Finishing an #indiefilm is like giving birth to a baby

We are so close. It's at that point where you've spent so much time and effort and energy in a project that you take a step back and ask yourself, "Is this it? Did I forget anything? Did I forget everything?"  

Last weekend, we grabbed a couple friends and borrowed a theatre at the local film school and watched down the current cut of ONE MORE SHOT. I wouldn't even call it a proper screening, just a watch down on a really big screen. It was equal parts elating and horrifying. I was so excited to finally see the film on a big screen. It gave it such a feeling of legitimacy. This is real! The fact that we invited a couple people who didn't know the whole story or any of the story terrified me a little but it was great to see honest reactions. And to my joy and (slight) surprise, everybody laughed at the right spots, they cried in the right places (people cried!), and they connected with the film. 

This week we will finish the edit and then move on to the final color correct and audio mix. It's so exciting. I'm exhausted and sick and starting a new job. But man I'm stoked for this thing to reach the end and I can't wait to begin the next act of this saga and share it with people through festivals and screenings and eventually, hopefully, full-on distribution. So stay close. The end is near but it's feels like the beginning of something. 

N

On @chrissyteigen getting pregnant and America having a problem with #infertility

I don't know much more about Chrissy Teigen than she's funny and cooks and is very active on the Twitter. And I think I met her husband once. I do know that she's had infertility problems. The fact that I know this means Chrissy Teigen is willing to talk about her infertility which, even on a base level of acknowledgement, is a pretty huge thing to do as a celebrity. Scratch that, talking about your infertility woes is big for anybody.  She just has a platform with which to do it. So her issues, her losses, her challenges are magnified compared to the rest of us.

Infertility on its own can be an isolating and often shameful experience. Basically, your body - for whatever reason - doesn't work right. That's awful. If your body not working right resulted in a stroke or a limp or a tumor there would be no reason to feel shame. People would understand even if they don't really understand or share the same affliction. But for some reason, when it comes to making a baby, shame enters the picture.  I don't know if it is how we view women's bodies (though male factor infertility is nearly as common as female factor) or that sex and sexuality is involved that it makes people uncomfortable to talk about and ultimately keeps them quiet from shame. 

Something about infertility keeps people quiet. I am guilty of that. For me, it was easier to make an entire movie about infertility than it was to discuss its frustrations and challenges with friends and family. Movies are really, really hard to make! And yet talking about being sad that you and your partner are having trouble conceiving is even more difficult. Now that that movie is nearly complete, the goal really is to create a dialogue for a medical problem that people are so sensitive and afraid to discuss. So when I was reading the Twitter today and I saw the uproar about Chrissy Teigen having the guts to talk about her infertility, and openly discuss her decisions and hopeful success with IVF, it reminded me both how courageous and vile people can be around the same topic. The difficult decisions around alternative reproductive treatments and technology are often lost on the outside world. Also, dear lord some people are assholes to somebody they've never met before. 

See now you got me all serious and genuine. Let's get back to smiling and grinding out the end of this film. Be nice to each other. Be open to the difficulties those in the infertility community have, not just in their losses and grief but in the difficult decisions they must make along the way. And don't reply on every single Twitter feed you come across. That's it. Sorry. I'm done. #hashtag #indiefilm #infertility #youknowsomebodygoingthroughit #leaveChrissyalone  

Love,

Noah

#One #More #Shot #almostdone with the #indiefilm

Everything I read about promoting your indie film says you need to be good at social media and apparently social media means hash tags. So #hashtag everything?  #infertility #indiefilm #loudnoises!

The part of me that made my first films using actual film and physically cutting the film to edit it way back in the late 90s wants to scream, "Can't I just make a film and not worry about Twitter and Facebook?" And then the more understanding part of me screams, "I get it. And I swear I'm not that old." As somebody who doesn't normally spend a ton of time involved in social media, this part of the filmmaking process has been an education. If you're making a film or pushing your cause, what is your process for connecting and (even more importantly) building your audience while still making sure your project stays your focal point? Would love to hear your thoughts and/or tips.

In other news, we are getting very close to finishing One More Shot. We just got the latest cut of our animations in this morning (they look awesome) and we are doing final edits on the body of the film. Barring any hiccups, we should be able to lock picture in the next week or so.  #stoked

I say it in every newsletter and nearly every post but it can't be said loud enough: thank you. Thank you for supporting us. This film has been four years in the making and I can't wait for you to see it. As we get closer to completing it, I'm going to ask you Twitter and Facebook savvy friends to help spread the word. It's a bit ironic that this film centers on a topic - infertility - that many people refuse to talk about and now it's time to shout from the rooftops that we've got a film on the subject that needs to be seen and needs to be discussed. 

Talk soon, 

#noah

Full speed ahead

Happy Saturday! We're getting closer to the finish line. Today we had a producers meeting to watch and discuss the latest cut of ONE MORE SHOT. It's looking so good; we are really excited. Not a dry eye in the house by the end which is impressive considering we've seen (and lived) the film so many times. That's it. Just wanted to say hello. 

