Post Magazine

M INNEAPOLIS — Splice Here was tapped to provide post ser- vices for seven spots — five on- air and two online — for Best Buy's newest ad campaign, "True Stories." The :30 com- mercials feature Best Buy employees, or "Blueshir ts," sharing true stories about the customers they've helped. In Power, Best Buy employee Power Jensen discusses helping a customer get set up in time for the big game. Matthew recounts how he assisted a family spanning three genera- tions choose the best computers for their needs. Sergio relates how he helped a new wife surprise her husband after he gave up season tickets to pay for their wedding. Each ad features a different Best Buy Blueshir t telling his or her stor y against filmed back- ground scenes of the story being told. Splice Here (www.splicehere.tv) provided a range of ser vices for the campaign, from pre-production planning through to final de- liver y, including online and offline editing, color grading and compositing. To capture footage of Best Buy employees, the produc- tion team used the Red camera, shooting the Blueshir ts against a greenscreen as fore- ground elements to be composited with the filmed 35mm background scenes. Because these were real, unscripted interviews, it was crucial to use a camera that could roll for ex- tended periods without stopping. "When Best Buy came to us, they had two requirements: they needed an HD for- mat that would allow them to pull a flawless key, and it had to record for between 30 and 60 minutes in one continuous shot," says Splice Here colorist Michael Sandness, who also served as workflow supervisor and fin- ishing editor for the campaign. "We recom- mended Red because we could pull a beau- tiful key and shoot at 4K resolution for up to two-and-a-half hours at a time. "Red provides a high-quality image com- parable to film but with less cost on the pro- duction side," he continues."The workflow is different than film or video, and there can be a lot of processing time on the post end to prep the raw footage for editing, so it's im- portant to educate the client on the process and timeline so there are no surprises." "The folks at Splice Here walked us through the post process from beginning to end so we would understand the work- flow," says Joan Kinsley, director and execu- tive producer, Best Buy. T H E P I P E L I N E Splice Here has been working with Red almost from its introduction in 2007, which has allowed the facility to develop a robust pipeline with technical capabilities based on past experience.The facility developed a Red workflow for the Best Buy campaign that took advantage of the camera's ability to capture 4K images digitally. "An additional benefit of using the Red camera was how much more resolution it gives you to work with," says Sandness. "Originally, they wanted to shoot close-up. But we convinced them to shoot wide, capturing as much of the Blueshir ts' bodies as possible so we could use the 4K resolution to blow up images and have greater flexibility in our compositing." Twice daily during the three-day shoot, Splice Here was handed off a hard disk mag- azine containing the raw Red footage for copying to the facility's 85TB Apple XSAN, which enables collaboration over high-speed fiber so multiple ar tists can work with footage simultaneously. Applying a camera set-up file Sandness had previously created with input from the DP and camera opera- tor, the raw Red footage was then processed for editing into digital dailies using Red Rushes software. "We had several Macs working for three days straight to process the footage from the shoot," says Sandness. "Shooting star ted on Tuesday, and by Friday we had between eight to 10 hours of material processed. By Mon- day they had a first cut. Our SAN, combined with the number of machines we can throw at any given job, gives us a tremendous ad- vantage when working with Red media." Splice Here began the editing process at full 1080p resolution. "We have 16 Final Cut Pro workstations on our SAN, so we would cut multiple spots simultaneously with the client bouncing from edit bay to edit bay for review and approvals," he describes. "It was great, because the client could make creative decisions on several spots at the same time." Splice Here owner/editor Clayton Condit completed offline editing for the broadcast spots, while editor Carl Jacobs handled the Web ads. "We provided on-set supervision for the shoot, which allowed us to work closely with the director and gave us an inti- mate understanding of the stories being told," says Condit. "This was a huge help in taking 90-minute interviews down to 30 seconds." With the edit locked, Splice Here recon- formed the edited greenscreen footage to the raw Red footage, allowing Sandness to make final color choices in its native Red raw state. "It's like being able to color grade film before it's processed, and as a colorist, it gives me complete control over the full range of color space because I can work with the 4K image," he explains. "From there I can deliver to any format needed." After color grading in Apple Color, Splice Here did final compositing in After Effects and Flint, and finished the spots, mastering in 1080p for deliver y of 1080i and SD center cut. Helping Best Buy tell true stories Splice Here develops a custom workflow for Red-shot spots. Splice Here provided pre-pro through final delivery on this Best Buy campaign. Clayton Condit and Michael Sandness (L-R): educating the client early so there are no surprises. 20 Post • May 2009 www.postmagazine.com W O R K F L O W

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