Frame by Frame

I’ve been reminded by the recent postings of those lucky enough to go to NAB this year (although really I can’t complain too much, given that the volcanic activity of Iceland would mean that I’d currently be stranded in Vegas if I’d attended) that I never made my update on the Broadcast Video Expo 2010.

The theme of the show was undoubtedly 3D, with a lot of blu-ray worked in on the side (and often at the same time). I’m beginning to understand the appeal a bit more now that I’ve been able to view things such as football and rugby matches in 3D, and now that people are becoming more familiar with the techniques to correctly shoot for 3D.

I’m not bothered about the new technologies and terminologies so much. I generally enjoy the challenges and opportunities to see how new methodologies can be used in storytelling. It’s the creative implications that this could have for editors, as well as the cast and crew of any given production, that concerns me.

Previously, a ‘bad’ shot (from the perspective of the DoP) could be used if the performance justified it, or if the other options were perhaps even less appealing. Consider the number of shots in features which may have an unintentional soft focus on an actor’s mid-shot, or a boom pole in view. The sort of thing that the IMDb fanatics add to the goofs section on a film’s page. During the editing process the DoP may have complained, and there would have been interaction on what they noticed about the shot versus what the audience would ever notice, and the shot would make it in or not based on a range of creative and perhaps technical considerations.

However, with the absolute need for cameras to be aligned correctly in order for the stereoscopic effect to correctly function minus the headaches which so often resulted in the ‘early’ days of polarised 3D (now termed “retinal rivalry”); a performance could be ideal, the most perfect emotional response for the scene, and it would be completely unusable. And not just within a single shot – the transition between shots also comes in to play. Whilst a certain workaround is referred to as making an “active depth cut” in which the transition is smoothened through slight animation, there’s a limit to the damage control that can be done. And to what extent will scenes now have to be storyboarded/ pre-visualised? Will this necessarily be with or without the editor?

A lot of this could be vital to workflow – is a film cut in 2D (with the “left eye”, traditionally) and then merely conformed in 3D, or should all work be done in 3D from the start, with takes selected on their ability to merge with each other and draw attention to the correct part of the screen? All of which will of course have to be done in full-res, with frequent viewings on large screens.

That said, the two full-length features I’ve seen in 3D so far have been amazing – although there is perhaps something to be said that they’ve both been animated films (Up and Coraline), for which the workflow is traditionally much more suited to planning cuts before the action is filmed. And of course both Avatar and Alice were heavily built by VFX crews.

Ultimately, the future may be 3D, but for now I remain skeptical on claims that it’s going to be the revolution akin to the transition from silent films to “talkies” that its supporters claim.

The line-up for the 53rd London International Film Festival was announced today, and you have not just one opportunity to see Cherry on the Cake, not just two…. actually, I’m not quite sure how many times they’ll be screening it. But there’s certainly a lot of opportunity to engage with it!

Cherry on the Cake at the London Film Festival

Cherry and her creator, Hyebin Lee, will be at the “Animated Short Films + Meet The Directors!” event on the 16th of October, which is especially for 7-11 year olds to learn more about the techniques of animating short stories.

THEN there’s the “Amazing Stretchy Families Workshop” at the BFI Learning Space on the South Bank on the 28th. According to the BFI site, “Inspired by the film, families will design and animate their own characters whose bodies change depending on their feelings.”

…. and of course, you can just go and see the film amongst other fab international animations as part of the “Animation Panorama” from the 23rd to the 25th in NFT2.

It’s that time of year.

‘Cherry On The Cake‘, the NFTS graduation animation I edited is playing at the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival in the International Student Shorts Award section this month (incidentally competing against another NFTS graduation animation from the year before which just won a Welsh BAFTA), and ‘The Love Bureau’, the NFTS graduation documentary, is at Archipelago in Rome next week.

Other graduation films which I wasn’t involved in are also doing really well – another animation called The Incredible Story of My Great Grandmother Olive was nominated for a Student Academy Award (Best Honorary Foreign Film), and one of the fictions went to Cannes (Cinéfondation) – see producer Michelle Eastwood’s account at FilmLondon.org.uk.

There are also three animations, a documentary and a fiction screening at Edinburgh this year, with 5 graduates who worked on them named amongst Skillset’s Trailblazers for 2009.

It all seems as if it’s finally starting, that our yeargroup which officially finished in December is starting to make an impact and become known. People are passing on work to each other through word of mouth and being asked to recommend people from other disciplines for future work, we’re getting involved in small collaborative projects with each other… exciting times indeed.

Last night I went to a reading of “Wall” by David Hare. I’ve enjoyed several of his plays, and there was a £5 offer on, so I went along.

“Wall” is about Hare’s own experiences with the Middle Eastern conflict between Israel and Palestine, and is being presented as a companion piece to “Berlin”. I think it may be a testament to the fact that I’ll never be a true theatre-type that when people start talking about the walls we build around ourselves, I’m more likely to think about Pink Floyd than the Pyramus and Thisbe reference  that followed last night.

