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BITS & PIECES www.postmagazine.com 4 POST MAR/APR 2021 LEONARDO DA VINCI'S THE LAST SUPPER BROUGHT TO LIFE ROME, ITALY — Producer/director Armondo Linus Acosta brought together a team of Academy Award winners to create The Living Tableau, a live-action reimagining of Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, production designer Dante Ferretti and set decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo each contributed their expertise to The Living Tableau, which was created in the style of a tableau vivant. French for "living picture", a tableau vivant is traditionally a theatrically-lit, static scene containing actors in costume, carefully posed with props and scenery. The nine-minute video was released on streaming platforms worldwide in time for Palm Sunday and the week leading up to Easter Sunday. According to Storaro, who won Best Cinematography Oscars for Apocalypse Now, Reds and The Last Emperor, he first saw the painting in 1975 and was amazed by its beauty, harmony, perfection and balance of composition, as well as its 2:1 aspect ratio. "I made the decision to modify the cameras and from that moment on, I filmed all my new film projects in Univisium 2:1," he explains. "When the director Armondo Acosta called to create a tableau of the painting, I replied with the enthusiasm of someone who had been waiting for a project like that for years." Storaro shot the project on a Sony F65 digital camera at 2:1 with a Technocrane with 7.5 meters of arm. His lens choice was a Cooke S4. For more on the latest "Cameras & Lenses", turn to our feature on page 22. SKYLAB & ELEMENTAL OPEN NEW VANCOUVER FACILITY VANCOUVER — Skylab Screening & Edit Services (skylabvancouver.com) has partnered with Elemental Post on a new facility located in the heart of Vancouver's trendy and historic Gastown. The new post facility features a Barco 4K laser projection theatre with Dolby 7.1 sound, along with facilities for sound mixing, color grading and editing — remotely or on-site — via an Avid NEXIS infrastructure. "It pretty common in almost every other major production center to have facilities that offer sound and picture in one place, but for some reason, not in this town," comments Skylab founder James Tocher. "We thought it was high time to change that. And now, of course, you can do both — remotely." Elemental Post is a new partnership between colorist David Tomiak and sound designer/producer Matt Drake. Elemental will handle all aspects of local post services, while Skylab pivots to facility space rentals and remote collabora- tion screenings for out-of-town studios. "We're focusing now on providing awesome facility experiences — allow- ing super talented and resourceful guys like Dave and Matt to really represent Vancouver's post scene," says Tocher. "What's important to both of us is, as always, delivering a quality product — no matter what size your show is." Skylab has been in business since 1999, serving as an end-to-end digital intermediate company, and having finished films for Sony Pictures, Netflix, Fox and Disney. Recently, the studio recognized the need for LA facilities to access more services in Vancouver, both locally and remotely. The studio has already worked with facilities, such as Skywalker Sound, to enable remote mixes over secure TVIPS connections. Their Avid NEXIS edit suites and screening rooms will offer a variety of remote experiences for color grading, VFX review, sound mixing and editing. "There's a lot of above-the-line talent working in Vancouver," Tocher explains. "Nowadays, with COVID, they can't just hop on a plane for the weekend in between shooting breaks to do color or sound sessions in LA. With Skylab's production theatres, they can still make all the same creative and technical decisions with confidence — without having to leave Vancouver."