Winding Down

Hello All,

Nichole (Co-Director, DP) here. I would like to say a few words...

So we are in October. Mid-October. Could someone please tell me where September went? Seems like I missed her in passing. Anyway... Yes. We are in Mid-October and that means we are almost done with the production phase of East of Nowhere.

I know we are all eager for the next phase, which is post-production (which includes the editing process). However, we aren't quite there just yet. As the producers and I configured yesterday, we will be wrapping principal photography in the first couple weeks of November. It's an exciting feeling to be on the last lap of the race but also, for me, kind of sad. I love the production process. I love being on set. I can't say enough about the devotion, hardwork, creativity, morale, and overall performance of the crew and cast on set. They have dealt with the few hiccups we have encountered in production with positivity and stride. I really feel so lucky and blessed to have found this group of people. As we told all of them in the beginning, this was more or less a volunteer type production. We knew going into it that we wouldn't be able to provide compensation immediately. And I really wish we could. They deserve it. Truly. So, because they have been so helpful, gracious, and willing despite being unpaid it makes it that much more meaningful. So to my cast and crew members for their "HIGH SPIRITS EVERYBODY!"---Thank you.

Aww. Cutesy.

Now....what does this mean for the audience? I can tell you that the hardwork of the cast and crew will not be in vain. It will, most assuredly, show in the final product. The raw footage has often been above and beyond what was expected. And that is because of them. So, audience, you will know at the end credits that each and every person's name that scrolls was dedicated to this story and this project. We want you to be inundated with emotion as the scenes progress throughout the picture. Our ultimate goal is you. It is to tell you this story. To let you know these characters. Let you relate. Let you understand them and, hopefully, in turn, understand us all.

I watched two big-budget Hollywood films the other night that just made my night. The first one was mediocre. Entertaining, I suppose. Really, for me, it ended up being a great comparison to the second one. The first film had poor writing and the characters were dry and underdeveloped. The main character really struggled, which was good, but she didn't get very far by the end.

The second film's story quality and writing structure was so much more thought out and revealing. It made me think. It made me want to understand the struggles the characters were feeling and it forced me to analyze my own life. Was I naive and narrow-minded as that woman? Or, why do we as a society allow these norms and not others? Does that make our lives more enriched?

In East of Nowhere we want you, the audience, to also think, feel, and believe as deeply as your subconscious (or conscious) thought will take you. That's what film is about. Story. Life. Struggle. Understanding. Meaning. Being. That's what we are striving so hard for with this film and I truly think it will show in the final product and hope you, the audience, will be able to see that and appreciate it for what it is.