| You are visitor: |
| The Gates of Paradise Part 4 So the situation is simple, you edit the pictures and sound in tandem, and then you cut the music track onto the second soundtrack on the BETA tape before transferring everything on to a VHS for a master copy right? It's a day's work, two at most. Wrong, so very very wrong. The first problem proves to be actually getting access to the damn editing machines. Due to being the most unintelligent and ridiculous wankers on the face of the planet, the DLIADT people had completely screwed up the editing timetable, giving some people 3 or 4 sessions, and giving others none at all, and with evaluation of the films on November 21st (considering there were 18 films and only 2 editing machines), this put time somewhat at a premium. So, as with Admonition, time passes. Stephen managed to get a rough cut of the film ready for the evaluation (see critical reaction) but by the time of the Christmas holidays, the music hadn't been laid down, the film was still over 7 minutes long, and no credits had been recorded. Then, to make matters worse, come January and the return from the Christmas vacation, the editing machines were gone, having been transferred upstairs for use by the third years. So Stephen approached a third year to ask him to help edit the film. He agreed and said he will be in touch in a day or two. After 2 weeks Stephen goes to see him only to find that he has completely forgotten about Stephen's project and somehow managed to loose the BETA tape with the music on it. Cue much panic and the beginnings of the end of Stephen's time in DLIADT (by now he knew not only was everybody there annoying, but they were damn idiotic too). Enter the grand-daddy of dumb, Liam Regan, who promises to return the editing machines to the first years. Needless to say, after many wasted trips all the way from Finglas, this does not happen, and, now with The Verisimilitude of All Literary Endeavours also awaiting editing, a second evaluation passes. Finally, however, one of the machines was returned, and Stephen once again transferred the music to BETA, but another problem awaited. He completed his lockedoff cut of the film and then prepared to layer in the music, but was told by a technician that the BETA machines couldn't use two soundtracks simultaneously. For the love of God HOW DID THESE FUCKING RETARDS MAKE IT PAST ADOLESCENE WITHOUT SETTING THEMSELVES ON FIRE. Neddless to say he was talking through his arse, and after Stephen connected the machines correctly, shit him 9 times and then laid an ancient voodoo curse on the whole God forsaken shit hole, he finally laid the music down and added the credits. Thus, on March 5th, 2001, four months after shooting, The Gates of Paradise was complete. Finished Product: Like Admonition, The Gates of Paradise is not a straightforward film. It is heavily symbolic, quite ellusive, and lacking in any real concrete meaning. However, unlike Admonition, the film does have a linear and chronological narrative, and also tends to rely more heavily on dialogue than did its predecessor. Many of the lessons that were learned during the shooting of Admonition were remembered during the production of The Gates of Paradise, and, as such, The Gates of Paradise is, perhaps, a more satisfying film for an audience. It is certainly easier to follow, and nothing which is narratively important is left to chance (such as the earring were in Admonition). The Gates of Paradise also sticks more closely to the screenplay than Admonition does, which points to an imporved writing skill on Stephen's part when it comes to writing something to actually be shot (many of the written scenes in Admonition would have been almost impossible to shoot given the logistical situation of CherryPie Productions). Both Annie and Andy are superb in their respective roles of Urizen and Phillip, and they bring a lot to the film, and although the castle scene didn't play out as Stephen originally envisioned (due to time constraints), the toilet scene is pretty much exactly as he always imagined it would be, except for the enhancement which the two actors brought, neither of whom needed much direction. There is little else to really say about the film that cannot be seen on the screen or heard in the dialogue. Unlike Admonition, there is nothing really hidden at the periphery of the screen, although that does not negate the possibility of varying interpretations of the film. All in all however, despite the fact that it essentially operates on only one or two levels, it is a film which CherryPie Productions are very proud of, and one which, if not reaching the dizzy heights of Admonition itself, certainly acted as a springboard back to those heights. Critical Reaction: Like the Cartel video, exposure of The Gates of Paradise has been limited, although those who have seen it have commented on it at lenght. Although the finished version was never actually evaluated by DLIADT, the first rough cut was, and it elicited a number of responces. Primary amongst these was praise of the actors (particularly Annie), and an acknowledgement of their personalisations of the roles. Also praised were the ellusive literary references (by a writer), the use of an opening voiceover on a black screen, the editing of the transition from the nightclub to the castle (by an editor), and the camera angles in the nightclub itself. Points criticised were the ellusive literary references (by Liam, who must have had to learn to read to watch the film), the scene when the man tries to get into the toilets (which was attacked for not being clearer), the length of the film (they didn't seem to understand the concept of a rough cut), and the fact that the plot wandered too much once we cut to the courtyard. All in all however, the film was well received. Most of the other students in the class didn't understand it (which Stephen was extremely happy about, although having said that, most of them don't understand Friends), but a few did like it (the end in particular got a good response. Martin French liked it too, although he thought the Urizen reference was too obvious, and a few members of the English department in St Pat's very very taken with it. In the long run, The Gates of Paradise's legacy may be more in terms of what it led to then in waht it actually achieved itself. It reunited Stephen and Andy, and led directly to The Verisimilitude of All Literary Endeavours, but as a stand alone film, it was a return to the thematics of Admonition, and it fits comfortably into the CherryPie manifesto. It is well scripted, well shot, well acted, well edited, and, in the end, it achieved what it set out to achieve, and it achieved it how it intended to achieve it. Just like Admonition, by any CherryPie standards, The Gates of Paradise was a success. on to the gates of paradise page 5 back to products links page back to the gates of paradise page 3 back to home |
|
| Last updated: 12 June 2003 |