Monday 15 January: the edit begins
On this day, I begin editing the dance film together with video and film editor Richelle van Loon. By this point, I have already made a first selection from all the footage we shot a week and a half earlier. A challenging task, since the various takes need to be matched as seamlessly as possible, both in terms of context and feel, and literally frame by frame. Achieving the particularly hushed, focused atmosphere I'm looking for, one that unfolds out of what is practically a single movement, turns out to be a demanding task.
The green strip that lead character Desta Deekman's feet stand on is the beginning of the letter "J". This belongs to the first word 'Journaal' [Log], taken from the logbook/ship's log of this very first slave voyage of the ship Hof van Zeeland. At a later stage, VFX artist Ömür Sönmez processes the chroma key paint and makes the text an exact visual copy of the original.
Monday 26 February
On this day, the color grading of the film begins with Erik Wiedenhof.
Thursday 29 February
Due to Erik's holiday, cinematographer Reinier van Brummelen takes over the color grading from this point on. Reinier is considered a heavyweight in the Dutch film world and will ultimately play an important role in the entire post-production of the dance film Armazoen.
Working with Reinier turns out to be a particularly good and remarkable learning experience for me! In a short time, he teaches me an enormous amount about all sorts of ins and outs of filmmaking, and shows me so much about how to watch and experience film.
Friday 1 March: audio post-production
From this point on, sound designer Franco van der Linde joins the making of the film. For this, he stays in contact with Victor Gama, the Angolan composer who created a composition for the dance film.