Noah And The Whale Documentary

POST COMPLETE

2010-10-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

After four days of Post at Splice last week all the post work is now complete on the documentary. I have to say a big thanks to Splice who have been amazing to work with. Here is a picture from the sound mixing studio which has the most colourful mixing desk ever. Nag, the dubbing mixer, showed me how it looks in test mode where all the lights come on and flash different colours! Amazing.

Now that post is complete we still need to export the film onto an HD Master and also for downloadable digital files and for DVD, which will be done this week.

Exciting times.

COLOUR GRADING

2010-10-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

Started grading (colour correction) at Splice TV in east London yesterday.

Here is a pic of the studio. This suite apparently costs a cool £100,000 on its own. Worth every penny though, the control you have over the image is incredible.

POST

2010-10-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

The film is finished and I am going into the post production studio to begin grading (color correcting) tomorrow. Very much looking forward to it - I'm sure we are going to make it look great. Next week is Audio Mixing and Online.

I will post some pictures from inside the studio.

Initial Designs

2010-10-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the first design ideas we had for the DVD cover. We wanted to play around with using a strong colour as a background and compare that to a straight black background. Also we tried out a couple of different images and different ways of placing the text. In the end I think Joe (the graphic designer) has done a great job of playing with the text of the title and laying it out and also choosing a font that work really well.

The designs are going great and we are going to do some bags and TShirts also - budget permitting.

Thoughts welcome.

Ben

DIY DISTRIBUTION

2010-08-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

I wanted this blog, as well as being a space to keep you updated on the making of the documentary and the latest on Noah And The Whale, also to be a useful resource for people thinkning about making a music film or going down the indie film route. With that in mind here is a great article from the NY Times this weekend profiling a few examples of Indie/D.I.Y distributors that are bridging the gap between music and film releases and also shining a light on how to succesfully take niche films to their dedicated audiences.

One of the distribs Range Life even takes their films on tour around America in their van! What could be more fun!?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/movies/22indie.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&src=twt&twt=nytimesmovies

NME ANNOUNCEMENT

2010-08-24T02:54:00.000-07:00

I was happy to see that the NME has got wind of the documentary coming out as you can see in this article. I hope the doc will give fans enough great material to tide them over till the release of the 3rd album next year. (I'm sure it will). We are planning two discs for the release now so it will be jam packed with extras.

To clarify the release date. We don't have an exact date yet but the plan is for it to be available November/December this year. Also you will be able to pre-buy it in advance so follow twitter: @firstdaysmovie to keep updated.

DESIGNS

2010-08-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

At the moment we are designing the cover artwork, dvd jacket, dvd Menus and the Webpage. They are all looking really cool and coming together nicely.

Here are the layouts of the DVD sleeves for my last short films. I am lucky to have the same designer Joe Maduma working on cover art for the doc and I am sure it will come out great. I will post some work in progress stuff for you to see when we have it.

POST & DISTRIBUTION

2010-08-04T03:30:00.000-07:00

Post production is moving into full swing on the documentary. I aim to keep this blog updated with all the developments of post and all the stages of distribution for anyone interested in Noah And The Whale/filmmaking/music docs. Hopefully it will be a useful resource for anyone looking to make their own music documentery in the future.

Currently the website for the film is being constructed, we are designing the dvd packaging, menus and planning some amazing extras! There is still the small matter of color grading the film itself and doing the sound mix which should be done over the next few weeks. I will have news of a preview screening and hopefully a nice trailer to share over the coming weeks too.

OSCARS RESULTS

2010-03-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

So the results are in. I spent the whole of Monday attempting not to see any news reports so as not to ruin the fun of watching the highlights show on Sky that evening.

Young & Lost Club did very well again (I think they have an inside source!) but I managed to tie them for 1st place. I went for Gabourey Sidibe from Precious over Sandra Bullock for best actress. Oh well.

OSCARS BUILD UP

2010-03-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

Well, the Oscars are in less than a week and I doubt I will have seen all the nominees by this Sunday. That won't stop me from partaking in this year's Oscar sweepstake. Forms are coming in thick and fast from NATW and Planet Earth boys...Young & Lost Club are keeping their predictions clost to their chest and as last year's winners they are certainly the ones to beat!

If anyone has any tips or inside knowledge please feel free to post here and help me out!

