Post-Production : A blog about post-production on my first feature film by Vital Butinar

Vital Butinar Thanks for sharing! I haven’t had a chance to read the blog yet, but I’m looking forward to checking it out and gaining some insight into your experience handling post-production on your first feature film. It’s always interesting to hear how different filmmakers approach the challenges of bringing a project across the finish line, especially with a first feature.

Cyrus Sales thank you. Well it's the third part of a series of blogs about how I and the people that I was able to get together made a complete feature film in about the span of a year and a half.

I actually loved it, I loved every part, from the development, pre-production (which was the hardest by the way) to production and post-production.

Now more than ever I know that I want to be doing this, the question that I have now is how do I do that.

Vital Butinar It’s really cool hearing how much you enjoyed the entire process. A lot of people only get to experience one part of making a film, so being able to go through development, pre-production, production, and post is a huge experience.

It’s awesome that the process confirmed this is something you want to keep doing. I think that’s a big realization a lot of filmmakers are searching for. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series and learning more about how you pulled everything together. As for the “how do I do this” part, I think that’s where the next chapter begins, continuing to build relationships, keep creating, and figuring out how to get the right people connected to your work. Excited to see what you do next!

Thank you Cyrus Sales. I mean, yeah even though I had to do a lot of stuff myself that I would have happily delegated to someone else, mostly in pre-production, I really do enjoy the process from start to finish. And yeah this is really something I would like to do more off.

I've already done all the stages of this entire process before on smaller projects, the only thing that I haven't done si what comes next and from what I'm finding out it's way more complicated to get into festivals and maybe find some distribution than making the film.

Vital Butinar That's awesome to hear. It sounds like you genuinely enjoy the entire filmmaking process, even with the extra work. I'm curious though, what was it about pre-production that you didn't enjoy? Was it the planning and logistics, or was it more about having to wear so many hats?

And yeah, I've heard the same thing. Getting a film made is a huge accomplishment, but festivals and distribution can be a whole different challenge. Hopefully all the work you've put into this project opens some doors. I'd love to hear how that journey goes.

Cyrus Sales well it's not the entire pre-production process. I actually enjoy the part of making the shot lists and storyboard, breaking down the screenplay. Even if some parts of it are bit time consuming, but figuring the shots and how to shoot something is generally exciting. But the parts I enjoyed the least was having to coordinate everything and then arranging the locations along with everything. Scheduling was a nightmare for me, because I tend to overthink things and it takes a long time, but over the years I've learned that I always have to account for extra time and then things go smoothly.

So yeah probably being overloaded with too many tasks.

Yes festivals seem to be challenging, we've already been rejected by one festival just because they seem to prioritize "independent films" that are film fund funded and because we're a comedy and this year the theme was a slow burning drama. So naturally we didn't make the cut.

Vital Butinar I completely get that. Honestly, it sounds like the creative side of production is where you really shine, and the coordination side is where things start getting a little more challenging when there are too many moving parts.

Funny enough, I tend to thrive in those areas that you mentioned being more difficult. I actually enjoy the organization, planning, and figuring out how to make all the pieces come together. If you ever need an extra hand or someone to help take some of those things off your plate, feel free to reach out. I’ll always do my best to help depending on my workload.

I can definitely relate to the scheduling part though. Even with a solid plan, production always finds a way to throw something unexpected at you. Learning to build in extra time is huge because it gives you room to adjust instead of feeling like everything is falling behind.

And yeah, festivals can be tough. It’s frustrating when a project doesn’t get selected because it doesn’t align with what they’re looking for that year rather than the quality of the film itself. A comedy going up against a festival leaning heavily toward slow-burn dramas is definitely a tough position.

Either way, getting the project finished and putting it out there is still a big accomplishment. The festival process can be unpredictable, but every submission is another opportunity to learn, build connections, and get the work in front of more people.

Hey Cyrus Sales thank you for the words of encouragement and the offer. I might take you up on that some time.

Like I said most of it was fine, but some of it was a bit tedious. Like I said shortlists and schedules, especially schedules can be tedious sometimes. But I always look at things like if I can't do it nobody else will want to. But if I can do it so can someone else.

Yeah of course, we'll find something sooner or later as far as the festivals go.

Vital Butinar Of course, anytime! I completely understand. The behind-the-scenes tasks like schedules and shortlists can definitely get tedious, but they’re also the things that keep everything organized and moving forward.

I like that mindset though, if you can figure it out, someone else can too. I’m sure the right festival opportunity will come along sooner or later. Wishing you the best with it, and feel free to reach out anytime!