Hula Post-Production provided editorial systems and support to Selma,
the Paramount Pictures film, which chronicles the historic civil rights march led by
Martin Luther King, Jr., in Alabama in 1965. Directed by Ava DuVernay, the film
stars David Oyelowo, and is nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Picture and
Best Original Song.
Hula initially supplied Avid Media Composer systems and Avid Unity shared storage
to editor Spencer Averick and his crew while they were working on location in
Atlanta, where principal photography took place. Later, Hula set up identical
editorial facilities on the lot at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. The company
provided round-the-clock technical support at both sites.
Selma marks Averick’s ninth collaboration with DuVernay. He first
worked with the director on her 2008 documentary This is the Life. “We felt a great obligation to get the story right,’ says Averick. “We knew that
there were a lot of people who were in the movement who were going to see this
film.’
The editorial team faced a tight schedule, with just six months from the start of
production to deliver a finished film. Averick says their goal in Selma
was to create a film that was more than a history lesson and provided unique
insight into the people who shaped the events.
“We get inside the heads of the characters,’ he insists. “It’s an epic story, but it’s
also a personal story.
“The pace is methodical,’ he says of the edit. “I like to spend time in each moment.
If I don’t need to make a cut, I won’t. This gives the audience time to soak it in and
lends to a more realistic scene.’
