I’ve just finished editorial on the feature film 6 BELOW starring Josh Hartnett and directed by Scotty Waugh (Need for Speed, Act of Valor). This is my 10th feature film as an editor and a very welcome challenge both creatively and technically. It’s also the first feature film to be edited natively in 6K. I’m cutting the original RED 6K Dragon files (R3D) with no transcoding or proxies in Adobe Premiere Pro. We are framing for a 2.76:1 aspect ratio like The Hateful Eight and using Panavision Primo 70 lenses.

 

 

 

I have cut many music videos and short films in native 4K (RED, Samsung, Canon, Sony) but the challenge of 6K is a brand new beast! 6K files are nine times larger than HD. To handle the pixel pushing power we need for real-time playback, we are using custom made DELL Precision Tower 7910 Series workstations with 20-core processors. These are outfitted with 128GB of RAM and NVIDIA Quadro M6000 12GB video cards. The 6K frame is 6144 x 3160 pixels and needs massive power to push it around smoothly. 64TB of RAID 5 storage is shared across 10GB ethernet.

 

 

I will be sharing my experiences on this ground breaking project and document the post production process and workflow I have designed specifically for 6 BELOW. Since it has never been done before at this level, I look forward to the challenge of editing in a 6K native workflow and will keep you in the loop on our 20-week editorial run.

 

 

 

We are shooting 6 weeks in Salt Lake City and the mountains of Park City right next to the Sundance Film Festival. We then return to Los Angeles where we will have an additional 14 weeks of editorial. We are looking at a late 2016 release date for this dramatic winter survival story. 6 BELOW is based on the true story of Eric LeMarque, an Olympic hockey player that got stranded for 8 days in the mountains while snowboarding. Coincidentally, I’ve known Eric for almost 20 years, played hockey and trained with him in California before his ordeal. The personal responsibility to best tell his tale is always in the back of my mind….

 

Here’s the first official image of Josh Hartnett in 6 BELOW…

 

 

 

We have an amazing team of filmmakers on this film. A common bond is that most of us have worked at the production company Bandito Brothers over the years. Scotty Waugh was one its founders and he has hand picked the crew for 6 BELOW. We all hope to chip in with our skills, passion and energy to help cross the finish line with the best film possible.

Lastly…this is also the first narrative feature film that will be presented in the BARCO ESCAPE format. It has a 7:1 aspect ratio and covers 3 screens horizontally to give an immersive, panoramic and next level experience. To give you a taste of what the Barco Escape frame projection looks like…it is the yellow section in the image below.

 

 

 

 

 

Editing in 6K. What’s next…

 

 

 

UPDATE #1 – The Scene Board. How I organize and keep my scenes current.

 

UPDATE #2 – The Film Information and Inspiration Board.

 

UPDATE #3 – 6K RED Dragon Native Pancake Timeline

 

UPDATE #4 – Organization of my Premiere Pro Project

 

UPDATE #5 – Timeline Tuesday after 4 Weeks

 

UPDATE #6 – 24 Hours of Dailies on One Timeline

 

UPDATE #7 – The Edit after 5 Weeks (68 minutes)

 

UPDATE #8 – My Office after 5 Weeks of Crushing the Edit

 

UPDATE #9 – Back in Los Angeles Editing with Scott Waugh

 

UPDATE #10 – Comparison of the Raw and Deliverable Footage

 

UPDATE #11 – First Full Cut is done after 10 Weeks

 

UPDATE #12 – Screening 6 BELOW with the director after 11 weeks of editing

 

UPDATE #13 – Frame.io on my iPhone

 

UPDATE #14 – Full 6K frame from 6 BELOW

 

UPDATE #15 – The Notes Process

 

UPDATE #16 – 6K VFX in After Effects and Mocha

 

 

UPDATE #17 – Frame.io interview about 6 BELOW is available HERE

 

UPDATE #18 – The First Cut and Final Cut

 

 

UPDATE #19 – PICTURE IS LOCKED. 20 WEEKS of editorial.

 

 

UPDATE #20 – Reframing 6 BELOW for BARCO ESCAPE in the Edit Bay

 

UPDATE #21 – Screened the 4K DCP in Spielberg’s theater at Amblin 

 

It’s in theaters October 12th and available to stream in HD on October 13th.

Until next time…

Vashi Nedomansky

vashivisuals.com

@vashikoo