(The following is from Regina's husband Andrew, who is orchestrating this whole thing. Thanks Andrew!)
OK. The Shadow of the Bear movie DVDs will be available again next week. Soooooo.....
If you are a US resident and are sure you want to buy a copy, send a check for $13 (USD) made out to Chesterton Press and send it with your shipping and contact info to:
Chesterton Press
Shadow of the Bear movie DVD offer
P.O. Box 949
Front Royal, VA 22630
This will cover the cost of the DVD ($10) and the packaging & shipping ($3). If you want multiple copies of the DVD, add an additional $11 for each additional DVD.
After we've received your check, we'll mail you the DVD via USPS. PLEASE be sure to include your mailing address and phone number and/or email along with the check!
If you're an overseas resident, contact me with your snail mail address, and put in the subject line: SOTB movie to overseas customer. We'll let you know if there's a different cost.
PLEASE NOTE: This offer is for the rough cut of the movie The Shadow of the Bear on a DVD.
The audio and video may not be of the highest quality.
The DVD will arrive in a paper sleeve, not a plastic case.
These DVDs are not for resale. They also can't be posted or published online in any part.
Why not? Posting the movie online might very well jeopardize our attempts to either finish this movie or to have a further movie made of The Shadow of the Bear. So please don't share them online! Thanks for understanding!
Thanks again for all your prayers and support for this project! We hope you will enjoy seeing it!
Peace and good.
Andrew Schmiedicke
Chesterton Press
540-631-0919
www.FairyTaleNovels.com
www.ReginaDoman.com
www.ChestertonPress.com
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Only 6 DVDs left!
Andrew has just informed me that they only have 6 DVDs left, and they're not planning to make more unless they get at least 30 more orders. So if you haven't gotten your copy of SOTB yet, get your order in ASAP!!!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
And after some technical difficulties...
...we're back!
I apologize for the brief disappearance of the blog. My e-mail address had some issues and because I was at ReginaCon I was away from the internet for 7 days and didn't even know there was a problem until today. Yikes! Anyhow, everything is back and working now. Thanks for your patience!
I apologize for the brief disappearance of the blog. My e-mail address had some issues and because I was at ReginaCon I was away from the internet for 7 days and didn't even know there was a problem until today. Yikes! Anyhow, everything is back and working now. Thanks for your patience!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Q&A the Last
Okay guys, here's the final Question and Answer post! Enjoy, and hopefully I answered your questions satisfactorily!
Una Mariah said...
Just a couple:
1: Why wasn't there more of Fish?!!
Ha! I'm now envisioning a version of the film in which Fish walks casually through the background of every scene... unless you meant that seriously? In which case he's already in the film more than the book, and I did try to figure out if we could work him in more, and that was the best we could come up with. But I think you're joking. :)
2: In the scene where Rob and his buddies kidnap Blanche, why wasn't it in a parking lot?
Lemme think... okay so we were trying to figure out where to do this scene, and we needed a place that looked kind of shady, where we wouldn't get kicked out (that happened once). Someone (I think it was Bear) said they knew a cool place down by the river, so we went down into this park and found the wall and rocks you see in the film and it just looked so unique and visually interesting, plus was out of the way of passing traffic, so we were able to film without much interruption (although this guy did yell at us from the other side of the ravine and he seemed to be demon possessed or something, it was creepy).
June 28, 2012 2:47 PM
Anonymous said...
Could you please make a feature commentary online? Maybe a featurette with any extra footage about the filming process instead of making just a Q & A? I would love to get behind the scenes! Please, please, please make a commentary! I remember that you planned to make a youtube video with a cast member back during filming, or right after. Will that happen? Please?! lol!
Sorry, but a written Q&A is the best I can do. Anything else involves equipment, time, money, and all the other stuff that are factors in why we can't even finish the film, much less do special features. Plus there are rights issues involved now as well as other things I can't control. Even the blooper reel is going to take some time and effort on my part that I don't really have to spare.
Una Mariah said...
Sorry, some more questions:
1: Why, in some scenes, did you only dub one of the characters shown in that scene?
