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THE MAGAZINE FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS WORKING IN FILM, AUDIO, VIDEO, MOTION GRAPHICS, IMAGING AND DESIGN
®
MORE SIGNAL, LESS NOISE — CREATIVECOW.NET MARCH / APRIL 2010
Magic
Journey
to Africa
CREATING EUROPE’S FIRST LIVE ACTION IMAX STEREOSCOPIC 3D PRODUCTION
Plus:
• ESPN In 3D
• Avatar’s DI Workflow
• Lesli Linka Glatter’s Journey
• Saving Film at the Library of Congress
®

THE MAGAZINE FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS WORKING IN VIDEO, FILM, AUDIO, MOTION GRAPHICS, IMAGING & DESIGN
4
CREATIVE COW MAGAZINE
A CREATIVE COW LLC PUBLICATION
PUBLISHERS:
Ron & Kathlyn Lindeboom
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER:
Tim Wilson
magazine@creativecow.net
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS:
Bernat Aragonés,
Anthony Bailey, Lesli Linka Glatter,
Ron Lindeboom, Mark Smirnoff,
Ken Weissman, Tim Wilson
LAYOUT & DESIGN:
Ron Lindeboom, Tim Wilson,
Stefani Rice
CREATIVE COW ADVERTISING:
Tim Matteson
tmatteson@creativecow.net
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR:
Abraham Chaffin
abraham@creativecow.net
CONTACT US:
magazine@creativecow.net
(805) 239-5645 voice
(805) 239-0712 fax
Creative COW Magazine is published bi-monthly by
CreativeCOW LLC (Creative Communities of the World) at
2205 Villa Lane, Paso Robles, CA 93446. (805) 239-5645.
Postage paid at Hanover, New Hampshire. U.S. subscription
rates are free to qualified subscribers. Creative COW
is a registered trademark of Creative COW LLC. All rights
are reserved. Magazine contents are copyright © 2009 by
Creative COW Magazine. All rights are reserved. Right of
reprint is granted only to non-commercial educational
institutions such as high schools, colleges and universities.
No other grants are given.
The opinions of our writers do not always reflect those
of the publisher and while we make every effort to be
as accurate as possible, we cannot and do not assume
responsibility for damages due to errors or omissions.
LEGAL STATEMENT: All information in this magazine is
offered without guarantee as to its accuracy and applicability
in all circumstances. Please consult an attorney,
business advisor, accountant or other professional to discuss
your individual circumstances. Use of the information
in this magazine is not intended to replace professional
counsel. Use of this information is at your own risk
and we assume no liability for its use.
®
Creative COW
CREATIVE COMMUNITIES OF THE WORLD
M A G A Z I N E
MARCH / APRIL 2010
8
16
24
34
40
44
50
In This Issue:
Tim Wilson’s Column ............................................ 6
The Back Forty with Ron Lindeboom .............. 50
World In
Changes
Magic Journey to Africa
A Look Behind Europe’s First Live Action 3D IMAX Feature
A Storyteller’s Journey
Where do you go after your first project for AFI’s Directing
Workshop for Women is nominated for an Oscar?
Beyond Forever: Preserving Films
The Library of Congress takes steps to save films — forever
More Than Just Blue
A talk with the man behind the DI workflow of Avatar
ESPN’s 3D Initiative
The head of ESPN ‘s 3D initiative talks about ESPN’s future
Industry News and Featured Products
News and products that you might have missed
The COW’s International Music Video Competition
The votes are in on the 327 entries from around the world in
Creative COW’s First Annual International Music Video Competition.
We look at the contest and the winners.
®
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
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Tim Wilson
Boston, Massachusetts
Editor-In-Chief,
Associate Publisher
Creative COW Magazine
To succeed
in this
business,
you only
need to
learn one
thing: how
to keep
learning.
6
Hello. My name is Tim. I am a Newbie.
Somebody once asked how we can claim that the community forums at Creative
COW are a high-level professional resource, when there are obviously newbie
questions there. Simple: because high-level professionals who are paying attention never
stop learning. Even if they are able to answer other people’s difficult questions about some
things, they have basic questions of their own about others.
I started thinking about this again when I read Tony Hudson’s story in our “Non-linear
Creativity” issue. Tony supervised visual effects teams for George Lucas on movies including
“Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets,” the two “Men in Black” pictures, “Star Trek
IV: The Voyage Home” (for which he designed and operated puppets for the whales that
played such a pivotal role), “Magnolia,” “A.I.” for Steven Spielberg, and dozens more of some
of the most pioneering, effects-intensive features of the past 25 years.
Tony came to the COW because he was starting to use Final Cut for the first time. He
was also beginning to use Nuke to composite. And he found himself doing jobs like matchmoving
that he had previously delegated to other people on his teams. In other words, he
was now a newbie.
One of our fastest-growing groups at the COW is broadcast engineers. These are people
with years of experience with satellites, switchers, and servers — but who are now learning
tools that were once the domain of IT departments. Transitioning to digital infrastructures,
they are exploring new cameras and learning new ways to incorporate metadata. One such
COW member is chief of engineering for one of the Big Four US networks, as well as all of
their cable properties in business, news, sports and entertainment. He is obviously one of
the elite experts in his field, and has been for a very long time. He is also a newbie.
This is a roundabout way of answering another question I’ve heard. How can the COW
possibly be a professional peer-to-peer support network when it has grown from 200,000
monthly visitors to over 2 million monthly visitors in the last four years? Because newbies
are being hatched every day — from among the industry’s most experienced, most highly
qualified, most creative leaders. No matter how much they know about some things, they
also need to know about something new. Something more. Now.
Not all newbies at the COW are world-class experts in something, of course. Plenty
of them are new to everything related to this business — although what we mean when
we say “related to this business” now is exponentially larger than what the words “related
to this business” meant only a few years ago. It is with good reason that the National Association
of Broadcasters is expanding around the concept of “Broader-casting.” The world
is growing too quickly for even the highest-powered experts to keep up with it all, unless
they are willing to keep throwing themselves into situations where they are newbies.
The fact is that there’s no time to wait for the “standards to settle.” (I say “standards”
because there’s never just one of them anymore, is there?) We are creating TV programming
before we know how viewers will see it. We are creating movies for screens that aren’t
there yet. New equipment, new platforms, new formats, and you’re expected to be an expert
on them. Now. Staying inside your comfort zone is a recipe for disaster.
This is why we have such a simple answer to students who ask what they need to learn
in order to succeed in this remarkable business, one that is both driving and being driven
by such rapid advances in art and science. You only need to learn one thing: how to keep
learning. For everything that you become an expert in, become a newbie in something
else. Learn to keep becoming a newbie, or learn how to keep becoming unemployed.
n
P.S. This issue takes its name from the song “World in Changes” by Dave Mason, from his landmark
1970 album “Alone Together.” To be honest, the words to the song have nothing to do with
this issue, but we liked the title, and we love the organ solo at the end by Billy Preston (though some
would argue Don Preston, our vote’s with Billy). Lovely music to listen to while you read.
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
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A LOOK BEHIND THE MAKING OF EUROPE’S FIRST LIVE ACTION STEREOSCOPIC 3D IMAX FEATURE
A Magic
Journey to
Africa
Barcelona’s Apuntolapospo draws on 18 years of experience to create live-action 3D
There have obviously been stereoscopic films for
many years, since the 50s, and even earlier. In this new
age of digital filmmaking, though, “Magic Journey to
Africa” is the first live-action stereoscopic 3D feature
to be produced in Europe, for both digital cinema and
IMAX.
“Magic Journey to Africa” is our second coproduction
with the Barcelona-based Orbita Max. We
had previously worked together on the first Spanish
IMAX production — a film called “The Mystery of the
8
Bernat Aragonès
Barcelona, Spain
Nile.” This time, we provided post-production, as well
as 3D production consulting.
My father, José María Aragonès, Technical Director
and Co-producer for “Magic Journey”, and founder of
Apuntolapospo has a long list of accomplishments,
including a first 3D production in 1992. In fact, my first
job was as a member of the production crew with my
father on this project, a 20-minute promotional piece
for the Frankfort Motor Show.
Bernat received his BA in Literature and Philosophy, but soon started to combine
these interests with editing. He got his Masters Degree in Film Editing from the
American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles. Bernat is also interested in restoration,
digital effects and more, including serving as the Associate Editor on the IMAX
feature, “Mystery of the Nile.” He was the editor and postproduction supervisor for
“Magic Journey to Africa.” This article was composed with assistance from IT Manager
Xavi Tribo and Technical Director José Maria Aragonès.
LENSES AND RIGS
As in other stereoscopic productions,
we went over a number of
lenses to find matched pairs. We
used Zeiss Ultra Prime spherical
lenses from Servicevision, a
rental company in Barcelona. The
film was shot in 35mm full aperture.
The aspect ratio was 4:3 for
IMAX, and 1.85 for digital cinema.
All shots were composed with the
two versions in mind. There was a
lot of repositioning in post, but it
was really quite straightforward.
We ran many camera tests to
decide which was the best format
to film in. After using ARRI D-21,
Genesis, and the RED One, we finally
decided that 35 mm, scanning
as 4K, would be the best format
suited for the hot conditions
in the Namib Desert and the extreme
locations to which we were
going.
We went with two stereo
rigs, one over-under mirror rig,
and a side-by-side rig, using the
ARRI 235 and 435 for the two sets
of cameras in Africa. We also had
helicopter shots, and later, in Barcelona,
we had other rigs. The reason
for this was very clear to us.
Depending on the kind of shot,
you need different interaxials. If I
wanted to shoot a close-up, and I
wanted to bring the camera close
to the actor, I needed to diminish
the interaxial distance. This called
for a mirror rig.
