For the past couple of months we have been rather quiet regarding In Search of the Dead. Far from purposefully leaving you all in the dark, we have been navigating great stress and upset.

In early March a Windows Update forced itself onto our computer, right in the middle of our working day. We were in the process of backing our work up onto an external hard drive at the time. When the computer restarted it was immediately clear that something was not right. The computer was sluggish and slow to response. Yet, the extent of the damage was not yet apparent. After wrestling to restore it to normal speed by uninstalling the update, we realised that much more had been damaged. Our files – both on the computer and on the external hard drive – had been damaged. All our In Search of the Dead files (and strangely, nothing else) were completely inaccessible.

Since that time, technicians have been working hard to restore the files. Yesterday, we received the salvaged files. All of our raw files have been either partially or entirely damaged. Our project files are entirely gone. Our post-production work has to be restarted, using whatever remains of our footage.

However, we will still be able to make In Search of the Dead.

At times over the last few weeks we thought that everything we had been working on for the past year was lost. Figuring out how to tell you all was the hardest part. So, we are so very happy to be able to share this with you. It is still bad news, but not as bad as we were preparing ourselves for.

We cannot wait to get this project finished and present In Search of the Dead to you. It has been the most incredible and challenging venture we have ever embarked upon – far in excess of what we imagined.

Thank you all for your support and patience. We read every kind comment left on our videos and websites, and are always especially touched by those expressing enthusiasm for this project.

Gallery of screenshots: Our vision for In Search of the Dead

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Now that we are back home (and finally at the end of our filming!) we have a lot of work to do.

Post-production for a two-person team is proving challenging, time-consuming but also greatly rewarding. Being able to watch back through over 30 hours of footage, and consolidating everything we have done, is overwhelming. Did we really begin this journey just a few months ago? It seems worlds away now.

We cannot wait to share the finished product with you, but before then we have a long road to trek.

One of the most exciting aspects of the next few weeks for us is the production of an original soundtrack for the documentary. We are honoured to have the chance to work with a hugely talented, aspiring composer. From the beginning we knew that we wanted the music for In Search of the Dead to be different and well-thought out. A welcomed change, you might say, from the ‘make do’ approach we normally have to adopt. Now that we have greater resources available to us, we hope that we can deliver something spectacular – something ethereal.

So, keep your eyes peeled as we enter 2018. The wait is almost over.