Make Work Flow
From Script to Screen
You have a vision
You can see the story you want to tell in
your mind’s eye. The question is how to
realize your vision and bring it to the
screen without making creative
compromises.
Motion picture technology is constantly
evolving. There are countless new tools
that you can use to unleash your
creativity. The first challenge you face is
cutting through the hype and choosing a
palette of tools that serves your vision
and expands your creative options.
Filmmaking is a collaborative, creative
process, involving producers, directors,
production designers, cinematographers,
editors and various other participants. It
is essential for everyone to share that
vision from concept to production,
through postproduction and deliverables
for the big or small screen.
“Production processes and workflow
options can be confusing due to the
increase in choices facing today’s
filmmakers,” says Leon Silverman,
president of LaserPacific, a Kodak company
that provides end-to-end postproduction
services. “With so many options,
it is more important than ever to work
within a system in which the filmmaker’s
original intent can be carried through the entire process. In order to predictably emulate the look of the final
results, color management and calibration become increasingly
important every step of the way. Planning with the end in mind from
the beginning of the process is crucial.”
Which workflow is right for your project?
Every new project begins with the need to make decisions about the
choice of origination media and format. Additionally, postproduction
and workflow techniques must be considered to ensure delivery of
your vision to cinemas, television screens, and/or alternate media
within the restraints of time and budgets. It can be a perplexing
endeavor because of the constant evolution of motion picture
production, postproduction, workflow, distribution and display
technologies.
Many factors can drive the choice of origination media and post
production workflow, but knowing the result you want is critical to the
process.
Here is what some filmmakers are saying about what drives their
decisions:
“I consider the choice of media and formats a tool, like choosing
cameras, lenses and lights,” explains Nancy Schreiber, ASC. “I want as
many options as possible. I encourage producers and directors not to
assume that you have to shoot digitally because you have a relatively
small budget. I tell them, ‘Let’s develop a visual language that makes
the story work, and then figure out the best way to achieve it within
the restraints of the budget.’”
“We wanted a feeling of visual continuity between the stories with
each set of images having its own personality,” Rodrigo Prieto, ASC,
AMC says of creating the visual style of Babel with director Alejandro
González Iñárritu. “We decided to shoot the Morocco scenes in Super
16 format, the Mexico and California segments with 35 mm spherical
lenses in 1.85:1 aspect ratio, and the scenes in Japan in anamorphic
format, and then seamlessly blend everything during DI
postproduction.”
“(Director) Brian (De Palma) said he wanted beautiful film noir
cinematography (on The Black Dahlia),” Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC
recounts. “I decided to frame in the 2.4:1 aspect ratio because the
period settings were essential backgrounds for establishing a sense of
time and place. I also recommended shooting in three-perf Super 35
format coupled with DI timing. Most of the story takes place at night,
and the look we designed called for desaturated colors with dark
shadows that helped define moods. I felt I could best add those
touches in DI. The three-perf format also enabled us to shoot 25
percent longer takes between the need to change magazines, and
trimmed raw stock and front-end lab costs.”
“We filmed Bobby both on stage and in practical locations,” says
Michael Barrett of Emilio Estevez’s film. “The scope of the story cried
out for a widescreen aspect ratio.We chose the three-perf Super 35
mm format because we needed the flexibility of spherical lenses. We
then took the film through a DI process knowing we could play with
contrast, grain and colors to blend 40-year-old 16 mm news footage
with our scenes.”
“We ended up shooting (Factory Girl) in Super 16 and Super 8,” says
Michael Grady. “Everyone was taken back when they heard that we
shot it mainly in Super 16 mm with some Super 8 film. They assumed it
was all about saving money, but we had around a $9 million budget, so
it was mainly an aesthetic decision.”
“We gave every emotion its own look,” says Gabriel Beristain, ASC,
BSC about shooting The Invisible. “That’s the beautiful thing about DI
— you can play with contrast, color, density and saturation to enhance
the different emotions in a film. It’s a marvelous tool for a
cinematographer, but the nuances of the images should always be on
your exposure. Everything on the negative should reflect as closely as
possible the final look.”
Options abound for independent filmmaking
Filmmakers are also exploring new paths that enable them to take
advantage of the flexibility offered by DI technology on lower budget,
independent features. One of the promising breakthroughs is the
addition of inDITM to the menu of digital intermediate services offered
by LaserPacific in Hollywood.
“The inDI system enables us to utilize the economies of a tape-based
HD workflow for lower budget films,” explains Glenn Kennel, vice
president and general manager of Motion Picture Services at
LaserPacific. “The film is scanned with a Spirit DataCine and converted
to HDSR format (1920 by 1080 RGB 4:4:4), which incorporates
advanced data compression technology, resulting in cleaner signals
with truer colors. The high definition D-5 and HDCAM formats (4:2:2)
use subsampled chrominance channels that are fine for broadcast, but
don’t offer the range of contrast and colors cinematographers use to
create nuanced images for feature films.”
“The Nines is like a three-act play with the same actors cast in
different roles for each part,” says Schreiber, who utilized the inDI
process on the film. “The director (John August) described his ideas
(to me) for creating distinct visual signatures for each story. We
decided to shoot each segment in a different format and blend the
images into a seamless whole by using DI technology during post
production. For part one, we used Super 16 mm film for classical framing,
often static, with characters moving within the frame. Part two
required the look of a reality TV show with all handheld camera
movement, for which we chose standard definition 24P video. Part
three was shot with three-perf 35 mm to recreate cinematic
production values appropriate for a dramatic TV show.”
