Digital Intermediate for Alvin and the Chipmunks provides new challenges for Laser Pacific.

Directed by Tim Hill and shot by Peter Lyons Collister, Alvin and the Chipmunks would test Laser Pacific's capabilities and allow senior colorist Dave Cole to fully utilize the capabilities of Autodesk's Lustre™ grading system. Produced and distributed by Fox, Alvin and the Chipmunks stars Jason Lee alongside the chipmunks and tells the story of a struggling songwriter who finds success when he discovers a trio of singing chipmunks and partners with them to get his music discovered. The movie contains around 500 VFX shots, most of which combined the computer-generated chipmunks with live action. The VFX shots were created by veteran VFX facility Rhythm and Hues at their facilities in Los Angeles and India.

Post Production Supervisor Dave McKimmie recognizes the value of working with a company like Laser Pacific, "The problem we face is that technology's changing really fast. We rely on a place like Laser Pacific to really know the technology and help manage it to the best effect and to avoid potential pitfalls." The colorists at Laser Pacific are passionate about utilizing new technology to better meet the needs of their clients. "One feature of the Lustre™ that was used to great effect on this project was the ability to import the mattes generated by Rhythm and Hues. When the computer generated chipmunks are created, various matte channels are also created to composite the chipmunks into the live action backplates" explains Dave Cole. "I was able to use these various masks to isolate the various elements in a composite during the digital intermediate grading session. For example, on any particular shot, I might have a different matte for each of the three chipmunks, and easily grade them independently without having to waste valuable time re-creating shapes that already existed within the VFX world." This not only helps Dave Cole to produce stunning looking pictures but also makes the color grading process more efficient.