CineMontage

Q2 2020

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58 C I N E M O N T A G E T E C H N O L O G Y By Jennifer Walden T he COVID-19 pandemic put the ki- bosh on film production, at least temporarily. But some in the post industry have been able to carry on, thanks to remote workflows and flexible schedules that incorporate off-peak hours. Many editors I've talked to about working remotely have been rushed into this predicament. They've shared their improvised solu- tions, some which aren't pretty but are getting the job done for now. When asked if this way of working is sustainable, though, these post pros had a collective answer: "No." Desperate times, desperate measures. T h e r e a r e t h r e e m a i n f a c t o r s t o consider for remote editing setups — col- laboration, content/media sharing, and the actual editing. Filmmaking is a highly collaborative process — like a Venn diagram of differ- ent disciplines, with the director in the middle. Ideas need to flow freely, and if people can't congregate around the console or editing desk, that exchange is stifled. Zoom has become the de facto "face-to-face" collaboration tool, but security issues can pose a serious threat, especially when dealing with valuable in- tellectual property like a Hollywood film. It's essential to keep that content safe. Editor Dody Dorn had just finished the director's cut of Zack Snyder's "Army of the Dead" when the call came down for her to continue her work from home. Fortunately, "post-production supervi- sor Andrea Wertheim saw the writing on the wall and ordered some equipment in advance," Dorn said. So she and her three assistants were outf itted with desktop iMacs and desktop microphones "for better sound quality because we knew we were going to be doing a lot of videoconferencing." Their team does use Zoom to discuss the cuts, but they are very careful about what is saved on those iMacs. None of the film content is on their iMacs at home; it all lives safely on the NEXIS at the studio in Glendale where they were cutting the film. Even when they need to watch content together for VFX reviews, Dorn's first as- sistant Carlos Castillón notes they don't actually send the content to everyone joining the conference. Instead, Visual Effects Supervisor Marcus Taormina uses Frankie, a browser-based solution for interactive review of stills and video. Frankie is made by Cospective, the same company that makes cineSync. But THE COVID CRISIS HAS MADE WORK-FROM-HOME EDITING TOOLS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER Home Work Dody Dorn.

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