The Green Knight
Director David Lowery wore multiple hats while making the A24 film, juggling two projects across three continents.
See how David Lowery edited a movie remotely using Frame.io.
Challenge
As a writer, director, producer, and editor, acclaimed filmmaker David Lowery is a master multitasker who travels the world, juggling roles and projects. “The Green Knight” took him to Ireland for principal photography, with VFX production taking place at Weta in New Zealand and post-production at Lucky Post in Dallas. Meanwhile, he was already traveling to Vancouver, B.C., for production on Disney’s “Peter Pan & Wendy.” How did he manage to work on two projects across three continents?
Solution
While his assistant editor was working on “The Green Knight” cut using the Frame.io integration in Adobe Creative Cloud, David was able to collaborate with her—even working on the cut at the same time—across multiple time zones while principal photography was ongoing. Frame.io allowed him to have thoughtful VFX reviews with the teams at Weta and Lucky Post by leaving clear, timecode-accurate notes and annotations, and to share presentation cuts with A24.
Results
This workflow allowed David the freedom to spend fewer than five hours in the same room with his assistant, while having full creative control over every aspect of “The Green Knight.” He was also able to work while traveling, taking advantage of the Frame.io iOS app to keep him updated no matter where in the world he might be.
Whether I’m in New York or London or Ireland, the way we’ve set up Adobe Premiere Pro to function between us, we’re able to deal with the same footage in real time, and Frame.io was a big part of that.
Learn more about how Frame.io has helped David work since 2017:
Frame.io removes geographic boundaries.
David began using Frame.io on “A Ghost Story,” which premiered at Sundance in 2017. As a director/editor he relies on Frame.io so he can cut as he’s directing. “The Green Knight” was the first project for which he didn’t need an on-set editor because his assistant always had the footage organized and available for him whenever he wanted, which allows him to work anywhere, any time.
Frame.io improves creative focus.
David had previously worked on the visual effects for “Pete’s Dragon” in the more traditional way, where the director screened VFX shots weekly and gave notes to artists verbally at that time. On “The Green Knight” he actually found it more efficient to work with the artists at Weta through Frame.io, and not just because of the difference in time zones. David was able to view the VFX shots at his convenience and even pop them into the edit to see how they looked in context. As a result of having the time to really digest the material, he felt that his notes were more thoughtful, specific, and actionable, and they helped the artists turn around the next iteration more accurately.
Frame.io expands the creative tool set.
As much as David relies on technology in service of creativity, he appreciates new features in the tools he uses. It’s why he relies on Adobe Creative Cloud and Frame.io, which he finds to be a tool set that enables him to work more intuitively.
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