Of course, in 3D IMAX we will
not go in close, because of the
huge magnification that it creates. In IMAX, when we
say close-up, it's almost a medium shot in traditional
cinematography.
The problem with the side-by-side rigs is that they
are limited by the physical space that you can have between
the cameras. If you are using Silicon Imaging
cameras, for example, you can get them very close together,
but this was not our case. With the ARRI 235,
you cannot get the cameras closer than 132mm without
the two camera bodies touching each other. This is
why we used it for the second unit, where it was free to
go to other locations to shoot landscapes and the like.
ON LOCATION
As we moved the crew, it was like a circus moving
through the desert and the African savannah.
I wanted to edit in the field with my laptop, to be
sure that it was safe to leave each location. There was
more to the shoot than just the live footage itself. We
Above: Shooting in Namibia.
Below: Writer/Director Jordi Llompart behind the lens.
had to shoot many plates, because there are some CGI
characters in the film. We also set up several chroma
key captures, and did some shooting with actors wearing
dots for tracking in motion capture.
There were two ways that I handled the location
edits. One was to work with the video tap from one
eye. (We could not edit two eyes on a laptop then,
although Avid Media Composer software can do that
now.) The other was to work with dailies that came
back from Barcelona. We sent negatives back, where
José María was scanning the material to HD 3D for
screening in our theater there. We would rely on his
reports to make adjustments before we were able to
leave each location.
Transporting negatives was part of the production
that was taken care of by Orbita Max, who worked
with an express courier service. We were shooting in
the middle of the desert, and sometimes it would take
two days for the footage to get to Barcelona — except
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine Creative COW Magazine — The World in Changes Issue 9

Top: DP Tomas Pladevall and Stereographer William
Reeve discuss the shoot in the field.
Above: Second unit in the field.
Below: Bernat editing on location — or trying to!
10
when there were flat tires or other problems, when
it would take longer. There were a lot of people involved
to make it all happen, and mostly on deadline.
Even when I was not editing there, it proved very
helpful to be on location. I became very much aware
of stereoscopic conditions, to know whether we had
the intended convergence. I was clear on which rigs
were used, and each of their camera settings, from
getting the information first hand.
NETWORKS AND WORKFLOW
We began with HD 3D as the offline. Because the film
was so effects-intensive, we were doing motion capture
and CGI work in stages at the same
time. Once I locked the edit, we proceeded
with the 4K scanning, and from there,
we finished and approved effects, and
sent the effects for conform.
(We tested the Arriscan and Imagica
film scanners, and we loved them both.
We decided to go with Imagica, not only
as a financial decision but because it
made for an easier workflow. We used
Digital Vision for conform.)
The first challenge was wrangling
so much data — eight times the size of
a normal feature film! The most difficult
task for this was to create a consistent database.
We had to keep track of the time
code from the scans, then keep track of
those scans through the many iterations,
over many months, as well as living with
other productions on the SANs.
Our two SANs totaled 70 TB. The first
used a fiber optic connection between
the scanner, color correction, compositing,
and inputs and outputs. Editing had
its own SAN, an Avid Unity with six Avids
connected.
To put this in a few words, it was like
having a monster living in the SANs. Yet,
in spite of the difficulties, implementing
this has been one of the secrets for saving
time and effort, and an essential part
of the film.
For example, I needed to see the
IMAX in stereo in order to study the edit.
The pacing is different in 3D; the rhythm,
even the acting at some points can feel
different. I would have an offline sequence
in the Avid as HD, but as we would
have the same footage in 4K in the SAN,
I would just save an AAF link, and in the
screening room, decide whether I wanted
to see it as the HD offline, or at full 4K
resolution. I was not moving data — just
the metadata, and that was crucial.
We also had to implement processes
for copying material, to give it to exter-
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine

nal studios to create some of the CGI elements that
we would composite back here. Because the files were
so big, we automated the copying to make it more efficient.
We also had to create checksums for the most important
processes, because errors can occur when copying
digital files. The checksums verified that each copy
was an exact clone of what is on the primary drive.
Whether the work was local or remote, it was automated.
We wanted to do everything only once, and
do it well. Otherwise, we would have lost a lot of time
re-copying, importing, exporting, etc. We learned all of
this as we worked, figuring it out as we went along.
Our tapeless infrastructure and the SANs enabled
a parallel workflow, not just within Apuntolapospo, but
also as a post-production hub in which we were feeding
from different places — a hub where everything was
boiling.
It was a cycle of iterations. “Okay, this shot needs
an effect,” we would say, “so let's prepare the plates.”
We would do a version of the effect, and then we would
see it in the screen. I put it in the Avid and trimmed it.
Maybe the shot was not approved in the context of
the scene. Then it might go back to 3D to change the
rhythm, or whatever else needed to be improved. As a
result, we created this circle for each process, several
of which were working in parallel, especially CGI, composting,
editing and sound.
AUDIO
The stereoscopic experience is so immersive that it
completely changes sound design. Unfortunately, the
current configuration of theaters is totally outdated.
The 5.1 surround that we have nowadays is suited to
monoscopic viewing, but for digital 3D, we need more
“spatial” construction. Because of this, we have played
a lot more with the panoramics in our mix.
Specialization in the sound design has taken a
tremendous amount of effort,
but it makes a difference in
the finished product. You can
make the sound bigger, and add
many more tracks, but you must
create separate tracks for all of
the elements that you will want
to specialize later.
For IMAX, issues with
sound control relate to the size
of the screen and the magnification.
Since the screen is so
large, just placing a sound on
the right takes on a completely
new meaning. You have to know
what “right” means. It is a much
farther distance than on a conventional
screen, so we have to
place it “on the right” in relation
to the extended screen size.
12
COLOR
We have also had to develop new approaches to color
management. There is a universal digital cinemamastering
format, but unfortunately, reality has not
matched the ideal — IMAX and digital cinema have
different color spaces.
Until recently, we have also been required to use
a “ghostbusting” process for RealD. RealD stereoscopic
projection tends to create a leakage from one
eye to the other in contrasty areas, due to the inherent
limitations of polarized filters. RealD now corrects
this in real time on the server in the projection booth,
but not all theaters have been updated. During this
period when theatres are still in transition to the new
system, we are still creating “ghostbusted” masters.
This is a small part of an intricate set of deliverables
— IMAX film, digital IMAX, digital cinema, Re-
Working with animals on location. The lion was filmed
on a bluescreen unit set up on location in Africa, to be
composited with studio elements in post.
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
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alD, other 3D technologies, and mono. From tests we
have done in those theaters, and for other post processes,
we find ourselves working at different times in
RGB colorspace, logarithmic, linear, XYZ — individually
and in combination.
TIMETABLES
Production and post for “Magic Journey to Africa” was
not a long process. We were shooting from March 2008
to July 31, 2008, with the offline more or less from October
2008 to January 2009. Online editing, CGI, etc.
ran through October 2009, in the parallel fashion I
have described.
The original plan was to release immediately after
“Avatar” last December. However, Avatar's success has
limited the number of 3D screens in some countries,
pushing out the release of all stereo films in Europe
planned for the first trimester of 2010.
In the meantime, “Magic Journey to Africa” debuted
at the European Film Market in Berlin, courtesy
of Filmax and Orbita Max, from February 11 to the
19th. And just as we were completing this article, we
learned that the Spanish release has been announced
for May 7th. I do not know when the release in the US
is expected, or for IMAX worldwide, as this is handled
by international distributors.
I should note that the movie was originally shot
in English. We have also made a Spanish version, “Viaje
Mágico a África” and the Catalan version, “Viatge
Màgic a l’Àfrica” for local markets.
There are also two running times: approximately
90 minutes for digital cinemas, and a 52-minute version
for IMAX. Shorter IMAX versions are produced
not only as a matter of cost, but also a characteristic of
the venues: many
of them are in a
museum or educational
context,
and many IMAX
cinemas still play 2
films per session.
The two versions
differ in approach:
the ninety-minute
movie
allows time for
character development
and goes
deeper into the
world of fantasy
and dreams. The
IMAX version is
more focused on
nature and the African
landscapes
while still keeping
the core of the
story intact.
14
LOOKING AHEAD
From here, we have three stereoscopic productions
underway. One is an animated film, CGI, and the other
is stop-motion. I have also just started editing a television
play from the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya here
in Barcelona that we shot last month, a magical circus
presentation somewhat similar to Cirque du Soleil. It is
a co-production with Televisió de Catalunya, intended
to be the first program shown on their new stereoscopic
television channel.
We have looked at a number of ways that 3D might
be shown. If we were broadcasting in the next few
months, we would likely have to be anaglyph — which
could be red-cyan, amber-blue, or green-magenta. We
will also be ready for side-by-side and active glasses
systems within the next six months.
Certainly, we are in an entirely new world that is
ever changing. We are not only putting shots together,
but also integrating them into each other in space. The
tools we have available now are better than they were
even a year ago, but a lot of development must still be
made.
n
Jana is a 10 year old girl from Barcelona who sees
a bushman boy, Kabbo, hospitalized, then starts a
magical journey on her winged horse, searching for
him in Africa. As a result, the film has a wide variety
of visual effects, including motion capture, keying
on location and in the studio, and integrating CGI
and live action.
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
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From the Directing Workshop for Women to the Directors Guild of America
A Storyteller’s Journey Lesli‘s
Where do you go after your first project for AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women is
nominated for an Oscar, your first TV job is for Spielberg, and you win a DGA Award for
“Mad Men”? For Lesli Linka Glatter, the answer is “everywhere.”
It’s possible that nobody was more surprised
to hear Lesli Linka Glatter’s name called as the
winner of the 2010 Directors Guild of America’s
award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic
Series…than Lesli. She had been nominated for
her work on “Mad Men,” for the episode, “Guy Walks
into an Advertising Agency.” The other nominees included
two other directors who had been nominated
16
Lesli Linka Glatter
Los Angeles, California USA
for their own episodes of “Mad Men.”
