The Cutting Room

What do you get when you have a major event feature film that runs at 2 and half hours, in 3D, with a rolling conform, multilayered transitions, complex optical sequences and thousands of VFX shots? A very involved Digital Intermediate process. Adriene Hurst (for Digital Media World) describes the process of finishing The Great Gatsby in this article: Cutting Edge Transforms ‘Gatsby’ into Living Colour.

Image courtesy of Cutting Edge/Warner Bros pictures

As the Editorial DI Supervisor my role on the film was to work closely with Senior Digital Intermediate Colourist Adrian Hauser and his team to ensure the DI was always as up to date as possible – no simple feat with a cut that was changing by the minute and VFX updates rolling in continually. I was also the point person for Lead Flame Artist Hugh Seville and his team of artists who were handling the sequences dubbed by Baz as “poetic glue”, ensuring they had the latest scans, VFX and reference to create these complex opticals.

The above article is very focused on the excellent job Cutting Edge did with the DI. To add an editorial slant to that information I’ve jotted down five tips on managing a complex DI from an editorial perspective. (more…)