Lots of directors are good at wrangling automobile action, but Tim Damon's dedication to the craft is impressive. Unhappy with merely renting the gear he needs for any given automotive shoot, Damon has amassed a purposeful collection of proprietary gear — much of it modified to exactly suit his preferences during a shoot — that's meant to make sure he never has to tell a client, "We can't do that."... »
As the summer of 2008 arrived we at the Filmworkers Club, Nashville, spent a lot of time testing and re-testing a number of different options and workflows for posting Red footage in order to handle four very different projects shot with Red that required very different workflows. One of the great things about Red is you have so many options when it comes time to post. Of course, this is also one of the most difficult things about Red. ... »
The survival show Man vs. Wild follows outdoorsman Bear Grylls through some of the harshest environments on Earth. What may be more impressive, at least to those in the production biz, is that a cameraman is undergoing the same ordeals of climbing down waterfalls, jumping out of helicopters and swimming through rivers while still shooting. DP/Cameraman Simon Reay talks about battling the elements, devising a camera package and workflow that would withstand whatever Mother Nature throws at them, and how his job, like outdoor survival itself, essentially boils down to willpower. ... »
Pineapple Express marks David Gordon Green’s entry into the world of studio productions, following four acclaimed indie films. Beneath the pot smoke and gunfire, there’s a touching vision of friendship and neediness at the film’s core.... »
Pow! Pix is making its sixth trip to the Olympics. This year it qualified for the gymnastics event, creating a variety of features, teasers and highlight packages to roll into the live broadcasts, and to re-cut footage from the events if they are not broadcast live. In order to handle the tight turnarounds and loads of HD footage, Pow Pix bought three new Avid Symphony Nitris DX systems. ... »
The titles, which play at the end of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, serve as a stylish recap that draws on and pays tribute to the Chinese culture that inspired the film. F&V talked to Fong and Fuller about inspiration and execution.... »
Award-winning VFX studio Frantic Films VFX, a division of Prime Focus Group, created all that and more as lead visual effects provider for the recently released film, Journey to the Center of the Earth, the first fully live-action VFX-driven feature released in 3D. Frantic’s secret? The not-so-easy but infinitely rewarding process of developing and deploying a set of custom plug-ins for eyeon’s Digital Fusion 5, called Awake, to guide the 3D VFX workflow... »
“Chris [Nolan] has a very astute eye,” says Nick Davis, the film's visual effects supervisor. “It was important for the visual effects to look as though they were shot on set. He didn’t want the film to take on a gimmicky visual-effects look.” In keeping with that philosophy, Nolan shot footage for the major visual-effects sequences with IMAX cameras, making The Dark Knight the first feature film shown in IMAX that wasn't originally shot in 35mm.... »
Hellboy II: The Golden Army is populated by even more numerous otherworldly monsters than its predecessor, and some of the critters only appear in a shot or two. According to Eamonn Butler, animation supervisor for the project at London’s Double Negative, that amounted to a huge challenge — but it was made easier by Guillermo del Toro’s ability to communicate clearly with the VFX crew, using common reference points to get everyone on the same mental page.... »
“The trend is moving a lot towards editors crafting their episodes in a more producer-like manner versus a couple of years ago when I’d walk in and things would be more laid out for me,” said Jamie Pedroza, editor on Project Runway. “It’s really in the editors’ hands to sculpt the stories how they want to do it, in collaboration with the producers. When the footage comes to post, we get the first stab at it. That’s really exciting. That’s why I like editing reality.” ... »
In the practical and ideological struggle between the “old world” of photochemical and the “new world” of digital finishes, it’s easy to forget that both have co-existed for many decades and, no doubt, will continue to do so until the last processing lab shutters its doors and the last film projector is put to rest.... »
Journey to the Center of the Earth, directed by Eric Brevig — a filmmaker with lots of experience in the VFX realm — might not have the same historic impact as The Jazz Singer or Becky Sharp, but as the first live-action VFX-driven feature film to be shot for 3D, it can’t help but break new ground.... »
With the release of the Sony CineAlta F23 camera system, music video creators now have a real alternative to film-based acquisition. The camera’s picture clarity, adjustability and compatibility with film camera accessories would also give us the ultimate in creative freedom.... »
The Dark Knight, the latest “episode” in the Batman series, opens July 18 to great anticipation. The film is made more compelling and poignant by the death of Heath Ledger, who from what we can see in the film’s trailer, plays a very dark Joker. But, for aficionados of “behind-the-scenes” stories, The Dark Knight is compelling for other reasons.... »