“I assumed that we would all cancel each other
out!” she laughs.
Lesli’s first nomination for a DGA award was actually
in 1990, for one of the four episodes she directed
of another landmark series, “Twin Peaks.” That was
near the beginning of a director’s journey that, in addition
to features, has to date has spanned over eighty
Lesli is an Alternate Board Member to the National Board of the Directors
Guild of America, AFI’s Education and Training Board, the Silver Circle of
Women in Film, the Advisory Board of Step Up Women’s Network, and is a
mentor for the Independent Feature Project’s Project Involve. In addition
to the shows mentioned in this story, she has directed episodes of The
Mentalist, Weeds, Heroes, NYPD Blue, Freaks and Geeks, Journeyman,
N3mbers, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and Grey’s Anatomy.
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
TV episodes in virtually every
genre, including such
highly-regarded series as
“ER,” “House,” “The West
Wing,” “Gilmore Girls,” and
scores more.
A common thread
through these series is a
very distinctive visual style,
and in many cases, unusually
elevated dialog that
strongly influences the
show’s rhythm. The question
is, where does an individual
director find her
own way in environments
like these, working on series
produced by such strong
hands as David Lynch, Steven
Spielberg, John Wells,
Aaron Sorkin, and Amy
Sherman-Palladino, among
others?
“I don't go about
thinking about trying to fit
myself in,” she says. “One
needs to be aware of what
the show is, but, if you’re
going to continue to be
hired, you can’t fit into
this little box. You’ve got
to really tell the story! The
things that jump out, or the
episodes that jump out, are
ones that push the edge of
the envelope. That’s how
you really tell the story.”
While there may be visual
rules on specific shows
— for example, no steadicam
allowed on “Mad Men”
— Lesli says, “Make sure you
understand what the theme
is. You need to know what’s
on the surface and what’s
underneath. That’s going
to determine what the
visual style is. Take those
words and give them life in
a visual way. It starts on the
page. That’s the beginning
of everything. Hopefully, you get fantastic writing and
directing together, and you have STORYTELLING.”
We asked her about getting to choose scripts
when working on a TV series, to which she quickly
replied, “No, no, it doesn’t work that way. I will get a
call from ‘Mad Men’ or ‘True Blood,’ or ‘The Good Wife’
or whatever, that they would book me for episode 18.
What kind of script you get is totally luck of the draw.
You don't get to look at it and say, ‘Uhhh, that's kind
award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series from the
Directors Guild of America was presented by Chris Waltz, winner of the 2010 Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actor. Photo courtesy of Joe Coomber/DGA.
Photo courtesy US DOD
Steven Spielberg, a fan of Lesli’s
first film, “Tales of Meeting and
Parting,” had Lesli direct three
episodes of “Amazing Stories.”
Photo courtesy MCA/Universal
Television.
of nasty — I'll pass.’ No. You make the commitment. If
you get a great script, wow, how fantastic, and if you
get one that’s not so great, the job is to make it better.
You have to embrace that challenge.
“Not that I’m not going to take something blind.
With people I know, whose work I respect, that’s really
exciting. For example, I’m about to direct an episode
of ‘The Good Wife.’ I looked at the pilot and said ‘This
is really good. I love Juliana Margulies, who I worked
Creative COW Magazine — The World in Changes Issue 17
Acacdeny Award® is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences. All rights are reserved.

with on ‘ER.’ The producers are fantastic. I’d love to be part of it!’
“But I definitely want to see the show I’m being asked to direct,
and see that I have a particular affinity with it, or am interested in that
subject matter and think I could embrace it, and do a good job for
Above, Lesli's first DGA nomination was for “Twin Peaks,” whose creator, David
Lynch, is also an AFI graduate. Below, Lesli directed 13 episodes of “ER,” and at
bottom, the feature film “Now And Then.” Images courtesy Paramount, Amblin
Television/Warner Brothers Television, and New Line Cinema, respectively.
18
them. If I don't feel that I relate to the
story, or the characters, or the genre, I
will pass on it. They need to get someone
in there who really connects with
it.”
TELEVISION AND MOVIES
Lesli’s features include “Now and
Then,” “State of Emergency,” and
“The Proposition,” among others, but
she doesn’t approach them any differently
than she does her work in television.
“To me, you have the script, and
start from there. Yes, for a series, you
need to be aware of what has happened
before, and maybe have some
idea of where things might be going,
but I feel like I’m making an hour-long
movie.
“There are stories that I feel really
committed to tell in both mediums.
Television reaches huge numbers of
people, and you get to deal with an
ongoing story and ongoing characters.
Because it comes into your home,
it’s very direct. With film, you know
there are certain subject matters that
you want on a big screen. Sometimes
you want to complete a story in two
hours.”
She also observes that stereotypes
about the visual style dictated
by the two media are no longer true.
While the idea has been that television
is best suited to close-ups and
movies are best suited to vistas, Lesli
doesn’t agree. “Close-ups are very
powerful on the big screen,” she says.
“I'm very interested in spaces and faces
— I love the juxtaposition. I think
the environment that people function
in is critically important to who they
are and how they move through the
world, so to me, the bigger the better.”
“At the same time,” she says,
“people are so used to seeing ‘big,
wide shots’ from DVDs on their televisions
that those artificial distinctions
simply don’t matter anymore. People
are more sophisticated, visually, than
that.”
Lines are blurring between the
visual styles of television and film at
the same time as, and for the same
reasons that, the lines between TV
and movie storytelling are blurring.
“For a while, it was very distinctive,
and there were strong differences in
the people who worked in one or the
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
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other. I would say twenty years ago, if you directed TV,
you probably weren’t directing films. Now, TV directors
are doing film, film directors are doing TV, and
everybody wants to do pilots. If there’s a good story,
whether it’s being made for film or television, people
want to do it.”
TALES OF MEETING AND PARTING
Lesli’s career in the arts began as a dancer, and later,
a choreographer. Her work took her to Europe for five
years, and to Asia for five more. “When I was living in
Tokyo, I met a man in his late 70s who told me a series
of stories. They were extraordinary,” she said. “I
knew that I had to pass them on somehow, and I knew
it wasn’t going to be through dance.
20
LESLI LINKA GLATTER
AND THE DIRECTING WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN
Chris Schwartz is the Manager of the AFI Conservatory & National
Workshops, including the Directing Workshop for Women. He
told us, “Lesli comes back every year and teaches a very nuts-andbolts
directing class on designing and blocking shots. She brings
a scene from a show that she has directed, passes out just the paper
script, and has the participants set up the shots just as they
would direct the scene — then she shows them how she actually
directed it.
“Her background as a choreographer is very evident in her
approach to designing shots, which made her ideal for directing
so many episodes of “ER” and “West Wing” — shows with lots of
walking and talking through tracking shots.
“Lesli’s classes are also a great example of AFI’s approach to
training throughout the conservatory and workshops: very practical,
very much oriented toward actually making movies, rather
than just studying theory. Even the process of imagining blocking
feeds into the films that participants are actually shooting during
the workshop.”
Lesli teaching at AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women. This and the
two photos of Lesli on the first page of this article courtesy of AFI.
“When I finally moved back to America, a friend
told me about AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women.
I didn’t know anything about film, didn’t have any
connection with the film business at all, but as I read
about it, I thought, ‘Well, that could be interesting.’
I was lucky enough to get in — and of course, NOW I
panicked, because I didn’t know anything about film!
“One great thing about dance is that you can’t
cheat. Your leg goes up in the air or it doesn’t. You have
to go from A to B to C to D because you can’t skip anything.
I didn’t know anything about film, but I knew
I’d better learn — so I worked on, like, ten of the other
women’s films, taking all kinds of jobs, so I would learn
the process.
“And when it was time to do my own film through
the Directing Workshop for
Women, I did everything I was
told NOT to do if I ever wanted
a job!” she laughs. “The film is
called ‘Tales of Meeting and
Parting,’ and is set in Hong
Kong during World War II. It
has flashback, narration, it is
a period piece, has subtitles,
is three-quarters in Japanese,
and has one white person in it
— not commercial in any way.
But it was my mentor’s stories,
and I really felt that I had to tell
them. Once I did, I realized that
I loved it, and that, well, this is
my path.”
In addition to an Academy
Award® nomination, “Tales of
Meeting and Parting” found
many fans, including Steven
Spielberg, who offered Lesli her
next job as a director, for three
episodes of — appropriately
enough — “Amazing Stories.”
STORIES TO BE TOLD
Among the over one hundred
hours that Lesli has directed,
“there are definitely certain
themes that I keep coming
back to,” she says, adding with
a laugh, “maybe I’ll continue to
explore them until I work them
all out!
“I’m very interested in
things not being what they appear
to be, stories where you
have to dig deeper to find out
what's really going on. Visually,
that can be very interesting.
Another theme is chance and
circumstance. I’m interested
in ‘what if,’ in paths not taken.
If I had gotten off the train, or
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
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missed the train, and walked to the café to my right
instead of the left, I would have missed the person that
would change my life forever.
“For what’s next in the TV world, I had a pilot
picked up that I loved doing; I loved the people I
worked with. The subject matter was wonderful and
wicked, and it’s called ‘Pretty Little Liars.’ It’s from
Warner Bros. — Warner Horizon Television — for ABC
Family. It’s kind of different than what ABC Family
has previously done, pushing the edge of their envelope,
and I’m really happy with it. Next I’m going to do
‘The Good Wife,’ then ‘True Blood,’ then back to ‘Mad
Men.’
“I’m also in development on various film projects
that are slowly creeping forward, including one that’s
very personal, that has to do with something that happened
to me growing up. I also have a period piece
that I’m absolutely passionate about.