Good luck to your favorite football team tomorrow. We're already thinking of baseball in this house. #evenyear

Producer meeting: Noah, Maya, Gabe, Bobbie, Alon

You Are Not Alone #infertility & #indiefilm

If you thought this would be an essay on Michael Jackson's 90s hit, "You Are Not Alone" then you are mistaken. That HIStory album really holds up, though.

This morning I took inventory of the ONE MORE SHOT mailing list, specifically the comments our subscribers left when they signed up for updates. I am amazed, touched, honored, humbled, whatever you want to call it at the responses we've received over the last 15 months. People from all over the globe (seriously, THE WORLD!) seem to be connecting with our project and my choppily edited trailers. They've also shared news about their own trials and challenges to starting their families. It reminds me how much it takes to be willing to share one's personal stories. In some instances people are sharing these stories with us because they haven't told their family or friends. Infertility is such a personal experience and it can be devastating to hold on to and keep as a secret but many people just can't share their pain. It's really special for us to read these stories and we don't take for granted what it takes for these people to disclose them.

So that's that. Just wanted to say thank you to those who have been following along and a big hug to those who have felt a connection to this project. My hope is that you can use this film to help tell others your own story and make it part of a bigger conversation when it comes to discussing a problem that millions of people suffer with, often silently. You're not alone.

Have a good weekend,

n

Vote for Maya's blog, help get our film seen.

Hi. How was your weekend? Good time? The weather was great, wasn't it?

Any who, I wanted to say hello. We're neck deep in post production (some exciting info on this in the coming days) and are full steam ahead on finishing the rough cut of the film. Today, though, I've got some other good news to share with you. For the second year in a row, Maya's blog, Don't Count Your Eggs, has been nominated for Blog of the Year in Resolve's Hope campaign. Resolve is the biggest infertility support community around and has helped connect so many people going through the challenges of infertility and family-building. While this is not strictly news about the film, a victory here would send Maya to New York and get her rubbing shoulders with some important people in the infertility community. These important people can help get our film seen by even more people throughout the world. I'll be the first to admit I always feel uncomfortable soliciting votes or asking for money or generally trying to rally the many people who have supported us for so long to take yet another step in supporting us. But such is the life of financing and producing an independent film. So vote, feel good, and enjoy the rest of the summer. Head here to vote for Don't Count Your Eggs.

See you at the BBQ!

n

Vote ONE MORE SHOT for Indiewire's Project of the MONTH

A couple weeks back you guys did some awesome grassroots stuff and helped us pull out a come from behind victory and claim a spot as Indiewire's Project of the Week. That win is going to help us make a good connection with an online distribution company. It's a great move forward. Now we're in the running for Project of the Month. A first place finish here connects us with the good people at the TriBeCa Film Institute. That would be a huge ally for a small film like ours. So please, hit the link here and vote for our project. We're up against a documentary about a Spielberg movie so, yeah, we're the underdog. But, hey, this whole film is about underdogs and winning when the odds are against you. Let's do it again. Vote, Tell your friends, have your friends vote, then have them tell their friends. Voting is open until Friday at 8am. Here's the link again. Thanks and you're the best. We appreciate it so very much.

- noah

Vote ONE MORE SHOT for Indiewire's Project of the Week

The fine people over at Indiewire recently spotlighted us as their Project of the Day. It was great and got some much needed eyeballs on our film. Today until Monday you can vote for ONE MORE SHOT to be Project of the Week. Aside from bragging rights, a victory here would score us a great meeting regarding digital distribution. It's great because digital distribution is exactly how we'll be able to get this film seen across the world. So head HERE and vote for this project. Thanks. You're so, so cool.

Wow, that really helped.

A big thank you to everybody who contributed to the Indiegogo fundraising campaign over the last month. $37,500 may have been a bit lofty of a goal, but shouldn't all goals be lofty? We ended up with $20,000 and we're so excited. This money will allow us to pay a top notch finishing editor to bring the final edit to life. From there, we'll pull strings and call in our friends to help with the final color correction and sound mix.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Well, first we take a sigh of relief that we no longer have to run a fundraising campaign. It's a lot of work and, honestly, we'll enjoy not asking people for money every day. After that, though, it's right back into the edit. Our post team is going through scenes as quickly as possible, and dropping the choice cuts into the overall assembly. The next step is to get the entire film in a rough cut status and taking a look. For a film like this, with a couple hundred hours of original raw footage, a rough cut will still be several times the length of the final product. From there, we'll trim the rough cut into a tighter package, at which time we'll incorporate more of the interviews we did with other infertility survivors, and begin looking into a graphics package for the film.

TIMELINE

You can't rush art! Lay off! Seriously, though, this stuff takes a while. From the edit point of view, we're looking to have an assembly cut (the super long one) by mid-May. Assuming everything stays on course, the next cuts take less and less time. We'd love to have an internal locked cut (pre-color and mix) by summer. 

From time to time we'll be sending you updates on how we're doing but if you ever have any questions, please just drop us a line here or on Twitter or the Facebook page and we'll be sure to respond.

Thank you again for all your help and interest in the project.

Best,

OMS team

Life & Style shines light on our project

The folks at Life & Style Magazine have spotlighted our film in their latest issue. Check out the article here. And if you haven't checked out our Indiegogo fundraiser, you still have time. We need as much support as we can get in these final two weeks. Help us tell our story and the story of millions of other Americans.