When we did the ADR (Additional Dialogue Recording) we were unable to get all of the actors back. I believe the actors we did get were Rose, Blanche, Bear, Fish, Mrs. Brier and Eileen... (maybe Mr. Freet? Not sure. I was not there for the ADR and was actually out of town during the time). We also had limited time (we did all the ADR just two weeks prior to the premiere) and we had to pay for the recording studio and technician. So we were only able to do the most critical scenes with the actors we could actually get. (This is why you don't shoot a movie without a budget. If you're not paying your actors, you can't ask them to give up paying hours at their job to come do ADR for you).
2: What scene was the hardest to shoot?
The Finale in St. Lawrences. We never actually had Mr. Freet and Bear in the church at the same time, due to scheduling conflicts and illness. We shot on three different days and I was only able to make two of them myself. So, as you can imagine, continuity became a huge headache!
3: In the park, why does Fish warn Rose against 'shady guys that pop in out of nowhere, even if they do like music and poetry'? He seems to recognize her as one of the girls Bear likes, but he's never seen her before. Did he follow Bear one night or something and see the Briar girls?
Let me see... Regina and I planned out this scene nearly four years ago... I believe Regina suggested the line, and we'd decided that Fish did know who Blanche and Rose were, but was not going to let on because he was 'undercover.' He recognized them because he'd been doing sleuthing at the school and had noticed them. (He and the girls make eye-contact in the princesses in disguise scene, remember? ;) )
4: Why doesn't Bear have any snow on his shoes at all?
Because... it melted? Lol, no we shot that scene in the middle of the summer. I suppose if someone had thought of it we could have put some water on his shoes to look like melted snow, but we just didn't have enough brains to spare. (We were already shooting a night scene in the daytime, so we were pretty occupied with working that bit out!)
5: Just after he hand the groceries to Mrs. Briar, it looks like he stuffs something in his pocket. If he did, what was it?
Well, Blanche thinks it was drugs. What do you think it was? (I actually don't know, it's from the book and it's important in Blanche's analysis of should they trust him, but I never asked Regina what it actually was.)
6: What is Fish doing in the school parking lot near the beginning? Is he waiting for Bear?
Nope! He's talking to his underground connections to see if he can pull up some clues on Fr. Raymond's murder.
Scarlet said...
What camera(s) did you use?
We used a couple of different cameras, two or three models, I believe. The first kind (we had two of them) was a... panasonic digital, I want to say, but I don't know the model. The second kind, which I preferred (and which we shot Little Women on previously) was Sony's XL2 which is a pretty awesome camera.
Maria Collins said...
In the movie, what is the song sung at the credits called.....sorry, but I love it! Is it on YouTube???????
That is the Ballad of the White Horse! The lyrics are the G.K. Chesterton poem that Bear, Rose and Blanche often reference. The melody was originally hummed by Regina to me four years ago, then last year I transcribed it into sheet music and passed it on to Mary Kate Lee, who composed and performed the song.
You can listen to and download the finished version of the song here: http://soundcloud.com/elizabeth-amy-hausladen/the-battle-of-ethandune (the music starts 22 seconds in)
You can learn more about Mary Kate and her band here: www.seasonsmusic.com and here:
www.facebook.com/Seasonsfamily
Anastasia said...
What about the fan-story posts? I'm trying to get that out as soon as I can, so please wait for that!!!!!
No worries! I'll post those throughout the summer as they come in. :)
And actually, I do have a question....I thought I recognized you in the movie at one point. Were you one of the nuns by any chance?
Yes I was! I played the "Assistant Principal" because we couldn't get Principal Freet back, so I had to step in at the last minute as a nun and give Eileen and Rose some punishment. You can see my official credit in the... you guessed it! The Credits. :)
Anonymous said...
Where did you get Blanche's prom dress? It's so pretty!
Well, back in 2009 we ran a contest for fans to submit dresses they thought fit the prom dresses for the Brier girls. Maria Teets and her family ended up submitting the best dresses for both Blanche and Rose, and she and her mom and sister are duly credited in the film. Blanche's dress was an existing dress that Hannah added sleeves to. Rose's dress was modified greatly by Maria and her mother to make the awesome gown you see in the film. I'm glad you liked Blanche's dress - I think it's perfect!
Una Mariah said...
Just a couple:
1: Why wasn't there more of Fish?!!
