Fun with Spy Games: Get Smart for the 21st Century

Would you believe? Get Smart is back. The classic television series, which starred Don Adams as the bumbling spy Maxwell Smart and Barbara Feldman as his cohort Agent 99, is a beloved comedic gem whose perpetual broadcast re-runs and series DVD have kept it in circulation for more than four decades. Now the series, which ran from 1965 to 1970, is getting a whole new look. Get Smart, the film, stars Steve Carell as the hapless yet endearing spy with Anne Hathaway as the witty Agent 99.

Revisiting cherished material always presents special challenges, and Get Smart's filmmakers were attuned to audience expectations of the signature characters and well-honed gags. "Everyone involved with the film - [director] Pete [Segal], Steve, Anne - were really mindful of the fact that this material is based on such a fondly remembered and classic TV show," says editor Rick Pearson (United 93, Blades of Glory). "We wanted to honor the series, but not parrot it. Everyone had an eye toward the tone and intelligence of the original series, while making it contemporary."

"[Using Avid software on a laptop] is a really terrific way of owning some more of my time. It has changed my life, really."
- Rick Pearson, Editor, Get Smart

Keeping the Laughs Rolling

Shot on HD using a Panasonic Genesis camera, the digital medium proved the perfect vehicle for the improvisational Carell, who ad-libbed many of his lines. Associate editor Sean Thompson explains, "[With HD], everyone just tends to let the cameras run longer and do multiple takes. It also allows quick re-sets, instead of shutting down cameras, and so on. You can just fire off another take right away. It keeps the momentum going for the actors, and it can be a great tool for a director."

HD-SR dailies were viewed in a projection trailer on set, where projectionist Bobby Hatfield made HDCAM clones and performed rough color correction on the spot. "Dean [Semler, the director of photography,] was there and would talk with the projectionist, who was timing the dailies, and the projectionist could make changes as he was playing back. To have that control and have the D.P. be able to shape the way the film looks - and do it instantaneously - is great. The [digital] material was so flexible, right from the gate," says Pearson.

The color-corrected tapes were dubbed to DVCAM and digitized into Avid Media Composer systems for editing in SD. "The biggest challenge was the amount of material," says Thompson. "We had approximately 500 HD-SR masters and 30 HDCAMs - about 400 hours [of material] in all."

To handle the workload, the editing team used four Media Composer systems connected to an Avid Unity MediaNetwork shared-storage system for simultaneous access to and flexible sharing of projects and media. "I don't know how anyone does a film without the Avid Unity [system] anymore," says Thompson. "For everyone to have access to projects at the same time is critical … It's one of the greatest advantages of the Avid [working environment]."

From a creative standpoint, the editing team had to integrate a full slate of action sequences into the comedic plot. There were as many as 650 visual effects shots and approximately 300 additional digital opticals, which included numerous large chase sequences, a complex fight scene, and a skydiving sequence. Visual effects editor Paul Wagner used his own Avid Media Composer setup connected to the Avid Unity MediaNetwork shared-storage system to streamline the workflow.

Pearson also used a Macintosh laptop equipped with Avid Xpress Pro software to work at home when the crew was on location. "I had clones of media from the studio, which contained all of the dailies, sound effects, and music. We could just e-mail sequences back and forth with what had to be done. There was no security risk, since we could just e-mail an edit decision list [via an Avid bin]," he explains.

The convenience and ease of using a portable, professional editing setup has given Pearson some much-appreciated freedom in terms of work style. "[Using Avid software on a laptop] is a really terrific way of owning some more of my time. It has changed my life, really. I’ve used a laptop on other films too, where I was being called to set a lot, and I couldn't afford to lose four or five hours a day driving. So I'd just go to the set and use [Avid Xpress Pro] to cut on location."

"I don't know how anyone does a film without the Avid Unity [system] anymore. For everyone to have access to projects at the same time is critical."
- Sean Thompson, Associate Editor, Get Smart

Spying On Different Genres

Pearson had the perfect editing background for this particular job, with credits that include comedies and action-based thrillers. "Apparently Steve Carell had mentioned to the filmmakers that Get Smart should be The Bourne Supremacy or The Bourne Identity as a comedy. He thought it should be based in a certain reality where you really believe that these dangerous situations could come out of some real place, yet with comic undertones," explains Pearson. "So Pete [Segal] was looking for someone who had worked in both arenas. My resume is such that I've done comedies and thrillers." He had even edited The Bourne Supremacy.

He adds, "I've tried hard to make choices that allow me to work in different genres. Different types of films help work different parts of my skill set and brain. It keeps me fresh and keeps me interested."

There are the occasional challenges that are unique to an editing career that moves swiftly from the highly acclaimed drama United 93, for which Pearson won a BAFTA award, to Blades of Glory, the Will Ferrell laugh-fest. Pearson cites one instance soon after wrapping Get Smart when he found himself in an editing suite in London, beginning work on his next project, the new James Bond thriller, Quantum of Solace.

"A few weeks into the Bond film, Pete and I had a conversation about a few final changes on Get Smart, and he sent me a QuickTime file to look at. I made some changes and found myself getting really aggressive with a couple of them and realized I was totally in James Bond mode. It's definitely a gear shift sometimes," he says.

Though one thing is consistent from project to project: his use of Avid systems. "The Avid [system] is tried and true," he says. "It has been a workhorse I depend on."

Credits: © 2007 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.-All Rights Reserved