Press Release
PostWorks New York Helps Explore Hip Hop's Connection Brian de Palma's "Scarface"
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"In this country, you gotta get the money first; then you get the power." So says Tony Montana, the anti-hero of director Brian de Palma's classic Scarface (1983), played with staggering gusto by the immortal Al Pacino. Judging by Scarface: Origins of a Hip Hop Classic (2003), a new mini-documentary from Def Jam Records and Gorilla Flix, that kind of gritty insight resonated for many of today's hip-hop stars. Directed by noted music video director Benny Boom and finished at PostWorks New York, the fascinating short will be included on the 20th anniversary DVD of the film.
Starring such names from the hip-hop world as Sean "P. Diddy" Coombs, Method Man, Eve, Nas and, of course, Scarface, the film features many of the stars explaining how much the movie has meant to them. P. Diddy claims to have seen the film sixty-three times. [an error occurred while processing this directive]Method Man likens Tony Montana to Superman, while Scarface explains his reaction in three simple words: "That was me!" From there, the film's most famous scenes are examined and dissected for their importance to the emergence of today's hip-hop culture. Throughout, the film's themes are accentuated by the rapid fire editing, graphics and titles created by the PostWorks team.
"PostWorks colorist Eric Alvarado had worked with Benny Boom a number of times before," explained Todd Ruff, Creative Director at Post Works. "We were very eager to work on such a cool project and fortunately they also needed a strong graphics package. Gorilla Flix, Benny's company, also ended up renting three Avid suites and performed the re-record mix here with the help of PostWorks' audio engineer Matt Foglia."
Roughly divided into chapters bearing titles such as "The Come Up" and "The Downfall," Origins benefits from some highly-stylized titles created by PostWorks artist Aaron Vasques.
"We started working on a Friday night," remembers Vasques, "and we pretty much worked straight through the weekend, nights and all. It was definitely a great experience to work that closely with Benny, rather than having to send things out for approval. He knew exactly what he wanted, which was an illustrative treatment somewhat reminiscent of line art. Using Adobe After Effects, we came up with a unique style."
Vasques and Boom were not the only ones pulling all nighters at PostWorks. Colorist Eric Alvarado, a long-time friend and collaborator on some fifteen of Boom's music videos, received final footage at nine o'clock on a Sunday night, then worked through the night to transform the MiniDV footage into just the right look.
"The subject and the interviews were great, but it was a big challenge to get the appropriate look and feel out of the MiniDV footage," said Alvarado. The footage was shot fairly quickly using whatever lighting was available, so I used a lot of Power Windows and grading to bring out a balanced picture and a good clean image. It was a long night, but definitely worth the effort."
About PostWorks New York:
Led by CEO Billy Baldwin, PostWorks New York is a comprehensive, full-service post production house specializing in high-def finishing, offline/online editorial; visual effects compositing; 2D and 3D CGI; DVD authoring and audio post production, including 5.1. surround sound for broadcast, feature film and multimedia. The company's senior management includes President David Rosen; Chief Financial Officer Robert E. DeMartin, Jr.; and Director of Sales Anne Bakoulis.
Inside their sprawling 50,000 square foot SoHo space is one of the most impressive collections of state-of-the-art technology found on the east coast. PostWorks offers clients: two Spirits with Pogle MegaDef color corrections systems; a Quantel iQ and Sony-equipped HD linear bay; a Millennium Machine and da Vinci 2K; two HD Infernos; an Avid DS HD; a LaserGraphics and ArriLaser film recorder; Teranex standards converters; numerous Maya 3-D animation and Avid Media/Film Composer suites; and six ProTools mixing suites. PostWorks offers HD formats including HD D5, HDCAM and D6.
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