A Look Back at Avatar, Inception, and More

Here at StudioDaily, we try to provide information that helps you be productive and creative — product reviews, focused tutorials, and case studies that give you ideas about how to handle your own projects. But it’s not always obvious which stories will click with readers. That’s why it’s fun to run the numbers at the end of the year. In 2010, the most-read stories on StudioDaily.com included looks at the workflows behind three blockbuster films, a hands-on report from one of the first shoots with Panasonic’s all-in-one 3D camcorder, and a story about VFX detail work on an oddball spot for VH1.

1.) How Weta Digital Handled Avatar

Avatar, director James Cameron’s second billion-dollar baby, stretched the process of making a visual effects blockbuster as much as it is stretching the imagination of audiences streaming into theaters to revel in an alien world.

2.) Editing Inception for a Photochemical Finish

“You never go onto a Chris Nolan film thinking, ‘Well, this one will be easy,’ says John Lee, additional editor on writer-director Christopher Nolan’s science-fiction mind-bender Inception, which opens in North American theaters July 16. He could be talking about the workflow challenges that face any editor working with a director who favors multi-format acquisition, but the director of The Dark Knight tends to have an especially ambitious vision.

3.) Editing for 3D on Alice in Wonderland

Working in the editorial department on Alice in Wonderland, JC Bond was the point of first contact for principal photography, assembling scenes as quickly as director Tim Burton could shoot them. He was also the gatekeeper for the film’s extensive visual-effects content, which he received and analyzed before it was cut into the movie. Working on a team led by film editor Chris Lebenzon, ACE, Bond made sure thousands of pieces of content fell into place as expected in the editorial pipeline — in stereo 3D, no less. Film & Video asked him about the challenge of managing massive quantities of footage, and found out why Alice might look ever-so-slightly different depending on where you see it.

4.) Field-Testing the Panasonic AG-3DA1 3D Camcorder

Veteran cinematographer Randall Dark isn’t content with existing technology. A pioneer in HDTV production since 1986, Dark says he’s always keeping his eye out for something that will rev up his creative gears and throw him into a new world of images, workflows, and storytelling possibilities. When he saw the first images of Panasonic’s new AG-3DA1 3D AVCCAM camcorder, he knew he had found it. “That thing looks like Wall-E,” he remembers thinking. “Physically, seeing that camera, I was excited.”

5.) Absolute Cleans Up VH1’s Weird New Promo

Everyone may find something to like somewhere in the bizarre programming on VH1 — that’s the message of "If You Like," a new 60-second promo for the cable channel directed by Bryan Buckley for agency Y&R in New York. Y&R Producer Lora Schulson pulled post-production studio Absolute into the mix for rig-removal, compositing, and other eleventh-hour touch-up work on the promo. The spot required the appearance of seamless transitions through a handful of vignettes depicting a cackling scriptwriter, an angry bocce player, an amorous robot, and a family of giant breasts, among other things. F&V talked to Absolute’s Sally Heath, executive producer, and James "Krispy" Cornwell, the lead Flame artist, about its work on "If You Like." Watch the spot, below, then read our Q&A for more info.