“It all started for me with the Directing Workshop
for Women. It really is an extraordinary program. I love
the whole AFI family, and the fact that people who
graduate are really committed to going back.
“I would never have been a director without it. I
wouldn’t have had a chance.”
n
CREATIVE COW FOUNDATION
DONATES $10,000 TO AFI’S DWW PROGRAM
Creative COW, LLC recently announced the
formation of Creative COW Foundation, a 501(c)3
non-profit organization to provide scholarships in
media education. The Foundation’s first grant of
$10,000 to the AFI Directing Workshop for Women
reflects 15 years of community-building for media
professionals, recognizing Creative COW’s origin as
a woman-owned business.
“We never started building communities as
a business,” says Creative COW founder, Kathlyn
Lindeboom. “We began building internet-based
support communities because we couldn’t find
the help we needed when we launched our own
production business. So we created the first
community for film and video professionals on the
web back in June of 1995. Today, our website has
over 2 million monthly visitors, a print magazine, a
DVD training series, and many other activities.
“The Creative COW Foundation adds yet
another dimension to that vision, by making
possible educational opportunities that those
students might not have had any other way.”
“The Directing Workshop for Women was a
perfect example of this,” says Creative COW CEO
Ron Lindeboom. “We know that it is one of the
industry’s most respected programs, bringing
in students from around the world. We are also
honoring the women who were the COW’s very
first sponsors, who literally made Creative COW
possible.”
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Creative COW Magazine — The World in Changes Issue 23

The Library of Congress film preservation program
“Beyond Forever”
The Library of Congress is working to preserve film for hundreds,
even thousands of years. Seriously. Here’s how they’re doing it,
starting with the restoration of films printed to paper.
Our division within the Library of Congress is responsible
for the Library’s 6.3 million piece collection
of audio-visual and film materials. I direct the film
preservation program, and prior to the advent of the
Library's Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation
in 2007, we were primarily focused on the nitrate
film collection: 140 million feet, dating back to the
1890s.
Cellulose nitrate is a very flammable material, but
24
Ken Weissman
Culpeper, Virginia USA
it also happens to be a very high quality clear plastic
— 35mm motion picture film was almost exclusively
nitrate, from the beginning of filmmaking through
1950 or so in the US, possibly as late as the early 60s in
Russia and eastern Europe. After a number of notable
fires, however, despite superior, clear quality, it was
banned for projection in a theater except under very
special circumstances.
It was replaced by cellulose triacetate, but be-
Ken has worked for the Library of Congress since 1981, and is now Supervisor
of the Film Preservation Laboratory at the Packard Campus for Audio Visual
Conservation. Ken has directed the Library’s restoration of such films as
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, THE MALTESE FALCON, WHERE ARE MY
CHILDREN?, THE BLUE EAGLE, BIG FELLA, and most recently a restoration of
Paul Robeson's THE EMPEROR JONES under a grant from the National Film
Preservation Foundation.
Designer's note: We chose to overlay the images in this article with a duo-tone sepia effect to create a visual "weight"
across the images that worked as a design element. It was a design decision on our part. The originals are black and white
— not duo-toned — the Library of Congress team did not convert the images from the original in their preservation efforts.
cause of nitrate’s nature to deteriorate, the content
on all of the thousands of previously collected
films was at risk. They needed to be copied to
safety prints, which is primarily what we do.
The bulk of the nitrate-era films are black and
white, so that has been our specialty. Chemical
formulas have been tweaked from time to time,
but the development process hasn’t changed
very much since it was invented. At the same time,
not many people work with black and white motion
picture film anymore, so in some ways, we are
redefining the art of black and white film development.
But copying old films to new stocks is not as
simple as it sounds. There are many factors that
can impact your ability to do that very well, especially
with nitrate archival films. Shrinkage is the
most notable. Original era nitrate negatives were
showing significant shrinkage shortly after they
were shot and processed. After it was developed,
the film had to be dried again, so that it didn’t stick
to itself, and one of the plasticizers used to keep
the film flexible not only could shrink considerably,
but was quite volatile. In some cases, you
can actually see the perforation from the original
negative printed onto the original positive.
Other challenges come from running a fairly
soft material — the nitrate film — through pieces
of steel, the projectors, and the sprockets. If things
weren’t running quite perfectly, bases and emulsions
got scratched. Static electricity attracted
dirt to the surface, where it could be embedded
in the emulsion.
All of these problems can show up on new
prints, so we have various pieces of equipment
designed to help us overcome those. The introduction
of wet gate printers, or immersion printers,
was the sea change in the
world of preservation. They
allowed laboratories to make
fairly pristine copies from films
that were otherwise horribly
scratched, by immersing the
film in a liquid — perchloroethylene,
the same fluid used
in dry cleaning — to fill in the
scratches. Even when we look
at films that were preserved
prior to the wet gate era, and
those done after the wet gate
era from the same negative,
it’s a remarkable difference.
Now, for many people,
“restoration” refers to just taking
the version of the film that
they have available to them,
and making a new copy. I object
to that usage, because it
overlooks the first question:
which is the right version to
Above: “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”. Courtesy of Sony
Pictures.
Title graphic, opposite: Scene from “The Last Days of
Pompeii” (1913). Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Below: Processing equipment in the Film Preservation Laboratory.
All photographs in this article courtesy of Ken Weissman/Library
of Congress.
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine Creative COW Magazine — The World in Changes Issue 25

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estore? There can be several different negatives and,
especially as you get back to the 40s and earlier, there
are often no notes to describe what changes were
made, or why.
For example, we did a restoration of “Mr. Smith
Goes to Washington” in 1989-90, and we were able to
identify six different versions of the film, from roughly
119 minutes to 132 minutes. So, what are you restoring
to? In our case, we chose to restore to the longest version.
Based on research, including newspaper reports
from the time, we became convinced that this was the
version screened at the original premiere — but that is
hardly always the case with every film.
This is why we work so diligently to determine
what it is we're restoring, and also where the best materials
are. We are not afraid to ask colleagues at other
archives if we can borrow material on a title, to find if
it's as good as ours, or perhaps better.
In fact, there have been times where we determine
that the best material
is in those other archives. If
they have significant material
to contribute that might
be better than ours, perhaps
they should take the
lead. Not that we want to
set anybody else’s preservation
or restoration agendas,
but we have a responsibility
to maintain goodwill with
our fellow archives, and to
work together to determine
where a project might best
take place.
Once we know that we
are working with the best
material, on the right version
of the film, there are
other questions where the
answer is not so easy. Let’s
say, for example, that a film
appears underdeveloped.
Clearly, there’s art involved,
so we make a qualitative
judgment as to whether it
was intentional, or simply
poorly done lab work. If
necessary, we can essentially
force-process the master
positive and to a certain
degree adjust the gamma to
make it more “normal.”
But there are ethical decisions
that have to made: if
this version with the poorlydone
lab work is the way it
Paper print: a 35mm positive,
contact printed onto paper
rather than film.
28
has always been seen, even by the original audiences,
what right do we have to change it?
Whenever we make decisions like that, we document
our reasoning. I have no problem with people
being critical of our approach. If someone were to provide
evidence that we took the wrong approach, we
can go back to the original and redo it with the new
information — although, quite frankly, we don’t get
criticized very often, because I think our reasoning is
pretty sound.
PAPER PRINTS
We started as a photochemical laboratory, and are primarily
a photochemical laboratory to this day. It has
only really been in the past half a dozen years, or less,
that you can even begin a conversation that might
convince people in the know that preserving motion
pictures might be done digitally. So here in our lab, we
began a pilot digital project in 2005 for a very special
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
collection that we have in the Library of Congress:
the Paper Prints Collection.
These paper prints exist because of a vaguery
in the copyright law at the time that motion
pictures were invented. The Copyright Office
at the Library interpreted the law to say that a
motion picture film is simply a series of still photographs,
and therefore the still photographic
copyright law applied. If you wanted to copyright
a motion picture, you had to provide the
Library of Congress two copies of the film, and
they had to be on paper. Not film.
A process was invented to literally create
long strips of photographic paper, exactly the
size of 35mm film stock, and then create contact
prints from the original 35mm negatives, onto
those long strips of paper. These were then deposited
with the Library.
There are over 3000 titles within that collection,
some of the earliest films ever made
— from 1894-1915, with the vast majority from
before 1912. Most of them are unique. In other
words, these paper prints are the only copies
of these films. They represent the single largest
collection of early motion pictures in the world,
by far. The Library is rightfully very proud of this
collection.
The paper prints had been locked in a vault
in the bowels of one of the library buildings, and
rediscovered by librarian Howard Walls in the
late 30s. The paper itself is still stable, but for the
most part, you can’t see the images very easily
except by looking directly at the paper — where
of course, there is no motion. This is why there
have been several attempts over the course of
history since their rediscovery to put them back
on film.
One of the first was by Kemp Niver, and his
company called Renovare. He took these 35mm
paper prints (and there are some that are actually
a larger gauge than that) and re-photographed
them using a clever device that he built, printing
to 16mm film. We have used various models of
these Niver printers, including one where we replaced
the 16mm camera with a 35mm camera,
in order to print back to 35.
All of these processes have been interesting,
and they’ve all been successful to some degree.
However, they’ve also been unsuccessful to a great
degree, in that the images are alternately soft, or
fuzzy, or very shaky. There was also no way to accurately
register the images. In fact, we’ve concluded
that in many cases, the images aren’t very well registered
on the paper.
The obvious solution is to scan the images, then
take advantage of digital processing to stabilize them,
correct positioning and so on. Our first scans of the
paper prints were 2K x 2K, which theoretically should
have been good enough, but in our analysis of the imagery,
we think it might be better to go to 4K x 4K.
