Editorial team sets up shop at Hula’s West Los Angeles facility to
prepare 3D concert film for cinema and IMAX release.

                         

HOLLYWOOD— Hula Post Production provided
3D editorial gear and space for Metallica:
Through the Never, the new feature-length 3D concert film released
worldwide this month by Picturehouse. Editor Joe Hutshing (Savages, Almost Famous)
and his crew spent more than eight months at Hula’s facility in West Los
Angeles cutting the film, which blends footage from Metallica concerts in
Edmonton, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia, with a narrative story about
a roadie on a surreal odyssey to recover a mysterious bag. Metallica: Through the Never will screen both in digital 3D cinemas
and IMAX theaters.

Hula engineers designed and built a complete offline
editorial workflow that included five Avid Nitris DX Media Composer 6.0.3
systems (each equipped with 3D editing software) and a Unity Media Engine
shared storage device with a capacity of 40TB. Hula also provided space for the
film’s music editorial team and built an onsite screening facility equipped
with a large-screen JVC 3D monitor. The package also included onsite technical
support, production offices and concierge services.

“We were happy from the moment we arrived,” recalls Nimród Antal, the film’s director. “Hula’s
facilities are beautiful and the equipment, top notch. They supported and gave
us love throughout the process.”

Hutshing and his
crew had an incredible amount of source material to work with in crafting the
finished film. The live concerts were shot with pairs of ARRI Alexa cameras
mounted in Cameron Pace Group 3D rigs. More than 30 camera set-ups were used to
capture each song in the concert.  “The
amount of source material was almost mind-numbing,” says Antal, “and we faced
the additional challenge of weaving in narrative material. Most films follow a
straightforward path through editorial; this was a maze.”

The ability to
quickly review scenes in 3D made the editorial process much easier. Antal and
Hutshing were able to determine immediately how well the cut was working in 3D and
make any necessary technical or creative adjustments. “I had some concerns about
the technology, as this was my first 3D film,” Antal explains, “but they were
quickly alleviated because I was surrounded by experienced and wonderfully
talented people.”

The result is an
engaging and immersive experience that captures the power, electricity and
spectacle of a live Metallica concert. Following its world premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival, one critic wrote that “Metallica: Through the Never should
proudly take a position alongside classic films like Martin Scorsese’s The
Last Waltz and Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense.”

About Hula Post Production

For more than fifteen
years, Hula Post has provided exceptional equipment rental services to the
post production and broadcast communities. With offices in Burbank and West Los
Angeles, we are the industry leader in customized workflow solutions. We offer
a huge inventory of editorial and finishing systems, storage solutions, and
support gear, and we back it up with the most experienced and knowledgeable
support team in the industry. Whether you need a single system or a complex,
customized workflow to take you from production through post, we can provide
you with the tools to meet your technical requirements, budget and production
schedule.

For more information, visit http://hulapost.com