Hey Ed,
The best thing to do would be to update your hi-def master to the current cut, and then do a “tape to tape” color correction of version. You would supervise the session along with a colorist. Don’t be afraid to tell them the look you want since you’re the director, but a good colorist can also bring something to a project. In addition to keeping it all legal, LOL.
Final step, make your masters, probably a Blu-ray and Digibeta. All your standard definition DVD’s etc should be made off of that approved master.
You should also think about clearing unlicensed music and photos now as well. You can usually get “festival” rights for things fairly cheaply, and lock in a price for distribution at the same time so you have an idea of how much you’d be on the hook for. Also you could add all the cleared items to your end credits and not have to re-do that later.
There’s an organization called the Independent Film Project (IFP). If you become a member they have contacts to people/lawyers who work with low budget filmmakers on clearances.
Good luck and enjoy the festival ride!
Thanks for your compliments on the show, it’s actually been a bit of a struggle so I’m glad to hear it’s looking fluid to someone who hasn’t worked on it, LOL. Like I said people who work on films that turn out good are rarely able to think about much except for the mistakes and problems they had to overcome…
There are (later in the film) a number of “crossing the line” changes that we had to force, but the best way, traditionally to do it, is with a camera move.
It takes the potential confusion of the screen direction change away by showing the shift on camera and resetting the audiences POV. Our director of photography did manage to do that a number of times quite slickly, though I’m not sure of the exact one you’re referring to. If you can combine a camera move changing the line, with an actor moving within the shot to a new position, well then you’re really talking movie making, LOL!
I better get back to packing my stuff. My 19 year old cat and I fly back to LA in the morning, but I’m really glad we were finally able to meet in person.
Best,
Larry