Olivier Wicki has just returned from Los Angeles, where he’s been working on the final edit of U2’s 3D concert film „U23D“. The friendly Swiss – a slight resemblance to Kiefer Sutherland can’t be denied – accords u2swisshome.com a half day of his time at the Blue Rock offices in Manhattan, including an extended preview and extensive insights into the editing process. In French – with a slight American accent – he speaks passionately about the the project which was finished just days ago.

And an impressive movie it is. „U23D“ was directed by Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington. In early 2006, U2’s complete South American tour was filmed with 3D cameras, minus the concert in Monterrey, but with an additional full show in Buenos Aires with no audience. Two additional concerts were also filmed in Australia in late 2006, mostly for additional crowd scenes.

The film runs for 83 minutes and features 14 songs, mainly U2’s big hits. The film is clearly aimed at a mainstream audience. A work-in-progress version was shown at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The finished movie – completed in November 2007 – will be premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah,on January 19th 2008. Following the premiere, the film will get a wide movie theatre release on January 23rd in North America, distributed by National Geographic Cinema Ventures.

The digital version of the movie will be shown in regular movie theatres featuring 3D technology by realD (www.reald.com). For this version, audience members will wear relatively small, battery-less glasses with circularly polarized lenses. A film version of the movie will be shown in selected 3D IMAX theatres (www.imax.com). IMAX uses larger battery-less polarized glasses, one eye with a vertically, the other eye with a horizontallyl polarized lens. A similar technology, using battery powered glasses, is available for 3D-capable home theatres, although there are no plans to release „U23D“ on HD-DVD or BluRay discs for the moment, as the movie is supposed to be shown in select theatres for several years. The film is scheduled to get a theatre release in Europe in the spring of 2008, in both realD and IMAX formats. Unfortunately, there are no theatres equipped to show these formats in Switzerland as of now.

The three-dimensional impression is achieved by a mix of live action footage shot in 3D, multiple layers created in editing, as well as superimposed animations. The live action footage was filmed digitally with state-of-the-art 3D cameras. The variable distance between the two lenses (left and right eye) determines the three-dimensional depth. During editing, a scene can be composed of footage from different cameras and each placed at any distance from the viewer in 3D-rendering. Computer generated animations, mainly taken from footage projected on the screens during the show, can also be adapted to a 3D environment in many ways.

Convergence plays an important role in all three methods. Convergence is a term used in 3D technology which describes the distance behind or in front of a defined zero plane, where projected objects or footage are perceived by the viewer. As opposed to older 3D movies, with modern 3D technology convergence can be adjusted very subtly and smoothly for both live action footage and digital effects – one of the trade secrets of the production team. This makes very quick cuts and edits possible, which are not tiring for the eyes of the viewer, because convergence can be gradually adapted to the next scene before the cut, thus eliminating hard jumps.

In U2’s movie, it is not only the technology behind it that is very impressive. There are some beautiful 3D moments, i.e. during „Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own“, when The Edge (live action, front left) turns his head, as if he were looking at Bono (superimposed footage at back right, filmed from screen). Or during „The Fly“, if you thought the flashing words from the Zoo TV tour were impressive, wait until the see the words falling from the sky in 3D! Hard to imagine? There’s only one thing to do: go see the movie!

How are you? Where are you?
I am great, I just took a few weeks off after 8 months in New York City and 9 months in Los Angeles working on the movie. I am currently in New York City at BlueRock.

Tell us about your origins in Switzerland.
I am from Fluhli, Lucerne in Switzerland but grew up in Geneva. Both of my parents are from Switzerland.

After your studies in Geneva, why did you move to New York in 1991?
Well I moved to the United States because I was interested in working in the film and video business and at the time I had nothing to lose. I was working as a graphic designer and on the side as a hobby I would shoot small video projects mostly for extreme sport companies and retail stores.

You joined Bluerock in 1994. How did this come about?
After 6 months of English language school I decided to stay in New York City to explore the possibilities of an internship. After a few phone calls I found a few positions in some production companies working as a production assistant. One of the production companies at the time called “Fahrenheit Films” hired me as a video assistant building demo reels for directors as well as working on the set of television commercials. This was a great opportunity for me because I met a lot of people in the business. A few months later I was introduced to “Bluerock”, at the time called “Palestrini Post Production”. So after a few tries I joined Palestrini Post Production in 1994.

What exactly do you do at Bluerock?
I am a film and video editor, with a background in graphic design and visual effects.

What are some highlights of your past work?
In the late 90’s I did a lot of extreme sports videos and industrial videos, and after that my television commercials took off with spots for L’Oréal, Panasonic, Sprint, GMC, Revlon, Diet Coke, Garnier, Gillette. Recently, I worked on some great music videos like: The Bravery “No Brakes”, Wyclef Jean “Industry”, RoughStars “Letter In Blue” and, of course, U2 “Original Of The Species”. The video, “Original Of The Species,” was nominated for best editing at the MTV music awards. I did not win! Maybe next time - so watch out!