I saw The White Ribbon yesterday which was a strange film to watch in the middle of the day given it was beautifully sunny outside but that didn't hinder my being engrossed in the curious and creepy goings on of an early 20th century German farming village for 2 and a half hours! I will have to see A Prophet next considering I've predicted that to win Best Foreign Film - but don't tell anybody!

BERLINALE

2010-02-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

The Berlin Film Festival is defntly the most efficiently organized film festival in the world! Well, I dunno, I haven't visited them all so I can't really say that but regardless - I was able to visit the EFM this weekend (European Film Market) which is hosted every year at the Berlinale.

Thanks to a friend at Focus Features I also got to see Noah Baumbach's new film Greenberg. It was a slightly odd mix of mumblecore and toned down Ben Stiller brilliance that seemed to go down very well at the festival. While mumblecore starlet Greta Gerwig shone in her most high profile role - I was a little dissappointed at the lack of screen time for Rhys Ifans - who showed up looking supremely dapper in spite of sporting some kind of strange ginger mohican!

On to the real reason for the visit to Berlin which was of course the NATW documentary (First Days) and interesting some sales agents in viewing the latest version. I was really lucky to be invited to share some space with Olivier Kaempfer who was there with his company Parkville Pictures and their various projects, and so had a nice base for my day at the EFM which included streaming the first half of Chelsea's FA Cup tie (don't tell anyone!), enjoying a surprisingly tasty sandwich and cake and seeing the market in full flow. A scary place by anyone's standards! One overheard hallway conversation went something like:
'Listen - you're gonna have to add a zero to that figure or we're taking it to Lionsgate' and another: 'she's a real sleeping giant that one', 'yeah she's a lioness ready to explode.'

Unfortunately I didn't find out who was being referred to in the latter conversation but I did get to meet some peeps from very nice sales agents who seemed genuinely interested in viewing the doc. We will have to wait and see what happens over the coming weeks but for now it's back to rewatching the film and preparing it for post production....

Oscars soon! My invite hasn't arrived yet wierdly.

Facebook Page

2009-12-15T06:30:00.001-08:00

Check out pictures from my last year with the band on the facebook page called First Days: A Film About Noah And The Whale...

Screening the film for the Band

2009-12-13T12:40:00.000-08:00

This week saw NATW come to Paris to play La Maroquinerie tuesday night. It also gave them the chance to come and see the documentary at my place which was a nerveracking experience. When you make a film about people you really hope that after it all they don't hate it! Thankfully Tom, Urby and Charlie were all ecstatic about the film and looking forward to the finished product. There now there remains the final matter of one doctor and sometime drummer to still the film which we will do over Xmas back in London...

Oh and the show on Tuesday was pretty fantastic too.

GLASTO

2009-12-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos from Glastonbury this year. Editing of the Doc is going very well and we will have some footage to share soon.

LEEDS 2

2009-10-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd start with a few more behind the scenes pics from Leeds Festival this year.

BOSTON

2009-10-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

I was in Boston last week and it reminded me of filming there in April. I even heard Shape of My Heart on the radio in a shop on the same block as the Paradise Club where NATW played!! So I thought I would start by putting up some stills from filming in Boston.

PRODUCTION COMPLETE

2009-10-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well you can never say never but for now filming on the documentary is complete and I am sitting down with an editor and massive amounts of snacks and cups of tea to edit the film. We have 90+ hours of footage so it's going to be no small feat to wittle it down to an hour and a half and its already heartbreaking to know certain things won't make the cut.

In the meantime I aim to post some still images from the last nine months as a recap of where I and the band have been and as a taster to whet appetites for moving images to come.

ICA

2009-09-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

Last Friday's show at the ICA saw Doug's last show as drummer of the band. It was very sad!!

LEEDS

2009-08-31T13:19:00.001-07:00

NATW played Leeds Festival this weekend - as you can see - they stage was pretty big!

TWITTER

2009-08-28T09:27:00.001-07:00

Apparently there is something out there called Twitter? I am going to try it. Don't kill me - but if you want to 'follow' me I'd be very happy. I'll try not to be boring. But in 140 characters I don't know if that's hard.... Oh - name is FirstDaysMovie. See you there. (Pictures from Reading and Leeds coming soon)

STUDIO

2009-08-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

Looking back at all the footage now that we're editing - here are some pictures from The First Days Of Spring album recording sessions.

