Éclair today announced the ÉclairColor certification of its content services unit in Berlin. This is the second ÉclairColor certification of an Éclair facility after Paris-Vanves. Two German releases have already been mastered in ÉclairColor by Éclair’s Berlin teams: Jacob Lass’ So Was Von Da, opening in cinemas across Germany today, and Florian Gallenberger’s Grüner Wird’s Nicht, opening August 30.
Premiering at the 2017 Austin Film Festival where it won Best Narrative Short, Demon tells the story of a desperate man emerging from the night where he encounters a solitary shack in the middle of the desert. It is in this night setting where he discovers a dark secret that the property owner possesses. Cinematographer Drew Dawson shot the supernatural drama/thriller, directed by Caleb Slain just outside Joshua Tree National Park. The Demon script had the setting as a desert landscape with a full moon. According to Dawson, the goal was to capture the entire film with moonlight, practicals, and minimal film lights
Tower 3, a new documentary short from Irish filmmaker and artist Marcus Robinson, commemorates the massive construction project behind the latest addition to New York’s World Trade Center site, an 80-story structure that is now the city’s fifth largest building. Commissioned by Silverstein Properties for ribbon-cutting ceremonies marking the building’s completion, the five-minute film was produced by Robinson with technical and creative assistance from Technicolor PostWorks New York.
Panasonic has launched a free VariCam look up tables Library to help filmmakers create a variety of looks with VariCam and EVA1 cinema cameras. The VariCam LUT Library contains 35 unique 3D LUTs, created by Panasonic in conjunction with Local 600 D.I.T.s. The VariCam LUT Library contains display conversion LUTs, as well as artistic look LUTs. In camera, on set, or in post, users can preview or capture various looks using a high-contrast black-and-white LUT, a warm golden hour LUT, a colorful high fashion LUT, a faded vintage LUT, or many others.
Swapnil Patole is senior colorist and digital intermediate head of department at Famous Studio in Mumbai, which opened in 1946 and has become one of the finest post-production houses in India. Since starting his career 14 years ago, he has graded a long list of commercials in all genres and for brands such as L’Oreal, Garnier, McDonalds, Honda and Nivea, to name a few. He has more recently worked on feature films, festival short films and music videos, including a project for Sony Music India. Digital Cinema Report recently spoke with him about his career and how evolving technology has changed the work of colorists around the world.
Bestar Cinemas in RuiAn, China has become the first Chinese multiplex to open an ÉclairColor high dynamic range auditorium. The Ymagis Group and Chinese cinema systems integrator Great Ocean made the announcement today.
The second series of National Geographic’s popular series Genius focuses on the extraordinary life of painter Pablo Picasso. Colorist Pankaj Bajpai at Encore in Hollywood was charged with creating the look that evoked the time and place as well as the art.
Post-production finishing for the first season of Vida, the new half-hour drama from Starz and executive producer Tanya Saracho, was recently completed at MTI Film. Senior colorist Steve Porter worked with series cinematographer Carmen Cabana in finalizing the look of the show, which has just been renewed for a second season and has drawn rave reviews for its revealing portrait of Latinx life in East Los Angeles.
Manuel Canchola is a freelance colorist based in Mexico City. He works on a mixture of commercials, television and film and uses this variety to continuously improve his skills as a colorist. Canchola, a passionate advocate for new technology and, in particular, high dynamic range, recently spoke with Digital Cinema Report about his career and his work in color grading.
“I think if you’re making a high school movie, you can’t not watch John Hughes movies for reference,” said cinematographer Hillary Spera (Duck Butter, Submission). “Even if it’s subliminal, they’re woven into the language.” Filmmaker John Hughes had a string of hit films in the 1980s that were a true depiction of high school life in middle class suburbia. Movies like 16 Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink portrayed teen characters with depth and intelligence but were also comedic.
