Light Iron – a post production leader specializing in projects originated on file-based motion cameras – provided on-set color, color workflow, and final color for the weekend box office hit “Ender’s Game.” The company has released an in-depth video on its “Ender’s Game” workflow, highlighting the collaboration and innovation that fueled this multi-year project.rnrn”‘Ender’s Game’ is an amazing science fiction movie, with a behind-the-scenes story equally as compelling as what’s on the screen,” says Light Iron CEO Michael Cioni. “Light Iron collaborated with the VFX team at Digital Domain to create a powerful color pipeline that delivered the vision of director Gavin Hood and cinematographer Don McAlpine. From setting looks on-set with our Lily Pad System, to managing metadata with our Live Play iPad app, to determining multiple colorspace deliveries of VFX shots, to creating complex branches of scene looks in the DI, our workflow was progressive at every step.”rnrnProduction began in early 2012 at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. DIT Tim Nagasawa operated Light Iron‘s Lily Pad, a lightweight and highly mobile on-set color system. Nearby, Jason Beale operated Light Iron‘s Outpost Mobile Data Lab to produce dailies and backups.rnrnThe Lily Pad and Outpost combination was appreciated by director of photography Don McAlpine, ASC, ACS: “Tim provided a good solid backing and the Lily Pad was an efficient portable visual control center. This, backed with the security of Light Iron, proved to be a very efficient and reassuring protection of the product we were producing.”rnrnAlso on-set, Light Iron‘s Live Play iPad app was used in conjunction with the 5th Kind app to log and track metadata for the numerous VFX shots to be developed.rnrnThe hand-offs of photography elements to Digital Domain and completed VFX shots back to Light Iron were in specific configurations so that, in the DI, Supervising Colorist Ian Vertovec had maximum flexibility to apply color grades across VFX shots and uncomposited R3Ds in the same scene.rnrnVertovec worked closely with McAlpine and director Gavin Hood to develop the final look of the film, including crafting subtle day/night cues to structure the passing of time and separating color profiles to enhance the emotional thematics of the story.rnrn”When you work on a project for more than a year, it makes a tremendous difference when the work flows seamlessly from set through DI,” notes Cioni. “Our innovative process is different from those of the legacy companies of post production, in the same way that Netflix is different from Blockbuster and Yelp is different from the Yellow Pages. Being progressive in data processing and color management enables clients to leverage file-based tools to reach maximum creative control.”rnrn
rnTo watch the video about Light Iron‘s Ender’s Game workflow, visit here.rnrnAbout Light IronrnLight Iron is a post production company that specializes in on-site dailies, digital intermediate, archival, and data services for projects originated on file-based motion cameras. With facilities in Hollywood and New York City, Light Iron serves feature film, episodic television, and web-bound projects at both the independent and studio level. rnrnThe company distinguishes itself by providing clients state-of-the-art hardware and software solutions
Laura Pursley Marketing Manager Light Iron (323) 472-8300 Contact Laura via email
Liz Charky Directs a Playful and Reflective Video For Henry Hall’s “Tiny Door”
Directed by Liz Charky, the music video for Henry Hall’s ‘Tiny Door’ is a playful and profound exploration of the song’s intriguing perspective on love. Silly moments and serious heartbreak are skillfully weaved together in a series of cheeky, dreamy, profound, and sometimes psychedelic scenes. “I am a huge fan of love songs that have an unusual, hyper-specific perspective on love,” says Hall. “That’s what I wanted to do with ‘Tiny Door.’ It’s about loving someone unconditionally while recognizing that love is something that isn’t always straightforward — I think that’s something we all attempt to come to terms with in our lives. I thought it was a unique yet universal detail about love and therefore an intriguing subject matter for a song. Even though the song is a ballad at its core, it still has a lighthearted sense of humor to it — that’s really portrayed well by Liz, and Ellin Aldana, our cinematographer.” Charky explains, “When I first listened to the song, I felt it was a love song full of longing with a kind of wishful melancholy. As I spoke with Henry about his intention behind the lyrics and sound, I was assured that I'd need to explore heartbreak in a nuanced way – with a degree of levity and playfulness. For me, falling in and out of love runs the full course of human expression. Love and heartbreak can be so emotionally intense and sometimes lonely, other times quite goofy or liberating. In developing the concept, I focused on both the literal and figurative ways that falling in and out of love might look like. So, you see Henry and co-star Franny Arnautou falling, flying, dancing, raging, winking, smiling, and... Read More