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
The only “originals” of this early classic are the
two 35mm paper positive prints deposited with
the Library as part of the Edison Company‘s original
copyright, on December 1, 1903. The Library
added the first 16mm and 35mm film prints to its
collection in 1962.
From the Edison films catalog: “This sensational
and highly tragic subject will certainly make
a decided ‘hit’ whenever shown. In every respect
we consider it absolutely the superior of any moving
picture ever made.” The famous scene shown
here is of actor Justus D. Barnes appearing to fire
a gun at the viewer.
In fact, a considerable portion of the Paper
Prints Collection originated from two companies:
the Thomas A. Edison Company and the American
Mutoscope and Biograph Company (later and
more widely known as the Biograph Company).
Also included, Keystone productions, films
by Georges Melies and D.W. Griffith, films shot by
Edwin S. Porter, and footage of historical figures
ranging from Prince Henry of Prussia to Buffalo
Bill.
That is one of the things that we will explore as we
ramp up our pilot project again this spring. Until then,
this is more of a theoretical workflow. We haven’t practically
implemented it yet, but we’re getting close.
PRESERVATION ‘BEYOND FOREVER’
One of the Library’s main missions is to preserve America’s
memory for future generations of Americans, with
no end point. Our goal is to have these images, and the
sounds associated with the images, available for your
grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren and
beyond — literally for hundreds of years.
Several years ago, the Image Permanence Institute
developed the concept of Preservation Index (PI).
Creative COW Magazine — The World in Changes Issue 29

30
The Packard Campus includes 35 climate controlled
vaults for sound recording, safety film, and videotape,
and 124 individual vaults for more flammable nitrate
film, some of which are shown on this article's last page.
This is a measure of how ambient temperature and relative
humidity affect decay, and is expressed in years.
We have differing storage conditions at the Library,
depending upon the materials stored in them and their
use. Our nitrate film is stored at 39 degrees Fahrenheit,
with 30% relative humidity. This equates to a Preservation
Index of 655 years.
For non-nitrate film preservation masters (also known
as “safety film”), we store at 25 degrees Fahrenheit, 30%
relative humidity, for a PI of 2125 years. All of our new film
preservation masters go into this storage environment.
The remainder of our collection includes magnetic
tapes of all types and flavors, both audio and video —
Edison cylinders, wire recordings, metal stampers, etc.
You name it, we probably have it. These are stored at 45
degrees Fahrenheit, 30% relative humidity, for a PI of 429
years, and in some cases, at 50 degrees, 30% relative humidity,
for a PI of 244 years.
It is important to note that, yes, the Preservation Index
is measured in number of years, but as defined by the
Image Permanence Institute, it is not a fixed number. The
PI is relative, since you seldom know how the previous
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
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storage of a collection item has impacted its overall
life expectancy.
Take a roll of film for example. Even new film stock
is subject to a wide variety of conditions on its way to
permanent storage. Kodak makes the stock and stores
it under pretty good conditions, but then it is shipped
by a truck through who knows what kind of weather.
Maybe it sits in an uncontrolled storage warehouse for
several days before it is shipped to a customer.
Even under cool office conditions, film would only
last about 50 years before serious degradation could
occur, but stored at 25 degrees and 30% relative humidity,
you can expect it to last 40 times longer than
that — over 2000 years.
These numbers are relatively non-controversial,
so we can take them as a starting point.
That’s why, as we move further into digital technologies,
the plan for now is still to scan the images, restore
or preserve them as needed, then run them back
to film, and put the film away at 25 degrees, 30% relative
humidity, for practically forever. For most people,
THE PACKARD CAMPUS
“The National Audiovisual Conservation Center (NAVCC) of the
Library of Congress will be the first centralized facility in America
especially planned and designed for the acquisition, cataloging,
storage and preservation of the nation’s collection of moving
images and recorded sounds.”
•
•
•
•
•
•
Created through a unique partnership between the Packard
Humanities Institute, the United States Congress, the
Library of Congress, and the Architect of the Capitol
415,000 square feet
More than 90 miles of shelving for collections storage
1.1 million film, television, and video recordings
1.5 million related items such as manuscripts, posters and
screenplays
Nearly 3.5 million music, spoken word and radio broadcast
recordings
Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation
in practice, somewhere between 600 and 2000 years is
beyond forever; because frankly, once you get to that
point, what are you really worrying about?
On the other hand, you have hard drives, or any
kind of digital storage. You can’t look at the files in and
of themselves. You need a lot of technology to bring
them back, and always have to wonder if, when the
time comes, if that technology will still be available.
The beauty of film is that the machine it takes to
look at the images is amazingly simple. You need a
light source, you need a lens, you need something to
shine it on, and then you can see it. I don’t think I’m going
to get radically criticized for saying that that technology
is never going to go away.
Digital certainly has its contributions to make.
Scanning film, working with it digitally, and printing
back to film avoids the degradation you get from even
the most controlled processing for multiple generations
of film to film.
However, as we look at staying in the digital
realm, we’re asking ourselves, “Okay, let’s say we don’t
do film to film transfer as the main
preservation workflow any longer.
What’s the impact of an all-digital
workflow on data, and our data in-
frastructure?” The numbers are really,
really scary.
Speaking very broadly, with
4K scans you wind up in the neighborhood
of 128 MB per frame. Figure
that a typical motion picture
has about 160,000 frames, and you
wind up around 24TB per film and
that’s just the raw data. Now you
process it to do things like removing
dust, and other kinds of digital
restoration work. Each of those
steps develops additional data
streams and data files that need to
be saved.
I asked one of our IT people
today, what if were to digitally
preserve a typical feature film? A
typical film scanner might have 5
to 10 terabytes of direct storage
that’s associated with it. Once you
fill that, then you have to offload
the media to another SAN for post
processing, and then once you’re
done with post processing, you
then have to put in a deep archive.
If you want to do anything with it
later on, you have to pull it back out
of that deep storage archive.
The process of pulling out a
single terabyte of data from the
deep archive obviously depends on
the speeds of the digital infrastructure.
Right now, I’m told that moving
one terabyte from our robotic
tape-based system to a SAN where we could do some
more processing on it takes between 3 to 5 hours to
complete — and that’s with 10 GB interfaces. The numbers
are staggering.
Everyone is pretty much agreed that you had better
migrate that data after five years to the next latest
greatest thing, or you risk losing it. And of course, you
want to have a backup copy. I’ve even been at several
conferences and meetings in the last couple of years
where people are saying, “No, no, no, no, you want
to have at least TWO backup copies,” …on separate
servers, separate geographic locations, the whole bit,
because a single backup that you make might not be
able to be restored. You want that second backup, just
in case.
In addition, you’ve committed to migrate it all,
every five years. That’s not going to be cheap, and it’s
going to take a lot of time.
There have been conversations among the Association
of Moving Image Archivists over the past few
days, though, weighing what it would actually cost to
store a film for 500 years or more, perhaps much more,
versus migrating data over the same span. There are
legitimate arguments on both sides, but suffice it to
say that cold storage at 25 degrees and 30% relative
humidity for centuries costs money too, and it’s not
necessarily simple to do it over that length of time.
There may be no way that you can actually calculate
it, but I can’t help feeling in my heart of hearts
that the simple solution is usually the best. And film is
a pretty simple solution.
We have had a very robust preservation program
over the years, and we still have a long way to go. We
have only been able to restore a small percentage of
the films that we are preserving, and we’re collecting
new films all the time. For example, we acquired a
privately owned collection of films about three years
ago that added almost 15 million feet to our nitrate
film collection, and we know that there are many more
large collections out there.
In the meantime, we have our prototype project
for digital archiving in place, and we are looking to
build on that in the future.
n
Nitrate reels in the Library’s storage archive.
32 The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
Creative COW Magazine — The World in Changes Issue 33

Creative COW: How did you come to work on "Avatar"?
Mark Smirnoff: There was some sales effort, but
also we had a long relationship with Lightstorm and
James Cameron’s group for quite some time, going
all the way back to “Ghost of the Abyss” — we did the
3D work and the post on that. It was exciting to hear
about Avatar over the years, and we knew that it was
something we wanted to be part of.
Mark Smirnoff
Burbank, California USA
COLORING THE WORLD OF AVATAR
More Than Just Blue
While “Avatar” was changing filmmaking, Mark Smirnoff led the team at Modern
VideoFilm as they built the production and post processes to make it happen.
34
We’ve always been kind of cutting edge, and helping
develop for the post end of 3D. Jim has been working
hot and heavy on the production side of 3D. So, it was
a good marriage that brought us together.
COW: Thinking about it first is an infrastructure
question rather than a workflow question: how did you
start to put together the network?
Mark is the Executive Vice President, Studio Services for Modern Videofilm, where
he has worked since 1988. He is responsible for the technology development, DI
and VFX workflow design that has allowed Modern Video to become of the one
most successful players in film and television production, DI, VFX, digital cinema
mastering and more.
Mark says: First off, we had to determine
that the line structure was there, between
the Fox lot and our facilities, so that we
could make the distance with the bandwidth
that we needed. Once that was all
worked out, and all the points in the route
to our remote locations were set up, we
started building a mirrored database system.
Basically, we could be in any location,
working with real-time files that are stored
on the SAN here in our Glendale facility. All
of those pieces and parts and proprietary
mirroring data movement software had to
be written, between the devices and the
SAN we were working with. It took a little
while, and took a lot of planning, but it all
came together.
COW: What can you tell us about the pipe?
Mark replies: We used a dedicated dark fibre,
secure line, that shot files to one of our
facilities down by LAX, and from LAX onto
the Fox lot.
The files were mostly HD, 1920x1080
DPX — 1920x1080 was the native format
from the camera, basically 1:78 HD. There
were also high res files: 2K, a quasi-3K file,
and 4K files, all in DPX format. The high-res
files were coming mostly out of WETA [in
New Zealand], piped over to us for DI.
