Digital Video - May 2008 - (Page 50)

PRODUCTION DIARY BY STEFAN SARGENT LIFE ON THE BLEEDING EDGE, OR THE LEGEND OF SPINALOT CONSOLIDATE AND DIE I get back to the Avid edit. Renée is distraught. “It’s gone. Vanished”. “What happened?” “I consolidated. Now there’s nothing.” “Timeline looks OK” “It’s rubbish.” Tears. The shots are in totally random order. The soundtrack has been mangled. The voice says half a line about toothbrushes, we see sunglasses; a snip about bottle teats, we see an actor playing William Addis, the inventor of the toothbrush. I phone Tewksbury. I’m hysterical. They try to calm me down. “What version software are you using? You tried to consolidate? You used the optical media drive? Didn’t anyone warn you?” THE CLIENTS ARRIVE Spinalot (1990-’91). Rest in peace, my $9,000 doorstop. Inset: Sargent himself back in the day. S PITFIRE TELEVISION, LONDON, NOVEMBER 1990. I’m at work early. Anna is waiting for me. She’s our graphic designer doing “The Wide Awake Club” opening titles for a local television station. “I’ve been here all night. We finished at 6, on the air at 7. It’s awful. I’m miserable.” I look at her opening titles. They’re fine. “I like it.” “You hate it.” “No, it’s good.” “You said good.” “I meant great.” “Sarcasm.” “No it’s terrific!” “I know you hate it!” “Anna, it’s only television.” “Right, only television.” Tears. “Erica, get a taxi for Anna.” bleeding edge of technology. Renée has been cutting for two weeks now. Every night I drive her home in tears. The strain is getting to her but we are almost there. Renée has lost confidence. Both Avid/1 and Spinalot, its $9,000, 9GB drive, are temperamental. Every day, I phone Avid in Tewksbury. Spinalot is tired. He’s dancing the frug. I smell trouble. Rob, my client, is coming to see the Avid offline late this afternoon. Renee: “I think it will run better if I consolidate.” “Sounds good. Do it.” NICKI IN TEARS There is screaming in the reception area. Erica and Nicki are shouting at each other. “I want you both in my office upstairs now.” The girls arrive still shouting. “Nicki called me a bitch.” Tricia, wife and business partner, looks up and says, “Well Erica, you are a bitch.” Erica is outraged. “OK, I quit. I’m outta here.” Nicki thanks Tricia. Tears. “Rob, Jim [his client], we have a problem — like there’s nothing to show you. We sort of made an experimental film by mistake. Just trust me. Have dinner, come back and we’ll have it sorted out.” I find Robin, our best editor. “The Avid is a disaster. We’ve got to online the Addis job now. There’s no EDL, no nothing.” We move into Edit A three Sony BetaSPs, ADO, GVG 200 component mixer, Ampex ACE editor. “Renée can you remember the edit?” “I think so.” A few hours later, Rob and client come back. I have champagne ready. Dim the lights. Roll tape. “Addis — an ongoing story of innovation in product design!” Lights up. Client overjoyed. “Perfect.” The cork pops. We all thank Robin and Renée. More tears. Just another day on the bleeding edge. Stefan Sargent has a production company in San Francisco. He has made a zillion TV commercials, pop videos and corporate films. Stefan’s docs have been screened on the BBC, the Discovery Channel and somewhere else. Contact him at www.stefansargent.com. RENEE IN TEARS We have the very first Avid/1 Media Composer in the U.K. No one else has one. My colleagues think I’m crazy. Maybe they’re right. We are living on the 50 dv april 2008 www.dv.com http://www.stefansargent.com http://www.dv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Digital Video - May 2008

Digital Video - May 2008 Contents DV Update Close-Up AJ-HPX3000 Camcorder Sidecar Raid Zoom H2 Recorder Instant Expert 324 Flat-Panel Display Extreme 35MM Adapter Type-S JIB How Slow Can You Go? Global Gastronome Mixing It UP Long-Distance Runaround Tools & Technology DV 101 Production Diary

Digital Video - May 2008

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