Project Update: April 19th, 2023

Welcome to our very first official project update for our brand-new site, the one you’re using right now. We’re extremely proud of it and have put in a lot of work to bring it to life to keep everyone abridged of all the things going on. We want to ensure we bring you, the fans, on the journey with us.

We recognize that the idea for this project, well the program as a whole, has been ongoing for quite some time before launching our site. So, the first part of this post is going to walk you through what we’ve done so far so that we can bring you up to speed. To some of you, this process may not be of great interest or perhaps you are in the business and know this process already. But for most of you, this is something you do not get to see much of – how films or shows get made. As such, we’re adding a section to this project update that talks about how we got here. We hope you enjoy!

SKIP TO THE NOW PART

BRINGING YOU UP TO SPEED

We started our “Pre-Development” in early 2020 for this idea. We had a film treatment – which is like an essay – that roughly outlined the entirety of all three films’ story elements. A lot more than was ever created for the sequel trilogy itself, as we came to find out. With that in hand, we moved to the “In Development” stage on January of 2021 and started the process of actually writing the script itself for Episode X at the end of 2020.

The original draft of any script is often referred to as the “WHITE” version or v1.0. It needs to go through several rounds of editing and polish and each of those versions is coded with a project name and a color. For example, a first edit is a v.2.0 and that usually gets color coded as “BLUE” and so on and so forth. And there is a whole standard behind that in Hollywood that we followed here. During this development phase, it really does start with a small budget that is centered around the script and figuring out how many cast members are going to be needed, what is needed to run an effective production, and what resources and/or locations might be needed.

We completed the first draft in August of 2021 and secured the funding for this project.  We worked through several iterations and edits – which were delegated to Maria Espino and Jacob Knoll – to that script to the point we felt comfortable starting to put storyboards together.  That’s what effectively moves a project from “In Development” to “Pre-Production”.  We moved into Pre-Production in February 2022. During Pre-Production, you build your production team past the executive producers, writers, and directors – which at minimum requires a production manager, a casting director or agent, a production designer, and a production assistant.  From there you build your execution team – the artists, the crew, the cast. Usually, casting is the last thing you do for Pre-Production.

We kicked off the ending of this phase by starting with the big table read once we secured the cast. A table read is where the cast gathers together to read the entirety of a script. That usually includes all of the directionals (used to be called “stage directionals”), the action lines, as well as the dialogue parts. This gives actors a feel for the script, the story, and how they will work on their process for the characters they will be playing. With Star Wars, most of these characters have pretty rich, extensive backgrounds, so the cast had a great place to start. But there are new characters being introduced in this film that do in fact require thoughts around look, attitude, voice, costumes, props, etc. These are things that are usually handled by the execution team, but we wanted our cast to have the option to be as deeply involved as they wanted to be in those decisions. This made for a very collaborative, inclusive environment that everyone absolutely LOVES being a part of. It really set the tone for the next several years that this team will be working to bring you this passion project.

From there, we kicked off rehearsals for our cast. Fourteen blocks of rehearsals were had for all the major leads, supporting leads, right down to our extras. And then we had a series of “Open Office” meetings to allow the cast and crew to sit with the writer/director and review their character’s journeys and progression through the story, right into what would eventually become Episode 11. All that work we decided would be showcased as part of a “bridge” series of shorts that we lovingly call Star Wars: The In Between. Season 1 will take place in between Episodes 10 and 11, and season 2 will bridge the story gap between Episodes 11 and 12.

We concurrently – along with the rehearsals – set out to create a storyboards for each scene, which our amazing character and storyboard artist, AJ Pratt, did so marvelously. These storyboards start off really rough and evolve through iterations of the script that continue (technically never stops) throughout a film production. The storyboards define what the major beats of a scene will be. From the storyboards we put all our effort into crafting the motion graphic animation, designed, and created by our talented animator, Valmari Marquez. We start by defining the keyframes between each major beat that are required to bring a scene to life within the scope of this medium. Our visual editor, Alexander Daniel, works closely to ensure the pacing, transitions, and all sound/music elements line up, a job that is a constant throughout the production (which is why editors are often credited as “Producers” on a film). As such we finished our Pre-Production stage in October 2022. Yes, folks… it takes that long. And that’s not even the longest phase in a film project.

During this time, we also decided to start to put together the first “teaser” trailer for Star Wars: The Chosen One (Episode X). We toyed with the idea of how to clearly get folks excited in a timeline that has not been traditionally popular with the more established fans, with reason. But understanding that we also had a lot of newer, younger fans that loved the story of the characters in the sequels. We found a balance by tapping into some of the dialogue from our beloved prequels. Harping on Qui-Gon Jinn’s words about how he saw the prophecy of The Chosen One and modernizing it with what we think Anakin Skywalker would think of that prophecy today. We believe Anakin would extend that prophecy to those of his bloodline. He would absolutely think that his son, Luke Skywalker, could easily have been the galaxy’s “Chosen One” during his time. And as such, he would believe that this generation’s “Chosen One” is his grandson, Ben Solo. But Ben is one part of a dyad, thus Rey plays a big part in how Ben comes to accept that rite of passage and then embrace it. We believe the story of ATONEMENT to be far more interesting than just regurgitating Darth Vader’s story of redemption by sacrifice.

