Session Start: Sun May 30 20:46:27 1999 Sunday, May 30th Chat with David Fein of SHARPLINE ARTS Okay... Tonight we are proud to wecme David C. Fein... He is the co-owner of SHARPLINE ARTS.. The company that produced he original ALIEN/ALIENS laserdisc... And responsble for the documentay on the ALIENS LEGACY disc He has as worked on the upcoming THE LAST STARFIGHTER DVD.. David, welcome! Please a few words... Thanks for having me.... I'd like to first introduce our work on the most recent ALIEN Legacy project. While we were responsible for the original laserdisc collector's editions of Alien and Aliens, we weren't the producers of the new DVD releases. In addition to the materials we created on the original laserdiscs, we recently produced the audio commentary with Ridley Scott, the two tracks of music, (one featuring segments of original production audio between the additional music), and we also produced the new 68-minute documentary on the making of the original film. Thanks for having me tonight, and more importantly, I want to thank you for being supportive of special editions. You, as collectors fan fellow fans, make doing these projects worthwhile.... Thank You, David... At the end of this chat Digital Eyes will be giving away a boxed set to one of you Nimbus is up How many hours went into producing the Legacy documentary? And how did you decide what material should be included? It's a difficult question, only for one reason, much of the research that we put into the making of the project started with the laserdisc boxed set. However, the project was green-lighted in January, and by the first week in March we delivered our work. It was actually an amazing time, we had two fantastic editors, Ed Marsh and Peter Parise editing almost around the clock to meet the deadline... As for materials, we still had hours of outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage from the original laserdisc production to go through. Luckily, we still had our notes from years ago and that made it much easier to sort through all of the footage. There's still some additional pieces I'd like to see used someday. As for interviews for the documentary, we had roughly an hour with each crewmember. Did that answer the question? Yes, thank you. Next up is Jeffrey... David...First off, I hope your efforts are the start of a trend; we need more special editions of this type....My question is how did you convince Fox to go 16x9 with this and do you think the end result may have turned their heads around about enhancing their future releases? Actually, when we first presented our idea of producing the DVDs, we proposed doing new 16x9 transfers...Honestly, we weren't more involved than that... I believe that it was Ridley Scott's representative Charlie De Lauzirika, and Ridley himself that pushed for that. As for what we do becoming a trend, I truly hope so... We originally created the laserdiscs with the hope and intention that it would start a trend where we, as film enthusiasts and collectors could expect projects with that level of quality and effort put into them. Unfortunately, much of that wish has remained unfulfilled. This is actually one of the biggest reasons we created Sharpline Arts as a company... It's our hope that by putting a name on our company and our work you will have someone to ask for if you like what we're doing... Besides, it makes us have to stand behind our quality, and continue to produce the best work we can. Thanks David...can't wait until Tuesday..good luck Have you seen the "Burke Cocoon scene" in ALIENS and is it on any of the new releases? There have been some pictures of this scene spread through out the internet, but nobody has confirmed the scenes existance Well, the scene does exist... Will we ever see it? I don't know... Originally it was my understanding that James Cameron put back into the film all that he wanted to share with the public... It's entirely up to him if we ever get to see the scene. It's actually funny... We found I think five slides from the scene, and a spot for one other. The other was the image from the scene that was published in the Starlog Movie book. I'd love to see the scene as much as you would, but sorry... No, the scene isn't on the DVD. Next up is GregStaten... Out of curiosity, what software (editing, graphics/animation, title creation) do you use for DVD creation? Actually, if you are asking about DVD authoring, we don't use any... we produce materials that are passed onto DVD authors for use. I'm actualy asking about the material creation... We use Adobe Photoshop to retouch photos, After Effects for compositing and video effects, and we do most of our video editing on the Media 100XR... There are other packages we use as well, but those are the primary ones... And between them, they are truly powerful. Also for the record, we're very much a Macintosh company... We also mix our shows using ProTools. Next up is Robert George (Obi).... Would you comment on why you think Fox separated the documentary from the set making it more difficult for collectors to get it? Humm... from a marketing aspect, it will