With steeled resolves and interning attitudes, the film crew moved on and left the rich mansion.
Alexander never got to know the owner, so he just left that thought at the back of his mind.
By this time summer vacation was over and Alexander's schooling meant that everyone had their well-deserved breaks.
As much as Sullivan wanted to finish all five in one go, the pressure from producing 3 films was something to consider.
Buzz and the McAllister siblings had a much greater screen time in the 4th and 5th movies, so having them take school first was a necessity.
When their load would ease, asking for a leave would be much more acceptable for the relevant authorities.
Also, from the directing experience accumulated by Sullivan and the much more efficient crew, finishing the films within a weekly schedule wouldn't be too problematic.
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As such, Alexander was back in the education quarters as a middle schooler.
Meeting new and old people was the norm and the adult-souled Alexander was quick to adapt and fit in.
It was a good thing that the growth spurt of the summer came in time along with the exercise. Fitting in with an 8-year-old physique with a lot of 12-year-olds would be a nightmare.
Alexander remembered his occasional run-ins with troublemakers as a brooding youngling and it was not pleasant.
Boyfriends and girlfriends are also the rages of these years. With a handsome face and a much fitter body, he would probably score much greater than before.
Kissing and dating would probably help with the accumulated stress from filming.
"Thinking of filming, doesn't middle school remind me much of Greg Heffley." Eventually, he vetoed the idea as Home Alone was already straining him. Adding Diary of a Wimpy Kid into the mix won't help much.
When Alexander was muddling through the first semester, Sullivan was not idle and dove into post-production.
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At every end of school, Alexander did not head to school with the school bus but towards his grandfather's shop.
It was just a couple of blocks from school and he would be able to complete the production trilogy.
From pre-production to production, now he was exposed to the final one.
Post-Production is the stage after production when the filming is wrapped and the editing of the visual and audio materials begins. Post-Production refers to all of the tasks associated with cutting raw footage, assembling that footage, adding music, dubbing, and sound effects, just to name a few.
Most of the extras dubbing had already been done by the assistant directors. Main actors who were too busy with filming like Miss and Alexander had to record later than them.
It helped that Sullivan's shop had all the post-production capabilities to cope with the need. This effectively reduced the cost with them not having to rent the bloated prices of the major studios.
The editing room here must have been the splicing room of a lot of naked men and women in bed. Its maintenance revenue was mostly held together by ero makers.
When Alexander saw the editing equipment, he can surmise why the editors of this time had to wear glasses and have hunchbacks.
Always looking down and having to use a microscope would do things to the body.
The labeling and scene numbering during production finally made sense.
He vowed to never play with editing until the computer and digital camera age would have its beginnings.
The music composition and accompaniment were another production expenditure.
As experts in leftover usage, local musicians were the go-to guys. They were talented and original but mostly cheap.
They were mostly after the credit of playing in three films even though they were 'supposed' to be private entertainment.
After all the dubbing and music recordings were done, Sullivan along with his editors did their magic. Snipping up footage, splicing them together, and timing it with audio was the easy part while the stunts and villain trapping took a harder effort to develop.
Alexander watched closely during this time as he wanted to know what his grandfather's directorial style would be.
Sullivan was not Columbus, so the future boy wanted to use his naive critical eyes to spot the difference.
In the end, the three films were finalized but Alexander didn't have much film background to base on.
The first movies were his only hallmark and as far as he can tell, Sullivan's pacing was much more compact and equally lax.
The only difference from Columbus' childish storytelling mastery was old Sullivan's emphasis on figure and aesthetics. No doubt that being exposed to AV movies had something to do with it.
As for the sequels, they were better than what he could hope for. The 'Home Alone 3' from the past had its redemption from the Creed version and 'Home Alone 4' was revived into a phoenix from being a series killer.
The anxiety and stress built up were finally eased but the uphill battle on theatrical release and filming the last two films would still haunt him.
The experienced and wisened Sullivan was at ease but the programming adult in Alexander wasn't too used to these kinds of problems.
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When the kids were already adapted to their curriculum, everyone asked for corresponding breaks and went on to filming.
Their parents and the children themselves were enthused with having more screen time and considerably higher pay that they did not deal much in cooperation.
Their leaves and reason were correlated and the attention of a certain group was called on.
This time around the Child Protection Agency could not be circumvented and the cost of set tutors could not be avoided.
Fortunately, it was within an acceptable range and the Creed's cost-efficient pockets were still cost-efficient.
Fortunately, implanted ads still came into play and the resort to be filmed on was much more helpful.
When the owners were shown the first 3 finished products, they were greatly impressed by them. Accommodation became free and the staff would be there to help.
Their newly built resort needed publicity and a movie was publicity enough.
They were even an adamant persuader to Sullivan that they should try showing it in theaters.
Of course, it was on the plan but he had to act as being forced to agree to hide their Creed-y scheme.
Kevin would finally join his family on a vacation trip and the normally snowy Christmas would be by the summer-like beach resort.
Sullivan and the crew were fitted in and production commenced without delay.