Ha! I'm now envisioning a version of the film in which Fish walks casually through the background of every scene... unless you meant that seriously? In which case he's already in the film more than the book, and I did try to figure out if we could work him in more, and that was the best we could come up with. But I think you're joking. :)
2: In the scene where Rob and his buddies kidnap Blanche, why wasn't it in a parking lot?
Lemme think... okay so we were trying to figure out where to do this scene, and we needed a place that looked kind of shady, where we wouldn't get kicked out (that happened once). Someone (I think it was Bear) said they knew a cool place down by the river, so we went down into this park and found the wall and rocks you see in the film and it just looked so unique and visually interesting, plus was out of the way of passing traffic, so we were able to film without much interruption (although this guy did yell at us from the other side of the ravine and he seemed to be demon possessed or something, it was creepy).
June 28, 2012 2:47 PM
Anonymous said...
Could you please make a feature commentary online? Maybe a featurette with any extra footage about the filming process instead of making just a Q & A? I would love to get behind the scenes! Please, please, please make a commentary! I remember that you planned to make a youtube video with a cast member back during filming, or right after. Will that happen? Please?! lol!
Sorry, but a written Q&A is the best I can do. Anything else involves equipment, time, money, and all the other stuff that are factors in why we can't even finish the film, much less do special features. Plus there are rights issues involved now as well as other things I can't control. Even the blooper reel is going to take some time and effort on my part that I don't really have to spare.
Una Mariah said...
Sorry, some more questions:
1: Why, in some scenes, did you only dub one of the characters shown in that scene?
When we did the ADR (Additional Dialogue Recording) we were unable to get all of the actors back. I believe the actors we did get were Rose, Blanche, Bear, Fish, Mrs. Brier and Eileen... (maybe Mr. Freet? Not sure. I was not there for the ADR and was actually out of town during the time). We also had limited time (we did all the ADR just two weeks prior to the premiere) and we had to pay for the recording studio and technician. So we were only able to do the most critical scenes with the actors we could actually get. (This is why you don't shoot a movie without a budget. If you're not paying your actors, you can't ask them to give up paying hours at their job to come do ADR for you).
2: What scene was the hardest to shoot?
The Finale in St. Lawrences. We never actually had Mr. Freet and Bear in the church at the same time, due to scheduling conflicts and illness. We shot on three different days and I was only able to make two of them myself. So, as you can imagine, continuity became a huge headache!
3: In the park, why does Fish warn Rose against 'shady guys that pop in out of nowhere, even if they do like music and poetry'? He seems to recognize her as one of the girls Bear likes, but he's never seen her before. Did he follow Bear one night or something and see the Briar girls?
Let me see... Regina and I planned out this scene nearly four years ago... I believe Regina suggested the line, and we'd decided that Fish did know who Blanche and Rose were, but was not going to let on because he was 'undercover.' He recognized them because he'd been doing sleuthing at the school and had noticed them. (He and the girls make eye-contact in the princesses in disguise scene, remember? ;) )
4: Why doesn't Bear have any snow on his shoes at all?
Because... it melted? Lol, no we shot that scene in the middle of the summer. I suppose if someone had thought of it we could have put some water on his shoes to look like melted snow, but we just didn't have enough brains to spare. (We were already shooting a night scene in the daytime, so we were pretty occupied with working that bit out!)
5: Just after he hand the groceries to Mrs. Briar, it looks like he stuffs something in his pocket. If he did, what was it?
Well, Blanche thinks it was drugs. What do you think it was? (I actually don't know, it's from the book and it's important in Blanche's analysis of should they trust him, but I never asked Regina what it actually was.)
6: What is Fish doing in the school parking lot near the beginning? Is he waiting for Bear?
Nope! He's talking to his underground connections to see if he can pull up some clues on Fr. Raymond's murder.
Scarlet said...
What camera(s) did you use?
We used a couple of different cameras, two or three models, I believe. The first kind (we had two of them) was a... panasonic digital, I want to say, but I don't know the model. The second kind, which I preferred (and which we shot Little Women on previously) was Sony's XL2 which is a pretty awesome camera.
Maria Collins said...
In the movie, what is the song sung at the credits called.....sorry, but I love it! Is it on YouTube???????
That is the Ballad of the White Horse! The lyrics are the G.K. Chesterton poem that Bear, Rose and Blanche often reference. The melody was originally hummed by Regina to me four years ago, then last year I transcribed it into sheet music and passed it on to Mary Kate Lee, who composed and performed the song.
