Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1189824
www.postmagazine.com 17 POST NOV/DEC 2019 OUTLOOK O OUTLOOK O OUTLOOK DIRECTORS over-cutting, to try and jazz something up when it doesn't need it. That's a weak- ness of the process. Another big trap is losing your objectivity on a film, which is why I really like to do test screenings and get some feedback from an audience. I have final cut on all my films, so it's not about me not being sure what to do, but it changes everything when you screen a film for people and then you hear them discuss it and talk about it. You may dis- agree with what they say, but certainly it helps you see your film in a different way, with a fresh perspective, and it does the same thing for all of us — the editors and producers and sound guys and everyone in the inner circle of post and putting the film together." OPPORTUNITIES: "They're just so fan- tastic. With any project, but especially with documentaries, there's usually a daunting period where your project had some promise — or you wouldn't have tackled it, but at that moment it's pretty ugly and depressing, and if you're honest with yourself you may be having some doubts. But the fascinating thing about editing and post is that it's an art form that's so nuanced, and you can change so much with so little. Even cutting five frames can suddenly elevate a scene, or using some interview line in a documenta- ry up against just the right images, which can breathe life into a scene that felt flat before. There's just so much creativity and these moments of discovery where you realize you've found something that wasn't written on the page, and that by putting a certain series of images and sounds together in a different way, you're actually getting an idea across. And may- be you'd never even thought of it that way till it suddenly happens in the edit. That's pretty thrilling. The other thing is, when I've talked to artists or painters, they're often surprised at what people read into their work. They know what it means to them, but it's a revelation to hear other people's opinions, and there's some of that in movies and documentaries, and with test screenings you have the chance to preserve some of that." THREATS: "I suppose for me there are always limitations in how much you can do given your schedule and budget, and with movies — especially the big tent-pole ones, the big threat is 'release day-itis.' You're locked into this schedule a year or so in ad- vance, and often you're up against it in post and in a real crunch to meet the deadline. On the other hand, I came from TV and you always knew when your air day was, and no one viewed it as this terrible threat. It was a given. So sometimes I feel having this dead- line looming over you is actually creatively stimulating and valuable." OUTLOOK: "There's this big war now between traditional platforms and all the streaming, and as always, audiences are going to be the judge and jury. They're going to tell us what they want to see more of, and how they want to see it. And now there are more options, and wheth- er us storytellers want to control it or not, we really can't. I was at some lunch with Martin Scorsese and people were bemoaning all these changes, and he said, 'Hey, the first filmmakers had to deal with cranking the camera, and the next bunch couldn't move the camera, and then everyone was moving the camera and no one knew what the hell was going on. Then it's sound! Then it's color! So the medium's always changing, which is good, and it's our job to adapt to that.' And he's right. I'm doing my first Netflix project, Hillbilly Elegy, and I think it's a great plat- form for it. And at Imagine we're doing a lot of documentaries and brand-related stuff, which is truly interesting and cre- ative, and a lot more in the family and kids area, which I've always loved. So we're doing projects with Apple and Amazon as well as the big studios, and I think that's the future." ANG LEE Life of Pi; Brokeback Mountain; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Gemini Man Born in Taiwan, Lee established himself with his hit Father Knows Best trilogy before arriving in Hollywood and making 1995's acclaimed Sense and Sensibility. Since then, he's tackled a wide range of genres, from superhero blockbusters (Hulk) to family dramas (The Ice Storm) to magic realism (Life of Pi). Nominated nine times, the three-time Academy Award winner has always pushed the boundaries in cinema, both technically and creatively. STRENGTHS: "In the old days, before I got into digital cinema, it was all about the editing. Then you had all the music and sound and any visual effects, the final mix, and that was about it. Now, it feels like the shooting and post never stops until you're in the final mix. You're still making the mov- ie. If things aren't right, now you can fix anything and combine shots and do edit- ing on the same shot. So post is now really a continuation of production — and it's got to the point where you might start some post work before you even start pre-pro- duction let alone start shooting, as you want to know how much it's going to cost to do certain visual effects. So the whole process becomes holistic and organic, and it all blends together. And to me, there are now no separate parts — no separate pre-production, production and post. Your DP works with the VFX team who work with the art department, and so on, in this one fluid process. That's a huge strength." WEAKNESSES: "Film culture is the big one for me. By that, I mean dealing with all the input you get in post. It's like an election. You need a lot of people to agree, but they only agree on the simplest Ang Lee and Will Smith shooting Gemini Man Gemini Man Gemini .