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www.postmagazine.com 28 POST DECEMBER 2015 OUTLOOK DIRECTOR O JOE WRIGHT Pan, Atonement, Anna Karenina, Pride & Prejudice The British director/producer grabbed Hollywood's attention with his debut film, 2005's Pride & Prejudice, which won a raft of awards and four Oscar nomina- tions. He followed that up with the Os- car-winning war drama Atonement and Anna Karenina, before switching gears and making the VFX-heavy live action adventure Pan. STRENGTHS: "Post is simply the funda- mental element of the entire filmmaking process. It's the element that's specific only to filmmaking and as the great Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky said, 'It's where we sculpt in time.' Film for me is all about time and rhythm, and post is where all that comes together." WEAKNESSES: "I think every director says the same thing, that you just never have enough time or budget. It's always a race, and it's easy to lose focus as post offers you limitless possibilities now." OPPORTUNITIES: "There are so many with all the new tools out there now. For instance, sound has always been very important to me and I love the Atmos system, which we used to mix Pan with. And what's exciting about Atmos and the new laser projectors that are coming out — along with advances in 3D and VFX — is that technologically, we're developing a medium that has to be watched in the cinema and that is totally immersive. That to me is thrilling." THREATS: "The biggest one to me is also about time, as I feel that post schedules have been reduced and speeded up so much in the past few years, which makes the whole post process harder than ever. When I cut Atonement, which was just three years or so ago, I had nine months — and that film had zero visual effects in it. And for Pan, which had around 1,600 visual effects shots, I had barely six months! The thing is, cutting a movie and doing all the post is a process of discov- ery. It's not like I'm executing a plan. You go into post trying to find and reveal the film that is inherent in the material you've shot, so compressing post makes that process that much more difficult. And it's worrying. In an ideal world, we'd have the choice, as some material, such as Pan, suits digital. But I feel other movies are better suited to film. It's like water colors and oils. And you want to have the choice and enough time to post it and make those discoveries." OUTLOOK FOR 2016: "I live in a very isolated little corner of London, and I try not to engage too much in all the ups and downs of the business and the industry. But I think for me, the year ahead in cinema will be an exciting exploration as to whether all the crazy ideas we came up with for Pan actually work — and that's both terrifying and thrilling. As for the general state of the industry, the British film industry is pretty healthy, and the fact that so many American directors are now moving there to work, as they're making more big movies in London than Hollywood now, is both great for us and sad for LA. I feel very sad that more films aren't being shot in LA — and they should be, as it's the home of cinema. So I'm very con- cerned for what's happening in Holly- wood and very pleased about what's happening in London." The thing is, cutting a movie and doing all the POST IS A PROCESS OF DISCOVERY. It's not like I'm executing a plan. You go into post trying to find and reveal the film that is inherent in the material you've shot, so compressing post makes that process that much more difficult." — Wright Pan