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Greyscale: Year One

Ξ February 8th, 2009 | → 1 Comments | ∇ greyscale |

“Ever heard of Achromatopsia?”

February 7th, 2008 – The movie title Greyscale is imagined during a meeting at the Oklahoma Moviemakers group after it was pitched to have a local film festival.

A year has been invested in this project.  7.5 months of writing/pre-production, 3.5 months in production, 1 in post (thus far). 72 cast members, 20+ crew (on set and off), and a lot of people showing interest in the project… it’s come a long way and still has a ways to go… The last 15% of filming and 60% left to go on the assembly edit (and then the first actual edit, scoring, color treatment, sound sweetening, etc).  But, as soon as the assembly is complete, the trailer will be put together and we’ll go to distributors and see who bites.

Whatever your level of involvement, I want to say a sincere thank you for being here with this project, no matter the level.  Whether you’ve said a few encouraging words or been on set all 33 days of production thusfar, we wouldn’t be where we are if it weren’t for you.

While most people’s association with this project will be merely the finished product, I’m realizing the value that comes with a producing something like this.  People are brought together, relationships are formed, stories and lives are shared, and win, lose, or draw, we have the memories and the experiences left behind.  Yes, I am a very nostalgic person, and still can’t believe how so much has come together through the work of so many.  Thank you for investing in this idea, this story, this chapter in my life that I will always look back fondly on.  Yes, there is plenty more work left to be done as I’ve mentioned before, but we’ve hit a milestone, and too often they are forgotten.

.:Conway Banks
I want to thank everyone that helped out during the screenwriting process of this.  As I recently began writing a short story for the next project during some downtime, I forgot how much fun writing was… and how awful first drafts look.  Greyscale started off as a simple tale of evening the score, Ocean’s 11 style… and has since become much, much more thanks to the many who slogged through draft after draft, killing a few small forests in the process of offering their opinions.  This story was written by Conway Banks, which started as an inside joke of a pen name but I now am realizing that Conway is a collective of everyone that has put their time into refining this story, questioning the ideas and pointing out the areas that needed work.

There are points in the story that I’m discovering how connected everything is.  How this is a story of forgiveness, of redemptions past, present, and future. How Greyscale may refer to the world being in black and white, but moreso how it is Oliver’s story of how he could have wound up in the position of just about any of the rest of the characters if certain events had happened differently (or if forgiveness had been granted or received at different points in his life), and thus can look at each person in their own scale of good/badness and see where he falls in the mix and why.  It’s something I don’t expect many people to walk away understanding, but I hope it’s at least transparent enough to be noticed.

.:Ian Hamilton
I want to thank the actors who have breathed life into these roles.  It’s an interesting experience to wrestle with creating a fictional person for so long only to have their character live for a day or two and then be forever nothing but images on a screen from that point on.  It’s a humbling and beautiful thing for a writer to experience, and in the editing bay, I have been so proud of our cast.  For the bits that I have shown around, I have gotten far and away more praise than critiques on how the cast is working well together.  They say 80% of directing is casting, and I believe it.

.:Color-Wheel
I want to thank the crew for all the blood, sweat, and… well, no tears have been shed yet, thankfully.  I could not ask for a better crew to work with.  Most people that have come on set for a weekend have done nothing but rave about how hard working, patient, and loyal this crew has been.  I won’t drag this message on too much longer, but I can only hope that you all have enjoyed working on this movie as much as I have had the pleasure of getting to know you and work with you.

Year one is done, my friends.  2008 was strong, but 2009 is where it all pays off.  Thank you for believing in this project.

Sincerely,
Ryan Dunlap

 

One Response to ' Greyscale: Year One '

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  1. Hyphen said,

    on February 10th, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    Hey Ryan-
    Greyscale is looking amazing. It is wonderful to see the time and effort you have been putting into this project and your passion. I can’t wait to see the finished product.

    I am proud to have been one of your first villains.

    BTW,
    Once Katie and I get our home situated (with all the moving and organizing and such), we’d love to have you and Sarah over for dinner.

    -Hyphen

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    Daros is a rough interpretation of a Hebrew word that means 'Reclaim.'

    The purpose of Daros Films is to reclaim the Story that is being told by showing it in other stories. The purpose is to reclaim the quality of a beautiful artform that has become in some regards, a mindless pastime.