Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/145624
had to finish all the VFX and post a few months later. That's a huge challenge." POST: Do you like the post process? LIN: "I love it. And I love editing, which is the final rewrite. If you can share your pointof-view effectively with your cast and crew on the shoot, then it all comes to life in post." POST: Where did you do the post? LIN: "During the shoot I have a crew in LA and one in London, and once we wrapped it was all on the Universal lot. We took over a whole building. First floor was all editing, the second floor was all VFX, and then all the sound and music was done on the lot too." POST: The film was edited by Christian Wagner and Kelly Matsumoto. Tell us about that relationship and how it worked. Were they on-set? LIN: "Chris basically supervised, although he joined later, but no one cut each other's sequences. The way we work is that everyone has to be on the same point, and they have to understand why it's shot that way. For instance, Kelly cut the big 'Antonov' plane crash previs and tank previs stuff, and then it got handed off later." POST: Is it true you had five editors cutting at one point? LIN: "Yes, and I alternated from one room to the next, which I love, so I never have to sit and wait. Every frame I know by heart, and this method's the next best thing to editing it myself. When [editor] Greg D'Auria joined, I needed him in London as he was cutting pre-vis on several sequences we were doing there, so he had to be close by. Then, when we all met up, I'd explain why some cuts work in a certain way, so it would all be very cohesive. Once we began production, all five editors were on." POST: There's obviously a huge number of visual effects shots in the film. How many are there, and what was your approach to dealing with them? LIN: "We had over 1,800 and used a lot of companies — Double Negative, Pixomondo, Image Engine, MPC, Hydraulx, Level 256, Hatch. What I've learned is that VFX only work if they're designed correctly. That's why I bring all the editors on so early. They're there while I'm designing them with the DP and production designer and so on. That's crucial." POST: You also used two VFX supervisors. How did that work? LIN: "David Vickery from Double Negative comes with his whole team, and Kelvin MciIwain [from Kaliber Visual Effects] has worked with me on every film, as either a supervisor or vendor. It's a big team effort. The more eyeballs I have and trust to create these shots, the faster and better we can do it, because often shots arrive in batches. So it was a great set-up and David also worked directly with a lot of the VFX artists on a lot of the big sequences, while Kelvin oversaw There were two visual effects supervisors on the film and over 1,800 VFX effects shots spread out over many different houses. all the outside vendors." POST: What was the most difficult VFX sequence/shot to do and why? LIN: "They're all tricky. The Antonov plane sequence was mitigated by the fact that we built the whole plane, so the extensions had some context.Trying to support all of the practical stunts is always a challenge, and making sure the VFX are enhancing, not taking over." POST: Can you talk about the importance of music and sound to you as a filmmaker? LIN: "It's huge. I now have 13 characters I need to take care of, so a lot of the subtext needs to be dealt with through music and sound. Music editor Paul Rabjohns has been a hero because he came in and helped the composer and music supervisors find the right music to fit the film." POST: The DI must have been vital? How did that process help? LIN: "We did it at Universal and it's the final touch on the whole post process, so I'm in there for hours and hours making small adjustments and making sure it's the right tone." POST: Did the film turn out the way you hoped it would? LIN: "It did. I think it had to, or I wouldn't make my deadline (Laughs). I love the challenge of pulling it all together." POST: So will you do another? LIN: "No. This is it for me, the last one. Eight years ago, I felt that if we could grow the franchise, we'd be here today. So it means we fulfilled all the dreams, and it's very satisfying to get here. It wraps everything up from the first five films, and it feels like the end of a chapter, so it's time for me to move on." POST: Any interest in doing a 3D film? LIN: "Definitely. But I think 3D's a medium that needs to be respected and designed. I can't stand the 2D films that do a post conversion. They never look good." POST: What's next? LIN: "I'm developing several projects and I have choices today I never had 10 years before. It's very exciting." www.postmagazine.com Christian Wagner and Kelly Matsumoto edited the film, although at one time Lin had five editors working simultaneously, including Greg D'Auria. Post • July 2013 11