This past Easter, I called my grandma to wish her a Happy Easter and to just catch up. …I found that I had a hard time keeping up with the outside world while directing “Volcano Girl.”…sorry grandma.

My sister and I took our grandma to Wilmington, NC a few summers ago because she had never been to the ocean. We decided not to go to the Redneck Wedding that evening, instead we went to the beach!

My grandmother lives in NC, and she lives the life of most grandmothers. Sewing, cooking and enjoying happy hours. Oh wait… yeah… only my grandmother makes sure she has enough vodka for an afternoon martini. Love her!

We saw this fountain and grandma immediately said it looked like a martini glass. Does it look like she’s holding it?

“Sound Hand Off” for Volcano Girl

Anywho, so I called her this past Easter to catch up. It just so happened that Easter was around the time when we had “sound hand-off” of “Volcano Girl.” This means that we have officially picture locked our film (no more editing allowed on picture), and it’s now the sound people’s turn to edit.

This is a set rule at USC – that picture must remain locked – but this is not the case in the industry. Many films allow their picture editors to edit even after the sound people have worked many hours. Now that the picture has changed, the sound must be completely shifted or changed – meaning: hours more of work. I saw a Star Trek panel where they discuss this very thing. I talk about my experience at that event here.

My Plans for Easter

So as I told my grandmother my plans for Easter, she started to get worried. What were my plans, you ask? Well, I had lunch with friends. That was awesome. But then I had to rush off to meet with my sound people (or “soundies“) to discuss creative choices for the sound design. This meeting would most likely take a few hours because I wanted to hear all of their ideas. Then, after that meeting, I had to find a place with good speakers to continue listening to music that my composers had sent me Easter morning. One of my composers was in England so I needed him to have my notes by the time he woke up in the morning. He and my other composer were working whenever they had free time from their paying gigs, so I had to make sure they had my notes in a timely fashion.

This is not an ideal Easter to my dear grandma.

She asked, “Ashley, are you happy?”

Me, “huh, grandma?”

“Are you happy?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re so busy all of the time. Are you really happy?”

“Grandma, I can’t think of a cooler way to spend Easter than with my soundies and listening to music composed just for my film. There’s nothing else I would rather be doing.”

“Oh”

“Well, it comes second to your ham and mashed potato dinners…and Pineapple Martini’s.”

“(laughs) That’s more like it!”

…love you grandma šŸ™‚

On the dock in Wilmington, NC. Angie, my sister, took this photo. Brilliant.