Creative Editorial, Visual Effects & Finishing for the Advertising, Film & Television Industries
Will Steger Tour edited by Tim Taylor from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.
This spot for The Longest Summer Tour presented by the Will Steger Foundation was edited by Fischer Edit’s Tim Taylor to generate excitement and information about Will Steger’s upcoming college tour.
“The Story is Happening” is a moving collage of work by artist Sabrina Ward Harrison in collaboration with editor Katie Carpenter. Original music for the film was composed by Modern Music’s John Hermanson. This film is an homage to the lifelong adventure of handmade “true living.” Harrison’s True Living Project inspires a generation of mindful pioneers through global collaboration and generational partnership. This is the first film created by the True Living Project.
The Beacon Art Salon & Fovea Exhibitions presents
The Beacon Film Flam
An arts-crafts-puppet village & outdoor film festival
Saturday, September 13, 2008, Noon – 10:00 pm
At the lot on Main Street’s West End at Cross Street
Arts Village: Noon – 6pm
Film Festival: 7pm (dusk) – 10 pm
Fine arts and crafts vendors will sell their wares throughout the day.
Music performances, puppet shows and film showings are free to the
public. Featured fine arts include photography, painting, art gifts,
ceramics and more. The film festival will include a video presentation
by Fovea Exhibitions, followed by a screening of selected short films.
Special World Premiere Screening - “The Story is Happening”
a moving collage of work by artist Sabrina Ward Harrison as part of the True Living Project.
Read more from Fischer Edit’s Katie Carpenter here.
On the three year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina “Left Behind Without a Choice” premieres. “Left Behind Without a Choice” is a feature-length documentary about the animal rescue effort in New Orleans focusing particularly on a group of Minnesotans who volunteered through Utah based Best Friends Animal Society.
Fischer Edit’s Katie Carpenter offered her expertise to Director Kim Walsh-Borgan’s project, putting together an 80-minute film she is excited to share with the world. “I’m glad that it’s finally here. It’s been a long process but I’ve learned through all of it.” Carpenter like many arriving to tomorrow’s premiere is also quick to point out the reality that many may have forgotten. “It’s exciting to celebrate after spending time and effort, but it’s also important to spread the message that there’s still a lot of need.”
Throughout the editing process, Carpenter went through over 20+ hours of interviews and b-roll footage as there were so many different stories to tell. “It was hardest to cut some of the characters because each person interviewed had something very special to share from their experiences in New Orleans,” she explains. And of the animals themselves? “There were some tears. It’s very touching…I tried to craft a sense of hope from this story.”
“Left Behind Without a Choice” premieres with a red-carpet event Friday, August 29, 2008 at 7PM in two theaters at Carmike Cinemas in Oakdale. The premiere is sponsored in part by Fearless Filmmakers of Minneapolis and Animal Ark, a Minnesota-based no-kill shelter. Proceeds from the event will benefit the shelter: tickets are available at the theater or can be reserved here.
Take a look at Katie’s blog for more information.
Contact:
Natalie Kane
612-332-4914
Natalie@fischeredit.com
Editorial is by it’s nature a function of finding pieces and putting them together in a (hopefully) aesthetically interesting way. Sometimes the way the pieces go together is more obvious than others. Sometimes the obvious way is in fact the only way.
That certainly was not the case with the Cox business spots I recently worked on for Periscope. Terry Windell, the director had a very clear vision for what he wanted to accomplish and he designed some really great and elegant gags. However, given the amount of work to be done with the relatively short shooting schedule the clarity of the vision as provided in script notes or director boards was somewhat… lacking.
Like most editors it’s important to me to have a few days to rough together the spots to get a sense of the feel and find what appeals to me in terms of performance, composition, pace, whatever. So after I loaded and organized the dailies I started building spots. At Terry’s suggestion I started with “Acrobat” since this was the most straight forward and had the least amount of compositing necessary to tell the story. That said I still ended up with about fifteen layers in one of my first comps, but I digress. ”Acrobat” came together pretty quickly and in fact the air version did not veer that far from my initial edit. That was not the case with the other two.
