If you have HBO, you should be watching the amazing miniseries “John Adams.” It’s wonderful to see important American history re-created in such a dynamic manner. And, as with so much in life, what you see is only about 10% of the story.
It was Monday, the first day the NAB floor was open, and I had only covered the central hall, intending to leave the enormous, two-floor South Hall for Tuesday. I got a phone call from my Wisconsin Public Television colleague Fred Wessel, and we decided to meet up for a while. I hustled over to the Adobe booth in the lower South Hall, and walked in late on the most jaw-dropping demo I have ever seen - so late, in fact, that I didn’t even get the name of the guy that was giving it.
What he was doing was dissecting scenes he had worked on for “John Adams,” and (of course) featuring the Adobe products that helped make it happen. You’d see the completed scene, then everything except Paul Giamatti (as Adams) would just melt away, then get reinstated one piece at a time. For example, a scene with a crowd in front of Boston’s Faneuil Hall turned out to be some steps, about half-a-building-worth of first floor flat...and some greenscreen. No people, no second floor, no roof, no sky, nothing! Street scenes on the Boston waterfront turned out to be some cobblestones and little else other than pure imagination. This went on and on, scene after scene after scene. It’s rare that I get this blown away by a tech demo, but the backstory here is that I *had* seen the first two episodes of “John Adams” while on vacation (no HBO in my house) and never once did I question the actual physicality of what I was seeing before my eyes. I took it hook, line and sinker.
It took a few minutes to reel my jaw back up from the floor. The folks at Digital Backlot are to be commended for doing an amazing job on “John Adams”, and for sharing a tiny bit of the process with the folks at NAB. This link will take you to a TV Technology article with a little more detail on the products and processes used in the production.
Bravo!
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The 2 presenters were Paul Graff (AE guru) and Robert Stromberg (Photoshop Genius).
Totally agree with Bruce - this was the biggest WOW for me of the show. I’ve been watching the Adams series (final episode this Sun) and was amazed at the production values -looks like a HUGE budget for sets, extras, props, locations.
But when you see what these guys did - WOW !
And it was with what they call 2 1/2 D (not true 3d) - After Effects and Photoshop to do the matte-painting.
And the more I thought about it, their magic also makes the jobs that the actors and director did if more amazing. For instance, how did Giamanti even begin to get a sense of place when he’s surrounded by nothing more than green screens and target markers and a few sparse props.
The whole thing was utterly amazing - and with programs easily available to the masses - and their company isn’t an ILM - just about a 10 man shop
I hope to have the good fortune to work with these greats someday… and after the presentations they were both so open and accessible and very excited about talking with anyone about the field.
Kudos to Paul Graff and Robert Stromberg.
They most certainly deserve an Emmy for this work.
Posted by lightprism on 04/19 at 07:27 AM
