Dear friends of Nightwish and Imaginaerum.
Where should I begin. Much has happened since the last update, too much, to write you another one.
Last months have been a battle getting all the required visual effects into the film as they deserve to be made. As I'm writing this update, the people in Montreal are working hard on the visuals. Since we are still in this stage the teaser trailer and trailer edit have had to wait for a while.
As some of you might have seen from Twitter, the film has reached a picture lock. It means, that no more raw editing will be done for the film and all the shots have their final length so that the visual effects team can finalize them. Naturally, it doesn't stop there.
What we have done during the past month has been looking through the film and doing a list of all the adr (additional dialogue recording). In short. Dig out the script, watch the film, see where the lines can be improved or new lines added, mark them down, send them out, close the script, lock the bastard, get the actors to do some new lines, record them, mix and sync them over the old lines in the film and voilà we have the final top quality dialogue for the movie. Sounds mundane, but many of the films have improved greatly because of this procedure.
The soundtrack on Petri Alanko's desk is doing great. After the last edit for the film, there were many things that made the guy literally pull his hair out of his head. I guess it's sync issues mainly. Nevertheless, the band is very impressed of what they've heard so far and remember, there's only going to be a few original songs from Imaginaerum album because the rest will have a more cinematic nature to them. I've asked Petri to write an update specifically to you all who are reading this since I gather, you all are getting fairly bored reading my scribbles only.
As I was visiting Nightwish, Helsinki gig on last saturday with some friends, Including Petri Alanko, I was pretty sure we got some shivering ideas of what you, the Nightwish fans, would like to hear in the film. Anyway, Nightwish was fantastic as always and I really got some kicks getting to see the old friends in the backstage once again. Emotional stuff.
As usual, saving the best for last is the obvious thing to do. The teaser trailer is on my desk at the moment, meaning that the editing for the raw version will begin shortly. This will take some time though, because the visual effects that should be in the teaser are still work in progress, there's the sound mixing and coloring to do for those parts of the film and therefore we cannot predict the date, but it's coming out sooner or later anyway. Hopefully sooner dear friends.
In the meanwhile, have a magical spring time waiting for that winter's last snowflake (wink).
Stobe Harju - The Director, Imaginaerum (Helsinki, Finland 12th March, 2012)
"Dear friends of Nightwish and the Imaginaerum movie.Je suis désolée, mais dans le mois qui suit, je ne pourrai pas traduire la plupart des news :( Aster63 a gentiment traduit le post en français dans les commentaires ;) Un grand merci !
This must be the hardest update I had to write because of my principal "hands on" work is getting less frequent. For that, I feel emptier than ever.
As most of you may know, we finished the director's cut for the film. Everyone involved in the screening sessions were very happy and gave precious feedback that made the director's cut. I can say this now, we are very, very, very happy with the cut. There are many people who deserve our appreciation, they are fellow directors, co-writers, actors and producers. There is still editing required for the visual effects to make us stay in the budget. This phase eventually makes the film and is crucial to the success of the final movie. Again, we are living exciting times .
Now, filmmaking is mostly about letting go. Besides the editing, I had to say farewell to my very good friend and the editor of the film, Mathieu Bélanger, and his fantastic family who joined me in Finland for couple months. The heart and soul Mathieu put into this film cannot be described by words and I'm sure, our paths will cross in the future and in another project.
Now, the film is in the good hands of another friend of mine Joshua Sherrett, his Workshop and the great team of Vision Global in Montreal. Their visual effects and their early concept sketches have blown us away several times already, and finally, they get to show us the meaning of the word "magic". Believe me when I say we've seen some pretty exciting stuff so far.
As my work continues with them it also continues with Petri Alanko and the soundtrack he's producing with Tuomas. It's miraculous how these guys can pull off something completely different but at the same time similar with the Imaginaerum album songs. Well, it must be the 350 tracks per song on the album that give that possibility for the variations. Those crazy bastards.
It's just a matter of time when we have got something new and special to show you. We hope it's quick because we can't wait either.
Meanwhile, the great people working on Imaginaerum would like to thank you all and wish you a magical Christmas and imaginative New Year! May your dreams come true.
Stobe Harju - The Director, Imaginaerum (Helsinki, Finland 18th Dec, 2011)"
"Dear friends of Nightwish and Imaginaerum,
Four years have passed now since the first idea of the film got out and when I thought Nightwish, Tuomas and I were merely crazy dreamers.
As many of you know, we've already shot the film's principal photography, and only in 18 days. I promise you though, the material says different. The shots we got in that short period of time were priceless and there's no way, you could tell we were in a hurry.
I have learned a lot since we first began shooting. Everyone has to understand that most feature films, even with great concepts, never get shot. The team, the production staff, me and most of all the band have battled and bled to get the shootings on the way and the job done. That said, you have to be aware that many battles are still to be fought in the editing room, the visual effects, sound mixing, original score and the distribution of this film. Nothing is clear when it comes to filmmaking. However, with this team: our producers and the post production specialists, it's nearly impossible to fail.
Now, as the editing phase has begun and there's not much more to tell than it is going very well, the scenes look great and that I'm homesick, we're trying to get you as much candy as possible. Here are SOME of the names of our great cast, who all believed into the screenplay and carried out performances I've been never able to witness before.
