Sometimes post production on a feature project can take eons until you reach the finish line (is there really ever a finish line in post?!), and sometimes post production is whipped into a hyper-speed frenzy in order to deliver a print to screen at a film festival. The last couple weeks have been a nail-biter with an indie feature I’m post supervising, because we’ve had the good fortune to be invited to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next week. With a total of only 12 weeks from the last day of production until the DCP gets on a plane to France, Max Rose may have surely set a record for the quickest post cycle I’ve ever worked on!

Max Rose, starring Jerry Lewis, Kerry Bishe and Kevin Pollak, is the story of an 87-year old jazz pianist who makes an awkward discovery after the death of his beloved wife that forces him to examine his past in order to make sense of their life-long relationship. Shot by cinematographer, Christopher Blauvelt, edited by Richard and Colleen Halsey, and directed by first time director, Daniel Noah, Max Rose touches human emotions at the very core, dealing both with dying and with living, imbued with charm, humor and a realness that reminds us to cherish the moments we have with the people we love and, then, to let them go.

Shot on the ALEXA in 28 days, cut in Final Cut Pro over the course of 14 weeks, mixed at Monkeyland Audio in 5 days and color corrected at Cinelicious in 40 hours, it took many small miracles to finish the film in time for the festival. (In fact, we are still dropping in elements to the conform, DCP to come in a couple days!) In a situation like this, it’s key to have excellent communication between the team through the post process. It’s my job to facilitate between all parties and to make sure people are on top of their deadlines. As with any film, it’s important to be prepared for the unexpected in post – technical glitches, typos in the end crawl, and last minute changes that come from the producers, and just know that mostly anything can be fixed with some extra time and some extra money. Fortunately, we are just about done with Max Rose, and I predict the film is going to be a winner. If you are heading to Cannes, Max Rose will be screening on Thursday, May 23.