How did you like U2 before working with them? Had you ever seen them in concert?
Yes, I do like them and I would listen to them occasionally. I went to my first U2 concert after finishing “Original Of The Species” in Madison Square Garden. Bono invited the post production team for the last concert in New York City.

Has working with U2 changed your views?
Absolutely, I worked with celebrities before and Bono was the first celebrity wanting to help and be part of the process when problems came along. I was impressed how much Bono cares and how much passion goes into his work. Overall the band has been very supportive of this movie. It changed my views because working with passionate people, people that care is very motivating for me.

Catherine Owens has been a long time collaborator with u2 and has worked mainly on tour visuals. How did you get to know her and work with her?
Well, one late afternoon in September 2005 I was introduced by John Leamy to Catherine Owens. John Leamy is the creative director at Spontaneous and worked with Catherine before on the Human Rights tour visual as well as the music video for “Yahweh”. Catherine was looking for an editor at the time to cut “Original Of The Species”. She requested that I work very closely with Spontaneous. After working many years with Spontaneous on plenty of other projects it made sense to collaborate. I believe Catherine and I have worked for almost 2 years non stop. It has been a terrific experience to work with the talented Catherine Owens, because she has no fear of breaking all of the rules and creating stunning motion art.

Your first U2-related project that we know of was the video clip for "Original Of The Species" in 2005, which we like very much. It uses interesting animated 3D grids of U2's heads, merged with very simple but strong video and overlaid animated graphics. Can you tell us more about how this video was created, and what exactly was your part in the project?
Most of the CGI (computer generated images) was motion capture that was shot months before the completion of the final product. Then the CGI team would work on it for days in order to be as realistic and fluid as possible. It was very challenging to create an effect like this one in a very short amount of time. My part of the project was to edit the music video as well as timing all of CGI scenes for the CGI department. I had a great time working with Spontaneous and had so much fun working with John Leamy. Let’s not forget that “Original Of The Species” was also nominated for the MTV music awards in the best visual effects category.

Now 3D is supposed to be the next big thing in cinema and set to revolutionize the way we watch movies. Do you agree?
Precisely “the next big thing”. I believe people need to experience a new way to watch movies. One of the reasons fewer people are going to the movie theater is because of home theaters with high definition. Now with affordable prices, people stay at home. So if people could experience something new and very cutting edge I strongly believe crowds would gather and ticket sales would go up. So get ready for U23D in early 2007, you will not be disappointed.

How does the current 3D technique differ from older 3D movies that we all know? No more dodgy glasses?
The old 3D process is called Anaglyph (red and blue lenses). Anaglyph is no longer used in movie making. Polarized glasses have replaced anaglyph. The first polarized glasses were big, uncomfortable and some movies were difficult to watch because the 3D was never adjusted scene after scene, and over a long period of time your eyes would get tired. Today’s 3D technology allows you to adjust the depth during the shoot in camera as well as afterwards in post-production in order to make the 3D experience seamless shot after shot. The new circular polarized glasses have been made smaller and lighter to accommodate longer viewing.

The new 3D technology can be applied to both computer animations and real filmed subjects. Is the resulting 3D effect comparable for both techniques?
Yes the 3D result will be the same for both formats. Computer 3D animation movies are a safer direction because you have the freedom to adjust the scene as much as you want. But with live action movies you have to work with what you shot - therefore much more challenging, unless you have the budget to re-shoot.

Will both be featured in the U2 movie?
Yes, at the end credits of the movie you will see CGI in 3D, so don’t leave too early.

Whose idea was it to make a U2 concert film in 3D?
Since I was not involved from the beginning of the project I simply asked Catherine Owens to give me the exact answer: “As the creative director of U2's visual content for their live shows I was approached in early 2004 by Pete Shapiro to see if U2 would make a film in 3D. In the summer of 2004 Bono agreed to do a test for it, which we did in early 2005”.

When did the project begin?
Officially early 2004

When did you get involved?
In late 2005. I was not involved with the production, but only with the post-production.

You are listed as editor for the movie.
Yes I am the editor of the movie.

What exactly did you do?
I was able to understand and translate Catherine’s vision into a coherent edit. I also worked very closely with Dave Franks at 3ality, understanding the 3D digital pipeline as well as prepping my cuts for them. The prepping was very time consuming because I had to carefully explain every special effect, basic color correction, time warps, and graphic placement that Catherine and I created roughly in the Avid [note: Avid is a professional video editing software.]. Every time that Catherine and I finished with an Avid cut, we would have a turnover meeting with the 3ality team so each department would have an idea of Catherine’s vision. The audio was also a big factor in the finishing process where I would produce elements like quicktimes and OMF sequences for Carl Glanville [note: Quicktime is a video file format from Apple. OMF stands for “open media framework”, a platform independent file format intended for transfer of digital media between different software applications.]. This was also time consuming because of the multiplicity of tracks and concerts. Carl and I have worked together with Swiss precision in order to give the audience the best U2 show ever made.

One article mentioned that you actually edit the movie in 2D before the 3D effect is applied.
Yes I edited the movie in 2D. In late 2005 the only way available to edit was in 2D and then finish your work in 3D.