The other two spots were huge collections of green screen elements and backgrounds. Even after they were organized they presented a daunting array of possibilities. Now don’t get me wrong, lots of options are what you want as an editor, but then there would be other pieces that were in the boards that just didn’t seem to be there. After several days and WTF?!? moments I did have edits that were working (barely) but I kept feeling like I was missing something, which in fact I was.
Anyway, long story short…
As any good editor will tell you, working with a director can be a great or a miserable experience. When Terry came in, it was like the lights came on. He was all like, “See here I wanted you to take this guy from “Trapeze”, flop him and blow him up and then see he’ll match for that part of “Jumps” …” The amount of stuff he had in his head was stunning. We had a great time together and as his process became clear to me we could practically finish one another’s sentences. So this was one of those cases where it really was collaborative, and the spots are better because of it.
By Tony Mills
Fischer FX Visual Effects Supervisor
Flame & Smoke artist
One of the most rewarding career experiences, is when a good first job with a client, leads to working on a second job with them, and it turns out to the next “big one” for your reel. Producer Judy Wittenberg gave us just such an opportunity when she let Fischer FX bid on an amazing set of boards for Cox Business Services, via agency Periscope.
In the boards business people in their everyday environment were doing amazing things demonstrating strength, agility and nimbleness, in a synchronous fashion becoming the perfect metaphor for the brands suite of business services. One spot used acrobats and Parkour artists, one would use trapeze artists and a third trampoline artists.
Bill Rogina (senior producer Fischer Edit/FX) was involved in the search for a director with producer Judy Wittenberg, art director Tim Moran and copywriter Greg Beaupre. After considering several FX-savvy directors, the choice was Terry Windell via Crusty Pup Pictures (and Bill’s friend) Jon Derovan, with whom Bill had worked at PDI/Dreamworks. Terry’s illustration background (he created the ectoplasm in Poltergeist and killed Darth Vader in the 3rd Star Wars movie) led to dynamic shooting boards that captured the essence of the creative brief right away. We also decided that Fischer FX would supervise the production due to the rigorous technical requirements.
Early on it was determined that location was paramount, as we needed to shoot background plates for three unique spots that each had different considerations and needs. The Nikken building in Irvine turned out to be a perfect choice. In addition to being used for many feature films, you can see this building in the new stop motion Lexus campaign. With its sweeping atrium and grand staircases, it provided all the angles necessary. This one day shoot took nearly 18 hours to get it all in the can. We took detailed measurements and coordinated with the production crew to determine exact angles and focal length for matching up green screen shooting in the studio.
The green screen cinematography took place over two full shoot days at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood with the biggest piece of green cloth I have ever seen (over 80 X 120). It’s not easy to rig trapezes and trampolines for green screen shooting, but the crew stepped up and setups were achieved quickly and efficiently. We overcranked all the green screen footage, shooting at speeds of up 120 fps which would give us the ability to control time in the post work and mix up frame rates for an aesthetically arresting look. This high frame rate would also give us a nuanced degree of control over motion blur, allowing us much more control over the look of the final composites.
Once the production was wrapped, Tim Taylor started editing as soon as dailies arrived and was joined by Terry Windell for several days. Jake Parker (flame artist/Visual Effects Supervisor) and I started pre-visualizing composites for Tim and Terry and determining the best post approach to the work. Discussions with Oscar Oboza, the colorist on the job, determined that each spot would have a signature palette. We had Oscar transfer the green screen materials as a flat pass which would give us the most flexibility in our integrating the live action background in our FX composites. For the finish, Jake and I ended up tag teaming on “Acrobats” and singularly helming “Jumps” and “Trapeze” respectively. Matt Collings also played a big part in all the necessary cleanup.
