Letting people in…
Nearly two weeks ago, I showed what is the nearly final version of “The Making Of A Dream” to my wife. She’s been seeing me working on this for so many months now, that the time had finally come to start letting others see what has been percolating in my entire being. There were times as she was watching where I couldn’t be in the same room as her, because I was too antsy. My mind was racing.
There’s no BS with my wife. If she doesn’t like something, she’ll tell you right away. So I knew that if she wasn’t going to like it, husband or not, she was going to tell me.
When I heard the ending moments, I came back in the room. She liked it. She REALLY liked it. She presented me with a working Word document of notes and suggestions that she had gathered while watching, but basically validated what I was doing. Man, did that feel good. Don’t get me wrong – I am confident in the film wholeheartedly without question. But, hearing that first person (who has essentially peered into your brain after months of being very insular) say that it was good and that she saw potential in its future – nothing can beat that.
Four days later, I showed “The Making Of A Dream” to the I Can Dream Theatre management team of seven people. I’m pretty sure that I bit all of my fingernails off all day in preparation for this screening night.
During the screening, I was pretty calm and found some glee watching them watching my film. I loved anticipating knowing when certain parts were coming and waited for their reaction.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a position where I’ve put something creative out there into the universe for dissection. I’ve forgotten how much of a process it is for me. It feels good though.
There were chuckles and sighs, and moments of wonder and surprise. But, it was a wave of positive energy. I went there armed with questionnaires for everyone to fill out, and to keep all reactions structured. It was amazing to read their comments and take in their really interesting suggestions.
I also grabbed my video camera once the screening was done and I started filming the feedback. No spoilers, folks. What’s here hopefully gets your attention a little.
So after nearly a week of NOT looking at the film, I return and begin my tweaks and edits. On top of that, I actually did another interview shoot this week with a few of our amazing crew from I Can Dream to get their perspectives on what it means to them. Their insight will bring another added element to the final film.
We’re getting closer to April 28th more than ever now. There’s still a lot more work to be done. Thanks for reading. This journey is far from over.