What’s new isn’t necessarily better
Writer/director Christopher Nolan and Wally Pfister, ASC composed
Memento, Insomnia, and Batman Begins in 35 mm anamorphic format
coupled with traditional optical timing at a film lab. For their fourth
collaboration, they briefly discussed the possibility of shooting
The Prestige in Super 35 format with faster spherical lenses and putting
finishing touches on the look during DI timing. They decided to
find a way to shoot with anamorphic lenses and optical timing for a
more organic look.
“Our lighting in the beginning of the story was motivated by candles
and gas lamps, and by the end, it was electricity and light bulbs,”
Pfister says. “The electrical lights are a little brighter and a purer white.
The gas lamps and firelight were a little bit warmer — a red-yellow
tone, not quite as bright. … There is a scene where Chris felt it was
important that we have very bright light with neutral colors. … We had
300 light bulbs in a field and turned them on. It’s very bright, white
light with no colors. It’s an overwhelming experience.”
Nolan and Pfister also opted to shoot elements for two important
visual effects shots in The Prestige in 65 mm IMAX® format because
they wanted pristine image quality that feels magical and looks
believable. One was an interior scene and the other an exterior night
shot. The main action in both scenes was filmed with a handheld 35
mm camera. Additional footage was filmed in 65 mm with the camera
on a tripod.
“The use of 65 mm film in IMAX format was a new idea that we will
keep exploring in the future,” Nolan says. “I feel a great responsibility
to produce the best possible images. I absolutely believe that
audiences respond on a subconscious level.”
Maintaining control of your vision
Color management is the glue that retains the creative integrity of the
intentions of the filmmaker from production through post and delivery.
Kodak scientists have developed various tools to help filmmakers
maintain control of their visions: the KODAK Look Manager System
(KLMS) and KODAK Display Manager System (KDM).
LaserPacific has also developed technology for an end-to-end,
color-calibrated workflow system. The accurateIMAGETM (aIM) system
calibrates, connects and integrates all devices used for displaying
images in digital formats on set and for dailies, previews, the DI and
distribution. The system faithfully emulates a project’s look created by
cinematographers in collaboration with directors throughout every step
of post. The aIM process also applies any color decisions made during
the early stages of the project to subsequent steps in the workflow,
eliminating the need to start over and recreate a look that had been
previously dialed in. LaserPacific’s aIM process incorporates
proprietary Kodak color science technology, and supports the Color
Decision List (CDL) developed by the American Society of
Cinematographers’ (ASC) Technology Committee.
The KODAK Look Manager System provides filmmakers with a reliable
and affordable means for designing looks during preproduction
planning and retaining the integrity of their vision during each step of
the journey. The system enables cinematographers to experiment by
emulating the imaging characteristics of any Kodak film, filter or lab
process in search of the perfect look. It also allows them to efficiently
and accurately communicate their intentions for each shot to every
member of the creative team. The KODAK Display Manager System is
used to calibrate workstations. It accurately simulates projected print
film on all supported display devices throughout a postproduction
workflow.
Beristain used KLMS on four feature films: The Ring Two, The Shaggy
Dog, The Sentinel and The Invisible. “With the onset of digital
technology for postproduction and dailies, I needed a new way to
communicate,” he explains. “The most elaborate verbal explanations
and references are no substitute for having digital still images that you
can manipulate to indicate your intentions, so the dailies timer and
everyone else see exactly what you are trying to achieve. The
[KODAK] Look Manager System is a fantastic tool.”
“KLMS was great,” says Benjamin Kasulke, the cinematographer who
shot Pose Down. “I could try out various stocks, look at the grain
structure, and see how they handled colors. I also experimented with
various filtration packages to see how they reacted to the hard sunlight
and deep darkness. … We knew we would need film’s latitude to
capture a distinctive look, and the Super 16 format fit our budget and
the need to move quickly with a small crew.”
Get your vision on the screen
Film captures and retains much higher resolution with considerably
more exposure latitude than any current digital video devices. Those
features inherent to film technology also provide more options and
flexibility during postproduction.
“I love the look of film and the feelings it evokes,” says award-winning
documentarian Ken Burns. “It is how I choose to express myself, like a
painter who chooses oils instead of watercolors. We were dealing with
people’s most painful memories (when making The War). They had
seen their best friends killed or maimed and had come close to that
themselves. We wanted it to feel organic.”
Originating on film gives you extraordinary flexibility for delivering your
projects. Images recorded on film can be scanned and converted to
digital files for offline editing in the format of your choice. After editing,
the negative is conformed and scanned at the appropriate resolution,
usually dictated by the budget. After the film is timed in a DI
environment, the digital file is recorded out to film and/or the
appropriate delivery format.
Make your vision last forever
Film is the most reliable and only proven way to archive your precious
intellectual property. Properly archived black-and-white separations
will last hundreds of years, and color negative and intermediate stocks
will last for a century. Digital video is an improvement over analog
video, but the storage medium is still either a magnetic tape or disk,
both of which are impermanent. According to the Library of Congress,
the best magnetic storage media (the media usually used for digital
video and HD images) can only be depended on for a decade.
“All you need is a lens and a source of light, and you will be able to
copy films in your archives onto a duplicate negative or perhaps some
other medium in the future,” says Rick Utley, vice president of
PRO-TEK Media Preservation Services for Kodak. “If you store your film
correctly, it can last up to 500 years before you have to make a
duplicate copy. Videotape is another story. Research indicates that 10
to 15 years might be the average life because the signals degrade and
you constantly have to migrate to the latest technology or face media
or equipment obsolescence. Technology moves too quickly to expect
images captured in data to be accessible in 25 to 30 years.”
Our vision
Kodak listens and responds to the needs of filmmakers, and has for
more than 100 years. We have been consistently forward-thinking in
providing new tools that enable the creative community to tell their
stories based on knowledge from over a century of imaging science.
We are committed to the future of film because we believe in the value
it can bring to your vision.
| 
