Speed Racer

Warner Bros. Pictures. Dirs. Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski. DP David Tattersall BSC.

Codex and Sohonet became the hub of the entire workflow, providing all functions of the film-lab, tape-transfer and courier services on this $100m-plus, FX-intensive production. There were between three and five camera units operating simultaneously at times, using Sony F23 cameras. Codex recorded the uncompressed output in parallel with a recording to HDCAM-SR tape for archive purposes.

The camera, engineering and Codex package for on-set and post production was designed and integrated by digital cinematography specialist PACE at its Burbank facility. Both PACE and Codex provided on-location support. On Speed Racer, Codex systems delivered immediate playback and review, plus the feeds for on-set compositing, and also converted the footage to the different formats required by the production. These included full and half-resolution DPX frames used for effects, QuickTime viewing copies, and Avid MXF proxies.

The DPX files were sent by Sohonet to the in-studio FX unit, and to the Los Angeles VFX house. Avid MXF files, generated by the Codex, were immediately available for editing with no time-consuming import / digitising. This enabled the screening of full-quality editorials of the previous day's work – every day during the 12-week shoot.