Bringing colour to Black Panther
15/03/2018
Author:
Jenny PriestleyPublish date:
Mar 15, 2018Social count:
0
Technicolor colourist Maxine Gervais discusses her work on Marvel Studios epic blockbuster
0
SHARES
One of 2018's most talked about, and most appreciated, movies, Marvel Studios' Black Panther has become a huge box office success. T'Challa, first encountered in Captain America: Civil War, returns home to take the throne of Wakanda, an isolated yet technologically advanced country in Africa.
Women were strongly represented both on screen and in the crew, with the finishing team led by colourist Maxine Gervais of Technicolor Los Angeles; to handle the huge workload, her team utilised a network of six or more Baselight colour grading workstations simultaneously. Gervais worked particularly closely with cinematographer Rachel Morrison to add her distinctive touch to the movie.
We knew that this was a movie with big themes and a strong story we knew it was going to be epic, Gervais says. Approaching it was exciting: it was not an established franchise but a completely new departure, so it gave us all more creative freedom.
What makes it fascinating, and visually exciting, is that the film moves between Oakland, California and a secretive, futuristic African nation, a world the audience has never experienced.
We wanted the film and photography to feel real, unlike most superhero movies, adds Morrison. We wanted to highlight the beauty of Africa, so we looked to films like Baraka and Samsara, the TV series Planet Earth, even to The Godfather and The Dark Knight as visual references. And like all of our work, we were hoping for a subjectivity and clear point of view.
Marvel Studios inevitably takes a close interest in all its productions, so there was positive guidance from the production team. The major viewing sessions to consider the grade were attended by as many as 20 people a huge challenge for the colourist to interpret and implement so many inputs. But Maxine Gervais saw it as an opportunity to collaborate, to share ideas and to challenge each other.
Inevitably, Gervais built a close working relationship with cinematographer Morrison. Rachel is great, she says. We got on really well and had similar response to the overall feel of the movie. She is clear about what she is after and has a great eye for contrast nuances. We were both looking for a strong, rich image. I think we achieved that very well.
Maxine was incredibly collaborative and takes a real pride in her work, agrees Morrison. We were very much on the same page, fighting hard to maintain contrast throughout.
Gervais needed to be able to trust that she could present solutions to the requests from producers and the director, so the key finishing tool was the Baselight X system, the most powerful workstation in FilmLight's colour grading range, running version 5.0 software. During the project the FilmLight support team worked closely with Gervais.
There was a great amount of effort from FilmLight to make this a very smooth and easy ride, because it was a big movie with huge VFX and a short delivery time, she explains.
SHED LA also utilised FilmLight's Daylight tool to grade and deliver all the dailies, allowing the DoP and director Ryan Coogler to establish looks and visualise what they had shot on location.
An inevitable challenge in such a fantastical story is that there has to be huge reliance on VFX there are more than 2500 VFX shots in Black Panther. So the workflow had to be built around not just integrating the VFX pipeline, but ensuring that the director was seeing something close to the finished grade at all times.
The project drove extensions to Baselight's Categories functionality, to allow users to flag and track all the VFX shots and their state of completion. In practice, this meant that the director, DoP and production team attending grading sessions could see at a glance, using colour-coded markers on the client monitor, which VFX shots were temporary and which were final. This was absolutely essential to keeping the process on track.
We were very well aware that directors get used to the look' during finishing, so we wanted to make sure Ryan was getting attached to the right pictures, Gervais says.
One of the functions used on the production was the Baselight shots view, so everyone could more easily navigate the mammoth number of shots and see at a glance how many shots were actually finalised.
Gervais also worked closely with VFX supervisor Geoffrey Baumann to make sure that the CDL matched what they saw in the VFX reviews. Sometimes, we used the CDL as a starting point for the grade and sometimes we would blend it off by 50 per cent, explains Gervais. Other times, we would drop it altogether and use it only as reference. It all depended on the complexity of the scene.
The movie's varied settings posed real challenges for the grade. Probably the most demanding was the jungle scene, she says. It was set at night, so to keep all the detail we need to see, and to make it feel organic, I ended up grading in multiple levels.
On Black Panther I used way more composite grading than I have ever done before, blending many layers to achieve the final look.
Cinematographer Morrison agrees: The jungle scene was the biggest challenge. It was shot interior on a sound stage and had a bit of a set' feel to it. We knocked everything down and then really worked to amplify the contrast in the background.
Timescales were foreshortened and the producers set a premiere for the end of January.