You can listen to and download the finished version of the song here: http://soundcloud.com/elizabeth-amy-hausladen/the-battle-of-ethandune (the music starts 22 seconds in)
You can learn more about Mary Kate and her band here: www.seasonsmusic.com and here:
www.facebook.com/Seasonsfamily
Anastasia said...
What about the fan-story posts? I'm trying to get that out as soon as I can, so please wait for that!!!!!
No worries! I'll post those throughout the summer as they come in. :)
And actually, I do have a question....I thought I recognized you in the movie at one point. Were you one of the nuns by any chance?
Yes I was! I played the "Assistant Principal" because we couldn't get Principal Freet back, so I had to step in at the last minute as a nun and give Eileen and Rose some punishment. You can see my official credit in the... you guessed it! The Credits. :)
Anonymous said...
Where did you get Blanche's prom dress? It's so pretty!
Well, back in 2009 we ran a contest for fans to submit dresses they thought fit the prom dresses for the Brier girls. Maria Teets and her family ended up submitting the best dresses for both Blanche and Rose, and she and her mom and sister are duly credited in the film. Blanche's dress was an existing dress that Hannah added sleeves to. Rose's dress was modified greatly by Maria and her mother to make the awesome gown you see in the film. I'm glad you liked Blanche's dress - I think it's perfect!
Friday, July 6, 2012
The FINAL Q&A is going to be posted on Monday...
... so hurry up and submit your questions if you haven't already!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Fans, we want to hear from you!
For four years you guys have been following this blog and supporting this amazing project. You've read our story, and now you've seen the movie (or will very shortly!) for yourselves. While this blog will stay up for the time being as a testament to and chronicle of this project, we probably won't be posting on it very much anymore.
However, before we step back into the gray mists of regular incognito life, I thought it would be really fun to have a sort of celebration of all that this project has brought into our lives. So there are two things I would like your help with!
#1 - already we are getting some really wonderful comments on the blog of how much you guys liked and appreciated the film. Would any of you like to step out of the comment box and into the posting? Would you share your story of how you found this blog, followed the project, and what you loved about the film (or what surprised you)? If you've got a story, e-mail it to me at elenatintil [at] gmail [dot] com under the heading "SOTB Story". If you've got a picture of yourself (with the DVD, in a FTNish costume, with the books, etc) or a piece of your fan art that you'd like to include as well, that'd be awesome! I'll be posting the stories in the order I receive them over the next month.
#2 - I'm going to do one last big Q&A session! Here are the rules:
Also I can now officially announce that I will be releasing the blooper reel at the end of the summer, for a limited online showing (probably for the fall or something?). We weren't able to put any special features on the DVD, but I already had the blooper reel mostly compiled and really wanted to share it with you as I know many of you have asked to see it. Regina agreed to a release for a limited amount of time, so it will be coming!
However, before we step back into the gray mists of regular incognito life, I thought it would be really fun to have a sort of celebration of all that this project has brought into our lives. So there are two things I would like your help with!
#1 - already we are getting some really wonderful comments on the blog of how much you guys liked and appreciated the film. Would any of you like to step out of the comment box and into the posting? Would you share your story of how you found this blog, followed the project, and what you loved about the film (or what surprised you)? If you've got a story, e-mail it to me at elenatintil [at] gmail [dot] com under the heading "SOTB Story". If you've got a picture of yourself (with the DVD, in a FTNish costume, with the books, etc) or a piece of your fan art that you'd like to include as well, that'd be awesome! I'll be posting the stories in the order I receive them over the next month.
#2 - I'm going to do one last big Q&A session! Here are the rules:
- Watch the film first!
- Read the FAQ's page to make sure your question hasn't already been asked!
- I can't answer questions about what will happen to the film or any future filming of the story, that's for Regina to say.
- Submit your questions in the comments below, and if you are posting Anonymously, please sign some sort of name to it. Thanks!
Also I can now officially announce that I will be releasing the blooper reel at the end of the summer, for a limited online showing (probably for the fall or something?). We weren't able to put any special features on the DVD, but I already had the blooper reel mostly compiled and really wanted to share it with you as I know many of you have asked to see it. Regina agreed to a release for a limited amount of time, so it will be coming!