WEBISODES

2009-08-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Check out the NATW website for some little teaser clips like this one from the documentary: www.noahandthewhale.com.

EDITING

2009-06-29T04:31:00.000-07:00

Heading back to Paris to begin editing the documentary. Bringin 2.5 terrabytes of HD footage - thats around 70 hours and counting. Filming should be completed by September and we should have a full cut by the end of the year.

GLASTONBURY

2009-06-28T17:35:00.001-07:00

I think I can officially retire from going to music festivals - my first two experiences being Coachella and this weekend - Glastonbury.

How to compare the two - it really is impossible - however, Glasto certainly provided some soaring highs amid the lows of sludging through knee deep mud surrounded at all times by the stinky excrement of 130,000 people. Said soaring highs were - in no definable order:

A) Jack White opening for NATW (his new band The Dead Weather making a surprise appearance before NATW's excellent 8PM Park Stage slot)

B) The sounds of Neil Young's guitar - quite simply one of the most phenomenal aural experiences of my life - one that words simply cannot define.

C) the best apple juice I have ever tasted in my life!

Pictures coming soon. Maybe some video.

GRUDGE MATCH

2009-06-21T03:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday saw the eagerly awaited battle between two of the worlds fiercest and most evenly matched football rivals - Noah And The Whale vs Planet Earth. Surprisingly few people turned out to watch this much anticipated grudge match at Regent's Park (0 people in fact) but that didn't prevent it from being a no holds barred concoction of agression, passion, blood, guts and skill.

One P Earth player had a nose bleed within five minutes - the NATW goalie (moi) was viciously targeted with a ball to the face as P Earth clearly saw a strict Vinnie Jones mentality as their only route to victory, and Davs of P Earth again got a ricochet ball into his adam's apple only minutes after recovering from his bloody nose.

It would be unfair to all concerned to publish the results of the game here but, needless to say, there was a vast amount of skill, flair and eye catching teamwork on display with Tom Fiddle scoring the goal of the game with a neat header and Urby Whale putting in an absolutely stellar display as sweeper, after some initial confusion over what the role of sweeper actually entailed. A two minute team talk, a quick viewing of some old Ruud Gullit tapes and a wee nip of JD put all to rights at half time and the second half was perhaps even more riveting than the first as everyone surprised themselves by the quite ridiculous amounts of stamina on show.

Expect more music oriented match ups to come over the coming months and perhaps even a league. On yesterday's evidence we might have something to even rival the conference south - Setanta eat your heart out.

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

2009-05-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

All is good at Cannes. I am promoting BAGATELLE my short film which plays in the Danny Lennon selection 'Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down' in the Short Film Corner in Palais F on Thursday at 13:30.

Also raising awareness of a great documentary coming soon about Noah And The Whale!!!

COACHELLA

2009-05-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

DC

2009-05-09T07:51:00.001-07:00

The last night of the US Tour was a really special experience. So many people knew of the band and I really appreciate those that were willing to answer some questions on camera for me. Especially Maddy who had just completed the 48hr film challenge that day and James who consistently drives 8hrs plus from his home in N Carolina to see the band.

BLACK CAT

2009-05-08T03:56:00.000-07:00

There's an amazing place we found in New York called Black Cat - it's an underground bar with pool tables, ping pong tables, chess and live music in the West Village. Ironically the last show of the tour was in Washington DC at a venue called Black Cat!

BOSTON

2009-05-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

Boston - Paradise Rock Club. Paradise!

BOWERY BALLROOM

2009-05-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

The Bowery have some strict policies on filming at their venue so I took a bunch of pictures instead. Here are a collection.

TIMELINE

2009-04-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

The documentary has actually been rolling since January - when the band started recording their new album. The most recent adventure was an amazing US Tour that culminated last weekend and from which I will post more pictures over the next few weeks.

WELCOME

2009-04-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

Hi. This blog will update anyone who's interested on the making of a documentary film following British band Noah And The Whale on the next nine months of their lives as they make and release their second studio album.

I will try to upload at least one new picture every fortnight to show you what's been going on while I've been making the film.

Feel free to leave your comments and questions!

Thanks,
Ben