Francis X. McCarthy, Quinn Lord, Marianne Farley, Joanna Noyes, Ilkka Villi, Keyanna Fielding, Ron Lea, Victoria Jung, Hélène Robitaille, Stefan Demers, Anette Olzon, Marco Hietala, Tuomas Holopainen, Emppu Vuorinen and Jukka Nevalainen.
One battle has gone past with a triumph by the greatest team and crew imaginable. You could think we've been lucky but luck never comes to us without hard work, heart and faith. I my self couldn't thank the fantastic Montreal crew enough and you, the fans of Nightwish, for believing into this project. Keep it up. There are still miles to go. The journey to Imaginaerum continues, and for now, I'd like to say thank you for your support.
Stobe Harju - The Director, Imaginaerum (Montreal, Canada 9th Oct, 2011)
PS: Max, I feel empty as you're not driving me to the studio anymore. Where are the morning conversations and the strong cheap cigarettes?"
"Dear friends of Nightwish and Imaginaerum.
Two weeks have passed since the first day of shooting. It has been a triumph so far. Even as the band sat down to look at some raw pre edited scenes, their faces couldn't lie. They were very happy with what they saw.
Many of you must be dying for information and images from the set. We can't pour all that out since we really believe that some of the reveals would spoil the show. However, if you've read the previous update you know some of the character names already, which of at least Tom and Ann sound familiar to a many. And they should sound familiar.
As I started to write Imaginaerum screenplay, I planted one single parameter above everything else: This is a Nightwish film, no matter how fictional story about the band it would be. I didn't just wanted to use the band's name but also, to come up with character names resembling Nightwish members' names. The band in Imaginaerum became Ann, Tom, Marcus, Emil and Jack. I know, not very clever when it comes to molding names. Yet, I wanted the audience to feel the presence of Nightwish and to me the convergence had to be clear. I had endless battles trying to convince people that using names similar to Anette, Tuomas, Marco, Emppu and Jukka was a perfect bridge between Nightwish in reality and Nightwish in a fantasy world. The band didn't agree with me originally. It became my decision and my responsibility I am proud of. That said, if someone ever thinks this might be an ego thing for the band, think again. It's my decision completely, and that's how I intend to keep it.
These first two weeks have been a blast. So many great people have bled together with us pouring their fantastic creativity into the project. We have a fantastic art director and her team. Our director of photography couldn't be more dedicated to his line of work or his visuality. Our make-up and wardrobe departments have made magic in a short period of time. And the cast... wow! The whole crew is filled with professionals I could've only dreamt of when starting the project. And, our producers are the kind who really understand the drama, art and the story while keeping our budget safe and sound. I must be the luckiest director in the world. What more can I say.
What strikes me the most, is the fact that this project is not only titled as "the trip to one's imagination", but it is exactly that on every aspect of the game with all the beloved people involved.
Yours truly.
Stobe Harju, The Director - Imaginaerum
PS: "Wandering after far off music through a desert of ashes. If the tune had a color, it would be a mixture of pink and red. Constantly afraid of it fading away, terrified of the silence that may come.""
"It was four years ago. We had just shot Nightwish’s music video, ‘The Islander’, in Rovaniemi, Finland. As we sat down afterwards with Tuomas Holopainen, we pondered over the idea of having a music video for each of the songs on their next album. Back then it was the distant dream of two ambitious people.
One year later Tuomas called me and said: “This is it: would you be willing to come over and talk about our next project together?” The next few months were full of excitement, writing treatments for twelve clips, thinking how hard it would be to make all this happen.
At one stage I lost track of time as I was writing a story about a young boy, growing old in his own dream. It was in fact a fictional story about Nightwish, but above all about Tuomas himself, a forever-young genius, who loved life but also every single person around him. As we got inside each other’s minds, we knew that music videos weren’t enough for what we wanted to say to the world. We wanted something more.
Our love for life, our families, our memories, music, waking up to new wonders each day and love for the best tool available to us human beings, our imagination, became the cornerstones of the story. It had to be about the mixture of our lives and our worst fears of growing old. As we wanted to emphasize all these things, we found there was only one way to convey the story.
Imaginaerum tells the story of an elderly composer, Tom, who suffers from severe dementia. As he has had the disease for years and has regressed into childhood, he remembers practically nothing from his adult life. His music, friends, all his past including the memory of his daughter are a blur in his fragile mind. All he has left is the imagination of a ten year old boy. As he drifts away into coma, it seems impossible to get back what he has lost. Or is it?
The film is a journey between two different dimensions. Tom travels through his imaginary world seeking answers and finding memories, while his daughter, Gem, tries to recover the bond she had once shared with her father in the real world. As they have become more and more distant from each other over the years, and as there’s even greater obstacles separating them now – Tom’s coma and his imminent death – Gem’s project feels doomed to failure. However, through Tom’s darkest secrets, Gem discovers the path she must follow in order to find her father again.
There are some questions we must ask ourselves before entering the world of Imaginaerum. What is most important in life? Can the power of memories protect us during our last moments? Will our imagination help us find the spark of life in the deepest darkness? Can we still find love after bitter forgiveness?
Imaginaerum is an emotional fantasy-adventure powered by the music of Nightwish. The story reminds us of our childhood where the smallest but most precious thing meant everything and losing it would have left an everlasting scar. Now it’s time to reopen the wound and see what became of it, but above all, where it came from.
- Stobe Harju, Director"
