I am very excited. A long-held dream of mine, to make a certain book of mine into an animated Christmas TV special for family viewing, is finally coming true.
The animator requested a brief snippet of dialogue to be read by the actors and recorded, before he began any actual animation work, and this past Saturday I assembled the relevant cast members (not all the actors were involved in the snippet) for the recording. Since this was just a rough run-through we did the recording in my house, on my Mac, and not in a professional studio.
One part had not yet been cast, so I read that role. It took us five takes to get it right. I then contacted the studio where we were supposed to be doing the “real” recording—only to be told they were booked up and could not accommodate us. The owner recommended another studio, but they were pricey. I finally made suitable arrangements elsewhere. We record in two and a half weeks!
We finally have all the roles cast; the recording date is set; but the composer has yet to set the lyrics of one of the songs to music or provide an arrangement for another that is to my liking. He also will have to write background music. And of course the animation itself has yet to be accomplished.
I seriously question if we can get the movie finished in time to air for the Christmas ’19 season. We may have to hold it over for Christmas ’20. But it is the fruition of a dream I have held ever since this particular book was published four years ago.
Isn’t it wonderful when dreams come true!