We moved into the Production phase of our project on October 18th, 2023, by scheduling the Live Recordings (we affectionately call them “lives”), which for an animation project are the equivalent to “shooting days” in live action. It’s what the cast has been preparing for all this time. We had four blocks of lives spread across a cast of nearly 40 actors from all over the world, both seasoned and experienced as well as new talent. For a small team like ours, this was not an easy feat. Most especially with our varying time zones, locations, equipment, etc. But we locked it in, got it done, and all those lines are now “in the can”. That’s an old Hollywood expression by the way. Big physical film reels were often stored in large tin cans, labeled, and taped up when shooting was completed. They were also often sealed when they are sent off for editing, back when we literally cut film strips to make movies.

WHERE WE ARE TODAY

And with that the Production phase ends – just a few days ago on April 15th of 2023 – and “filming” is wrapped. But that doesn’t mean it’s done, not by a long shot. And the cast will have to also provide re-records (or in live action these are referred to as “re-shoots”) to polish things off or if certain parts of the film need to be reworked for whatever reason. So, as Anakin would say, “This is where the fun begins.” That fun is usually in the form of a wrap party, which we have planned for April 30th!

As we move into Post-Production – which we have planned to end by September 2024 – we now have been working diligently after finishing up our production stage to review all the dialogue takes we have for the nearly 110 scenes we have in this first film. We have also started to work through the first scenes of the movie, creating finalized artwork, which also incorporates all our environmental art and ship designs, created by Dominick Critelli – showcased throughout our website and social media properties – and working on the motion graphic animation. But most importantly, we have really homed in on the sound of our film, which is two-fold right – the sounds of the environment around our characters, the voices you hear, and most especially the music you feel which creates lasting memories, especially in this franchise.

Working to craft original sounds for all the spaceships, the lightsabers, the sound of boots on sand, etc. etc. has been a painstaking endeavor but one that’s been so fun for our Sound Designer, Christopher Altoft, who is also working on cutting through all the takes of the dialogue and piecing the best performances together for every sentence, sometimes every word — of 109 scenes.

The music is most especially important in this franchise as I have mentioned. We trusted this task to the great Vince Cox, who had been a friend of Alexander Daniel’s from previous work. What a magnificent find he was! The music guys will evoke memories and feelings in everyone that will stay with you. We promise! We will be releasing the FULL soundtrack along with this movie on iTunes, Spotify, and more. You will have the pleasure of listening to 12 beautifully orchestrated tracks on repeat. We absolutely know this music will save lives when listened to on the bumper-to-bumper weekday commute home in downtown Los Angeles.

Let’s get to that status report!

We will occassionally post updates like what you see below to keep folks abridged of the progress made and how tasks are advancing through our process. Below is what a typical week would look like in Post-Production

PROJECT PHASE: Post-Production

BUDGET: $95,647 / $300,000 USD

CURRENT TASKS:

• Production Team
  – Take Reviews for Block 3
  – Schedule ADR sessions for Block 3
  – Schedule Wrap Party for 4/30 with Game Event Company
• Legacy Trailer (Coming in November 2023!)
  – Storyboard Updates to Pink 3.0 Script
• Animation
  – Pacing Animatics for Scenes 8-10
• Character Art
  – Character Posters: Light Side completed, starting Dark Side.
  – Updates to Finalized Assets for Scenes 1-3
  – Asset Reviews for Approved Animatics Scene 7, 11, 12, and 14.
• Environmental Art
  – Muunilinst environments, Intergalactic Banking Clan Headquarters
  – Updates to Finalized Assets for Scenes 1-3
• Music
  – Dark Side Soundtrack Samples
  – Film Score Sequence 11, 12, and 14.
• Sound
  – Take Reviews for Block 4 Lives
  – Polish Sounds for Scenes 1-3
• Visual Editing
  – Alex on vacation.
  

UPCOMING TASKS:

• Production Team
  – Hold Wrap Party on 4/30!
  – Have Performers Meeting with Cast for ADR process review
• Legacy Trailer (Coming in November 2023!)
  – Review PINK 3.0 Storyboards
  – Begin Pacing Review with Storyboards
• Animation
  – Create Final Animation for Scenes 1-3
  – Establish Pacing for Scenes 18-20
• Character Art
  – Create Finalized Asses for Scenes 7, 11, 12 and 14
• Environment Art
  – Create Finalized Asses for Scenes 7, 11, 12 and 14
• Music
  – Finish Dark Side Soundtrack Samples
  – Send samples off to Dark Side cast mates for review
• Sound
  – Review and polish sounds for Scenes 7, 11, 12, and 14
  – Continue Take Reviews for Block 4 Lives
• Visual Editing
  – Catch up on tasks after Vacation

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: On target, slight overage allowed hours per week, but not unmanageable. Will return to strict observance of hours for Post-Prod. Cast has wrapped but will be available for ADR/Auxillary Sounds.

CURRENT NEEDS: 2D/3D Animator & Comic Book Artists for out Hot Shots Team, which is the team that will be doing the TV Series for us with our main team, the Wizards Team continuing on to work on Episode 11, providing support and assistance to Hot Shots as needed. Apply here if you want to join us!

We hope you found this post informative and if you have any questions at all, feel free to use the CONTACT US form to ask.

~ Maria
Writer/Director/EP