At lunchtime, I gathered my negatives at Guffanti Labs and trundled them on a luggage cart to the negative cutter's office. I feel relieved that his work can go forward now. On the minus side, Elliott strongly advised me not to do a sound mix until after I've struck a first print of the film, so that I can ensure that sound and image will be in sync. I had heard that this was the safest way to go, but it means that the sound mixing, which will probably take weeks, must be added to the end of the process, and not done while the print is being prepared. I'm trying not to think about it, but this plan almost certainly means that I won't be ready in time for any of the April festivals that I've applied to.
Robin, who has been snowed under with work, stayed a little late and made a 3/4" copy of our most recent edit, which I picked up at night. Normally she would also have run off some VHS copies for me to view and to send to Cannes, but she cannot clear time on her company's machines, and I have to pay to have copies made elsewhere. When I have a VHS copy, I can make a decision about whether or not to live with this cut forever. Then Robin will have to prepare a master copy according to Elliott's specifications, so that he can begin the actual cutting.
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