequent updates will be available on Facebook, where one can "Like" the film and subscribe to information as it develops.

"People of The Rock" Version 2.0 is in progress!

Recently I received an email from a Gibraltarian film producer (living abroad) who has offered to conduct and film the additional GSD interviews this summer. Once I receive that footage and have a chance to incorporate it into the movie, I plan to issue a major release of the film.

I am unsure as to whether this film would be marketable on the festival circuit or not (especially seeing as how it was primarily filmed in standard definition DV), but I would like to try a submission or two, especially in European festivals where the EU and Spain/Great Britain relations are most relevant.

Following that attempt at festival showings, I will make the film available on DVD, and will post ordering information on this blog.