The documentary
tracks more than two years in the life of hip-hop producer J Swift, formerly of
the Pharcyde, as he struggles to win back his life and career from homelessness
and crack addiction.
According to Global Vision Studio producer/editor Loren
Semmens many of the scenes were challenging as they were shot in low lighting.
"The Panasonic DVX-100A, however, has a great low light option when
bumping the gain. This, in addition to Final Cut Pro's color correction tools,
results in a great looking final product."
Global Vision uprezed Mini DV footage to HD. Los Angeles based VFX studio Kroma was
also brought in to handle the uprez and titling.
"The workflow we devised to transition from our Final Cut
Pro suite to Kroma's Avid Adrenaline was interesting," notes Semmens.
"We exported an NTSC DV QuickTime version of the finished film that
included the temp graphics and titles, then a version that excluded graphics
and titles and replaced them with black. In addition, we exported an EDL
to line up the cuts and to facilitate color correction. This transition
between Final Cut Pro and Avid Adrenaline worked without a hitch."