CineMontage

Fall 2015

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65 FALL 2015 / CINEMONTAGE 65 FALL 2015 / CINEMONTAGE begin with, since they did not have a 70mm Kem capable of playing DV40 audio. Post supervisor Anderson and producer Shannon McIntosh, however, who headed the effort to help the production solve some of the retro technology challenges the post- production chain faced to work in the 70mm realm, located a vintage 70mm Officine Prevost Milano flatbed machine that had not been used in decades in the warehouse of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. FotoKem overhauled the Prevost's electrical system and added an encoder for DV40, since it was originally designed for Mag, and got it up-and-running for dailies production. "We built 70mm select rolls with a hand-written log of slate sync foot and frame counts," says Backauskas. "With this guide, I built an Avid sequence to match each select roll, exported the audio to a WAV file, and burned it to DVD twice, to have a backup disc. The 70mm select rolls and discs were checked on the 70mm Prevost flatbed viewer, in sync with the DV40 disc reader." The project also faced the challenge of having to build a 70mm film conform. Backauskas explains that the editorial team used "Avid Filmscribe to generate pull lists, cut lists and change lists for the film conform. Since modern 65mm/70mm 5-perf film has a key code every 24 frames, Auxiliary Ink code was used to identify in/out frames. Durations are still figured in the same way as a 35mm 'screen foot' — every 16 frames. Digital Vortechs worked with Avid to make a software patch that modified the dupe detection function to use Auxiliary Ink code instead of key number, which would have been incorrect for 65mm/70m." Backauskas adds that the production rented "old-school equipment," from large-format industry veteran David Bartholomew, who supplied 70mm Hollywood Film Company synchronizers and Neumade tape splicers to punch perfs through splicing tape. "We used three-quarter-inch and four-perf tape for dailies, and three-eighth-inch, two-perf tape for the conform," he elaborates. "The larger tape is faster to use, but the edges of the cut tape do show in mid-frame. The narrower tape must be applied with some precision, and is less noticeable. For exteriors, the splices were imperceptible, and not too distracting, even in bright snow. "Quentin Tarantino told a preview audience that viewed the work picture, 'This film is literally held together with tape,'" Backauskas concludes. f The Tenacious Ten: From left, Cara McShane (assistant to the director), Michael Backauskas (film assistant), Bill Fletcher (film assistant), Jason Barnes (Avid assistant), Andrew Eisen (first assistant/visual effects editor), Tina Anderson (post-production supervisor), Quentin Tarantino (writer/director), Paula Suhy (film first assistant), Fred Raskin (editor) and Stephanie Williams (post-production assistant) in The Hateful Eight's film cutting room in Hollywood. Photo by Randy Krehbel

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