sell lots of ALIEN 3 and 4 discs... Also, since there was already a plan to place the fifth TAPE in the VHS box, it may have been planned as a way to balance the project... I've heard from many fans who are purchasing the boxed set only to get the documentary... Since I am not Fox, I can only speculate. I don't have a definitive answer. Hi Dave, was James Cameron asked to have any part in the Aliens laserdisc and/or DVD? I was wondering why did he decline an audio commentary? Any reason given? He doesn't seem to be a fan of it. We did originally have a plan to ask James Cameron to do a commentary. However, he declined. I don't have a reason. I'd love to hear what he has to say as well... Having said that your company does actualy handle the DVD authoring, can you comment on any differences you see in the production of supplements for DVD as opposed to Laserdiscs from your perspective? I'm sorry, typo, you did say you don't Actually, I thought I said we don't do the actual authoring, but since we prepare the materials for authoring I can answer your question anyway... What I find the most different is the interactivity and the way we have to prepare our materials. With laserdiscs we had to always transfer our graphics, photographs, etc to video... with DVD authoring we deliver the graphic files directly... It also really helps the final results to look cleaner and clearer because they don't have to go analog at any stage.... Thanks Next up is TOMC.... Hi Dave. Will there be future special editions of 3 and 4 with more bonus materials? Interesting question... We were originally going to go back and do three and four as well as enhance one and two. This didn't happen. At this point its up to Fox. Micahel you are up.... will fox be releasing a derctor's cut of alien 3 in the future? That was just asked... No it wasn't... I'll answer it. We were going to propose an ALIEN 3 to David Fincher, however he was directing... "The Fight Club" (Is that the right title?) and it was decided for other reasons that we should only focus on the first film. (Mainly because of it's 20th anniversary). GregStaten is up... You really seem to push the edges of interactive menus on the new discs (particularly ALIEN). Where do you see the evolution of menus headed and is there anything you'd like to do that the software can't handle yet? I am so impressed with the new menus on the new discs! 1K Studios did an incredible job!!! (We didn't do the menus...) However, the one thing I'd like to see happen, is for menus to become much clearer, and not waste our time. Our vision is that the menus need to complement the film, and not try to sell it to me... I've already purchased the product, I don't need an advertisement about the film in the form of the menus, but when they are done right, like the new ones on these discs by 1K, where they become part of the presentation of the film, then all I can do is applaud the work, and prepare to watch the film. I think that when you buy a disc it should be first and foremost for the MOVIE, and then any extras or menus... Does anyone here plan to buy a bad movie just because the menus are better than the film? It's nice to see so much creativity though... Next up is Peter Fitzgerald..... Hi David. Is there any supplemental material from the ALIENS collector's edition LD that DIDN'T make it onto the new ALIENS DVD? All of the text, script excerpts, I think the clips are a bit longer on the boxed set... The new DVDs contain most if not all of the photos, but none of the production history notes, annotations, etc... Thanks. Keep up the great work! DONE Next up is Robert "Obi" George... Looking ahead from Alien legacy, Fox supposedly has The Abyss on the schedule for later this year. Is it too much to hope that the DVD of that will include the great supplements from the LD? I was originally told that James Cameron asked that the original supplemental materials from the ALIENS boxed set be converted to the DVD. They were, but without any of the text. I do not know what Fox has in store for The Abyss, but I expect the results to be similar to the ALIENS dvd.. As a side, I'd like to point out that The Abyss was moreso a Lightstorm Entertainment (James Cameron's company) production, The Abyss was moreso a Lightstorm Entertainment (James Cameron's company) production, and I worked directly with their producer Van Ling on that project. You mentioned earlier that there was a lot of extra stuff to sort through as far as extras. What makes, to you, one thing more deserving then another? And why would all of it not be included? Sometimes I wish that all of it could be included... However, there are a number of issues to be addressed with material... First, what can we include, and then what will have to be dropped in order to include what we want... Second, it's space that makes a big difference... Third, is how the materials are being presented... for example, would you want to sit through hours of the nostromo taking off and landing? In a documentary, we can only use what works in any given segment... But the biggest decision maker about the footage is what I call the 'coolness factor'... This is something that we always focus on in all of our projects, something that makes you go... 