Hello all. Put in 12 hours today, and got nearly 40 mins of the film done. My goal from here is to 'officially' aim for ~25 minute segments per day, but as I love to see, the extensive (4 month) preparation, organization and sorting is now paying off as the final editing process is lunging forward unrestrained with the energy of a slingshot. The "Just One More Turn!" syndrome is kicking in, and right now (4:45 AM and I've been up for 17 hours) I can't really figure out up from down, but I do know that what I've put together thus far is unique, compelling and worthy.
My personal estimation of the runtime has only grown, and from where I sit, 3h45m or possibly even 3h50m. I've edited just up to the launch of Mariner 2, having covered a decidedly west-coast centered aeronautical history going back to the NACA cowling.
This film will have five chapters with an average length of around 45 minutes.
Today's progress fills me with incredible optimism regarding the schedule, but where we have been sifting through topsoil, we will soon encounter rocks. I am going to fight like hell to make the 15th, but I just want to prepare you for the remote eventuality that it slips a day or two. Sounds strange, but so far I've just been working through prehistory. Essentially, it's a 40-minute long intro. Quite narrow, with few tracks and simplistic, limited visual material availability. Now we're into the flights, and things are going to proceed with a bit more granularity and grace, since I now have to juggle 4 narrators (myself and 3 featured guests) and a lot more visuals, and a broader emotional spectrum for musical scoring.
To conclude, your space weather forecast is a 75% chance of rain on the 15th, with potential winds and storm fronts blowing in that could delay the precipitation. Expect continued dry conditions until after the weekend, at least.