After my post a few days ago about the future of 50 Kisses, and after much consultation, deliberation and thinking, we have some announcements to make.

Many of you contributed to the blog post – and we were blown away by the passion, commitment to excellence and amazing ideas. We have already taken many of these and actioned them. So thank YOU!

Also, your overwhelming support has been for ‘Door Number 2’.

So here is our plan

• We will make a movie that is around 100 minutes, hopefully shorter.
• We will feature in full, around 25 to 30 of the films.
• Of those 25 to 30 films will most will need to be trimmed as we feel they are still a little long.
• We may intercut some films (one that are suited) so that we can jump between scenes to create a more cohesive viewing experience.
• We will re-grade and re sound mix most of these films in a professional environment.
• We may even re-score some with composers, but that will be an initiative that is done in consultation with the filmmakers.
• Dates and deadlines will be announced soon so you can make plans for premieres and awards.

Now the other films.

• We intend to open and close the film with sequences that put 50 Kisses into context, to frame the movie as it were.
• The first section will be the ‘mashup’ with maybe a voiceover or actor explaining the process and showing clips from every film submitted.
• The end section will be a sexed up animated titles sequence where everyone gets a credit.
• To be clear, when we say ‘mashup’, we don’t mean this in some crazy Lady GaGa v Nirvana on YouTube sort of way, we mean an edit that features the best work for each film and contextualises the project, the scale, the process and the writers and filmmakers.

Essentially we will end up with a film that in the first few minutes sets the scene for the 50 Kisses project, then plays the very best of the submitted films (with audio and picture sweetened), and ending in a celebration of the filmmakers and everyone involved

To be clear, our ambition is that this movie will be world class and gain tons of media coverage – we and the whole world to know about the film, the writers and the filmmakers

We are all very close to 50 Kisses and I think we can’t quite see just how special this project has become. I believe we have something really extraordinary here, something much more resonant and fascinating than I think we realise just yet.

It’s time to stop seeing 50 Kisses as a series of separate parts and see it is a two hour single experience.

And I need for you to trust us.

There is a huge amount of talent and experience in our 50 Kisses editorial team, – with Simon Reglar (who comes of the finale of Merlin as editor – screened on Xmas eve) heading up a team of four experienced editors and assistants. You can be sure that we will make the very best of the material we have.

Most importantly, we have not yet begun the actual work, we have just strong ideas in which direction to go. Once we start cutting films together, playing with structure, finding contrast, I am sure we will discover loads more about the process and the film.

And we are also going to keep coming back to you for help and support too. With literally hundreds, if not thousands of people with an interest in the success of 50 Kisses, we have a small army. It will take that whole army to mobilise and take action if we are to succeed in getting 50 Kisses as far and wide as we all hope. We are not asking you to do a lot, just a little here and there – as the Chinese proverb says, many hands make light work.

Right… much work is afoot!

Chris Jones
www.50KissesFilm.com

PS – Have you written a blog about 50 Kisses yet? Or could you write another about your editing experience, what you learned? Please do and send to chris@londonSWF.com with a picture

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