The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers

The online web series from Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D’s Jon M. Chu showcases some of the most complicated dancing on the planet. However, LXD episodes also proved to have some of the most complex lists ever encountered by Light Iron’s finishing editor Matthew Blackshear.

With nearly every cut speed effected, and with a mixture of 2K, 3K, and 4K media in a single timeline, every episode presented a challenge. In some episodes, moving from a Final Cut to Avid platform mid-edit made the conform process exceptionally difficult. By integrating a Red Rocket into Quantel’s Pablo hardware, Blackshear was able to conform automatically from the native R3Ds in faster than real time while preserving the original offline editorial effects.

With the sequences 95% complete in Pablo’s nonlinear multi-track editor, Blackshear then easily applied a finishing touch, slipping errant frames, adjusting speed effect interpolations and moving seamlessly between five different raster sizes. The speed and precision of Light Iron’s conform tools allowed the production to focus their creative energies on crafting distinct looks for each episode instead of worrying about replicating the offline lists.

Images courtesy of Paramount Digital Entertainment & Agility Studios