Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/57245
tions with Scott Kevan about using Red Epic. "He was able to create an Underworld-style LUT on set, but it wasn't until he and direc- tors Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein were here that we really sat down and developed the look you see in the film," Ferstl points out. A Resolve user since the product made its Creative Post, which uses a variety of grading tools, handles most 2D work in its Quantel Pablo suite. Underworld: Awakening was shot with the Red Epic, which has a 5K sensor. Normally, a project with a 2K deliverable speed would go through the grading system in the form of 2K DPX files, but Company 3 created 2.5K DPX files, Ferstl says, "to try to maximize the reso- lution inherent in the original frame. We did deliver the 3D version in the normal 2K format but for the IMAX 3D version we delivered the full 2.5K files because in IMAX, viewers would be able to benefit from the additional resolution." Ferstl, who worked concurrently on Gone, another Red Epic-acquired film, says that the footage for Underworld: Awakening "was very clean in terms of noise and grain level." Past installments of Underworld were shot on 35mm film or with Panavision Genesis. "With film, especially, when you're adding contrast to images like Underworld's you have to be mindful of pushing the grain too far. This was the first time I could freely enhance contrast on the image overall or isolate a face and add more texture there and never have to worry about enhancing the noise or grain at the same time." Ferstl needed to make sure he made the most of the feature's rich blacks. "You get a lot of details in blacks in Epic. That allowed me to really darken and shape the images; it was a bit more work for me but great to have all that latitude to work with." The colorist says he had early conversa- Fotokem Budapest recently used FilmLight's Baselight (www.filmlight. ltd.uk) color grading system to perform near-set color grading for In the Land of Blood and Honey, Angelina Jolie's new film on the Bos- nian War. The studio processed dailies for the film, which was largely shot in Hungary. Fotokem also hosted screening sessions for Jolie and the crew in the facility's DI grading theatre. A Baselight Eight was used to make realtime grading adjustments. Senior DI colorist Benedek Kaban worked closely with cinematographer Dean Semler to refine the look of the dailies and apply special color treatments. 24 Post • March 2012 www.postmagazine.com debut, Ferstl expects to get the color he wants from the system. But it was during his work on the 3D version of Underworld: Awak- ening that he was most impressed. "Resolve either handled in an automatic or manual process all the color or sizing errors. I was very happy with the way it performed." He notes that, "these days, with distribu- tion heading in a more electronic direction, people have a choice whether or not to use film print emulation LUTs or not" on a fea- ture. This type of LUT, designed to keep all grading adjustments within a color space that is completely reproducible on a film print, is not the technical necessity it was when film projection was the way that most movies would be seen. But they can still be used to bring a filmic look to shows destined to be seen digitally. more part of every job, whether a feature film or A-level TV series," says president Ken MacNeil. "The process is pretty much the same through all our color suites; you can pick and choose which tools make the most sense — all the rooms, including the theaters, have interchangeable equipment. You just swap the control surface." The company has an array of DI solutions: Quantel Pablo for the bulk of 2D work, SGO Mistika for most stereo 3D projects and Autodesk Lustre for the balance. Creative Post just opened a 400-seat DI theater off premises via its Theater D Digital sibling. The restored Art Deco theater in downtown Toronto boasts a 50-foot screen for tradi- tional color grading and RealD stereo 3D viewing, a Christie 4K projector and Dolby 7.1-certified mixing. "It's a very unique offering," says MacNeil of the theater. "In the same room feature clients can do 7.1 Dolby mixing, color and final DI. It's a true theatrical experience for picture and sound, and the end results are astounding." A second theater, with 600 seats, 65-foot screen, dual 4K projectors and mix- Hollywood DI colorist Aaron Peak worked on Bob Goldthwaite's God Bless America. This is why Ferstl opted for such a LUT for Underworld: Awakening. "It's something I still like, giving the look and feel of a film; some films definitely benefit by it." CREATIVE POST At Toronto's Creative Post (www.creative- postinc.com), "DI has become more and ing is slated to open in the second half of 2012 for the company's many large-screen format clients, including Imax films. Creative Post has seen a good bit of ste- reo 3D work recently, including Michael Flat- ley's Lord of the Dance, Desert Superstars 3D, Wild Fires 3D and Irvine Welsh's Ecstasty. Mistika has proved to be the optimum choice for these jobs, MacNeil points out. "It's the most advanced stereo post tool in existence," he says. "Mistika is realtime all the time from dailies to final DI; it has a very sophisticated color corrector and its stereo correction tools are second to none — the final product is really spectacular. In stereo you need accurate and true 3D, comfortable 3D and spectacular color. This tool is the best of all worlds." The only things to equal it, he says, are "individual VFX workstations, but they have