'That's cool!' for example, on the ALIENS laserdisc we had the original model of the dropship that had an logo on the nose that was called the 'Bug Stomper', and we had a slide of the full size ship with the same logo... so we actually moved the model into a position so that we could get almost the same image between the miniature and the full size set. The more images can support each other the better it is... It also helps to make the project far more fun to go through. (Sorry for the long answer.) no problem! Thank you very much. Can you speak yet of any future projects? Apparently Mr.Scott was happy enough with the Alien DVD to be considering a Legend special edition. We are currently working on a special edition of 'Bride of Re-Animator', 'Lair of the White Worm' & 'Salome's Last Dance' for Pioneer... (These aren't the scope of ALIEN, but will be great..) We are also working with other studios, but can't comment yet on those titles... Watch our website for more info... (We did recently finish The Last Starfighter for Universal, which will be released on June 8th, on laserdisc and DVD... It really is an outstanding project.... ) Without giving too much away, What extras might we find when we pop in the Alien Legacy (Documentary) disc, in relationship to menus, packageing, easter eggs and other goodies? We aren't doing the authoring of the DVD. We delivered the master of the documentary, and Fox is producing the fifth disc. For the record, Michael Matessino is the Director of the documentary, I'm the Producer, and Catherine Pierce is the Project Administrator... We're really happy with the results, those of you who can't wait, the documentary is available in the boxed tape set of The ALIEN Legacy... Do you approach studios about making special editions of movies, or do they mostly come to you... and also how much leeway does a studio give you concerning the production of the special editions when it comes to content? It depends... Before I respond, this question was recently asked and replied to in an interview with my partner Michael Matessino at the DVD Review web page... (www.dvdreview.com) ... sometimes we propose titles, sometimes titles come to us. As for the materials, it usually comes down to what is available, what can be located or produced, what can be used legally, and most importantly if we have the budget to use the materials. We could have thousands of hours of show, but if we don't have the budget to go through it all it (show=footage) won't make a difference... Why did Ridley Scott only film one part of the airlock deleted scene in alien? This happens with many films... You may just decide that the sequence is not going to be in the film during production, so there is no reason to complete it. This is my understanding as to what happened. thanks Next up is John BR... will the last starfighter be 16x9 and 5.1 Hummm... I know it will be 16x9... as for 5.1..... Yes... It's 16x9 and 5.1. It has a new documentary called "Crossing the Frontier: Making the Last Starfighter" on it... I hope you enjoy it! Next up is JimLong...... Hello David, My questions is - Was there a temptation to wait for DVD-18 to add more material, and did you find much limitation on space when creating this edition on DVD? Personally, I'd love to see all releases in DVD-18 someday with lots of room for extra materials... However, on this release the compression and fit of the materials was not an issue that we were involved in. We completed and delivered our work, then it went on to be prepared for the DVD by Fox. thanks David MikeJM is up... Do you know why Fox didn't want a new enhanced transfer of Alien and Aliens that you wanted to do? ....Meaning did they say "Sorry, we would rather you not do that." I'm not sure that I understand the question... We had no involvement in the transfer of the films. We suggested 16x9 at the start, but that's about it. Next up is NIMBUS... I'd like to digress a moment for a personal question. How many DVDs are in your personal collection? Which ones are your favorite, and why? I have about a hundred... I like the price point... I purchase a lot of them to see how menus and materials are progressing... Favorites? hummm... Just a moment... I rather like Starship Troopers, Blade, and I've enjoyed the work of Columbia TriStar, Universal's Signature Series, and New Line's work... I enjoy discs that have additional features... (No Kidding Right?) I think the thing I like the most about DVD is that it gives studios a reason to do new transfers using many of the enhancements in technology... I think HiDefiinition transfers look terrific when downsampled to DVD... DVD-ROM content seems to be the rage (especially at NewLine) yet you seem to focus on DVD-based supplements. Since I don't have a DVD-ROM drive, this is great for me, but what do you feel is the benefit of DVD vs. DVD-ROM supplements. It's actually difficult for me... one one side I'm a computer fan, the other film, and while I've been involved with