Featured Stories

The Making of Some Special Lenses

Mon, 12/28/2015 - 15:47 -- Nick Dager

When J.J. Abrams and Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC took on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, they knew they were handling a cultural touchstone. As they did with Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, they wanted to respect the antecedent while making a great, entertaining film for today’s audiences. So when it came to choosing format, lenses and the right look, they began by researching how the original Star Wars films were made.

Finishing Dixieland

Wed, 12/23/2015 - 09:57 -- Nick Dager

Post-production finishing for the new independent feature Dixieland was completed at Technicolor PostWorks New York. Colorist Anthony Raffaele worked with first-time writer/director Hank Bedford and cinematographer Tobias Datum to finalize the look of the tense crime thriller set in modern day Mississippi. The facility also handled editorial conforming and visual effects.

Cunningham Gives Missy Elliot Video Flair

Tue, 12/22/2015 - 12:30 -- Nick Dager

If you’re one of the 23 million who have seen the Top 10 iTunes WTF (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO_3Qgib6RQ) video of Missy Elliot featuring Pharrell Williams, you likely recognize the signature moves and grooves director Dave Meyers lent to the comeback queen’s rap performance. This year Scott Cunningham, his director of photography and long-time producer, is adding his own visual influence to Elliot’s storied career.

Kodak Releases New Film Cleaning System

Tue, 12/22/2015 - 12:03 -- Nick Dager

Kodak has announced the release of a new, P-200 Film Cleaning System that the company says transforms the traditional film cleaning process. The revolutionary design allows the cleaning solvent to be dispersed on the film surface in a unique way. This economical, compact and digitally controlled system, which uses Kodak HFE 7200 Film Cleaner Solution, makes it ideal for today’s archives and libraries.

Exceptional Minds Take on the Chipmunks

Tue, 12/22/2015 - 11:54 -- Nick Dager

The young adults on the autism spectrum who worked on visual effects for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, now in theatres, could have easily been pigeonholed into jobs that were either rote technical jobs or routine jobs, like stocking shelves at a grocery store. Instead, they went on to develop visual effects skills at Exceptional Minds vocational school – and surprised an industry that is known for its creativity: Hollywood.

Cutting Edge Turns Out Powers VFX

Tue, 12/22/2015 - 11:45 -- Nick Dager

Since 1992, Cutting Edge has built a string of studios that employs over 150 artists and reaches from Brisbane to Sydney. Like most professional shops they can do it all: films (Predestination, The Age of Adaline); commercials and TV series, including Powers, PlayStation Network’s first scripted show that’s based on Marvel’s beloved graphic novel series. What they couldn’t do was run all render requests off a single dispatcher, and the minutes kept adding up.

Ridley Scott to Receive ASC Board of Governors Award

Tue, 12/22/2015 - 11:37 -- Nick Dager

The American Society of Cinematographers will honor the extraordinary achievements of director-producer Ridley Scott in advancing the art and craft of filmmaking by bestowing him with the organization’s annual Board of Governors Award. The presentation will be made during the 30th ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement on February 14, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.

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