Monday, June 25, 2012
DVDs arriving!
My shipment of the DVDs arrived today! Yours should be coming soon! Any questions? e-mail andrew@chestertonpress.com!
(The DVDs I got are for the cast and crew, who I have contacted via facebook and e-mail. If you're in that group, please reply to my message by the end of this week! Thank you!)
(The DVDs I got are for the cast and crew, who I have contacted via facebook and e-mail. If you're in that group, please reply to my message by the end of this week! Thank you!)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
DVDs Start Shipping Out Next Week!
Chesterton Press has been super busy lately, so I don't think they'll get everyone's out next week, but they'll do the best they can! Also, copies will be for sale at the IHM conference this weekend!
To recap:
Official DVD Price -- $10 (each additional copy is also $10, no discounts for ordering multiples).
To order, please contact Andrew at andrew@chestertonpress.com. He will tell you the preferred payment method.
You MUST include your shipping address. If you place an order by letter, please include an e-mail address or phone # in case we need to contact you.
To recap:
Official DVD Price -- $10 (each additional copy is also $10, no discounts for ordering multiples).
To order, please contact Andrew at andrew@chestertonpress.com. He will tell you the preferred payment method.
You MUST include your shipping address. If you place an order by letter, please include an e-mail address or phone # in case we need to contact you.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Important DVD information!
Official DVD Price -- $10
To order, please contact Andrew at andrew@chestertonpress.com.
You MUST include your shipping address. If you place an order by letter, please include an e-mail address or phone # in case we need to contact you.
We have had several people place orders by letter, and have only included $5. They also have not given us any way to contact them to let them know the full price. If you are in this group, please contact the e-mail above so that we can rectify this!
The DVDs are still being manufactured at this point, so please be patient - it make take a bit longer before we are able to ship them out. If you have any questions or concerns, please direct them to Andrew at the e-mail address above.
To order, please contact Andrew at andrew@chestertonpress.com.
You MUST include your shipping address. If you place an order by letter, please include an e-mail address or phone # in case we need to contact you.
We have had several people place orders by letter, and have only included $5. They also have not given us any way to contact them to let them know the full price. If you are in this group, please contact the e-mail above so that we can rectify this!
The DVDs are still being manufactured at this point, so please be patient - it make take a bit longer before we are able to ship them out. If you have any questions or concerns, please direct them to Andrew at the e-mail address above.
Friday, May 4, 2012
DVD Q&A
(PLEASE read the original DVD post completely before asking questions here. Some questions are being asked that were clearly answered in the original post. THANKS! :) )
Several of you asked how you could order the DVD, so I'm going to restate the information from the original post here:
"If you would like a copy of the unfinished rough cut of the movie, we'll make that available to those who inquire. If you are interested in obtaining the unfinished rough cut, email andrew@chestertonpress.com. "
Please include your Snail Mail address.
I do encourage you to get your inquiry in soon, as (as I understand it) we'd like to not distribute these DVDs indefinitely.
Official cast and crew will be getting their DVDs separately, so don't order yet as I'll be contacting those of you who haven't been informed yet once we nail down the list
Also, for those of you who know something about film, I want to clarify what we mean by 'rough cut.' The film is actually very finely cut, and we only had a few tweaks to make in Post. The majority of the issues, as stated, are related to audio issues.
Now to the questions... (if you have any that aren't discussed here, leave them in the comments and I'll add them to this post)
Una Mariah said...
YES! YES-YES-YES-YES-YES!!!!!! Oh, yes! (Falls on floor in ecstasy) On a more practical note, how much does the movie cost? I'd like to get it as a surprise for my little brother.
Our Answer: We are still narrowing down the price as we determine what the costs will be, but it will be under $15.
Anonymous said...
Oh my gosh!!! Yay! Question, is the DVD have it's own movie box or what?
Our Answer: I'm not sure of this one, whether it'll be in a DVD box or a CD case. I'll try to find out.
Maria Collins said...
Questions? I only have about a million, but I'll throw out two. Your not missing the prom scenes, right? Please say yes!!! Or the visit to St. Lawrance? Can't wait!!!
Our Answer: Nope! All of the iconic scenes are in there.
Elenaflutterby said...
