|  | Articles
July 1, 2008
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|  | DI: 'HANCOCK' DIRECTOR PETER BERG TURNS TO TECHNICOLOR
Randi Altman
CULVER CITY, CA — What if all you want to do is kick back with a few cold ones and watch TV, but fate has bigger plans? You see, fate wants you to be a superhero. So you begrudgingly save someone here and there, but your heart is not in it, the public knows it, and they're annoyed. You're only option is a public relations expert to turn things around. Such is the life of Will Smith in Sony Pictures' Hancock.
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| | DIRECTOR'S CHAIR: LOUIS LETERRIER - 'THE INCREDIBLE HULK'
Iain Blair
HOLLYWOOD — When Ang Lee’s moody 2003 The Hulk failed to ignite the box office, it looked like premature death for the not-so-jolly green giant. But you can’t keep a superhero down for long, and now the Hulk is back on summer screens in The Incredible Hulk, an action-packed epic that hopes to reboot the franchise and do for the Hulk what Iron Man did for its hero.
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| | GREENSCREEN TECHNIQUES
Randi Altman
The art of greenscreen has become demystified in recent years thanks to
the accessibility of professional tools at affordable prices. But
access to good tools alone doesn't convey command of the nuances that
working with a key demands. Angles, lighting and experience make all
the difference.
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| | HIGHER LEARNING: INTERNSHIPS
Marc Loftus
For those aspiring to break into the industry, an internship can play an important role. It's also a way to see how a studio operates from the inside, as well as an opportunity to ask questions and learn from veteran talent. Many facilities are opening their doors to students, giving them hands-on experience that goes beyond what can be learned in a classroom. And those who show aptitude and desire are often rewarded with paid positions down the road, when openings become available.
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| | MIXING DISCOVERY'S 'WHEN WE LEFT EARTH'
Marc Loftus
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Sound engineer Cliff Jones recently completed
mixing a six-episode documentary series for Discovery Channel that
details the history of the US space program, which is celebrating its
50th anniversary. Produced by London's Dangerous Films
(www.dangerousfilms.co.uk), When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions
digs deep into NASA's vault, revealing never-before-seen footage that
documents the successes and failures of the program over the years.
| | | GETTING A FOOT IN THE DOOR
Marc Loftus
I remember my first internship. Right after graduating college, I started volunteering at my local PBS station on Long Island. I had visions of working with cameras and capturing sound, but the reality was that I spent more time in their mailroom, stuffing umbrellas and coffee mugs into padded envelopes for shipping to the station’s donors.
| | | GREENSCREEN: HD OR FILM?
Randi Altman
In this issue we discuss the challenges of going green, but we’re not talking about being environmentally friendly — although Post Magazine is all for that, of course! The green we are talking about can also be blue — the article (on page 24) is about shooting and compositing greenscreen.
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| | REVIEW: NEWBLUEFX FOR AVX
Jonathan Moser
One of the reasons I became a video editor was because I like to play
with toys, and among the coolest toys editors have are AVX filters.
Recently I had a chance to test a new filters package from NewBlueFX.
| | BLUEARC'S TITAN USED TO CONTAIN 'THE INCREDIBLE HULK'
TORONTO - Soho VFX relied on BlueArc's Titan storage solution to complete its VFX work for Marvel Comics/Universal Studios' The Incredible Hulk. The studio upgraded to the Titan after realizing the restrictions of their own home-grown IT infrastructure back in 2005, when they were working on The Chronicles of Narnia DVD release.
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| | TUTORIAL: BCC RAYS CARTOON FILTER
Using the Boris Continuum Complete Rays Cartoon filter in Final Cut Pro to generate a volumetric lighting effect on an animated text element. The BCC Rays Cartoon filter will also give text the appearance of being made of neon lights.
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| | VFX-HEAVY 'PS3' SPOT RELIES ON GREENSCREEN SHOOT
SAN FRANCISCO - Kontent Films and Core Studios recently teamed up to create a VFX-driven two-minute music video that promotes Sony's Playstation 3. Kontent's Eric Escobar directed the project, which is based around a live action actor who is immersed in a virtual world that surrounds him with game content and video media.
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