Definition – Picture Lock. This is when the editor and director of a movie have decided that the movie is visually done. No more editing. Once picture lock is declared, you hand off the production to the finishing folks for things like: musical scoring, color correction, and mastering.
Phew…I can finally say those words and it’s official. WE HAVE PICTURE LOCK!
Eight months ago when I really began editing in earnest, I never thought I’d ever reach this point. Editing can be overwhelming at times. You keep going over and over the cut and you keep digging into the footage in search of that little nugget of gold you’re sure is in there, the one that will make the whole film hang together.
You change your mind a lot, you go round in circles, you get lost a lot, and then eventually you find your way.
In the last few weeks since we made the announcement that the film will be releasing in October, I’ve been scrambling to get it to picture lock. Mostly, so I can get it off to our colorist.
No, I’m not dying my hair, the colorist is the guy that’s going to make it all look awesome! The film was shot over 3 years in 6 states and with multiple different cameras, so the colorist’s job is go through it shot by shot and balance all the lighting and color so that it looks as good as it can. It’s an important job and one that I particularly love because (a) I don’t have to do the work and (b) I can’t keep changing my mind and tweaking things. Once we have picture lock I can’t make any more changes.
So that’s it for me, at least as far as the editing goes. There are still the thousand and one things that need to be done to get the film out in the world but now that I can finally put the intense focus of editing aside, I can put my full attention towards those things.
October is right around the corner!
Jeremy
Good afternoon,
I am very interested in the viewing the film. Do you know where it will be released yet? I am located in Tampa Bay (FL) area. If it will not be in my location, will there be a way to view it online? Thanks for your help!
Sincerely,
Katie
Hi Katie, we’re going to try and screen it in as many locations as we can manage. At some point it will also be available on DVD.
I hope this impact will be the homeschool equivalent of “Waiting for Superman”. A homeschool friend mentioned your film, which is exciting, however, I’m hoping it paves the way for a positive path for my homeschooled pre-schooler. I’m just nervous that more laws will be passed to restrict my rights especially if this film goes beyond Sundance. There are already too many laws, including mandatory vaccination!