CD-ROM supplement style projects, like Inside Independence Day, I personally feel far more comfortable doing my supplemental watching in front of my television than my computer. Also, as a Mac fan, I'm disappointed at the PC focus of many of the DVD-ROM features... What would I like to see? I'd like to see materials presented equally across both mediums that will allow us all to actually SEARCH through the materials for key phrases, etc... and use computers to better access the same materials, and not leave one side of the project with only part of the project... (I hope that makes sense...) Thanks, Dave. Glad you're on the creation side! Well things don't always turn out the way I'd like to see them... Are there any particular films you'd like to be asked to work on (especially any pre-1980 films)? Sort of a "wish list" My heart is in epic films... There is always many stories to be told the larger the film is. Particular projects? I have a wish list... and hopefully I'll get a chance to do some of the titles on it. Sorry for not sharing them. I'm also always open to suggestions... Okay next up is KevinClemons... Were there any limitations that dvd offered that prevented you from creating an even better DVD? As with just about any project, the answer has more to do with Time, Budget, Quality, and Space. You usually have to loose one to get the others... sometimes two.... thanks Next up is Paul McGowean.. Thank you for being here tonight David, we all appreciate it. On a personal note, what prior projects have you worked on, and education have you received to get you where you are today with Sharpline Arts?? Thanks again!..... Well, the best reference of our work is on our website... As for the rest, my life has been about film and computer study... while I've taken numerous classes in film history the best teacher has been exposure and research... I actually love doing these projects because I learn more about film each and every time we do one...It's also very satisfying when a school or review talks about how much they've learned from our work... Thanks for reviewing the website for the better answer (it'll save time... write me if you want more info...) Thanks! btw: www.sharplinearts.com Jim Long is up... David, what's your favorite type of 'cool' extra and what do you think of including alternate endings? Outtakes, alternate endings... are my favorites... But overall, I want to see projects that truly go for the whole story ... I wish all titles could be extensive and fully documented references on the making of a movie... I never intended our work to be a one night read, but more of a reference on the film... thanks! Does Ridley Scott talk about his idea for a fifth Alien film? I don't remember exactly, (sorry) but I think he does comment on his idea in the commentary on the ALIEN dvd. Next up is Douglas... ? What do you wish could have been on the Alien Legacy DVD's, but were not because of time, space or budget reasons? Clearly the documentary. I would have preferred it on the ALIEN DVD where we designed it to be. Please read our letter to consumers on our website. Also if I had only one wish for the DVDs, I'd want the original credits that were on the laserdiscs to be included, specificially because there were many people who graciously gave us materials, photos, etc. for the laserdisc that we thanked, and who's materials are on the DVD without their appreciation. We're going to put the credits on our website in honor of those people. how are the menus designed? can an average joe do the graphic design at home on after effects & dump it to digi-beta for use in mastering? i'm looking to expand my horizons. thanks The menus are primarily designed in the computer for DVD. Happily there is no video stage required nowadays... We use off the shelf software to create our graphics, but its up to the dvd authoring house to implement them. what is your favoite alien movie of the series Favorite alien movie? I love ALIENS, but haven't been able to watch it since the laserdisc. I also love ALIEN just a much... One last thing... I recently noticed that the Jorden Tractor sequence in the new transfer of ALIENS has at least one shot that is different from the old laserdisc... (The matte painting of the derelict as the tractor goes off below no longer pans up...) If anyone is as detail oriented as I tend to be, you'll get a kick out of the antidote... I would like to take this opportunity to thank David Fein for chatting with us. It was a pleasure to have him here and he is welcome back anytime he has a project to tell us about. bad typing tonight... You didfine Please feel free to e-mail us, and watch our website for updates! Thank you very much David. I have learned a lot tonight... Thanks for having me! Can I close with one last thing? Go ahead David... I want to truly thank and appreciate 1K for their menu screens, Ridley Scott and Charlie de Lauzirika for their involvement in the project, and to Fox for supporting an outstanding film series. Everyone deserves great praise for their hard work on The Alien Legacy. Session Close: Sun May 30 23:03:53 1999