Firstly, the news that The Shadow of the Bear movie is going to be released totally made my day! I've been looking forward to seeing it for so long, and I'd like to order it ASAP, but I was just wondering if there will be any issues with me ordering from overseas, as I live in the UK?
Our Answer: No issues whatsoever! You'll have to pay whatever the postage rates are, but otherwise it's doable.
Amy said...
Will you later be selling the post-production version (with the audio issued resolved?) or is this a one-time-only opportunity to purchase the film? Thank you!
Our Answer: No. As we said in the original DVD post, we will not be formally releasing the DVD with post production finished, as our actors have moved on and such correction would be impossible. For awhile it was up in the air whether we would even be able to make the unfinished version available to fans, so I'm very thankful that we are. Do order yours asap, as I believe we will not be doing this indefinitely.
Una Mariah said...
Could you please post when you decide on a definite price? I need one before Mama will let me order it.
Our Answer: Absolutely!
Several of you asked how you could order the DVD, so I'm going to restate the information from the original post here:
"If you would like a copy of the unfinished rough cut of the movie, we'll make that available to those who inquire. If you are interested in obtaining the unfinished rough cut, email andrew@chestertonpress.com. "
Please include your Snail Mail address.
I do encourage you to get your inquiry in soon, as (as I understand it) we'd like to not distribute these DVDs indefinitely.
Official cast and crew will be getting their DVDs separately, so don't order yet as I'll be contacting those of you who haven't been informed yet once we nail down the list
Also, for those of you who know something about film, I want to clarify what we mean by 'rough cut.' The film is actually very finely cut, and we only had a few tweaks to make in Post. The majority of the issues, as stated, are related to audio issues.
Now to the questions... (if you have any that aren't discussed here, leave them in the comments and I'll add them to this post)
Una Mariah said...
YES! YES-YES-YES-YES-YES!!!!!! Oh, yes! (Falls on floor in ecstasy) On a more practical note, how much does the movie cost? I'd like to get it as a surprise for my little brother.
Our Answer: We are still narrowing down the price as we determine what the costs will be, but it will be under $15.
Anonymous said...
Oh my gosh!!! Yay! Question, is the DVD have it's own movie box or what?
Our Answer: I'm not sure of this one, whether it'll be in a DVD box or a CD case. I'll try to find out.
Maria Collins said...
Questions? I only have about a million, but I'll throw out two. Your not missing the prom scenes, right? Please say yes!!! Or the visit to St. Lawrance? Can't wait!!!
Our Answer: Nope! All of the iconic scenes are in there.
Elenaflutterby said...
Firstly, the news that The Shadow of the Bear movie is going to be released totally made my day! I've been looking forward to seeing it for so long, and I'd like to order it ASAP, but I was just wondering if there will be any issues with me ordering from overseas, as I live in the UK?
Our Answer: No issues whatsoever! You'll have to pay whatever the postage rates are, but otherwise it's doable.
Amy said...
Will you later be selling the post-production version (with the audio issued resolved?) or is this a one-time-only opportunity to purchase the film? Thank you!
Our Answer: No. As we said in the original DVD post, we will not be formally releasing the DVD with post production finished, as our actors have moved on and such correction would be impossible. For awhile it was up in the air whether we would even be able to make the unfinished version available to fans, so I'm very thankful that we are. Do order yours asap, as I believe we will not be doing this indefinitely.
Una Mariah said...
Could you please post when you decide on a definite price? I need one before Mama will let me order it.
Our Answer: Absolutely!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
SOTB DVD - Here's the scoop, folks
Dear friends and amazing fans, we at last are able to give you solid and concrete news about the future of SOTB. Below is a very detailed letter from Regina explaining exactly what happened and why it is so. This decision was reached by Regina, her husband Andrew, myself, and the core of the SOTB cast and production team. We put much prayer and contemplation into it and feel that this is absolutely the route we need to take. Although the letter is written by Regina, she truly speaks for us all.
It sounds cliche but we have some good news and some bad news.
If you're like me, you'd rather have the bad news first. The bad news is, we have not finished the movie The Shadow of the Bear, and it looks now as though it will not be finished.
After several years of intense production, we tried as hard as we could to bring the movie to completion -- but as we neared the end, it became apparent that some aspects of the film were not going to be able to be finished.
