Art of the Edit
Now You See Me: Modus FX Helps Create the Magic
Modus FX created 227 visual effects shots in Now You See Me, a movie starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson and Isla Fisher about four young magicians who appear to rob banks during their performances, distributing the spoils to their audiences, while the FBI and Interpol pursue them. Launched in 2007 by co-founders Marc Bourbonnais and Yanick Wilisky, Modus FX is located in a 12,000 square foot facility just outside Montreal.
Modus was charged with many of the film's CG-heavy sequences, including the 5Pointz segment, which was almost entirely CG. In this article Modus FX visual effects supervisor Wayne Brinton takes Creative COW readers behind the scenes of the company's VFX magic.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Wayne Brinton |
Art of the Edit
How Editors Shaped The Story of Star Trek Into Darkness
The old saying is that the edit is the final version of the script. For editors Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E. and Maryann Brandon, A.C.E, their work on Star Trek: Into Darkness began far earlier than that -- when they were asked for their advice on how to shape the script in the first place! In conversation with Debra Kaufman, they describe the role they play in the storytelling process itself, in a way that far transcends the cutting of scenes.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
Sony Launches Media Cloud Service Company
Sony Corporation unveiled a new subsidiary - Sony Media Cloud Services - which brings Ci, a new platform and tools to collect, produce, share, manipulate and archive content. This brings Sony not just into the cloud but also into the Software as a Service business model. NBCUniversal is an alpha customer for the Ci MasterSuite tools, which enters beta today.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
TouchEdit App Brings Pro Editing to the iPad
Do you miss the tactile aspect of editing film? Or are you a big fan of the iPad? Or would you just love a way to have a super-portable professional editing system? If you've answered "yes" to any of these three questions, you're a potential customer of editor Dan Lebental ACE's new app TouchEdit. TouchEdit is available in the iTunes store for $50.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
Zombies Brought to Life For Warm Bodies
VFX company LOOK Effects ramped up a studio in Vancouver and created a new pipeline for character animation, to produce 85 shots of the Boneys - the most decayed, menacing zombies - in Warm Bodies, the new zom-rom-com based on the book of the same name. In addition to character animation, the company created a CG fly-through of a wasted city, blending with live action plates at each end of the sequence.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
Unique VFX Challenges for Live One-take Shooting on Les Miz
Les Misérables, based on Victor Hugo's novel of crime and redemption in 19th Century France, has been a huge hit in theatres. Though it's gained acclaim for director Tom Hooper's technique of one-take shots of actors singing the songs, digital visual effects have provided many key elements. Les Miz represents a unique combination of in-camera effects, 2D and 3D compositing, adding elements, removing elements -- and not a single green screen shot.
Editorial, Feature
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
Killer Dailies: The Walking Dead & Vampire Diaries
Undead hits The Walking Dead (shooting on film) and The Vampire Diaries (shooting with ARRI Alexa) are both shot near Atlanta, GA, and both rely on Crawford Media Services for dailies for two very different workflows, one revolving around the ARRI Alexa, the other around Super 16 film.
Feature
Joe Huggins |
Art of the Edit
Cloud Atlas: The VFX
Cloud Atlas, a complex and lyrical film directed by Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, relies on visual effects and more than a dozen visual effects facilities collaborating closely to bring alive the past and future worlds depicted in its six intertwined stories. Method is one of the houses who helped create these amazing worlds, and Creative COW's Debra Kaufman spoke to them to learn more.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
Parenthood in Post Production Part THREE: An Editor Mom
Balancing parenthood and post-production is a challenge for anyone. As it turns out, it's not only possible to balance being a good mother with being a good editor, but it happens a LOT. Women in every kind of video production market from LA to the Heartland to the deep South are providing for their families, making sacrifices, and pursuing their life's passion...and one of them is Monica Daniel.
Editorial, People / Interview
Kylee Peña |
Art of the Edit
Argo's Invisible Effects Create 1970s Tehran
Argo tells the recently declassified true story of six Americans who escaped the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran -- by pretending to be filmmakers! With Argo's filmmakers unable to shoot in Iran, audiences travel there through the "invisible effects" created by Method Los Angeles, whose teams provided compelling illusions that serve as the perfect backdrop for this tale of life and death sleight of hand.
