Years ago, when I was doing Colonial Re-enactments, I began a film project based on this subject matter. Quite a bit of footage was shot on mini-DV and was put away with the intention to edit at some point. Now that I have finally gotten my DV editing programs to function properly with the other equipment on my bench, I hope to spend time editing this film.It is ironic that this year Washington's Crossing State Park will be closed due to funding issues at the state level. Of the many things that are paid for by the state, this seems like one of the last items that ought to be bumped off the list. How many moments in the history of this nation are there which have this level of significance to help the people understand why this country exists?
Well, I'm beginning to work on this film again and I will post updates here as it progresses. I am hoping to figure out how to post the footage so you can see Washington and his men crossing the Delaware.
Here's my character Jean Pierre, a scout for General Washington.
Unfortunately, it started to get where I needed to become fluent in French, because so many people were getting into the character and carrying on conversations with me. Since I can only fake it so much, and not when I need to converse with people, I stopped portraying the character. Hopefully I can spend some time learning French and then get back into the character.It would be kind of neat to come up with a storyline that takes place around the Crossing of the Delaware, but from a different angle. I guess we'll worry about that after I get this other film finished. The plan for "Freedom" is to take the footage and do a rough cut, then move into hand painting the images so that they appear with a watercolor effect. I know that this can be done electronically, my mixing board has a digital painting effect. That may be worth doing as a test, but I think that the individual frames will need to be addressed, shot to shot, in order to achieve the effect I envision. I don't think doing it electronically will be aesthetically sound, not if I am to achieve a period feel to the work. I'd like for the images to have a sense of reality, yet still be color. Black & white brings a sense of antiquity, because of the period that represents in film, but it is still married to film. I believe that if the work has a painted feel that the newness of the medium can be transcended. Well. time will tell. Also I need to 'paint out" undesirable compositional elements.
AG
