A typical shot is rendered in separate layers, such as foreground elements, middle-ground character performances, and an out-of-focus background set. Over the past year, I tracked all of the 160 shots or shot-layers for Catching the L Train on a pipeline spreadsheet, where only final, locked shots were labeled in green.
With only two shots remaining to polish and lock, the board is almost entirely green!
![](https://i0.wp.com/sprocketlessentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/Pipeline-1-1.jpg?resize=525%2C337&ssl=1)
BY THE NUMBERS
![](https://i0.wp.com/sprocketlessentertainment.com/wp-content/uploads/Farm2-1-1-225x300-1.jpg?resize=225%2C300&ssl=1)
The 160 separate shot layers resulted in more than 24,000 finished frames. Each scene was rendered several times before the lighting, FX, and performances were locked. Rendering was handled by a render farm of 12 dedicated computers running 24/7 for months at a stretch to make this 6.5-minute film possible.