Avid Technology Case Studies Avid's Role in the Epic Journey of Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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	Avid's Role in the Epic Journey of Star Wars: The Force Awakens Avid Technology

Avid's Role in the Epic Journey of Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Avid Technology

Technology Category	Sensors - Acoustic Sensors Sensors - Haptic Sensors
Applicable Industries	Equipment & Machinery Transportation
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development
Use Cases	Time Sensitive Networking Visual Quality Detection
Services	System Integration
Challenge	The challenge was to edit the long-awaited, VFX-heavy film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The film was shot using a variety of cameras and formats, including 35mm, 65mm, digital, and 3D for final delivery. The film was also shot primarily at 35mm cinemascope and 65mm IMAX for some scenes. The editing team had to manage these different formats and ensure a seamless final product. Additionally, the film was a top-secret project, requiring secure storage solutions for the files. The team also had to incorporate a temporary 5.1 surround sound mix, which was a new workflow for them. Read More
About Customer	The customer in this case is the production team of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, led by director JJ Abrams. The team includes editors Maryann Brandon, ACE, and Mary Jo Markey, ACE, both of whom once again joined the director for what is considered an even bigger adventure of his career as he reintroduced Star Wars. Associate editors Julian Smirke and Matt Evans rejoined Abrams, Brandon, and Markey, having worked with the trio on Mission: Impossible III, and every Abrams film thereafter. The team works at Bad Robot, Abrams’ film and television production company, where work on the director’s projects, including The Force Awakens, is done. Read More
Solution	The team relied on Avid Artist Suite creative solutions for editing the multi-formatted, story-driven scenes. They used anywhere from eight to 12 Media Composer systems, depending on where they were in the process. They also used Avid Storage Suite shared media storage, which is connected at Bad Robot via Ethernet, so employees can collaborate and be added easily as needed. To make the assets more manageable and trackable for other users, associate editors Julian Smirke and Matt Evans generated a database for marketing and management to use for locating specific shots and technical information as needed. The main editorial codebook, created using VFX editor Martin Kloner’s FileMaker Pro databases, includes all the dailies imported from Avid bins. That codebook links up to all the other databases used for the visual effects, continuity, ADR (automated dialog replacement), and turnovers. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Sensors - Acoustic Sensors

Sensors - Haptic Sensors

Applicable Industries

Equipment & Machinery

Transportation

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Time Sensitive Networking

Visual Quality Detection

Services

System Integration

Challenge

The challenge was to edit the long-awaited, VFX-heavy film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The film was shot using a variety of cameras and formats, including 35mm, 65mm, digital, and 3D for final delivery. The film was also shot primarily at 35mm cinemascope and 65mm IMAX for some scenes. The editing team had to manage these different formats and ensure a seamless final product. Additionally, the film was a top-secret project, requiring secure storage solutions for the files. The team also had to incorporate a temporary 5.1 surround sound mix, which was a new workflow for them.

About Customer

The customer in this case is the production team of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, led by director JJ Abrams. The team includes editors Maryann Brandon, ACE, and Mary Jo Markey, ACE, both of whom once again joined the director for what is considered an even bigger adventure of his career as he reintroduced Star Wars. Associate editors Julian Smirke and Matt Evans rejoined Abrams, Brandon, and Markey, having worked with the trio on Mission: Impossible III, and every Abrams film thereafter. The team works at Bad Robot, Abrams’ film and television production company, where work on the director’s projects, including The Force Awakens, is done.

Solution

The team relied on Avid Artist Suite creative solutions for editing the multi-formatted, story-driven scenes. They used anywhere from eight to 12 Media Composer systems, depending on where they were in the process. They also used Avid Storage Suite shared media storage, which is connected at Bad Robot via Ethernet, so employees can collaborate and be added easily as needed. To make the assets more manageable and trackable for other users, associate editors Julian Smirke and Matt Evans generated a database for marketing and management to use for locating specific shots and technical information as needed. The main editorial codebook, created using VFX editor Martin Kloner’s FileMaker Pro databases, includes all the dailies imported from Avid bins. That codebook links up to all the other databases used for the visual effects, continuity, ADR (automated dialog replacement), and turnovers.

Impact #1	The use of Avid's solutions allowed the team to effectively manage the different formats used in the film and ensure a seamless final product. The shared media storage facilitated collaboration among the team members and allowed for easy addition of employees as needed. The creation of a database for marketing and management made the assets more manageable and trackable for other users. The use of a temporary 5.1 surround sound mix, a new workflow for the team, allowed the film to be screened without sending it off for audio work first. This capability also made transitioning from temp to final sound design much smoother. Overall, the use of Avid's solutions facilitated a smooth editing process for the film, contributing to its success.

Impact #1

The use of Avid's solutions allowed the team to effectively manage the different formats used in the film and ensure a seamless final product. The shared media storage facilitated collaboration among the team members and allowed for easy addition of employees as needed. The creation of a database for marketing and management made the assets more manageable and trackable for other users. The use of a temporary 5.1 surround sound mix, a new workflow for the team, allowed the film to be screened without sending it off for audio work first. This capability also made transitioning from temp to final sound design much smoother. Overall, the use of Avid's solutions facilitated a smooth editing process for the film, contributing to its success.

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Overview

Avid's Role in the Epic Journey of Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Operational Impact