Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1515786
14 C I N E M O N T A G E W H A T O U R M E M B E R S D O Q: Where are you currently employed? Universal Studios Q: Current projects? I r e c e n t l y f i n i s h e d P a r a m o u n t 's "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," and a m c u r re n t l y w o r k i n g o n U n i v e r s a l 's "Twisters." Q: Describe your job. Visual effects editing is an interesting job in that we are part of the editorial team — we work closely with the editor, assistant editors, director, etc. — but at the same time, we also work very closely with the visual eects team on the show. We function as sort of a conduit between editorial and visual eects and spend a lot of time com- ALEXIS LAIN Alexis Lain. VISUAL EFFECTS ASSISTANT EDITOR municating changes and updates between the two sides of post. A big part of our job is to keep track of every visual effects shot in the movie — how it changes throughout the edit — and relay that information to the visual eects vendors so they can work to the correct frame range and creative directives. We are responsible for turning over shots from the film to the visual eects vendors, meaning we give them the plate(s) for the shot, as well as any additional material they may need to create the shot such as balls and charts, clean plates, background plates, etc. Balls and charts and clean plates are special versions of the plate. Balls and charts refers to the version of the plate that has a ball with a reflective side and a matte side so that people making the eects can see how light plays on objects in the scene and a color chart to see how colors are affected by lighting. A clean plate is a version that has the same camera move and action as the main plate, just without actors in it so the visual eects artists have a clean plate to work with. Once the vendors start turning around versions of shots, we ingest them into the Avid and update the current edit with the submissions so the editor and director can see them in the intended context. Then each shot goes through a series of stages through