LAB 601 HANDLES COMPOSITING FOR CINGULAR

ATLANTA - Lab 601 recently completed compositing on nearly 60 shots that make up a Cingular campaign. Produced by Nice Hat Productions, the project involved a total of 2.5 minute of tracking DVC Pro HD-originated hand-held footage.

According to Lab 601 president/creative director Dave Ballard, the challenge of this project was its tight turnaround. All of the shots of the phones, PDAs and computer screens were captured hand-held and many moved on and off screen.

Director Jim Issa told Ballard that all of the screens would need to be inserted with graphics and video. Ballard used Monet for tracking. He instructed Issa to shoot the electronic items with their screens turned off. Images and reflections could be added in post to make them look real. Ballard, who had been using Money for only two months at the time, credits its ease of use and the fact that tracking points were not required for the job.

The shots were edited and finished in SD on an Avid DS 7.6. Lab 601 completed the shots in less than three eight-hour days. Once the edit was semi locked, recalls Ballard, they began comping. Most shots were completed within five minutes, he says, and the most complicated shots took only an hour.