In this report Playback looks at the state of the union for editors, getting the opinion of tried and true talent on creativity, technology and where do they go from here? (See story this page.) We also talked to a couple of the growing shops, Productions Modulations (below) and Solar Audio (p. 32) to see how they’re functioning in a growing and changing field. And last but not least, we profile three up-and-comers who are making names for themselves early in the game. (See pages 24, 25 and 28.)

* * *

Vincenzo Natali’s debut feature CUBE, which gathered attention during its Toronto International Film Festival run, is an effects-laden story of human survival in an enigmatic maze. To achieve some of the film’s startling visuals at the script stage Natali turned to some of Toronto’s recognized digital shops. Below, he reflects on the process of making CUBE and incorporating high-end effects in a first-time feature.

‘Don’t even think about digital.’ That’s what I told my producer Mehra Meh in the early prep stages of our feature CUBE. I was a rubber band and paper clips man, believing that the world of cyber effects existed in another dimension quite separate from our low-budget reality. Adopting the James Cameron philosophy that favors motion over detailed visuals, I was counting on creative cutting and sound to conjure images that we could not afford to render explicitly on the screen.

But Mehra knew better. And being the responsible and resourceful producer he is, completely ignored my advice. Before you could say Silicon Graphics, I found myself in the somewhat `Bondian’ boardroom of .R.E. Digital Pictures face to face with the hottest animators in town. Suddenly I was reminded that Cameron is the godfather of digital effects and that his motion-theories came from pre-T2 days in the Roger Corman sweatshop. As the C.O.R.E. wizards played a demo reel for the upcoming Dimension production, Mimic, I could literally feel the saliva gathering in my mouth. Any romantic attachment that I might have had to the good old Ray Harryhausen techniques vaporized in a flash. C.O.R.E. was not only the best option, they were our only hope.

Under normal circumstances, the complexity of the 3D animation and digital compositing would seem preposterous with our meager budget, but C.O.R.E. defies the norm. They offered us an irresistible deal: they would perform all their services for nothing! To this day, I cannot entirely account for this stupendous act of generosity and at the time all I could do was nod my head in dumbfounded bemusement. Perhaps my soul had secretly been sold in recompense, and even if that is the case, it was still a bargain. Once C.O.R.E. committed to CUBE, they were devoted to the project, proving not only to be saints but also divinely inspired.

In addition to C.O.R.E, I was blessed with another rising star on the local effects front. Caligari Studio signed on for a deal as generous and unlucrative as my digital partners’. Composed of ex-members of Gordon Smith’s team the Caligari contingent are masters of physical and prosthetic effects, having contributed to some of the most realistic human replicas ever put on film (Kennedy’s corpse in JFK to give one startling example). Like most people who create ghastly images, they are the sweetest, kindest most helpful individuals you are likely to meet and working with them was like a re-occurring, freakish Christmas where each day they unveiled some new, wonderfully monstrous creation.

With the final additions of Cinebyte, which did all our film to digital transfers, and Jjamb, which ingeniously designed the Cube’s door mechanisms, the effects roster was complete and the fun began.

For me, special effects are no more of an illusion than an actor’s performance, lighting a set, editing a picture or mixing sound; they are just another part of the artifice of filmmaking. I try not to become overwhelmed by the technical details, instead focusing my attention on the conceptual aspects. Storyboards are my medium of communication. There is no quicker way to endear yourself to a special effects artist than to provide them with detailed drawings of what you want to achieve. With CUBE, I had the advantage of knowing well in advance of the shoot exactly what my set would look like (there was only one) and thusly was able to define my shots with reasonable accuracy.

Once I have a clear picture of the effect, I decide what form it should take. Knowing the limitations of physical, digital and optical effects is key to choosing what technique will work best. No one is more cautious and critical of effects than their creators and I relied heavily on their judgment. One of the most ambitious sequences in CUBE involves a hapless maze prisoner who is diced into sushi-like chunks by a wire mesh. I had always assumed the effect would have to be digital, but C.O.R.E strongly recommended that we do it live, realizing that organic matter is difficult to conjure in the hard drive of a computer. In the end, Caligari constructed a brilliant replica of the actor which had been prescored to fall apart on cue. C.O.R.E. then animated the wire mesh that lowers into the shot after its victim has collapsed into gelatinous cubes on the floor. Ironically, when most people see the effect, they assume that the replica is digital and the mesh is physical.

While I had some experience with physical effects before, CUBE was my first foray into computer animation. I was pleasantly surprised by its flexibility and adaptability to low budget production. As long as we stayed clear from green screen and motion control, the use of digital effects saved us from the time consuming fussiness of live build. We simply had to make sure the camera was rock steady while we shot the background plates and the hard work was saved for the animators in post. In addition, digital effects lend themselves to revision and C.O.R.E. demonstrated great patience as I indulged in the luxury of reworking a shot over and over until I was completely satisfied.

Now that the film is completed and I am able to watch it with some degree of objectivity, I am blown away by what our effects artists achieved. CUBE was produced through the Feature Film Project at the Canadian Film Centre for a fixed budget of $750,000 (half of which is in deferrments), a figure that probably wouldn’t cover the paint bill for Cameron’s Titanic set. Yet the detail and seamlessness of the work in CUBE is on a world class level.

Sometimes there is an obtuseness to special effects in films, as if they had been pasted on to the action as an afterthought. It seems to me that special effects work best when they are conceived from the script stage, and therefore flow naturally from the story.

With CUBE I had the great fortune to collaborate with artists who understood the story and as a result were able to imbue the imagery with complexity and meaning.