How does this work exactly?
Well before I started the job I watched numerous 3D movies and traveled to Los Angeles to learn about the 3D process, and it really helped.
The process would start by loading over 300 hours of only one eye in the Avid. Catherine and I would organize, log songs, and come with ideas for each track before starting to cut. When we were at a good point my assistant and I would prep for 3ality by making EDLs and quicktimes with all of my notes [note: EDL stands for “edit decision list” and is a file format that contains edit information, such as reel and timecode data]. After a quick turnover meeting, 3ality would then start the 3D digital finishing process and would produce a 3D conform that would be digitally projected and commented for further revisions. This process was very time consuming and difficult at times because something that looks good in 2D doesn’t necessarily work in 3D. But I have say, overall Catherine and I were pretty good at knowing what was working or not. I am hoping in the near future to have the ability to cut with both eyes and watch my rough cut in the Avid in real time 3D.

Where was the footage shot for the movie?
In South America: Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico. Also some additional pick-up scenes from Australia.

So the film is going to be a mix of footage from a number of different locations?
Yes 5 countries.

Does this cause any problems with the editing?
Well! Well! Well! As the viewer you are going to be immersed in a 3D experience so fantastic that you will forget about any discontinuity. So let me know if you see any!

Olivier Wicki, Fulvio Valsangiacomo, Dave Franks & Carl Glanville, Cannes Film Festival 2007

Who are the key persons in making this movie, and what is their role?
There were plenty of key people in this movie, but here is short list of the people I worked most closely with:
With her avant-garde vision and every day smile, Catherine Owens of course. Catherine and I have worked together 17 months and it has been an incredible journey. I am very proud to have worked on a project like this one with Catherine Owens.
Jason Free, my second editor. Jason and I co-edited a few tracks and he has produced great edits, it was a pleasure to work with him. Jason also worked with Catherine in the past, making “The Fly” graphics for the Vertigo tour visual.
Fulvio Valsangiacomo, my first assistant, also from Switzerland. Fulvio has been a terrific help, very knowledgeable, quick, accurate, and never late. No wonder he is from Switzerland.
Dave Franks the visual effects supervisor. With Dave’s help I was able to understand and learn the 3D digital finishing pipeline. Dave is a perfectionist, just like me, and he was able to reproduce precisely each song edit in 3D.
Caryn MacLean, my New York producer at BlueRock. Caryn has been a great help coordinating the project between the East coast and West coast.
Carl Glanville, New York based music producer, mixer and sound editor. Carl and I spent countless hours working together, making sure that the timing, sync and performance was the best it could ever be. It was an honor to work with the talented Carl Glanville.

Besides from having the leading roles in the movie, how much is the band involved in this project?
They were pretty involved, with numerous 3D digital screenings in New York as well as several presentations of rough cuts at BlueRock. We also posted quicktime rough cuts on a secure server for band approval.

How have you experienced working with U2?
It was great. Like I said before, Bono is always trying to push the envelope in order to create something better. Having the band’s support is very comforting and motivating at the same time.

How state of the art is the project?
Very much so: it’s new 3D technology, 3D special effects, 3D multi layering and 3D graphics mixed with live action. It’s also the first 3D movie using multi-cameras in real time for a live concert.

When do you expect to finish the film?
The Film is finished and is going to premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival during the first week-end of the festival. It will be released in January 23rd, 2008 nationwide. For more information go to www.u23dmovie.com.

In what kind of theaters will the movie be shown?
In 3D digital movie theater and IMAX 3D. For more information check www.realD.com and www.imax.com. I believe real-D are upgrading regular movie theaters to 3D digital across the globe, but I am not sure how many are in Europe. You have to check the website. For IMAX 3D just make sure the theater is an IMAX 3D, not all of the IMAX theaters are in 3D.

Will the movie differ for different regions of the world?
It is going to be the same movie around the world.

Who is the distributor of the film? How wide will the theater release be?
The distributor is National Geographic Entertainment. Here is the press release link.

We've heard about the possibility of a DVD release with 3D glasses.
There are no plans to have any DVD, BluRay, or HD-DVD release at this time.

What can you tell us about the soundtrack of the film?
Well the soundtrack reflects the South American Vertigo tour. A few of the U2 classics are in this film, like “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, “Pride” and “With or Without You”. And of course, some tracks from “How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb”, like “Vetigo”, “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own”, and “Love And Peace Or Else”. I am not going to give you the set list of the movie, so you should check it out for yourself and go see the movie.

Will it be a mix from different shows, too?
The soundtrack has been mixed seamlessly between different nights in order to work with the picture. Carl Glanville and Robbie Adams have crafted the soundtrack of this movie with perfection and you will not be disappointed.

Thank you very much for talking to us.
It was my pleasure and thank you. Carl and I just watched a private screening of the movie right before the press this week and it was absolutely awesome. I know this movie is going to do well especially for all of you U2 fans. So enjoy the movie. This is going to be an experience that you will never forget.

To conclude this interview I would like to mention that during the course of this 17 month project my wife Denise and daughter Olivia have been extremely supportive of my work.
So I would like to deeply thank them for their outstanding support.