Each spot had various challenges, but noteworthy was the roto on 90-120 fps footage, the motion of the trampoline jumpers, and the wire extensions and enhancements to the trapeze footage. Two weeks of post led to the three spots completion, with music by Emoto and final mix by Modern Music. As was the goal, each spot had a signature style of movement, palette of color, and custom music that perfectly fit. The FX work was tough but rewarding and effective for the client. And for us, not one but three more for the reel!
By Tony Mills
Visual FX Supervisor
Flame & Smoke artist
In the spring of 2006 Peterson Milla Hooks sent Fischer Edit/FX concept boards for a campaign for their client, Target. In the boards, Target’s vendor’s brands were featured in enormous towers of products and people. The spots were visualized as a slow camera move up, revealing a complex balanced arrangement ending with the Target logo at the top of the stack.
Director Randy Roberts (at that time with Sticks & Stones) was chosen to helm the spots and actually had a commercial demonstrating the technique on his reel. Ultimately Fischer FX completed five of the spots in the campaign with Brett Astor and Tim Taylor providing creative editorial.
Although the creative challenges were many: including implementation of CG and lots of rotoscoping. The results were impressive and stood out as some of the most distinctive spots on television that year. They went on to be recognized at the Minneapolis AdFed show as “Best Campaign”.
The following clip is an example of how I tackled one of the many vendor vignettes in these signature spots. Using Autodesk Flame & Smoke to implement the magic and seamlessly integrate the filmed elements.
“More For Less” Target commercial from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.
“Left Behind Without a Choice”
Documentary
When Kim Walsh Borgan (director; former Campbell Mithun employee) approached me about editing a documentary about the Hurricane Katrina animal rescue effort, I enthusiastically said “yes!” and it has been an honor working with Kim and the rest of the crew on “Left Behind Without a Choice.”
Hurricane Katrina left a path of physical and emotional devastation across the Gulf Coast region. Not only were people forced to evacuate their homes, but they were also told that they had to leave their animals behind. In fact, many human lives were lost because they would not leave without their pets.
I remember very clearly seeing those haunting images on the news of a dog standing on the roof of a submerged car or a cat climbing to safety on a rooftop. It was beyond comprehension that they were left to survive the five feet of toxic floodwaters without any human aid.
A group of dedicated volunteers, organized by Best Friends Animal Society came to the rescue. Working day and night, they were able to save thousands of animals (dogs, cats…even tarantulas!) in what became the largest animal rescue effort in American history.
Volunteers at Best Friends’ Tylertown, Mississippi rescue camp
Kim Walsh Borgan was one of those volunteers. Kim took home movies and photos documenting her multiple experiences working at one of Best Friends’ rescue camps.
Kim Walsh Borgan with a rescued dog
Another thing she took away from the experience was a rescued orange Tabby kitten named Linus! When she returned, she was inspired to tell her story and honor the volunteers who made great personal sacrifices for the love of animals.
I am inspired by Kim and the volunteers featured in the documentary who miraculously found hope, beauty, and even humor in the one of the darkest experiences of their lives. The film really is about the significant bond between humans and animals. And, even though the floodwaters have receded, we still have a long way to go in helping the animals and people of the Gulf Coast Region. My hope is that this film will inspire people to get involved in the effort.
A heart-warming reunion
“The entire country shouldn’t forget. It isn’t better. It isn’t done. It was big.”
-Sherry Woodard
Animal Behaviorist; Best Friends Animal Society
Original music was composed for the film by Minneapolis musicians Marc Perlman (Jayhawks), Jessy Greene, and Wally Borgan.
Two of the tracks featured in the film:
The film will premiere in Minnesota August 29th 2008 on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Stay tuned for more information.
by editor Katie Carpenter
Fischer Edit
Minneapolis, Minn.
