Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1527843
O C T O B E R • N O V E M B E R • D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 C G W 7 A s VFX Supervisors Jabbar Raisani (also an executive producer of the series) and Marion Spates were over- seeing the massive amount of work necessary to bring the epic Net‚ix series Avatar: The LastAirbender to life, they knew they had a„ secret weapon in Company 3 senior colorist Siggy Ferstl. Ferstl has taken full advantage of recent technological developments in DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, color grading, visual e‰ects (VFX), and audio post production soŠware, his preferred col- or grading tool, in order to signi‹cantly expand the scope of work his ‹lmmaker clients can accomplish during the color grading„process.„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„„ Raisani had done something similar for all four seasons of Net‚ix's hit series Lost in Space. "They knew what I„ could do beyond tradi- tional color," Ferstl notes, although the work on Airbender was sig- ni‹cantly more„involved. „ "We were able to complete a„ large amount of work in my col- or bay that would otherwise have had to go out to VFX vendors," he adds, saying that this method o‰ered the producers a„ number of advantages, not least of which was the ability to ‹ne tune ele- ments in real time and in context. Traditionally, VFX shots are sent out to companies that specialize in VFX, where they are worked on and returned, which can be a„ days' long process, especially during the iterative process of requesting changes and waiting for them to be„delivered. „ As with Lost in Space, Airbender was a„ massive endeavor set entirely in otherworldly environments. "Like an eight-hour science ‹ction or fantasy feature ‹lm," Ferstl describes. Designed to pay homage to the beloved animated series, the show, created by Al- bert Kim, follows a„ young boy, Aang (Gordon Cormier), on his epic quest, along with companions Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley), through a„ spectacular world of magic and monsters to capture the precious Avatar and bring peace to a„ war-torn„ world. unique prep work Ferstl started to prep for the job six months before the production actually began delivering scenes to his color bay at Company 3 in Santa Monica, California. Having been briefed on many aspects of the series' look (episodes were shot by Michael Goi, ASC, who also directed several, as well as Michael Balfry and Stewart Whelan), Fer- stl started working within DaVinci Resolve Studio using Open FX and Fusion tools to come up with methods to achieve what would be asked of him, including altering whole environments, building and integrating digital lighting, creating digital "lens" and di‰usion char- acteristics, and enhancing a„number of key transitions in the„series. According to Ferstl, in order to give the imagery a„somewhat more organic feel than the digitally shot material possessed, "We came up with ways to sort of 'dirty up' the image to take it away from a„clean 'studio' vibe to make it more„cinematic." Using imagery shot through various strengths of several di‰erent well known glass ‹lters as a„guide, Ferstl combined a„number of dif- ferent di‰usion, halation, and soŠening tools within DaVinci Resolve Studio's Open FX plugins to create a„custom set of digital "‹lters" to apply to certain shots in„post. He similarly put together a„ few image distortion tools to create a„ Lensbaby style defocus e‰ect, and he combined Open FX func- tions to build and add in distinctive anamorphic lens style ‚are and Di‰usion, halation, and soŠening tools enhanced the look of the series.