I called SCIFF and asked if they could extend the deadline for delivering our print by a few days since we'll be bringing it directly from the lab. They said yes.We also received all of the info today about the fest. Unfortunately they do not comp festival passes to filmmakers (instead each filmmaker gets five free tickets) and we'll have to buy a ticket to the Gala Awards ceremony. This seems a bit strange. Filmmakers should never have to pay for any of those things. But seeing as how this is our first festival and we would like to get it up in front of an audience, we decided it doesn't really matter at this point.The second roll will be done in a few days and ready for color timing at the lab.

Judy has finished compiling the A-B rolls of our neg. And we had our last color timing session today. Now all that remains is viewing the print that comes our of the process. Our first viewing of the trial print will be in two days.I called the fest again and asked if we can deliver the print a few more days later to assure that everything is completed to our liking. They said yes to Feb 18, but no more delays after that. No problem.

The first print has some problems. The color is not quite to our liking and the synch is way off. Apparently, the DAT tapes that the studio gave us had a lot of extra sound (previous recording) at the ends and unfortunately that carried over onto the optical negs (hence, the extra money we paid for the longer length) - so this also means the synch didn't match. The optical negs will have to be re-synched and the print redone for better color matching and overall tones. We left the lab hoping all would be well tomorrow.

The second print still has synch that is off on two rolls. We think we've figured out the problems and everything should be fine for tomorrow. But of course one always leaves thinking this. The color is much better though, one more print and we'll get it right. Time is ticking away...

The third print. The color is great. The synch is still off by a few frames on one roll. It's official, I have gray hairs. They can fix it though the sound, not the hairs. We left with the assurance that all would be great and in synch tomorrow.I've decided to book a flight to Santa Clarita tomorrow. After I pick-up the print at the lab, I'll go directly to SFO, fly to LA, get a ride to Santa Clarita and deliver the print to the theater, by hand, on time. No problem!

The first day of the fest. The film is in perfect synch finally and the "drop off" went fine. Our first screening is the day after tomorrow. We've put all of our posters and promotional materials inside and around the theater.There doesn't seem to be a very big turnout for the films the theaters today were about half full. The largest audience seemed to migrate to the film with Yazmine Bleeth in it. And much to some audience members' disappointment - she didn't show.One reason why the films aren't widely attended by industry is because the American Film Market is running simultaneously in LA. As for the locals, I don't know. Not enough heavy duty promoting I guess. And it is only the festival's second year - though they did mange to secure a screen at the extremely nice Edward's Cinema for all of the films.

Our first screening (7:30 p.m.) went quite well tonight. We had a very nice audience for our 'World Premiere.' The experience of watching your film with an audience for the first time is both exhilarating and nerve racking. You're trying to enjoy the moment and gauge the audience's response to each scene. But at the same time you're worrying about the projection and other technical aspects of everything.But in this case everything went fine. There was an excitement in the audience and it lasted throughout the film. A very successful first screening.Afterward we had a party at TGIF for everyone who attended the screening. We all drank, ate and discussed the film. The best thing about a festival is discussing your film with someone who has just seen it. It's the best way to honestly gauge what an audience member thinks and feels about the film you've made. Asking a friend, no matter how honest they proclaim to be, will always garner a biased response.

Our second screening (2:00p.m.) was not as nerve racking as the first, and the audience was not quite as lively (the usual result of an afternoon screening). But it was a slightly larger audience and they gave a great response none the less. Afterward the Q&A lasted much longer then our first screening. There was great interest in how Katherine wrote the script and whether or not it was an adaptation of a novel. Both audiences really responded to the story, and both screenings were a great success for our first public showing of "The Innocents."

The Awards Gala. Tippi Hedrin ("The Birds") was one of many presenters at the event. Chuck Jones, best known for creating Bugs Bunny and "Merry Melodies", received a lifetime achievement award. Overall the evening was nice. Though "The Innocents" didn't win anything this time we felt good about our first fest and feel confident there are many more to come. With our ice-breaker fest out of the way, the road is now wide open and untraveled.

We're entering "The Innocents" into some more festivals in the next week. So when we start getting back responses we'll let you know. It may be a few months until we start getting back responses.