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Best Effects  

By Michael Goldman

In late December and early January, some of the top names in the visual effects industry engaged once again in an annual ritual — preparing highlight reels for presentation at the Visual Effects Award Nominating Bake-Off...

Edit Review — Algolith AlgoSuite  

Reviewer: Jan Ozer

I have a confession to make not all of my video shoots go off perfectly. I know, I know, all of you out there get it right first time, every time, but unfortunately that's just not me....

One-man Pipeline 

By Michael Goldman

While most of the attention paid to James Longley's documentary film Iraq in Fragments understandably revolves around the project's political nature and critical acclaim (the film won three Sundance Film Festival awards in the Independent Film and Documentary competitions), the technical hurdles the project grappled with are also significant. Longley directed, co-edited, co-produced, scored, shot, and recorded all audio for the documentary....

Edit Review — Matrox Axio 2.0 

Reviewer: D. W. Leitner

Fast, good, cheap. In product development, you're told pick any two. In choosing an HD editing system, you're lucky to get one and a half. The ideal HD...

The Adobe Spa 

By S. D. Katz

Adobe begins 2006 with the biggest makeover ever in its history. With the release of its highly integrated Production Studio Premium bundle this month, the San Jose, Calif.-based...

Edit Review — Apple Aperture 

Reviewer: Franklin McMahon

First let's discuss what Aperture is not. It's not a Photoshop killer and it's not a super-charged iPhoto for pros. What is it? Apple Aperture is a high-end...

Step by Step: Aeon Flux 

By Ellen Wolff

Stylized settings abound in Aeon Flux, Paramount Pictures' sci-fi confection with MTV roots and Charlize Theron to boot. Designing the look of the film's futuristic environments required substantial give and take between The Orphanage in San Francisco and Digital Domain in Los Angeles. In one particularly revealing shot, The Orphanage's CG team pulls the camera back from a single apartment window to a POV high above the city where the story unfolds. The lengthy pullback shot ultimately resolves......

The Colors of Munich  

By Michael Goldman

The color design strategically planned for Steven Spielberg's historical drama about the consequences of terrorism, Munich, was so important to the story that it can almost be considered...

Contrasting Colors 

By Michael Goldman

Color grading was crucial for both King Kong and Munich, but radically different approaches exemplify the "traditional versus digital" debate. Peter Jackson's King Kong and Steven Spielberg's Munich basically have just two things in common. First, they are two of the most high-profile and important films to come out in late 2005, and second, both relied extensively on carefully crafted color schemes designed to help achieve creative goals and impact audiences emotionally....

The Sampler — December 28, 2005