Summary

Director Robert Fleet and producer Alina Szpak used a Sony HDCAM camcorder and HD editorial services at American Production Services in Los Angeles to produce the low-budget widescreen feature 'Last Mountain.' The production demonstrates how HD video can deliver A-movie quality results at a fraction of traditional film costs.

Source document circa 1999 preserved as-is


    HD FEATURE EDITS AT AMERICAN PRODUCTION SERVICES


    Los Angeles--While many independent filmmakers dream of bringing their creative visions to the screen, Director/Writer Robert Fleet and his partner Producer Alina Szpak are doing it.

    By using a Sony HDCAM High-Definition camcorder, and the editorial services at APS (American Production Services), Fleet and Szpak were able ìto produce their epic, widescreen spectacle, "Last Mountain," on a budget that James Cameron would use for his weekly craft services.

    Based on a novel by Robert Fleet, "Last Mountain" is a touching fantasy-adventure, set in the ghetto of East Los Angeles, that focuses on a homeless man and a Mexican teenage girl and their search for a magical, 1,000 year old unicorn that no longer has the strength to remain invisible. The two chase the unicorn to the last mountain where it intends to die, but are themselves hunted by the Dreambreaker (immigration police) that intend to send the girl to Mexico. Fleet says that the unicorn is a metaphor for the American Dream and that the entertainment is a faÁade for a deep social message.

    While independent filmmakers wear their technical, artistic, and financial limitations like a badge of honor, Fleet stresses that his small budget production was able to yield impressive, polished, ìA-movieî results. Compared to shooting film, the cost-effectiveness of HD production enabled Fleet to hire accomplished film talent, in front of and behind the camera, and spend as many takes as necessary to capture the best possible performances.

    "The intimacy and opportunities for artistic integrity on a limited budget feature make the independent route attractive," says Fleet. "But what's always stood in the way are the supplemental film expenses (raw stock, processing, printing, etc.) that make it almost imperative for low-budget filmmakers to adopt a rough-and-ready approach to their work that often limits the scale of imagination, and definitely forces you to ërushí the acting process."

    "With the Sony HDCAM high-definition camcorder," Fleet explained, "we shot on a comfortable 12 to 1 ratio, using minimal crew and equipment, yet achieved A-movie-photo quality and acting levels-at a fraction of the upfront film cost. And, we were able to maximize the immediacy of HD video to determine if we indeed captured shots they way we wanted so that retakes could be done while the sets and actors were still in place."

    Instead of the delays of film processing, film to tape transfer, and sound synchronization, "Last Mountainî proceeded immediately to an Avid for off-line editorial in Standard Definition, followed by auto-conform in the HD edit suite at APS-LA. "Editor Dan Gadd was tireless in his attention to detail and technical excellence as he assembled and color corrected over 1500 edits, including some variable speed footage," says Fleet. "APS-LA showed both dedication and sensitivity to the needs of this project."

    APS-LA was hard at work on the editorial of "Last Mountain" even before the facility's official opening in October 1999. Since the facility was new, APS kept its Chief Engineer Barry Ballanger readily available to assist in the event of problems, and as a result, the edit sessions ran smoothly. Ballanger, one of the nation's most experienced HD engineers, supervised the installation of all equipment in the new HD edit suite, including the Sony HDS-7000 3 M/E production switcher with two frame stores and primary and secondary color correction; the Sony HDME-7000 two-channel digital video effects system; four HDW-500 video tape machines; and a complement of HD monitors and converters. In the next few months, Ballanger will upgrade the HD edit suites at APS's two facilities-in Los Angeles and Seattle, Washington--to handle both 1080-interlaced/30 frames and 1080-progressive/24 frames (or 24P) HD video.

    "The biggest obstacle facing the HD medium is the reluctance of devoted film aficionados to embrace a change of the status quo," noted Fleet. "Filmmakers need to realize that moving to the electronic HD medium will not mean that they have to abandon their artistic and aesthetic film disciplines. Director of Photography Martins Punans, who joined "Last Mountain" following several impressive film assignments in Russia and Japan, experienced a learning curve with respect to HD production. But, Fleet notes, "after one week, he was so enamored by HD that he saw it as a compelling, attractive alternative to shooting film."

    Fleet and Szpak (partners in production company Legend 44) and their Investment Partner Steve Kim, intend to debut ìLast Mountainî at major international film festivals, both as HD-projected video and 35mm film versions, as well as pursue broadcast and DVD distribution.

    APS has a website at www.apsnw.com. APS Seattle is located at 2247 15th Avenue West, in Seattle, Washington, 98119 (Phone: 206-282-1776; Fax: 206-282-3535.)

APS L.A. is located at 11755 Victory Blvd., in North Hollywood, California, 91606Ö five minutes from the Burbank Airport and Universal Studios.

APS supports the community website http://www.highdef.org

 

Copyright 1999

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