Featured Stories

Trizz Makes Long Distance Call with Frankie

Thu, 01/09/2014 - 14:57 -- Nick Dager

Barcelona creative shop Trizz is known for its unconventional work, directing and designing for a mix of 3D, VFX and experience design, including multi-touch, interactive and projection mapping. Its work appears in TVCs, art galleries, publications and even during concerts and other live events. Chris Vulpi and Oriol Puig, who co-founded Trizz in 2009, say they have identified inefficiencies in the VFX and post industry and applied a more streamlined, workable model to their business.

Understanding the Changing Nature of Filmed Stories

Wed, 01/08/2014 - 12:42 -- Nick Dager

Filmmaker Matt Ogens latest effort is a feature length documentary called Meet the Hitlers. When he selects the right for any of his projects his first thought, though, is how best to tell the story is wants to convey. “It all comes down to telling great stories,” said Ogens. “There are different types of stories, and the nature of the story itself may change how I capture it on film. To decide on that, I collaborate with a director of photography and ask what type of camera he or she thinks is best for each project from a creative perspective, but sometimes the reality of a budget may also dictate what cameras are available to me. We will discuss the look I want for the story and then the DP and I will choose the camera.”

TCL Chinese Theatres Names Christie its “Official 4K Digital Projection Partner”

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 15:20 -- Nick Dager

TCL Chinese Theatres has named Christie its official 4K digital projection partner for the renovated TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. Christie digital cinema projectors have also been installed exclusively at the adjacent TCL Chinese 6 Theatres.

Finding Authentic Stories for Nonfiction Films

Mon, 01/06/2014 - 11:35 -- Nick Dager

Mark Mooney’s Crescent Moon Pictures, located outside of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina focuses primarily on shooting resort and high-end residential community development. “We’ve found an emotional approach to our programs and projects, which reflect what we call the authentic story of a place and why it is the place to live or visit,” he says.

Recreating an Iconic Moment from the Civil Rights Era

Fri, 12/20/2013 - 12:11 -- Nick Dager

Re-creating the past can be challenging for filmmakers, especially when tasked to duplicate the look of a particular time in history for a period movie. Add a tight budget, cramped locations, and underwater photography, and you have the situation James Chressanthis, ASC, faced as cinematographer for the movie The Watsons Go to Birmingham. Based on the novel by Christopher Paul Curtis, the film depicts a fictional family’s 1963 road trip intersecting with an actual terrorist bombing during the civil-rights era.

Target Goes Green at Hollywood Center Studios

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 15:56 -- Nick Dager

A new series of ads for Target were recently shot on minimalistic all-white sets at Hollywood Center Studios and yet rank among the most environmentally friendly spots ever produced on the nearly 100-year-old lot. Virtually all of the sets, props, wardrobe, and discards (such as food waste from catering and craft services) were earmarked for reuse, recycling or composting. It’s estimated that nearly four tons of potential waste products were diverted from local landfills on these two projects due to the production’s adoption of eco-friendly production practices.

Integrating Sound into The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Wed, 12/18/2013 - 15:49 -- Nick Dager

Park Road Post ProductionThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was brought to life at Park Road Post Production, New Zealand, where the production team mastered both high frame rate stereoscopic 3D at 48 frames per second and immersive Dolby Atmos sound, and integrated it all into the digital cinema package process.

The main tool they used for the task was the DVS Clipster, which allows for the world’s first implemented high frame rate DCI workflow with Dolby Atmos.

A Conversation with VFX Producer Richard Thwaites

Tue, 12/17/2013 - 16:54 -- Nick Dager

Producers are the unsung heroes of the visual effects industry. Working on the periphery, their contributions aren’t always acknowledged, but their role as project manager, budget overseer, client advocate and cheerleader to the visual effects team is essential to the success of the project. If artists are the gears that drive the visual effects engine, producers are the grease that allows the gears to turn smoothly.

MTI Film Restores John Wayne Classic North to Alaska for Twentieth Century Fox

Tue, 12/17/2013 - 16:44 -- Nick Dager

MTI Film recently completed an all-new digital restoration of North to Alaska, Twentieth Century Fox’s 1960 comedy starring John Wayne. Employing proprietary technology and image processing techniques, MTI Film scanned the original 35mm cut negative at 4K before putting the film through an intensive restoration process to address faded color, Newton rings, dirt, scratches and many other defects. MTI Film ultimately delivered fully restored 4K files to produce a new 35mm negative for long-term preservation, along with a 4K DCP Master and high definition masters in a variety of aspect ratios.

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