I love to tell stories. A good story becomes a great story by the way it is told. When I saw the boards for the Washington State Lottery spot “Birds” from Scott Rausmassen and Jeff Siegle at Publicis West, I thought it was good story. The challenge was how to tell it and make it a great story.
Creativity and excitement feed each other. I met with Fischer Edit Producer Bill Rogina and Fischer FX artist Jake Parker. I also had a conference call with Director Jerry Brown from Sticks ‘n Stones in Los Angeles. Jerry and Jake talked a lot about the effects work and green screen and how to make it seamless and totally believable. We could all sense this spot would be very cool.
Building emotional impact, and making people feel something. When I started editing with Jerry, it just clicked. I had seen his reel and could tell what a great storyteller he was. My editing background at The Sundance Institute, Moonstone, and the short films I have done, made me a good match with Jerry. I love the little nuances and shots that give detail and propel the story forward.
Hang-gliders in Washington Lottery’s ad
As an editor I pull from personal experiences: with the “Birds” spot, it was flying lessons. When I was getting some solo flight time out of the Crystal Airport in the Piper Tomahawk 2423November, I flew out west of Minneapolis to practice some maneuvers. I was flying over a farmer’s fields practicing turns and then leveling the wings when I’d cross a road. It was such a lovely free feeling out there, I was so into it.
I decided I had better get back to the Crystal Airport. It was then that I realized I was so into the maneuvers I was lost! I thought quickly and pulled out the map from my flight kit to start looking for lakes, railroad tracks, freeways, etc. I pulled it out and, WHOA, it’s for the Dallas /Ft Worth area! After the initial shock, almost stalling, I kept my composure. I found the Albertville Water Tower and made it back to the Crystal Airport - and made a perfect landing!
It’s just like editing.
- by Lindy Wilson, editor
Fischer Edit, Minneapolis, Minn.
View “Birds” here:
Washington Lottery’s “Birds” edited by Fischer Edit from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.
The “Birds” shoot was a great experience. The director, producer, crew and agency folks were all top-notch and a pleasure to work with. Unfortunately, the weather was not as cooperative as we all had hoped it would be. Every morning was socked with fog that usually lasted into early afternoon - which led to some creative thinking.
Fog on set
For one thing, the gliders we composited into the spot were shot against “white screen” (fog) instead of blue sky, as we had hoped. The emu element was shot against green screen (as planned) but they had to set up a “fog barrier” so we wouldn’t have the mist drifting through, thus contaminating the green.
Glider shot set-up
Since there were no insane glider pilots available to fly with a 150-pound payload suspended between them, the emu shot was built in the Flame. The biggest challenge was to figure out what a pair of gliders would do! Clearly, they would not behave as normal?gliders do in flight and as there was nothing to reference, it was a matter of best-guess (and trial and error) until we arrived at an animation that worked. In addition to the glider challenge, the emu’s “performance” was singularly uninteresting, so for the composite we needed to animate his legs and head first and as separate elements.
The emu’s rig
A couple shots in the spot required air-to-air photography. This was achieved with the Borg (”Resistance is futile”) helmet cam, which was a Photo-Sonics 16mm 1VN camera mounted on Joe Greblo’s helmet (”Glider Joe”). Look at the photo and you’ll see why I felt the Star Trek reference apropos. He did a great job filming while piloting a motorized glider above the subject glider. The other camera you see attached to his helmet is a consumer video camera which was aligned with the film camera and served as the video assist, as the Photo-Sonics had no video tap.
Glider Joe
One of the overhead glider shots required additional gliders. These were shot on green screen from above while being suspended from cables. The same rigging setup was used to photograph them from ground level with a second camera (against the “white screen” sky), so we had overhead and profile glider composite elements to use in post.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the RATTLE SNAKE!
- Jake Parker, Visual Effects Supervisor and Flame Artist
Fischer Edit/FX, Minneapolis, Minn.
Washington Lottery’s “Birds” edited by Fischer Edit from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.
