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www.postmagazine.com 2 POST NOV/DEC 2021 EDITOR'S NOTE s we wrap up another year at Post, we once again turn to industry pros for their insight into the New Year. Iain Blair kicks things off with his directors roundup, where he speaks with filmmakers Joe Wright (Cyrano), Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), Mike Mills (C'mon C'mon) and Sean Baker (Red Rocket) about what they see as the strengths, weaknesses, opportu- nities and threats facing theatrical releases. While time and budget are always on a director's mind, the audience's changing viewing habits are also impacting the film business. With increasing de- mand for streamed content, as well as hesitancy to return to theaters due to the COVID pandemic, one has to wonder about the future of the shared big-screen experience? "I think the big events movies — the Marvels and Bonds and so on — will survive, as kids still love going out to see them, but I think the future is very bleak for the small, quieter kind of movie," says Mills. Green agrees, noting that there is far more competition now from streaming platforms and TV. "But," he adds, "I feel people will always want that big-screen experience with all the great sound and so on. There's just no substitute." Turn to page 18 for more commentary from these leading directors. Other professional from across the industry also weigh in, beginning on page 24. Not sur- prisingly, many mention the COVID pandemic and how it's changing the way post produc- tion takes place. Antony Passemard, general manager at Amazon Nimble Studio, notes that many in the content-creation space have turned to the cloud, either fully or in a hybrid scenario. Amazon Web Services' internal creative studio, FuzzyPixel, is providing feedback that is helping in the development of cloud solutions across a range of AWS for media & entertainment services. Joe O'Connell, sound designer/mix engineer/partner at Sonic Union in New York City, credits the studio's implementation of a cloud-based, file-management network with keeping the audio post house working throughout the pandemic. The network, says O'Connell, "pro- vides secure, high-speed transfer of large amounts of data between our 17 Avid Pro Tools systems, and allows us to work together seamlessly at home and in the studios." Sonic Union has also put together a dozen mobile-recording kits that the company can ship to clients and talent who are not equipped to record at home. "If you had told me in March of 2020 that our studios would remain mostly empty for 18 months and we would still be in business, I would have bet against that," says O'Connell. "Thankfully, I would have been wrong." Other highlights in this issue include my interview with editor Andrew Weisblum, ACE, who once again partnered with filmmaker Wes Anderson on his latest feature, The French Dispatch. Weisblum has collaborated with the director on a number of films, including Isle of Dogs, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Darjeeling Limited, and works closely with him throughout the edit. Turn to page 12 to hear about the challenges of creating this new film and how previs helped create a roadmap for the edit. And, of course, there's our cover story on Paramount+'s Madame X. I recently sat down with Nuno Xico and Sasha Kasiuha, the Brooklyn-based directing/editing duo called SKNX, following a screening at Harbor in New York City. Both had just wrapped up a year cutting the new concert film, in which they worked directly with Madonna. The feature follows sever- al years of collaboration with the artist on a range of music videos, content for her live shows and documentaries. Turn to page 16 to learn more about the project and how Madonna's feedback helped shape the final edit. It's been quite a year! We look forward to delivering more content in 2022 via our website, social media accounts, Post TV platform and print issue. Stay tuned! BY MARC LOFTUS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MLOFTUS@ POSTMAGAZINE.COM A THE OUTLOOK FOR 2022 SEE US ON EDITORIAL MARC LOFTUS Editor-In-Chief 516.376.1087 mloftus@postmagazine.com IAIN BLAIR Film & TV KAREN MOLTENBREY Animation & VFX karen@cgw.com MICHELLE VILLAS Senior Art Director michelle@moontidemedia.com NIKKI SMITH Graphic Designer ADVERTISING MARI KOHN Director of Sales 818.291.1153 cell 818.472.1491 mkohn@postmagazine.com LISA NEELY Corporate Sales Executive, Events, Custom and Integrated Print/Publishing Services lneely@copcomm.com 818.660.5828 JUNIOR LOPEZ Customer Service jlopez@copcomm.com 818.291.1117 DALE ESCEN Account Manager 818.291.1122 descen@copprints.com REPRINTS 781.255.0625 • 818.291.1153 WILLIAM R. 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