Salvation, Texas is finished, as of last Friday the 6th! Yes, FINALLY, I can say picture and sound are done. It will be 'in the can,' e.g. mastered, within the week. I'm dying for you all to see it.

A small preview screening for cast and crew should happen within the next few weeks at USC. I will mass e-mail and post on this blog.

Also, check out the one-sheet/DVD cover I've been waiting to premiere with the completion of the film (it's the profile pic now). I will also post the final, FINAL trailer from the color-corrected finished picture soon.

Can't wait to see everyone again on the other side...

-Mark

Quick Update: The film is 98% done. Jason and I made several passes on the color correction - I'm very, very happy with it. So the picture is completely done, and one small sound snag is all we have left to fix, and then getting the two pieces to a post house to output.

The philosophy has been no compromises in every step of the process, and as a result we have the best film we could possibly have. I'm very proud of the film in every way, and I'm DYING to be done - and more importantly to screen it for you guys!

The amount of work and overcoming problems in the post world is a long, weary battle fought by very few, seen by no one, by a stalwart group of soldiers who want no praise or credit - which they deserve. So let's sing the praises of John, my staunch sound designer, and Dan who worked his ass off while doing 3 other projects to complete the score in an amazingly short amount of time.

True, the suffering has been great (as many problems as we had during production, we've had our fair share in post, maybe more...), but we've all taken it in the spirit of suffering for your art. And for me it's been unequivocally worth it.

A screening will be VERY soon - sometime in July. Hold onto your horses (or should I say taxis?!).

Would love to hear from all of you. Message me or post a comment on the main page!

Mark

Hey, everyone!

There have undoubtedly been rumors or conjectures such as: did they forgot about the film? Does it suck and they're afraid to release it? Were they kidnapped and forced at gun point to push back the release (this one's true..I swear :)!)? Did they run for the border to avoid student loan debt? Happily, none of these are true, and your film and director are both fine.

First off, check out the new semi-official trailer - the main difference is that it incorporates a piece from the FINAL SCORE for the film! So crank the volume and enjoy. Our guitarist/composer composer, Dan Raziel, did a fantastic job. I couldn't be happier - the quality and variety of the score delivered in unexpected and beautiful ways.

You'll also see a quick title card of the primary positions at the end of the new trailer.

Rate the trailer and post comments, send it to your friends, etc!!!

Also, we're on Google Video - just search for the words "salvation" and "texas" and you'll spot it. Pretty soon I'll throw it up on You Tube.

So the score and sound design are complete and the film is half-mixed. John has done a great job with the sound design and as you'll hear in the trailer, Dan's score fits the film perfectly. Sound will be completed in about a week, with the whole shebang completed in about 3-4 weeks (conforming, color-correcting, mastering).

Bottom line: we've got a mid to late June finish date. A little later than planned, about a month off, but I guess that's film making. Even for those who have seen rough cuts or clips of the film, you'll be surprised. It's vastly stronger, different, and deeper in interesting ways.

I have been very lucky to have so many talented individuals putting their creativity and heart into the film. The actors and crew gave all they had and then some, and it absolutely shows. I think you'll find the final product worth the wait. I have to thank all of you again. I cannot wait to get this bad boy done and out there - a film is made to be seen.

Also look for some other visual updates to the site soon, so check back within the next week or so. You'll like what I put up, I promise :).

Drop me a line if I haven't heard from you - hope you're happy and having fun.

- Mark

That's right folks - as of 12/12, this past Tuesday - we have officially finished locked picture on Salvation, Texas! Meaning picture editing is finished, there will be no changes to running time (it's a slice under 16 min), and the post phase of the film is half over. Now I can breathe for the first time since March!

I'm passing the baton with great confidence to our talented sound maestro, Johnny Fuentes. He's so into the final cut that he's voluntarily starting work right away over the holiday break.

Then there's the other piece of the puzzle that some of you have already been helping me with: finding a great composer and guitarist. I'm thinking I want one of each: a composer for the greater scheme of the movie and the expertise of a great guitar player (one with blues, country, and slide guitar roots would be ideal). If you know of anyone, send them my way: I'm going to conduct interviews starting in January.

I've also been working on some surprise Salvation goodies, including a behind the scenes documentary that's almost complete and a collection of set photos - plus one or two more surprises coming early next year.  I might not finish them by Christmas, so call them belated gifts. 

Estimated completion time for the entire film is tentatively next March/April, with a showing of the film on the big screen to follow in April or May.  And of course submitting to a ton of film festivals. 