We started early on to develop these
processes, about 10 months ago, while we
were working on road shows for Avatar
Day, Comic-Con — all those things. We did
assembles of the early shots, early temp
shots, and started our base grade and fed
that to the studio for their approval.
Once it came down to crunch time in
the last few months, we set up on the Fox
lot. We set up a system for Jim to make
3D visual effects approvals, to determine
whether the shots needed to go back
and get updates, and also whether they
worked in stereo. We would conform and
put the final shots into the final timelines, then go through
another pass with color with Jim, and then stereo optimization
with him, and then he would make his final decisions
at that point.
COW: When you say crunch time, what's the time frame? We
know he likes to work close to the end.
Mark: Yeah, it was getting late. The whole thing stemmed
from the fact that Jim had so much to do, with very little
time — meaning leading up to the last two to three months.
You know, he had to be in many places at once because he
is very hands-on in all areas; editorial, color, audio, whatever
it is.
So the environment had to be set up where he could
James Cameron directs a scene on the set of AVATAR. Photo
courtesy Mark Fellman. and ©2009 Twentieth Century Fox
Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
do almost everything in one place, without having
to travel 45 minutes across the town. He didn't
have the luxury of that time. The Fox location was
designed so that he could jump from room to
room down on the lot, get things done, and then
hop back in other rooms and so forth.
COW: What was the relationship between the live
action footage that you got from the set, and the
digital files that you were getting from WETA?
Mark: Oh God! [Laughs] Now, the live action was
handled very differently than the rest of the material,
including a different compositing process.
And all of the visual effects work wasn’t being
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine Creative COW Magazine — The World in Changes Issue 35

Modern VideoFilm's 3D theater with DaVinci Resolve
A MIR submersible headed toward the wreck of the
Titanic from Ghosts of the Abyss. ©Walt Disney Pictures
done at WETA – there were other houses working on
various pieces and parts of scenes in the movie.
But the live action footage went through some proprietary
steps that not everything else had to go through
— some of which I can't really go into, the secret sauce.
[Laughs] And that live action stuff was of course some
of the earliest stuff we started to work on, and used for
setting up “proof of concept” materials.
Along with the live footage came the plates. We
would make sure that everything had an overall sort of
pre-look to it before it went to a compositing facility.
Those then would be composited in various versions
of completeness, and come back to us for color correction
and 3D optimizing. They would then sometimes
have to be re-comped for whatever reason, such as
plates getting updated as things went along.
Like I said, there are two steps in there that I can’t
really discuss, that are part of the magic that happened
on the set.
COW: The system that you designed allowed you to
blur the line between production and post. The two
were really going on at the same time, weren’t they?
Mark: We were getting visual effect shots up until the
very end, so there was nothing traditional about it. A
normal movie would come to the DI process, and you
36
would say, “Reel 1 is locked, here it is.” Nothing was
locked until, literally, it was going to camera, or going
on to digital cinema manufacturing.
DaVinci Resolve gave us the ability to keep working
on a movie that was not completely locked. It gave
us real time 3D color correction – we did not render
color decisions until we were completely done.
We graded in stereo where we could, but we also
had tracking windows for each eye, independently if
we needed to. Resolve definitely has a lot of tools that
we found were superior to other manufacturers, especially
in the 3D room. It gave us lots of power, and the
ultimate flexibility that was the main recipe for success
in this project.
COW: Can you talk briefly just a little bit more broadly
about how you see 3D post evolving?
Mark replies: 3D postproduction is in its infancy, and
will continue to evolve over the next few years, as far
as how quickly it’s done and the tools that are available.
With the advent of cameras and technologies
that keep getting better, we are already spending less
time fixing anomalies.
This movie obviously was very ahead of its time.
We started the 3D work very early in the process today,
compared to “Ghosts of the Abyss.”
COW: Since you mentioned it, what was it like to do 3D
for “Ghosts of the Abyss”?
Mark: [Laughs] That's a big conversation. I mean, there
were no 3D tools! We could not see 3D live in any steps
of the process, so we had to do it manually. We would
only have to work in left eye, right eye, then go into a
3D environment with dual projectors, polarized, view
it, and go, okay, and that works or that doesn't work —
then I go back to editorial, go back in to color, make the
tweaks, then go back and view it. There was nothing
live. Now, obviously we have the tools to do everything
in one seat.
COW: How were you looking at grades as you worked
on “Avatar”?
Mark: We were using Christie projection set up in three
theatres. working all the time: two with RealD and one
with Dolby — and we did take different approaches for
different technology types. As slight as they may be in
the ultimate end, we were referencing everything. Jim
is a very thorough guy, and wants to see the picture
how everybody else is going to see it. So, basically we
referenced everything every way that anybody's going
to possibly see it. In that way, he makes his overall decisions.
There are some slight color differences, but
we created different light level outputs as well. For
example, Dolby doesn't achieve some light levels that
RealD does at the moment. So, you have a theatre that
might be achieving 10 foot-lamberts in RealD, but
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Dolby might be only achieving four foot-lamberts in a
certain theatre. IMAX did take a higher light level, but
IMAX also had film 3D and digital 3D, so even there, it
depends what you're looking. That was all taken into
consideration.
COW: When you created the 2D print, did you select
one eye?
Mark: A lot of productions that we’ve worked on have
said, “Here’s the left eye, that's the 2D cut,” and away
we go. Not in this case. It was a separate 2D cut.
It wasn't selected from one eye because there are
framing differences between left and right eye. So he
chose the best of framing from both the left and right
eye to make a 2D version.
COW: So, how close to the end did you finish your part
of it before handing it off?
Mark: Well, in addition to post, we were creating the
digital cinema packages and DCDMs [Digital Cinema
Distribution Masters] and handing those over to Deluxe
for distribution. We were creating all that until
the very end. [Laughs] I mean it didn't stop. That’s
Jim’s style of production, so honestly, you know what
you’re in for. You know it's going to be up until the
end.
We had a lot of capacity, and were able to throw a
lot at it. We worked on it for ten months, but for three
months, we were working twenty-four hours, seven
days a week with full crews — many, many people
working twenty-four hours a day to stay ahead of the
curve; roughly forty people working around the clock.
38
Toward the end, there were people who didn’t get a
lot of free time.
COW: Are you working on the DVD print?
Mark: We’re working on the home video side, right
now, as we speak. We're creating the 2D at the moment.
The 3D will be following pretty soon, but it’s a
few steps behind. That’s one of the things that's being
discussed right now between the studio and Lightstorm
Entertainment, and honestly, why we’re doing
it later is because the exact path hasn't been chosen
yet.
We're capable of doing either anaglyph or polarized,
but I don't think they want to represent this movie
with an anaglyph release.
COW: Last question: when did you get to see Avatar
as a finished movie? Actually, I guess the question is
HAVE you?
Mark: [Laughs] Well, through the process, I saw the
whole thing out of context, with no audio, hundreds
of times. [Laughs] You know how it goes. But yeah, we
got to watch it during the cast and crew screening at
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and have really been able
to enjoy it as members of the audience.
n
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The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
Avatar images are ©2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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ESPN was not the first to announce an all-3D network,
but their announcement of the launch of
ESPN 3D to coincide with the World Cup in June 2010,
has been the most dramatic. The vast majority of live
3D programming so far has been sports, in live venues,
and sports fans have already shown that they’re willing
to pay a premium price to see it — only natural, given
Anthony Bailey
Bristol, Connecticut USA
Countdown to kickoff!
ESPN 3D
An all-3D sports network sound like a long shot to you? ESPN has heard it before — over 30
years ago, when there were very few takers willing to bet on an all-sports network at all.
the passion around the inherent spectacle of sports.
Only a handful of venues have been able to offer
live 3D HD sports thus far. The production of “NBA All-
Star Saturday Night” festivities in February 2009, was
the first major 3D presentation, shown only in several
hundred Cinedigm Certified movie theaters, in collaboration
with the NBA, Turner Sports and Cinedigm.
Anthony joined ESPN in 1996. His Emerging Technologies team is responsible
for developing many of ESPN’s on-air advancements over the past 30 years,
including the Virtual Pitch Analysis, Huck-O-Meter and the Emmy®-winning
EA Virtual Playbook. Prior to holding this position, Anthony was the Vice
President of Media Applications in ESPN’s MIT department where his
responsibilities included managing ESPN’s application development team,
which included writing custom software code for the “Bottom Line” (onscreen
score update scroll), studio automation, real-time scoring and the
ESPN Data Group.
Emmy Award® is a registered trademark of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. All rights are reserved.
ESPN’s presentation of the college football match
of USC at Ohio State the following September aired in
even fewer venues, USC’s Galen Theater, theaters in
Columbus, Ohio, and the ESPN Zone in Los Angeles
among them. Even so, this was the event that proved
the turning point toward 3D’s Holy Grail: 3D home delivery.
Anthony Bailey is ESPN’s VP of Emerging Technology.
He spoke to us as ESPN’s Emerging Technology
Group prepared for the February 25 taping of a Harlem
Globetrotters game in Orlando, Florida, at ESPN’s
Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney Resort — an important
next step toward ESPN 3D’s June launch.
“ESPN’s interest in 3D started with our CEO, almost
as a science project,” he says. “A couple of our
engineers were also interested in it, so, we decided,
‘let’s take a look.’ We got some cameras in here, talked
to people like Vince Pace [CEO of PACE] and Steve
Production photos from ESPN’s
highly successful presentation
of NCAA college football, USC
at Ohio State. The handheld
and stationary rigs were built
by PACE, and are part of the
PACE Fusion 3D camera system
developed by Vince Pace, along
with James Cameron. PACE Fusion
rigs were also used for
the NBA All-Star Saturday presentation
in February 2009. As
noted, one of the challenges of
shooting 3D sports is that the
greatest 3D impact comes from
cameras placed low, whereas
camera locations in most stadiums
and arenas are high. Except
where noted, all photos by
Jeff Mills, courtesy ESPN.
