Since February…

Alright, I’ve been pretty bad. It’s been over a month since my last post. But I promise it’s because I’ve been super busy with classes, TAing, and interning. Not to mention the fact that I am editing the film together. Mostly it was logging. Always logging. And converting all the files to make it easier to edit them together.

But most recently, it’s been the editing. This past week our cohort (AKA my class) presented our rough cuts. I have to say I am very grateful for their help after they viewed mine. I have so much footage that I needed help to eliminate pieces.

Also, including working on the latest cut, I am in the midst of running a Kickstarter campaign (which you should all check out and back) to help with production and post-production costs (mostly post-production). For those who may not know what is part of post-production, it includes composing music, editing, sound mixing, promoting the film, hard drives (because if the one with all your footage fails and you don’t have it backed up you essentially lost your film and have to start over), and creating copies of the final product (DVD/Blurays/etc.).

Anyway, a little bit about the Kickstarter – as of this moment that I am writing this post, it is 33% funded! And I am eternally grateful to all those who have already taken the time to back the project – it is a bit nerve racking because if the goal is not met, then I do not receive ANY funding. That in turn makes it difficult to be able to pay for a composer (and I am happy to pay for one because I am not musically inclined) and pay off the expenses incurred from filming (food, hard drives, etc.). Basically, I want to make this film the best that it can be because let’s be honest – this film will be my resume piece.

A Little Background On “Liminal”

I still feel as though I haven’t posted or explained enough on what “Liminal” (formerly known as “Legend”) is about. It certainly has evolved a lot since when I first started working on the project.

The film still has folklore and its influence at the core of the film. Originally the film was supposed to look at how folklore and myth influenced not only wildlife but specific sites as well. But unfortunately due to some complications with gaining permits (which I can honestly create an entire post on, but I do not want to cause any problems) I had to ditch that aspect. Maybe some day in the future though…I really think there should be a film on some of the amazing archaeological sites that exist in Ireland – like Loughcrew, Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth, Skellig Michael, Carrowkeel, the Hill of Tara, etc., etc.,. After looking at how folklore and myth helped the preservation of sites, the film was to then move into how folklore and myth influenced human interactions with wildlife and if using folklore can help conservation efforts by introducing people to wildlife. This is not an entirely new concept, but may be more for a Western audience(or more specifically people with a European-background).

The film now has the major focus on seals in Ireland. Seals too were part of the original concept of the film, but are now a major aspect of the film. When researching for the film, I was trying to find either a natural feature or critter that played a huge aspect in folklore or conservation. Then I found an article posted by a friend on Facebook of Cartoon Saloon’s latest film Song of the Sea and its director’s (Tom Moore) inspiration of the film.  Here’s the original article by Bill Desowitz if you care to read.

Essentially as a short summary, Moore tells a story from when he was a kid on a family trip to the coast. He and his family found a dead seal and asked the owner of the cottage they were renting about it to which she told them that the fishermen killed the seals due to competition for fish. She then went on that people long ago would never injure a seal due to stories and folklore surrounding seals.

More research led me to find groups dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating seals such as the Irish Seal Sanctuary (ISS) and Seal Rescue Ireland.

Anyway despite the changes, “Liminal” still looks at folklore, talking about the importance and the role that folklore plays. From there, viewers will learn about folklore surrounding seals and biological information on seals found around Ireland (the grey and the common seal). Viewers meet our very gracious interviewees such as Dr. Kelli Malone, Bairbre Ni Fhloinn and Brendan Price of the Irish Seal Sanctuary with additional footage from the great people at Seal Rescue Ireland. I hope the film not only can teach people about folklore (particularly that of seals) and how it functions, but also about seals and how folklore can help reconnect people to the natural world.

Seal Specks

Beach the Seal

Liz Wilk

Author Liz Wilk

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