Have a great, merry, Salvation, Texas holiday and be sure to drop me a line and let me know how you're doing! 

- Mark

Two poster designs have been added to the PICS section in the PROFILE area: what I call the 'Actors Poster' is the new Profile Pic, and the 'White Poster' is an official 'movie' poster with the tagline and the names of the primary cast and crew.

I have to still update the original poster with the appropriate cast and crew, but one of these two new posters (maybe both alternately) will be eventually printed and posted at festivals and the like. Hope you enjoy! Comments welcome!

P.S. - Keep doing what you're doing - telling people about the film's page, the trailer, etc. New friends are always welcome! It's very appreciated and will pay dividends when more people eventually see the movie. Take care, hope all is well.  Editing is going well - getting closer all the time to the final version.  

- Mark

To follow Dickens (because why not?), it was heaven and hell, the agony and the esctasy: the best of times and the worst of times. This was probably the toughest film most of us have ever been on - and we've been on a few. Yes, I'm talking about my thesis film, Salvation, TX and the 8 days we spent in the high desert in the middle of summer: officially 7/19-7/28 (with a "day off"). God knows we were crazy, ambitious, excited, driven - or at least I was - and the rest of my impeccable cast and crew followed the caravan (one day literally) into the high desert, braving biblical plagues, all for some words on a page, a blueprint of things to hopefully come, because I said: "let's go make this thing that I think will be a pretty worthwile experience."

When I speak of difficulties, probably 75% of them were Acts of God. Speaking of biblical, we officially had: brush fires, a grip truck interred in the sand, torrential thunderstorms (yes, in the desert), a transformer exploding not 30 yards in front of us, severed power lines at the motel we drove around to get to set, people getting lost in the middle of nowhere, or stranded with car problems, and an extremely scary and sad murder that occurred the day after we left our high desert location (someone with 2 DVX's and some sound equipment, ostensibly another filmmaker, was found murdered near the intersection of our high desert location, 200th and J the day after we left, far from his truck).

The desert does strange things to you, and it was an awe-inspiring, bizarre, surreal, insane time that I think everyone strangely cherishes. I don't think it would've meant as much if we didn't have so much to struggle against. And I don't think it hurt us - in fact in many cases it helped us. (We did have good food though, hah!)

The best part of that day was the cast and crew reaction after we passed over half of the above in one evening on our caravan to set, making up probably the hardest two to three days of my life (physically at least) - and I nearly expected a cast and crew mutiny. Instead, my cast and crew became MORE dedicated to the film - and THAT is what personifies this film for me. The fates, God, Mother Nature - whoever you want to claim responsible - threw everything at us and it only fueled the creation of the film. And trust me: it shows in the footage, especially in the most intense moments in the film. You can feel the locations - and the emotions that fueled the wonderful perfomances. Let me also add that no one on the crew bitched, complained, or whined about any of this. Well maybe the director, but we won't discuss him :P...

And why did we make this film? For the hell of it, because we like to make films, because we believe in what we're doing, because we're learning, because some sick part of us loves the horror that production (and filmmaking) can be - because we had to. Or I had to, and you people most likely reading were kind enough, talented enough, and/or crazy enough to come with and trust in me.

As I'm writing this free-form tribute (it's 12:21 on 9/19), we're currently in the relatively comfortable (at least air-conditioned) world of post production. The rough cut is getting closer and then we'll really begin to shape and make the film what it will be. I've worked on enough films to know that we have something. Once Nic (our editor) and John (our sound maestro) finish their respective stages, and we get a great composer in there, you will be pleasantly surprised by what the film will ultimately become.

It's hard to comment on one's work, especially as a perfectionist - you always wish you could redo this or that better or differently - but I can say one thing - the work was superb from everyone. Any fault in the film will be solely in my hands - which is an exceptional thing to say - the best thing a director can say after a production.

Salvation, TX was the most amazing creative experience I've ever had - and one of the most significant steps in my film career. And it sounds cliche, but the experience alone, fighting against the elements, against the problems of a scene or a line, or finding the right action, or getting the camera move down - the collaboration with all of you changed me as a director - and as a person. I grew in every way on this film, artistically and personally - and best of all I did it with many of my best friends - and over a dozen new ones. We shared in this thing we did called Salvation, TX and hopefully we're all the richer for it - I know I am. I'm proud to have had every single one of you on my cast and crew. I love all of you guys and I can't wait til you see what we all created out there.

Check out the teaser trailer and the production photos!

-Mark