Schklair [CEO of 3ality Digital Systems], and we started
just doing simple little tests.
“We did a test where we shot a little bit of our studio
shows, then took it out to shoot a little of the Summer
and Winter X Games. That really got us to sit there
and say, ‘Hey, this is something we think we could do!’
It grew from that. A 3D network was never there in the
beginning, but it started to become a reality after the
USC-Ohio State game. We realized that not all of the
tools for 3D broadcasting are there yet — but enough
of them are there that you can build a business around
it.
“We also treated the USC-Ohio State Game as a
testing ground to make sure that we didn't lose any of
the features that we normally would have in a 2D game.
So, we did edited pieces, the yellow ‘first and 10’ line,
the mini board — that constant clock and score — and
inserted ads, using movie trailers. We used that game
to figure out whether the entire
workflow we used in a 2D game
works in a 3D game — and we
found that it did.
“The biggest issue is that
most stadiums are not built with
the best locations for 3D in mind.
In 3D, you want to be lower and
closer, and most stadiums are
built where your game cameras
are high up.
”So, one of the challenges
is finding the proper location in
stadiums to put your 3D game
cameras without killing too
many seats, and still being able
to show the entire field or court
and tell the story of the game.
“Wherever you move these
cameras in a facility, you are in
40 The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
Creative COW Magazine — The World in Changes Issue 41

locations where there is no infrastructure. To take the
USC-Ohio State Game for example, we had to run our
own fiber to it, we had to run power to it. So, it’s going
to take some time to get the stadiums to become
3D friendly. It’s a challenge because where you WANT
to set up and where you CAN set up are two different
things.”
CONVERGENCE
“We build the camera rig out in the truck area, and we
make sure that the cameras in the rig converge properly.
Then we bring it into its location, run fiber and
power, and do the whole thing again. It takes a little
bit of time to set up, but you have to be sure that the
cameras are converging on the same location.
“The cameras are not fixed, though. We allow
Close-up of the two Sony HDC-1500 cameras for the 3D rigs built by PACE
for ESPN. Below, the 3D broadcast truck also developed by PACE. Photo by
Scott Clarke, courtesy ESPN.
42
them — and NEED them — to zoom in to focus, but we
have to limit the amount of zoom. Meaning, we can’t
let them go the full length of the lens, or else the cameras
start losing convergence.
“That’s something we’re playing with as we try to
get our arms around it, and I think it could be a little bit
of a change compared to 2D.”
We asked Anthony about other changes, and he
pointed to the truck. “There is one Convergence Engineer
per camera, constantly communicating with the
cameraman. There is also a stereographer in the truck.
In addition to working the convergence engineers, the
stereographer works with both the cameraman and
the director, who are both seeing only 2D. Only the
stereographer sees all of the cameras in 3D.
“Since the director, and everybody else in the
truck, is only seeing Preview and
Air, the stereographer listens to
the director, and is always looking
one or two shots ahead, to
ensure that the cameras are converging
properly.
“This includes watching convergence
across shots, so that a
cut from the convergence of one
camera to another isn’t going to
hurt someone’s eyes. The stereographer
will sometime recommend
not taking a shot, because
the difference in covergence is
too great.”
SEEING IS…TBD
Here’s what we know: ESPN’s
broadcast of the World Cup match
between Mexico and South Africa
on June 11, 2010, like everyone
else’s, will take its 3D feed from
Host Broadcast Services, who
will also exclusively provide the
world’s feed for SD, HD, the web
and mobile devices.
ESPN’s slate of homegrown
3D events begins with the Summer
X Games in Los Angeles,
starting July 29.
They have committed to airing
eighty-five live events in the
coming year. They have not made
any public commitments to 3D
programming past that.
Here’s what we don’t know:
the specifics of how you’re going
to see it at home. When we asked
about their approach to compression
and encoding, Anthony told
us that they’re still working on
it. “We need to understand what
our partners are going to want
for the people at the other end
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
Above, ESPN Innovation Lab at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
in Orlando, FL. Below, Eugene “Killer” Edgerson of the Harlem Globetrotters.
U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Daniel A.
Jones. For their September 2009 college football broadcast, ESPN relied
on separate camera teams, separate trucks, and even separate announcers.
One of the challenges undertaken at ESPN’s Feb. 25 3D testing
using the Harlem Globetrotters was to use a single crew for both 3D
and 2D video, using the 3D’s left eye feed for the 2D broadcast.
of our transmission. After we understand that, we’ll
work with the different vendors to get us there.”
ESPN also continues to negotiate with potential
carriers, including Comcasat and Time Warner (no
public comment yet on DirecTV), all of whom have
presumably asked one of our big questions: what
happens to ESPN 3D after those first eighty-five
events that carry us into the summer of 2011? What
will it take for ESPN to commit to going beyond the
first year?
Transmission, carriage and long-range plans are
for the business folks to figure out, says Anthony. For
the sporting events themselves, he knows what his
greatest challenge is. “In the whole chain, the biggest
thing we have to take care of right now is people. We
have to not only take time to train the cameraman,
but also the different positions within the truck that
are essentially new, including the convergence engineer
and the stereographer.”
“The directors too — because we’ve only had a
couple of directors do any of our shows. We need to
get more in the chair, get them to understand the difference
between 2D and 3D, to really understand the
job, and allow them to experiment.
“We also need to add enough new people with
these skills so that we can get some of them off the
road. There have been a bunch of people who’ve
done all of our 3D events so far, and they go out to every
test we've been doing. We can’t have them stuck
going to all 85 events in the coming year.”
If an all-sports, all-3D network seems a bit of
a stretch, it is worth recalling that the notion of an
all-sports network was every bit as much as a stretch
when ESPN began in 1979. The first sporting event
covered was a slow-pitch softball game, and early
coverage included ping-pong and professional
wrestling. Needless to say, they have since then more
than made their case.
Even with some major questions unresolved,
awfully close to kick-off time, the smart money has
shown that it has been unwise to bet against ESPN’s
programming strategies, which now include 3D.
Creative COW Magazine — The World in Changes Issue 43
n
To learn more, join Anthony Bailey and stereoscopic
3D pioneer Vince Pace at the 2010 NAB
Show in Las Vegas for the panel discussion,
“ESPN: Scoring a Field Goal in S3D Sports,”
Monday, April 25, Room N109.
Joining them will be ESPN's Bob Toms, Vice
President, Production Enhancements & Interactive
TV, and Phil Orlins, Coordinating Producer,
ESPN 3D & X Games for a closer look at the details
of workflow, distribution, and the technical
and creative challenges of 3D sports.

INDUSTRY NEWS: M A R C H 2 0 1 0
Sorenson Media brings total video
solutions to enterprise market for
higher education customers
www.sorensonmedia.com/video-solutions/education
Sorenson Media announced that the company’s total
online video solutions are being used by higher education
customers, including a system-wide deployment of Sorenson
360 at the University of Utah and other implementations at Harvard University, The Ohio State University,
Loyola Marymount University and Ireland’s Dublin City University.
The University of Utah is using Sorenson 360 — Sorenson Media’s differentiated online video platform —
to serve its entire faculty, staff and 28,000-plus students, in activities ranging from curriculum development
and delivery to class projects, marketing and educational outreach. Sorenson 360 is the only online video
platform that integrates the entire video publishing workflow, giving customers full control of the end product,
from the encoding/compression process to the final delivery of the highest-quality video over the Web.
“Our team’s work with the University of Utah and other major universities demonstrates the clear
competitive advantages we enjoy in the enterprise video marketplace, building upon our 15 years of
pioneering technology development,” said Peter Csathy, president and CEO of Sorenson Media. “We have a
long-standing reputation for innovation and high quality with businesses and video professionals. They know
us. They trust us. We are unique in the industry in focusing on the entire video creation and delivery process,
from encoding and publishing to delivery of that video content.”
“We are delighted to partner with these significant teaching and research universities to unleash the
powerful benefits of Internet video throughout the institutions,” said Csathy. “These new deployments
demonstrate the tremendous need and demand for our end-to-end solutions, and how Sorenson 360 and
our other products are the easiest-to-use, most comprehensive and highest-quality for customers in the
enterprise online video market.”
Guzzo Cinemas chooses
MasterImage Digital 3D Theatre
Systems to convert 43 screens
www.masterimage3d.com
MasterImage 3D, LLC announced that Montreal-based
Guzzo Cinemas has chosen to convert 43 of its screens to
stereoscopic 3D projection using the MasterImage 3D digital theatre systems.
The chain, which encompasses 148 screens in 11 theater complexes in the greater Montreal area, has
twenty-seven systems installed today, with all 43 expected to be implemented in April 2010.
“The presentation is high quality of course, and MasterImage offers single-use glasses, which to us, is
preferable to cleaning and re-using glasses. Plus, we absolutely prefer to own our systems outright. That
is critical for us,” said Vince Guzzo, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Guzzo Cinemas.
“Another big benefit of the MasterImage system is that it can be easily moved and redeployed in different
theaters along with the projection system in the weeks after a movie opens. It doesn’t require us to call in a
technician.”
“We’re pleased and honored to support Guzzo Cinemas as they continue to expand their 3D offering
across the Montreal area,” said Peter Koplik, executive vice president at MasterImage. “They are a forwardthinking
exhibition company and with the completion of their 43 screen conversion, this will be the largest
installation of MasterImage 3D theater systems in North America.”