Nonetheless, amongst several astounding pieces of commentary last night from both the subjective and objective viewpoint, I feel compelled to share the following paragraph – a quote from the reading last night:

I don’t entirely understand this. People always ask: how do you choose the subjects you write about? I have a glib answer. Why did Bacon paint popes? Meaning: the artist doesn’t choose the subject, the subject chooses the artist. ‘Go to Rwanda,’ said my American agent, when ten years ago I first proposed a play about Israel/Palestine. ‘Better still, go to Kashmir. Now there’s a dispute nobody understands. Throw some light on Kashmir.’ But unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. Recently, I found myself writing about Berlin because I don’t understand it. Now I want to write about Israel/Palestine because I do. No, hold on, let me rephrase, that’s a preposterous claim, nobody understands the Middle East – but put it this way: I recognise it. It answers to something in me.

I found editing whilst on a degree course which had absolutely nothing to do with media at all. I joined the student television station and tried all sorts of roles – camera, floor managing, sound mixing, vision mixing, co-producing… but when I got my first chance to creatively put something together at my first year – a trailer out of an evening’s recorded event at the university – something was answered in me. From that point on, I knew I never wanted to do anything else. And with each project that I look at – some will inevitably stir more passion than others, and those are the ones which will really work.

Editing can often be seen as a technical vocation by the people who don’t understand it – but it’s truly anything but.

According to the majority of agencies, it seems that to really get onto their books (and therefore have access to the types of jobs which don’t get advertised), then either I need to get more broadcast experience or there needs to be less recession. And since the former is somewhat of a catch-22 and the latter is out of my control… it’s on with the unpaid work whilst continuing to apply for the jobs which are advertised and trying to build up my connections.

I do certainly have a few interesting side-projects on the go – of which there will be more news as it comes. And two of the films I edited whilst at the NFTS are now on the IMDb, so I now have my own page there on which I am described as an editor… which feels good. Almost as if by being described as an editor on that site means that I really am a professional editor from an external point of view. And in such early stages of my career at a really difficult time in the industry, the validation is comforting.

In any case, I have updated my excerpt reel. I’m in the process of making a documentary reel to go alongside it, but this one is for drama and animation:

http://www.vimeo.com/4258165

As usual, any feedback is appreciated.

The story so far: A copy of the upcoming X-Men spin-off ‘Wolverine‘ gets put onto the internet in its unfinished state. Because this is the internet, it spreads like wildfire. Other copies get uploaded, it seems that everyone’s talking about it and has an opinion.

Then a FoxNews columnist reviews the film in its non-finished form with incomplete VFX and sound (link to article on WorstPreviews). Possibly with the best of intentions – he says in the article (which has since been removed from the FoxNews site) that 20th Century Fox should have no concerns over the leak because the film is so good.

But within that, he’s endorsing the series of events which led to him being able to see it. Not only that, he’s significantly denying the contribution that possibly hundreds of VFX artists whose work had yet to go into a full cut of the film. He’s denying the impact that a full sound tracklay and mix will have on the film.  And he’s saying that it’s fine for people to go out and download films before they’ve even opened.

Now whatever your views on current definitions of piracy (there are certainly business lessons to be learnt from how the release of media can encourage purchases once a passion for a product has been built), this is a very bad thing to start legitimising. A lot of people who’ve worked in a very creative capacity (directors, cinematographers, editors, actors) on a film can be very insecure about the part they’ve played and will try to minimise the number of people who’ll see it before a certain stage. Endorsing leaks would take that decision out of their hands and invite judgement before the product looks anything like it would otherwise have ended up as, and may even influence the rest of the post-production process and distribution. The ‘released’ version would doubtless be compared to the leaked version(s) without any understanding of the processes which took them from A to B to C.

Of course there are test screenings. Of course films change massively from script to production to edit.  But these are all controlled by a much much smaller number of people. Whether these people are the best people for the film is often a subject of debate amongst the fans…. but any editor will tell you how having more than a couple of key decision makers commenting on a cut can often lead to as many different opinions as there are people in the room. Imagine that multiplied on a global level. Not only is there never a way to please everyone, but any film which aspires to do so will often lead to utter blandness on screen.

So let us hope that this doesn’t become a trend. News sites indicate that the FBI is following the trail in an attempt to catch the origin of the Wolverine leak, and whoever did it is certain to never work in the film industry again.  And if nothing else, the rest of us have been reminded that once out, these things can spread really quickly – irrespective of any original intention.

From the TV graduation project, ‘TV or Not TV?‘, some clips have been uploaded to YouTube by the producer/director, Guy Press. Please rate and/or comment them!

TV or Not TV? YouTube Channel

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And the animation  which I edited, ‘Cherry on the Cake‘, has had its DVD packaging finalised and it looks glorious. It’s now ready to be sent off to festivals.

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Please follow the embedded links above for further information about the projects and how to contact the producers for any enquiries you may have.