In an act of faith heir to budgetary restrictions, dailies were unable to be viewed during shooting. For all anyone knew, everything that had been shot could have been out of focus or exposed improperly. It is a testament to cinematographer David Wexler and good planning that all the footage not only turned out all right, but also looks miles above and beyond what the limited budget of The Wind allowed. It is a good thing Wexler is so talented since the budget for any re-shoots is, and shall forever remain, zero.

From that footage, Taylor Warren, under the supervision of Michael Mongillo, edited the first preview cut. Almost everything that was scripted and shot, regardless of Mongillo's assessment of its effectiveness, was placed into the first preview cut. Without all the sound design in place and using temporary music, several test screenings were arranged. The test screenings were a success with audiences. Both constructive and destructive criticisms were given. The filmmakers took all of these, written and verbal, into consideration accordingly.

Thankfully, most of the laughs came when expected and most of the moments of tension and revelation could be seen clearly on the viewing audience’s collective face. "I had a good idea of what worked and what didn't work," said Mongillo, "but I wanted an audience to confirm things for me. There's a fine line between staying true to your vision and being responsible to your audience."

Several scenes, including a heart-to-heart between Mic and his Mom about his late father, were considered too talky and not helpful to propelling the story ahead and were eliminated. The final cut, with the elimination of some scenes and the rearrangement others, is fifteen minutes shorter than the preview cut.

According to Mongillo, the scenes deleted from the preview to the final cut will never be seen again. Mongillo insists that any scenes that did not make it to the final cut, since deemed inappropriate for whatever reason, should never be seen by anyone. Of course, the DVD hasn't come out yet, so time and popular demand will tell.

Throughout post-production, Mongillo worked diligently not only on the film, but on the continuing requirement to raise more money to finish each step of the film along the way. More often than not, Mongillo used his own funds, as he was able to save them to get to the next step.

With the editor, Warren, working for deferred payment, a lot of time went by between editing sessions because he too had to take editing and sound design jobs to pay the bills. While the progress was slow and, because of conflicting schedules between Warren and Mongillo, sometimes frustrating, the nearly finished product was showing all the touches of a work of art given great care and consideration. If anything can be said about The Wind it is that it was not slapped together haphazardly.

The final and, in many ways, most important piece of the puzzle was the original musical score for The Wind. For this Mongillo literally traveled the Earth to find the talents of Johnny Lee Michaels. A mutual friend in Los Angeles introduced Mongillo to Michaels' music, then to the man himself. "It was a bit intimidating," Mongillo confessed. "Besides his incredible talent, Johnny is a big star in his native country of Finland." Mongillo was overjoyed when Michaels, a former pop sensation turned well-known producer and composer, agreed to score The Wind.

With the exception of spending one week in Helsinki, Mongillo was only able to collaborate with Michaels on The Wind score by telephone. But that brief collaboration and Michaels' giant talent has borne great fruit. "Everyone who has seen both the original cut and the final cut agrees, Johnny's music adds a new dimension to the film that brings the visual and emotional experience to a whole new level," said Mongillo. "I can't say enough good things about Johnny Lee Michaels or his contribution to The Wind."

After almost four years from its inception in a dream, to an idea on a scrape of paper, to a script, to a fight for money, to a battle with the whims of elements and equipment and humans, to the final brief forming of a family for one goal, to one man’s determined struggle for that same goal, The Wind has at last come to the screen.

And the dream continues. Ta-daa!

 

 

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