Feature
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
Parenthood in Post Production Part TWO: Modern Director Mom
In Kylee's exploration of having a family in the video industry, she wondered what parenthood looked like to a director. For Kate Chaplin, a writer/director, it turns out that question is just the opposite as it turns from "How do kids fit into my world? to "How have children inspired me to pursue my dreams?". Read Part TWO of this heart-felt series.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Kylee Peña |
Art of the Edit
Parenthood in Post Production Part ONE: Being an Editor Dad
Balancing parenthood and post-production is a challenge for anyone - especially if you decide to make a cross-country move to LA with a two year old in tow. In this interview, freelance editor Tim Wilsbach tells us about how he manages a busy editing career and life at home with his wife and son.
Editorial, Feature, People / Interview
Kylee Peña |
Art of the Edit
Digital Dailies Trim The Bottom Line In Hollywood
Post production continues to adapt to ever-changing workflows. Digital dailies have gone from being a cutting edge technology to nearly de rigeur on the set. These prominent TV/film producers talked about how they've integrated digital dailies into their workflow and how it's improving the creative process and/or the bottom line. For post production companies, it's yet another evolution in technology that requires adaptation and accommodation.
Feature
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
Editor Alan Edward Bell, A.C.E. on The Amazing Spider-Man
Fresh from cutting "Water for Elephants," Alan Edward Bell takes on the task of coordinating editing for "The Amazing Spider-Man." While focusing on building a unique telling of the story in a highly VFX-present setting, Alan follows the direction of Marc Webb to give movie-goers a more character-driven performance, updated interpretation of the love interest, and a subtle and comfortable 3D experience.
Feature
Alan Edward Bell |
Art of the Edit
Luma Pictures' Prometheus Holograph
Holograms are de rigeur in a sci-fi movie, but in Prometheus, Charlie Holloway steps through one to hand a rose to Elizabeth Shaw, Luma Pictures handled this unique fluid effect as well as placing computer graphics in Shaw's handheld computer.
Feature
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
Luma Pictures Takes On The Avengers
Luma Pictures took on another Marvel superhero production - The Avengers. Luma completed nearly 200 shots, focusing on creating the interior of the Helicarrier by digitally extending and enhancing a practical set. The company also reprised its role in creating Thor's supernatural armor.
Feature
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
NVIDIA Introduces Virtualization and Remote Computing
NVIDIA has debuted its VGX platform, which enables many users to access a virtualized desktop and get the same graphics performance on any connected device. The VGX platform, composed of three new technologies, opens up the possibilities of remote collaboration and cloud-based graphics without a loss of power and with low latency. Though still a proof of concept, the new computing paradigm will move into beta this summer, with partnerships in the offing.
Feature
Debra Kaufman |
Art of the Edit
Confessions of a Creative Maniac: Of Wills and Ways
Moving forward into faster and more aggressive technology is no substitute for creative thinking. The simple fact is that we're on the bleeding edge of the sword, we're the ones pushing the whole cart forward with our demands for more speed, more performance, more everything. How much is enough?
Editorial
David Biedny |
Art of the Edit
Company 3 Partners with FutureWorks
Company 3 - a Digital Intermediate powerhouse in Santa Monica, CA - joined forces with FutureWorks, a Mumbai-based post-production facility, in order to offer its color grading services to Bollywood's feature film and commercial clients.
Feature
Debra Kaufman |
TV & Movie Appreciation
These Amazing Shadows: An Editor's Journey
An editor's journey through the films that made America (or, how I stopped worrying and learned to love the B-Roll). These Amazing Shadows, an 88-minute documentary, tells the history and importance of the National Film Registry and cameos some of history's most treasured films as it reveals how early films shaped and revealed a changing nation and why we most need to preserve them for posterity.
Feature, People / Interview
Doug Blush |
Art of the Edit
The Discovery Process
John Lawrence and his team at Image Work Communications are helping clients discover their own stories -- and discovering for themselves how the speed of HP workstations can make a difference when editing on both Mac and Windows.
Feature, People / Interview
John Lawrence |
Art of the Edit
Opening My Mind Has Opened Doors
Richard Harrington describes how he reached the decision to switch from Final Cut Pro to Adobe Premiere Pro and why part of his post-production department is running on Windows.
Feature, People / Interview
Richard Harrington |
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