Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/4585
Though it may not be instinctive for people to think about things in a file-based way, once we are able to get them the information and evangelize them, when it's done right, people truly love the process." Because file-based workflows require industry vets to re-think the way they do things, the learning curve is steep, and Cioni fears that many of those leading pro- ductions through file-based post don't have all the an- swers or experience yet. "The result is bad file-based experience, so not only is the learning curve steep, it could be very dangerous, painful, and costly" he says. A big part of the job, when getting involved early, is debunking the horror stories that follow some file- based jobs. "Because there are far less people with tapeless experience under their belts, there are more stories of unsuccessful file-based projects," repor ts Cioni. "Some people will say, 'This doesn't work, this isn't the magic bullet,' but I challenge people to under- stand that this is the magic bullet; they just might not know how to use it yet." One way that Cioni makes people more comfort- able is by offering up rock climbing and repelling as a metaphor. "When being taught to repel, people want to grab the rope as tight as possible, but the trick to repelling is letting go of the rope and letting gravity take over," he explains. "When you hold on too tight you get rope burn, and that's what a lot of these pro- ductions do. They think controlling the situation and every minute detail is going to help get them through, and that is not the way to do it." He continues,"You have to find people that have ex- perience with file-based workflows and you have to trust them and let go because they're going to want to do things that are scary, new or perhaps even illogical. But, if they have a good track record, it's very successful." Cioni has over 250 file-based productions under his belt, and one of the most recent is the upcoming Polish brother film, The Smell of Success, with Billy Bob Thorn- ton and Tea Leoni. It was shot with a Red camera, and David Mullen was DP. "It's one of the most beautiful production designs and digital motion pictures ever," re- por ts Cioni. "It's a gorgeous film, and David Mullen is more than just a smart DP; he is a technologist/artist. He knows how to photograph something with new technology and couple it with brilliant artistry. LightIron got involved ver y early and helped pre- pare for the film by experimenting with processing in different color spaces. "We also helped them create their dailies in high definition, so they edited in high definition 10-bit video on Final Cut Pro," repor ts Cioni. "We completed the film by performing a full debayer, full-quality scan, into Pablo 4K and doing the DI that way. The film-print color science that we put into our digital intermediates is the result of our col- laboration with colorist Milton Adamou and Laser Pa- cific color scientist Doug Jaqua. For this film, an experi- enced set of talent and tools made for a perfect com- bination of image, artistry and technology." Cioni offers these tips for those file-based projects: The caboose effect. and plan from back to front. will often make deliverables forget to plan for a deliverable those will end up costing Find a very experienced gard to file-based color treat files like they are a cause they will not behave ally they do need be converted space, but for best results, spective native spaces as Talent, talent, talent."We in technology, but this is tions on a powerful creative replace a person. It pays has top toolset, but more the talent sitting behind it." T H O M A S J . S M I T No goats, no glor y. That Clooney's latest, Men Who of psychic soldiers who can their minds — like knocking While there is apparently faints when star tled, they when you are shooting on what's the other option? and get the VFX specialists knock down that goat, digitally, to do this right, get the board as early as you can. CIS Hollywood's Thomas pal visual effects super closely with VFX producer FX super visor Joe Henke, artists at CIS, to not only CG hamsters, CG butterflies, and more.They completed "For Men Who Stare At preproduction not only — from Vietnam up until they knew there were cer quire visual effects," repor in the technical scouts. "It's always a benefit to in some cases we don't have sometimes get shows that ability to get information have to piece things together Prior to traveling to Puerto Smith had to prepare for shot of a real goat falling a completely digital goat didn't perform as we had B, which was a complete