INDUSTRY NEWS: M A R C H 2 0 1 0
The Hollywood Edge releases two new
SFX collections
www.hollywoodedge.com
The Hollywood Edge has released new sound effects collections
representing the latest work of two of Europe’s most talented sound
designers.
Eilam Hoffman Sound Effects Collection and Creaks and Squeaks
(from sound designer Kamen Atanasov) are high quality CD/DVD
collections comprising a plethora of unique sound elements suitable for productions of all type.
Hoffman is a London-based sound designer whose work has been featured in films, television shows,
animated programs, radio and games. His collection, available exclusively through The Hollywood Edge,
includes 180 sound effects encompassing everything from horror, suspense and science fiction to interior and
exterior atmospherics, water, animals, transportation and machinery.
Creaks and Squeaks represents the latest work of Atanasov, creator of the Musical Accents, Sound Designer
Tool Kit 2 and The Edge Edition 3 collections for The Hollywood Edge. The new thematic collection includes
more than 700 creaking and squeaking sounds, including beds, doors and floors of all description. “They were
recorded in the dustiest and most obscure places I have ever been,” says Atanasov. “Now, there is no need to
find a quiet place and old rusty objects to record sounds for your projects—we have it all right here.”
Sounds for each new DVD collection were recorded using the latest digital audio technology at 24Bit/96kHz
broadcast wave. Elements were edited in Pro Tools and processed using a variety of techniques and algorithms,
including FM synthesis, TAU morphing/cross synthesis, impulse response, wavetable, sampling, additive
synthesis, granular synthesis and physical modeling.
Ole Miss Sports Productions chooses
Canon Compact Studio HD Lenses
www.canon.com/bctv/products/digi22xs.html
Meeting the demands of providing HDTV coverage of 78 remote
sporting events per year, along with a schedule of weekly
studio productions is a challenging task for any collegiate video
department. That’s why Ole Miss Sports Productions, at the
University of Mississippi, chose to outfit each of its four 1/3-inch
portable HDTV cameras with the 2/3-inch XJ22x7.3B IE-D Compact
Studio HD lens from Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging.
The result is a compact HD lens-camera system that provides long telephoto capability, crisp, clean HDTV
quality, and is also cost-effective and easily transportable.
“We were looking for an HDTV lens-camera system that would give us the biggest bang for our buck,”
explained J. Stern, assistant athletic director of Ole Miss Sports Productions. “We are a small outfit, but the
compact and cost-effective 1/3-inch camera, coupled with the handy size of the Canon Compact HDTV Studio
lenses are a benefit to us because one person can carry everything. It makes our production process better,
easier, and less costly for us from top to bottom.”
The genius of marrying the 2/3-inch lens to the 1/3-inch camera is that the HDTV images produced will
appear visually more telephoto by a factor of 1.83 (the ratio of the two image format diagonals – or 11mm/6mm
= 1.83). Thus, the equivalent focal range becomes 13.4mm to 295mm (this becomes 590mm if the 2x extender is
deployed). This facilitates a highly flexible HD imaging system for many sporting events.
“It’s amazing how close you can get with the Canon Compact HD Studio lens,” commented Stern. “Our
‘most distant’ camera in baseball is in left-center field. From there we can zoom in tight enough to see the
catcher’s fingers as he is making the signals. With the Canon 2.0X Built-In Extender, you could see a tear in the
catcher’s eye. That’s a whole lot of lens for the size.”
continued on next page
44 The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
Creative COW Magazine — The World in Changes Issue 45

INDUSTRY NEWS: M A R C H 2 0 1 0
Canon Lenses — continued from previous page
46
The 2/3-inch lens is coupled to the 1/3-inch format camera via a Canon LCV-42T mount converter. The
primary role of this converter is to bridge the different mechanical mounts of the lens and camera, while also
inserting a single glass element that compensates for the different optical path length of the 1/3-inch optical
block. No transformations are made to the image size projected into the camera thus, ensuring that the three
smaller CCD imagers are imaging the central “sweet spot” of the lens. This ensures the highest Modulation
Transfer Function (MTF) under all conditions and minimizes all optical aberrations. The result is a remarkably
high-performance HD field camera.
About 1/3 the weight of standard studio lenses (13.4 lbs.), the Canon XJ22x7.3B IE-D Compact HDTV Studio
lens closely matches the combined weight of Ole Miss Productions’ 1/3-inch HDTV camera (approx 8 lbs.) and its
studio adapter. The lens is a high-end optical system squarely based upon classic studio-lens design principles,
but reduced in size for direct mounting on portable HDTV cameras configured for field or studio productions.
The XJ22x7.3B IE-D enables users to configure cost-effective, compact HD lens/camera packages that can be
supported on modest-size pedestals or sturdy tripod systems (such low-weight lens/camera combinations are
also ideal for robotic system applications).
“Our director loves the ‘big-lens feel’ of these Canon Compact HD Studio lenses,” continued Stern. “In
sports, there’s nothing like going in and getting a shot of the quarterback’s eyes, or the head coach in the dugout
making signals. Even if it’s a less-than-two-second shot, it still tells a story and these lenses help us do that.”
Although smaller than traditional “box” lenses, the Canon XJ22x7.3B IE-D Compact Studio HD lens is loaded
with Canon technology advantages. The XJ22x7.3B IE-D provides higher contrast and resolution compared with
portable HD lenses, but at the same time reduces Focus Breathing to a zero level. Also, unlike other compact
lenses that use simple LED indicators for zoom, iris and extender, Canon’s exclusive eDrive system – coupled
with Canon’s exclusive optical encoders – provides lens-status information on an easy-to-read display that
delivers unequalled accuracy for such settings as f-stop, focal length, focusing distance, and other critical lens
parameters.
The Canon XJ22x7.3B IE-D Compact Studio HD lens can be used with Canon’s current Studio/Field lens
controllers as well as those for Canon ENG lenses. The XJ22x7.3B IE-D also offers compatibility with Canon’s new
Digital Demands (tripod-mounted hand controls for zoom, focus, and iris) by use of a conversion cable.
“For the size, they’re a lot sturdier and more durable than I imagined,” Stern added. “I thought after two or
three years that I would be buying new lenses just because of the price, but they’re still just like new and we’re
halfway through our second year with them.”
Ole Miss Sports Productions streams its footage online as well as providing it to local cable television
systems. “With these Canon XJ22x7.3B IE-D Compact Studio lenses married to our 1/3-inch cameras, we capture
sports in absolute broadcast HDTV quality,” Stern said. “We feel like we do a phenomenal job covering Ole Miss
sports but we couldn’t do it without these quality lenses from Canon.” n
ADVERTISER INDEX:
16x9 Inc. ........................................ 49
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Artbeats ........................................ 19
ATTO ............................................... 33
Blackmagic Design ..................... 5
CalDigit ........... inside front cover
Cooke Optics .............................. 23
Coremelt ....................................... 37
Creative COW back issues ...... 47
Digital Juice ................................ 30
Discmakers ................................. 48
Dulce .............................................. 39
Elsevier/Focal Press .................. 15
Euphonix ...................................... 11
G-Technology ............................. 31
JMR ................................................ 48
LitePanels .............................. 39, 49
MAM-A .......................................... 49
Matrox ............................................. 7
NAB, NAB Conferences ..... 22, 51
NeoSounds ................................. 23
Panasonic .................... back cover
Safe Harbor .................................. 21
Small Tree ..................................... 15
Studio 1 ......................................... 49
Tape Online ................................. 15
Videoguys .................................... 26
Videoguys (Pioneer Bluray) ... 27
The World in Changes Issue — Creative COW Magazine
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Music Videos from
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48
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49

Ron Lindeboom
Paso Robles, California USA
T H E B A C K F O R T Y
A World of Great Music Video Contest Entries
THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST ANNUAL CREATIVE COW INTERNATIONAL MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION
There’s an old saying that music is the international
language and the proof can
be found among the entries in the First Annual Creative
COW International Music Video Competition.
We were delighted to find 327 entries made in
this international competition that left the guns at
home, and didn’t involve body counts — well, other
than in a few goth and metal videos.
Yes, there were the entries you’d expect from
the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom,
Australia, Brazil, Italy and France. But many of the
most exciting entries came from teams working in
countries that many westerners don’t normally associate
with cutting-edge music videos.
Some excellent contest entries hailed from
countries like some of the Arab League nations,
Russia, Argentina, Israel, Latvia, Romania, Malta,
and many others. The Latin world seemed especially
creative this year and won the contest and
also had many other top-ranked videos. It seemed
that daily we were adding another flag to the database
to “flag” the entries coming in.
The $1,000 cash grand prize went to Eduardo
Souza and Rodrigo Lima of the PAVE Gastronomia
Visual team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The audience
kept this one high in the voting the entire contest.
We also gave away a prize of $500 to the reviewer
who penned the most insightful reviews.
That prize went to Jim HInes of Atlanta, Georgia.
Our congratulations to the winners and to
all of the entrants. It was a great contest and it
seemed that every day a new video had the team
in the COW offices emailing and talking between
ourselves about the newest and hottest piece of
work coming in from all over the globe.
If this year’s entries are any indication of things
to come, the Creative COW International Music Video
Competition is off to a great start and we look
forward to seeing how the contest grows in the
years ahead.
n
50
The Grand Prize winner (above), from Brazil, was
created by Eduardo Souza and Rodrigo Lima of PAVE
Gastronomia Visual for Os Paralamas do Successo,
one of Brazil’s most famous rock bands.
First runner-up — and a huge COW office favorite
among the staff — was “Raise the Dead” by Colin
Devlin. The video was created by Sebastian Lopez
in Argentina, who has worked with Colin Devlin on
previous projects, as well.
To view the entries and winners, please visit:
http://reels.creativecow.net/musicvideo-contest.php
The Changing World Issue — Creative COW Magazine
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