Digital
SOLVENTDREAMS COLORS X-MEN 3 PROMOS
By Solventdreams
Jun 11, 2006, 11:45

Los Angeles, CA -- Los Angeles based design and editorial house Solventdreams used FinalTouch 2k to finish a series of eight promos for 20th Century Fox's blockbuster X-men 3: The Last Stand. The internationally aired documentary style spots highlighted prominent themes in the feature, such as diversity and evolution. The spots were conceived and edited by highly acclaimed documentary director Kurt Sayenga.

Sayenga mastered the edit into eight thematic sections employing a hybrid of mixed sources; interviews, stock footage, and excerpts from the feature. Under a narrow delivery schedule, colorist Aaron Peak graded the segments with FinalTouch 2k in the realtime color suite at Solventdreams.

"The film [Xmen 3] was planned for release in seven days and Fox needed this promo yesterday," said producer Manny Oteyza. "The director burned the midnight oil to finish the edit, and we didn't have time to wait for a sluggish color correct. FinalTouch and Solventdreams shaved a day off our delivery."

According to Peak, "Final Touch enabled us to quickly port from a Final Cut edit to a working color session in seconds. And then we flew through the shots." Variances in aspect ratios, color standards and multi-standard source origination were subsumed by a tight integration between Final Cut and Final Touch. Peak: "Since the Xmen 3] footage from the studio was already well-corrected and didn't require grading, the XML handshaking in Final Touch intelligently re-linked those shots, a convenient timesaver."

"Documentaries characteristically draw material from multiple sources: DV, digibeta, betaSP, dvcpro50, stills," says Solventdreams post super David Davidson. "And unlike other editors, Kurt really pushes the envelope with Final Cut, using effects, filters, composities to achieve his final picture. That's a potential nightmare for color." Conforming a complex timeline requires not only experienced editorial prep, but something better than an EDL. "The XML transfer gets a lot of it right."

With Sayenga and Oteyza under the Arcwelder company aegis, Solventdreams previously used FinalTouch to master three installments of the National Geographic mini-series Microkillers and the Discovery Channel special, The Chain: From ID to Impact.

Material from the project can be viewed by browsing the below links:

Solventdreams Website: http://www.solventdreams.com

Xmen3 Site: http://www.x-menthelaststand.com

Compilation: http://www.solventdreams.com/xmen/xmen3.mov


About Solventdreams
Solventdreams, LLC is an innovative creative editorial and design boutique creating visual effects, motion design, and edits for the independent film, television and commercial community. Located underground in Silverlake, California in a 4000 sq ft. studio, the facility offers realtime digital intermediates, HDCAMSR online, and 5.1 surround mixing. As suggested by it's moniker, Solventdreams provides viable post solutions to filmmakers with vision.


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