Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1468810
NEW TOOLS FOR ALIGNING PICTURE AND SOUND The Reconformists By Jennifer Walden Picture-lock, what's that? Filmmaking is evolving into a parallel editing process. When talking about their recent sound work on "The Batman," su- pervising sound editors Doug Murray and Will Files discussed the creative benefits of having the sound and picture departments working in tandem. Also, it's not uncommon to have updated VFX or new picture cuts making their way onto the dub stage during the final mix. (There are even rare instances — such as on "Pokémon Detective Pikachu" — when VFX changes came in after the printmaster was complete, according to sound designer John Marquis). Each new picture cut requires a recon- form of the sound and/or VFX sessions — to take what was already created and realign it to match the new picture cut before begin- ning work on that new version. A reconform also happens when changes in the picture (such as updated VFX) require additional sound work. With the picture, sound, and VFX teams working concurrently, the need for robust reconform tools is on the rise. Here we check out three options — The Cargo Cult's Matchbox, Nuendo 11's built-in ReConform tool, and mfChangeNote . MATCHBOX FROM THE CARGO CULT In August 2020, The Cargo Cult released M a t c h b o x , a re c o n f o r m t o o l t h a t h a s become a favorite in the post-production industry. It was nominated for a 2021 AMPS "Excellence in a Post-Production Audio Product" Award, and two CAS Awards for "Outstanding Product – Post-Production" in 2020 and 2021. Instead of simply updating their Em- my-winning Conformalizer software, The 50 C I N E M O N T A G E T E C H Screen captures from The Cargo Cult's Matchbox, Nuendo 11's built in ReConform tool, and mfChangeNote.