Well, dear readers, it is December. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, it is December and December means merriment and mirth and laughter and legs, December means roasting chestnuts on an open rather than closed fire, December means I’m dreaming of a White Christmas and Jingle Bells and it’s a time to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It is also a time of Hanukkah and birthdays and the annual Kimmel Christmas Eve Do and our New Year’s Rockin’ Eve partay. In short, it’s December, a month of joy, and it is my fervent hope and prayer that December will be a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful. There, I’ve said it and I’m glad.
I do believe episode three of season two of Outside the Box is pretty much locked, save for what may or may not be some really minor tweaks early in the week. The editor’s first cut was really good, but we both knew we had to cut it down, as it ran a little over seven minutes and fifteen seconds, although it never really dragged at that length. But we began by first finessing all the musical numbers. They all made me laugh out loud, but we ended up cutting the first of them a little differently – basically just swapping shots for other shots – typical editing stuff. We went slowly and by the end of it we were both happy and laughing. Then in the second number I think we only swapped out two little shots and that was done. The third number was also simple – basically about eight shots got adjusted in one way or another, mostly at the beginning, to make it flow better. Then we went to work on the set-up scene with Kevin Symons and Damon Kirsche, shot at The Federal. The whole scene played really well, but we were merciless with it and pulled out a little over twenty seconds – that may not seem like a lot, but it really is and the scene is now very tight at about two-and-a-half minutes, the same as the set-up scene with Euan Morton. Kevin and Damon are wonderful – subtle and really funny. It took us about three hours to do everything, and then we spent a somewhat frustrating ninety minutes trying to get the compressed and uncompressed versions done and on to the hard drive, and then to make a DVD. The first attempt at a DVD was hideous – hazy, no contrast – something was clearly wrong somewhere. And for whatever reasons, the uncompressed version didn’t come in as a Quick Time movie, which is how it’s always come in. We never did get what I considered to be a DVD of sufficient quality that I’d want to run it. They just didn’t look anywhere near as good as the compressed and uncompressed versions we were seeing on the computer. When I got home, I put those onto my computer and burned DVDs of both versions, and interestingly the compressed version looked a little better than the uncompressed, which is weird – but both looked good enough to at least screen on Sunday night at The Federal. But next weak, tweaks or not, we’re going to completely remake both, just to make sure everything is as it should be. The editor’s helper is out of town, but we’ll have him on the phone to make sure we’re doing everything according to Hoyle.
Prior to all that, I was up after about seven hours of sleep. I answered e-mails, had a couple of telephonic calls, had a brief visit with a visitor, and then we had our second rehearsal with Jane Noseworthy, who was out of town on Thursday, so we just did her yesterday. I really love her voice and she’s doing her usual great job. As soon as that was done, I did a little banking and then went to the editing room. We finished so late that the editor couldn’t have a bite to eat with me, so I went to the mail place and picked up an important envelope and then just got a foot-long Spicy Eyetalian sandwich at Subway. I came home and ate it all down, did all that DVD burning stuff and by then it was really too late to watch a motion picture, so I just did some work on the computer. Oh, and one other very interesting thing happened at the editing jernt. We were in the kitchen and the editor opened the refrigerator to see if there were any snack foods in there. There weren’t, but there was someone’s boxed-up food with their name on it. The minute I saw the name, which is a fairly unusual first name, I said, “There’s only one person in the whole world with that name – I’ll bet it’s her.” So, we went to the main part of this production company to see if my friend Marci, who is a bigwig there, was there, but she wasn’t. So we talked to someone else and mentioned the name and indeed this person worked there – I asked if her last name was such-and-such and it was. So, I said, “Have her come up here.” And she did. I have not seen this young woman since she was fifteen years old. She recognized me immediately and I have to say I don’t think she knew quite how to react. I hugged her and was so friendly that I think I put her at ease, at least I hope I did. The reason she probably didn’t know quite how to react is simple – her parents were the people I went into business with back in 2000, when I formed a new record label and I think you know where you can find the rest of THAT story. Yep, this was their daughter. She sings around town, and I think I’ll go see her one of these Tuesday nights when she does a big band gig in Century City. She’s a really lovely person and the fact is I really have ceased to hold any negative feelings about her parents. I’ve put all that to bed long ago. Still, it was interesting how it all played out.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get as much beauty sleep as possible before she of the Evil Eye arrives all too soon.
Today, I shall be up early, if the weather’s okay I may jog, then I have some more banking to do, some errands and whatnot to do, then I’ll come home and we have our stumble-through at one-thirty, after which perhaps a few of us will dine. Then later in the evening, an actress friend who’s going back to New York to do Chicago is coming by to say goodbye for now.
Tomorrow is our sound check and show, and I’ll be going in a little earlier than usual to do the video check, to make sure the DVD plays well and looks and sounds okay. Next week is just nutty – many sets of liner notes must be completed, and we’re shooting the final two episodes of season two. And I had a cast member drop out so I have to find a replacement – even if I don’t, we really have enough people right now.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, maybe do a jog, bank, have a stumble-through, eat, have a visit and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: Have you ever had a similar situation, where you run into someone you haven’t seen for ages, just completely out of the blue, and if so, was it awkward, fun, easy, special? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland in this brand spanking new month called December – and it is my fervent hope and prayer that December will be filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful.