The Bourne Ultimatum: Assembling the Missing Pieces to Create Character

This summer, Jason Bourne returns to unlock the secrets of his mysterious past in The Bourne Ultimatum, the latest espionage thriller in the popular film franchise. Matt Damon stars as the memory-challenged international spy, Jason Bourne, who must outwit the authorities and an assortment of assassins who keep him constantly on the run. Based on the novel by Robert Ludlum, this installment promises to uncover the truth behind Bourne"s dangerous and never-ending search for his own identity.

Editor Christopher Rouse has worked on all three of the Bourne films, the last two with director Paul Greengrass (United 93). Rouse believes there is a consistent sense of purpose that runs through the entire Bourne series, driven by the slow-building character development of the enigmatic hit man Bourne.

The Bourne Ultimatum

"The easiest analogy is between the Bourne franchise and the James Bond films," explains Rouse. "The Bond films are very plot driven. Conversely, the Bourne films are character driven stories. The main character must discover missing pieces of his identity. Those issues need to be tracked through all three films with great attentiveness to character. You need to really pay attention to the choices you make, so an audience can feel the progression from film to film."

One consistent technique that Rouse and his team have used throughout the series involves the relationship of the main character to time. Additional editor Mark Fitzgerald explains, "In a Bourne movie, things tend to jump ahead slightly in time, pushing the action. You won"t necessarily see the whole scene as it develops."

Rouse believes that leaving out certain elements of a scene keeps the story moving at a brisk pace while enhancing the mystery surrounding the character and his actions. "There is a sense of

uneasiness when you leapfrog ahead in time," he explains. "When you physically take away some of Bourne"s movements, it does two things: it makes the story interesting by giving some movement to it, and it also advances character development, as the use of jump cuts tends to underscore Bourne"s being at odds with his environment. You may see him crossing the street and then immediately getting into a locked car. You don"t need to see everything he does in between, which can be mundane. It also allows for his actions to be unknown and mysterious."

"An Avid [system] is far and away the most comfortable tool for me to work with. There are zero barriers between me and the material."
- Christopher Rouse, Editor, The Bourne Ultimatum

Keeping Pace Creatively

Time was a critical link behind the scenes as well. An aggressive post schedule was driven by a production team that was committed to producing the best film possible. More than a million feet of film was shot primarily on Super 35mm film, with selected aerial scenes shot using a Panavision Genesis HD camera, which enabled the camera crew to shoot in the air without reloading film.

"Paul just kept shooting, so there was a lot of film, and it just kept coming in [even a few weeks before the film"s release date]," says first assistant editor Rob Malina about the film, which was shot and posted in a mere eleven months. "He was thinking of new ideas and wanted to shoot them, so we never had a traditional post period. We were always trying to do production and post at the same time."

The Bourne Ultimatum

Rouse cites the exceptional creative instincts of Greengrass and producer Frank Marshall with the packed, yet productive, timeline.

"Good just isn"t good enough for them," he explains. "Anything these guys work on must be special and terrific. If it is just serviceable and could be a little better, then they are going to figure out how to make that happen."

The editing team handily incorporated footage as it arrived, re-working sequences as needed to accommodate changes to the intricate story. They also became adept at knitting together sequences shot in multiple locations, including London, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Tangier, and New York. "The most difficult thing about editing this film was the overall story and structure," says Rouse. "We shot for a fair amount of time, [starting in September 2006 and ending in July 2007]. We added scenes...we took them out...we cannibalized scenes. We were constantly accessing and re-accessing scenes. The global nature of the film was also a factor. The overall structure required the most attention in terms of pure problem solving."

As for the development of individual sequences, rhythm and pacing were key for assembling pieces into a coherent whole. Rouse cites a chase sequence in London, which ends at the Waterloo train station. "It reminded me of the musical piece "Bolero,"" he explains. "It starts out simply and then continues to build, until it winds up being very large and almost anthemic. It required some time to figure out the intricacies of what worked best, where the characters should be and when, and what choices created the most suspense."

"I equate the Avid [system] to being part of the editing team. There is no way we could get everything done with this kind of time crunch without the ability to add machines
and people and just keep working."
- Mark Fitzgerald, Additional Editor, The Bourne Ultimatum

Tools for High-Speed Editing

While the editing team remained focused on the creative aspects of the cut, an Avid editing and shared-storage setup helped them keep pace with more practical concerns such as inputting and organizing the massive amount of footage and keeping track of constant revisions. As many as eight Windows-based Media Composer Adrenaline systems were connected to a 16-terabyte Avid Unity MediaNetwork shared-storage system at one time. Some members of the editing team, such as Malina, also used their own Macintosh-based laptops equipped with Avid Xpress Pro software to handle a quick comp or other offline task. The easy exchange of media and files between the Macintosh- and Windows-based systems gave them the flexibility to handle a one-time job speedily and keep the project moving smoothly.

During production, which took place largely in Europe, the editing team set up shop in London for about six months using four Media Composer Adrenaline

systems. Later, the post team moved to Los Angeles, where they added four more editing systems and additional staff to stay on schedule for the film"s summer release date. Fitzgerald believes that the flexible, reliable Avid setup was essential to the editing workflow. "I equate the Avid [system] to being part of the editing team," he says. "There is no way we could get everything done with this kind of time crunch without the ability to add machines and people and just keep working."

The Bourne Ultimatum

In Los Angeles, Rouse, Fitzgerald, and additional editor Derek Brechin, along with Malina, visual effects editor Linda Drake,

and a team of assistants all shared the same project file using the Avid Unity system.

"We had material broken down so that everyone could find what they needed very easily," says Fitzgerald. "In the end, we had so many files, bins, and folders that our shared project was over 20 gigs in size...Using an Avid Unity [system] on a project such as this is imperative."

Fitzgerald, whose additional editing and first assistant credits include The Italian Job and The Bourne Supremacy, used the Media Composer Adrenaline system for the first time on this project. "I think the Adrenaline [system] is a terrific step forward," he says. Malina had used an Adrenaline system before, but never on a Windows-based platform. He was pleased with the results. "The speed of working with the audio effects and visual effects, and the fast rendering of multiple layers was great," he says about the complex project, which contained more than 600 visual effects shots.

The Media Composer system"s 24-track audio capabilities were called into play for building a complex temporary soundtrack. "We carried at least two dialogue tracks, four sound effects tracks, and as many as four music tracks," says Fitzgerald. "We had to have everything ready, including sound effects and music, so that at any given time we could screen the most complete cut possible."

A dual-boot Avid DS Nitris/Symphony Nitris system was used for some last-minute finishing tasks for promo reels and director previews and to up-res material for use as a picture reference on the sound stage. Projects and media were easily transferred from the Media Composer Adrenaline systems to the Nitris system for fast conforms.

While the editing team originally anticipated cutting and screening in HD, it would have required testing some new workflow processes. Given the tight timeline, the filmmakers decided to stay with a tried-and-true SD

workflow. For the best visual quality, the editing was done at 3:1 resolution with screenings projected straight from the Avid systems onto plasma displays or output to tape for small theater viewing.

Final sound editing and mixing were handled using Digidesign Pro Tools|HD systems. The picture editing team exchanged files with the sound team using the DigiDelivery digital file exchange system. "All of my turnovers were done with DigiDelivery, even when it was just down the street to Soundelux, because it was so fast and efficient," says Malina.

No Creative Barriers

Rouse and Greengrass have worked together on two previous films - The Bourne Supremacy and United 93. They received BAFTA Awards for Best Editing and Best Directing, respectively, on

United 93 along with Academy Award nominations. It is a creative partnership that Rouse clearly values.

"The wonderful thing about working with Paul is that he gives you an incredible amount of latitude," explains Rouse. "Generally, we"ll talk in broad strokes about a piece. He is less interested in watching his dailies than in cut footage. He wants to see how the material is speaking to me and to him. He"ll obviously have notes and thoughts, but he pretty much allows me to initially do whatever I want. For me, it"s very fun and exciting."

With his focus on interpreting the material, Rouse prefers editing tools that fully support his creative process. While he has tried other systems, such as Final Cut Pro and Lightworks, he says, "An Avid [system] is far and away the most comfortable tool for me to work with. There are zero barriers between me and the material. That for me makes all the difference."

* CREDIT: Images © 2007 Universal Studios.