The good news is, we are going to release it anyway, as an unfinished product. This has been a diificult decision, but it looks as though it's the only viable one. Our actors and production people have moved on, and we are grateful for all the hours of volunteer work that they and their parents put into this film. It seems that at this juncture, it's probably wisest just to release the movie you have all been waiting for and leave it to a future production company to carry on the work that we tried our hardest to do.
Why is it unfinished, you may ask? There are several things missing that we wish we would have had a chance to complete or do better.
1. Missing scenes: we lost one tape of footage that contained two transition shots, and we never got a chance to redo those shots. In the cut of the movie, there is a black screen says "missing footage" at two different points.
2. Undubbed audio: since so much of the audio quality on the footage was poor, we decided to have the actors dub their lines. This is something that's frequently done in the movie industry. The problem is, not all the actors were able to dub their audio. So some of the voices sound great -- and others are quiet and not-so-great.
3. Missing music -- A friend had asked to supply the music for the film, and she was able to give us a rough soundtrack which she wrote herself. But we were unable to work with her to get a final cut for the soundtrack. So the music is unfinished as well.
4. Cleanup -- we would have liked to clean up the audio and the footage a little more but again, we just didn't have time.
This is the same version of the movie which we showed last year at the premiere. We haven't changed anything about it, though we had hoped to do much more with it.
Because it's unfinished, there's not going to be any official release of the movie. If you would like a copy of the unfinished rough cut of the movie, we'll make that available to those who inquire. If you are interested in obtaining the unfinished rough cut, email andrew@chestertonpress.com.
So that is how things stand. The movie is unfinished, but we'll keep this site up for now as an homage to the project, which it was, after all, an amazing undertaking (and an amazing amount of work!) and which led us to form a connection with so many fans of the books. Again, we are so grateful for all your help, prayers, encouragement, and friendship.
So the Shadow of the Bear movie project is officially over -- for now.
Who knows? Maybe our production will inspire another production company with an actual budget and Hollywood connections to come in and recreate this story on screen. Until then, we'll be waiting and hoping!
Thank you again for all your support!!!
The Production Team for
The Shadow of the Bear Movie
P.S. you can find answers to FAQ's on the DVD here - and ask your own! http://theshadowofthebear.blogspot.com/2012/05/dvd-q.html
If you have any questions after this message, do include them in the comments and I'll do a follow up post answering as many as I can.
I also want to say that I, personally, don't see this project as a failure or a waste of time. Although technically 'incomplete' I feel the movie is still in a very watchable and enjoyable state and that the amazing actors and the good work performed by our crew and the power of the story itself do a lot to draw the viewer in despite the technical incompletion. I believe that all of you, if you choose to get the DVD, will very much enjoy the movie and see the story you love come to life on screen.
I also want to say that I, personally, don't see this project as a failure or a waste of time. Although technically 'incomplete' I feel the movie is still in a very watchable and enjoyable state and that the amazing actors and the good work performed by our crew and the power of the story itself do a lot to draw the viewer in despite the technical incompletion. I believe that all of you, if you choose to get the DVD, will very much enjoy the movie and see the story you love come to life on screen.
Thank you all again so very much.
-Elizabeth Hausladen
P.S. you can find answers to FAQ's on the DVD here - and ask your own! http://theshadowofthebear.blogspot.com/2012/05/dvd-q.html
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Answers to two questions
All of you have been so excited about the news that we are getting very close to releasing something concrete about the DVD! Regina is working on the post right now, and I expect we'll have it for you very soon. :)
(Why is Regina writing it and not just me? Because Regina took responsibility for the post-production of the film after the Minnesota premiere as I was no longer able to afford the time for it, three years was already twice as long as I'd anticipated!)
Second question - how long is the film? I don't have an exact minute count for you, but it was pretty much exactly two hours last I checked.
(Why is Regina writing it and not just me? Because Regina took responsibility for the post-production of the film after the Minnesota premiere as I was no longer able to afford the time for it, three years was already twice as long as I'd anticipated!)
Second question - how long is the film? I don't have an exact minute count for you, but it was pretty much exactly two hours last I checked.
Monday, April 16, 2012
DVD update coming soon
I can't officially say anything yet, but we are very close to giving you all some news on the state of the movie and it's future on DVD. Stay tuned!
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