Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/407863
38 CINEMONTAGE / NOV-DEC 14 The format is used in Interstellar in much the same way as it was in The Dark Knight — for the occasional long shot or for scenes involving action without much dialogue. "What I like about it from an editing standpoint is that some sequences just lend themselves to this vast IMAX screen," Smith says. "Dramatically, when the sequence would go wide or start wide or cut into an establishing shot with the IMAX format, it did give you a rush and a certain sense of exhilarational vertigo." Although, Nolan adds, because van Hoytema figured out a way to hand-hold the IMAX camera — and because the camera's noise was unimportant when recording sound in space helmets — "We were actually able to get a bigger range of scenes than we'd gotten before; we captured intimate moments as well as very spontaneous and energetic moments with the camera that we wouldn't have been able to do on the other films." IMAX dailies were saved for special half-day sessions on an IMAX screen, according to Smith. With reduction prints already struck and the scenes already in the Avid, viewing the material in its original format is a bit "like Christmas," he says. "By then, you've kind of forgotten what you shot. We print selected footage to 70mm and have a look at it. It's always very invigorating to watch that stuff roll through." One of Nolan's strong preferences is to use production dialogue whenever possible. Only six hours of ADR was recorded on Interstellar, Smith says, "as opposed to weeks and weeks of what you would expect to record on a conventional action film." Supervising sound editor Richard King, along with re-recording mixers Gregg Landaker and Gary Rizzo, CAS, have been working with Nolan for most of the Batman years (see related story, page 40). Together, they have eschewed pre-dubbing in favor of a "rolling temp dub," which was, Smith says, requested by Nolan "as a reaction to putting a lot of effort and ideas into the first temp and then having to effectively start again for the final mix. It was a cool way to streamline the process and was embraced by Richard, Gary and Gregg." Although Interstellar has its share of fire-spewing rockets and spaceships landing on faraway planets, Nolan is cautious when it comes to computer-generated imagery. "There is certainly a CG component to the movie because, obviously, it's difficult to send people to space without that aid," Smith says, careful to point out that the film is not dominated by CG effects or environments. "This is very much a film that's being shot to look real and is tactile." Interstellar was filmed on locations in Canada, Iceland and Los Angeles. The otherworldly elements were often introduced on set rather than in post-production, according to Smith. "I think what makes it such a great film is that you can sort of understand and associate with it because there is so much reality in the frame, even if what you're looking at you believe to be other worlds." Summing up the experience of editing Interstellar, Smith says with a laugh, "To be cheesy, it's out of this world, man, out of this world." f "Music always deceives you in terms of the effectiveness of your pacing — that's the key thing — and in terms of your mood." – Christopher Nolan