I think we know what we're doing

This project has been in the back of my mind for two years and now, suddenly, I'm running through it as fast as possible and dragging every willing participant with me.

The Great War's request had me off my buns and I was ready to put all my over-thinking to work.  Of course, despite all preparations, it was a mess.  Our first test day was just Mae and myself and it was overcast.  Everything came out great on a single camera.  This was going to be easy.

I went ahead and grabbed a second camera and lens for Shoot II but the harsh, clear skies made it a nightmare.  We labored for 8 hours and had nothing to show for it.  Everything was a high-contrast or blown out nightmare.  So back to the drawing board.  ND filters, a third camera, reflectors, reloading more 8mm Lebel, etc...  Can we film this here and that there?  If we setup for this shot how many rifles can we run before the sun changes too much to do the other shots? 

Meanwhile we're experimenting with a 3-mic setup to catch the full range of the gunshot.  Our remote sound consultant is telling us we need X,Y, and Z; with all of them having a $400 price tag.  But we settle for about $800 worth and make do. 

So yeah, now a week left and having to reshoot the lot, record indoors, edit, animate, and now our sound guy is out of the state for a month without warning... so I'm learning basic audio.  Plus I have to study all available French small arms history (which is mostly written in French) for the very next day's interview. 

I think I slept maybe 3 hours a night if you divide it out for that week.  But Episode 001 happened and the response has been great.  The sound is muffled at times, the pacing odd, the references stiff.... but that is all fixable.  Practice will refine it all.  We don't have a rhythm yet but we can see what it should be. 

But now?  Now we're broke.  I find two more cameras for half retail, no cash to pick them up.  Still want to improve mics... no cash.  More odd guns for the WWI side of things?  Money.  The site had built up a small pool of print-funded dough but it's gone and no matter how I cut it, passion alone can't make a project go.

But if you're reading this then you know what solution I'm leaning on.  History channel is dead and many places won't touch guns as a topic anyway.  When they do it's a drive-by, "look-at-this" nightmare.  We're gambling that enough people still care about real history, real perspective, and plain old shooting.  Thanks for giving to the project and know that I'm going to put in $10 worth of work for every $1 we receive.  I don't imagine I'll make a strong living off this kind of work but at least something worth doing will get done. 

Sorry if this isn't my usual concise way of writing.  I figure for those willing to support us I should just be honest and let out a good stream of what's going on.  So stop by here to get the behind-the-scenes updates on just how things are progressing.