SXSW 2012: The Evolution of a Film

One of the most rewarding experiences I've had during my tenure at the Austin Film Society is getting to serve as a projectionist for various filmmakers screening their work in our onsite screening room. Getting to see the products of Austin's film community in various stages, from very rough first edits to versions that are locked in as a final cut, is entertaining, educational and a sobering reminder that once you've actually shot everything, the real hard work begins.

I first screened a cut of Andrew Garrison's documentary Trash Dance in early 2011. The film, which had its gala premiere on Saturday afternoon at the Paramount Theatre, focuses on the work of Allison Orr, a dance choreographer who embarks on an unusual project: organizing a dance performance with City of Austin sanitation workers. In the interest of full disclosure, my first reaction upon hearing this premise was very similar to that of most of the sanitation workers when they are first informed of Allison's offbeat idea: doubt and a lot of eye rolling. How very wrong I turned out to be.

While the movie ultimately leads up to the performance at the end (which was shot on a rainy night at the Austin Studios lot in August 2010), it doesn't allow itself to fall in to the cliches one might expect from a film like this. The brilliance of the documentary is how much it focuses on the lives of the various sanitation workers. These are some of the more overlooked and under appreciated people in our world, as they themselves often point out. But they do this without bitterness or cynicism; at no point do any of them seem ashamed of their position in life. When Allison rides along with them on their routes during the first act of the film, she very quickly learns how demanding the work is. Outside of the long hours and physically demanding labor, nearly all of the workers the film focuses on hold other jobs; a reminder of our current economic climate. And as one man points out, he has another full time job: raising his kindergarten aged daughter as a single father.

Aside from just how fantastic the final version of Trash Dance turned out to be (the long standing ovation from the packed Paramount crowd at the film's conclusion was more than earned) for me the most fascinating part was to see it as the final step in the evolution of the film. Over the last year, I believe that I screened Trash Dance for Garrison, Allison, and audiences three times. I won't reveal the differences I noted from version to version (some great, others minor) so as not to take anything away from the final cut. But everything that they did worked, as the film turned out to be equal parts enlightening, humorous, and heartwarming.

Getting the privilege of seeing the work change and improve from version to version is almost like a free post-film school education course in editing. From the actual filming in the summer of 2010, to nearly two years of editing and revamping, leading up to the premiere (which saw most of the film's featured cast getting the star treatment of walking a red carpet and getting their moment in the sun on stage before a thrilled crowd) it was living proof of just how much hard work goes into a film. And just how rewarding it can turn out to be.

Reid Lansford is a Stage Manager at the Austin Film Society.