Ice Follies was the first big touring ice show.
When I started this journey I planned on having two different edits or versions of the film. I wanted one cut that was 75-90 minutes long that told more of the epic story of the ice shows and then I wanted a second cut for television. An hour long public television program is 56 point something minutes and I think public television is a great place for this story. But as for the second, “festival-cut”, I have been advised that the festivals also want the shorter piece. Films with a run-time under an hour helps festivals with their programing, so often, when there are 2 versions – the longer one gets the axe.
So now, as the producer/director, I am working at rearranging my brain and my desire. I know every second in every sequence and I hate to see them go. Yet, I know that I won’t be “loosing” footage, I will be “gaining” strength, as a tighter edit leaves the audience wanting even more. The footage that is not used can still have a second life on the DVD EXTRAS.
Then there is the FIA web and I can share even more material on the website in the future. I am especially excited about this idea as there were many people who were interviewed for the film whose interviews were not included, but my plan is that they will still be in the greater presentation.
The touring ice shows were huge and complex and the story holds millions of stories.
Working with the editor Dan Baker has been so great. He has become family and he helped me carve out the story from the mountain of material I was able to gather to set it up against the backdrop of an even bigger mountain of history. Dan has given all he has to the edit. He worked on the documentary for over 7 months and I have added my hand into editing after I ran out of money to pay Dan. The story is there, but cutting it from it’s current length of 80 minutes to 56 minutes is going to have to happen in post-production. So I have been searching and seeking the right post-house editor – please stay tuned.
