THE MEMOIRS OF SUMMER RAY

Living in Gettysburg, being surrounded by the atrocities of the Civil War and the soldiers that shed blood on these sacred battlefields, I oftentimes wonder if I am doing enough to honor them and our history.

If you have followed along my blogs you will know how much I have struggled with the back and forth of going from a full feature film, to a made for TV series. There are several scenes that I am enhancing – not taking away from. But I am adding to them, to give them more of a realistic life. One of the definitions of “enhance” is: “intensify.” We are going to level these scenes up and make them even more “fierce.” They won’t be for the faint of heart. But, I feel if I do not add to these scenes that I will be doing the story an incredible injustice, and I simply cannot do that.

Yet, by adding these scenes (which adds on about 15 – 20 minutes to the script), that means that something towards the end, needs to be added to the 2nd film or the 1st episode. Unless of course, the pilot is closer to the 2.5 hours instead of just the original two. But, the viewers MUST be the priority. There is only so much we can take in at once, and there is only so much we can actually sit through, without turning off our interest. I promised I will not rush the narrative.

So, once these scenes are added, my team and I will figure out what the best course of action is. It very well could work as the grand opening to the series, or a special celebration in which the 2.5 hours would be fine. Whatever course of action we take, I trust it will be the very best for our audiences, and will bring honor to those soldiers who fought, bled and to those who died on these sacred battlefields of Gettysburg.