I was involved in the project for a little over two months, but when you get to the finish line on a movie like this there are a lot of VFX shots to be dropped in, admits Gervais. The
LINK: | https://www.tvbeurope.com/features/bringing-colour-to-black-panther... |
See more stories from tvb |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
08/05/2024
Post production houses adopt Cleanfeed Cinema solution
The solutions in-browser stream focuses on low latency, making it suited to low bandwidth scenarios By Matthew Corrigan Published: May 8, 2024 The solutio...
08/05/2024
TAG unveils subtitling language detection feature
Driven by algorithms, the solution performs a quality analysis informed by language-specific dictionaries By Matthew Corrigan Published: May 8, 2024 Drive...
08/05/2024
Mobilelinks acquires 2 SAT Europe to increase SNG truck fleet
The increase in fleet size will reduce travel distances, aligning with sustainability goals, said Mobilelinks By Matthew Corrigan Published: May 8, 2024 T...
08/05/2024
Arqiva adds Caroline Cardozo and James Lelyveld to technology team
The company said the new arrivals would drive collaboration and technological transformation across key business units By Matthew Corrigan Published: May 8, ...
08/05/2024
Actus Digital Set to Shine at CABSAT and Broadcast Asia
Following a successful NAB Las Vegas 2024 and winning a Best of Show Award, Actus Digital, a leading provider of Intelligent Monitoring Platforms, will bring it...
08/05/2024
TAG Revolutionizes Closed Captions and Subtitles Quality...
TAG Video Systems, a leading force in video monitoring solutions, has developed a new Language Detection feature set to transform how operators ensure quality a...
08/05/2024
Pliant Technologies Unveils New SmartBoom LITE Headset at...
Pliant Technologies, a leading provider of professional wireless intercom solutions,presents its new SmartBoom LITE Headset at InfoComm 2024 (Booth C5116). The ...
08/05/2024
Prism Sound Showcases High-Quality Audio Conversion at MP...
At the Media Production & Technology Show 2024, Prism Sound will showcase high-quality audio conversion products designed to suit the demands of professional us...
08/05/2024
Julian Day Joins FooEngine
Soho stalwart Julian Day has joined FooEngine as Business Development Director after 13 years at ZOO Digital. Julian has been at the heart of the London post pr...
08/05/2024
Cleanfeed Cinema Redefines Audio Post Production Workflow...
Following its successful launch at NAB 2024, Cleanfeed Cinema - the latest remote recording innovation from Emmy Award-winning Cleanfeed - is already helping au...
08/05/2024
DHD to Showcase New Product Line-up at MPTS 2024
DHD's range of digital broadcast equipment, systems and related software will be promoted on stand D22 at the Media Production & Technology Show by UK-regio...
08/05/2024
MSP CloudReso selects Cubbit hyper-resilient DS3 distribu...
Cubbit, the innovator behind Europe's first distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced that CloudReso, a France-based distributor of MSP security so...
08/05/2024
MwareTV boosts Americas presence with Daniel Conde Coto
MwareTV, a prominent cloud-based multi-tenant platform provider, has attracted Daniel Conde Coto to join the company as director, sales operations. This is a si...
08/05/2024
LiveU Demonstrates its Efficient IP-Video Workflows for L...
In a year set to see record-breaking IP-video adoption, with over 70 elections and global sports events, LiveU heads to Broadcast Asia 2024 with a focus on its ...
08/05/2024
nxtedition Showcases a Fully Automated AR Studio Gallery...
Pioneers in microservices-based production environments, nxtedition, will demonstrate the latest advances in storytelling technology at the Media Production & T...
08/05/2024
MPTS 2024 - Leader and PHABRIX to showcase multiple new T...
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, has announced that it will again exhibit at The Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), which tak...
08/05/2024
Livepeer Studio cuts the cost of live streaming and trans...
Livepeer Studio unveils a revolutionary video streaming platform offering an unprecedented combination of quality and cost-efficiency to content creators, media...
08/05/2024
Ikegami to Demonstrate Complete Broadcast Media Productio...
Ikegami Electronics (Europe) will demonstrate a complete broadcast media production system on stand S1-A15 at CABSAT 2024 in Dubai, Tuesday May 21 through Thurs...
08/05/2024
Experience Commerce Bags Digital Agency Mandate for SAVSO...
Experience Commerce (EC), a leading digital agency within the Cheil Network, is pleased to announce that it has won the digital mandate for SAVSOL, the flagship...
08/05/2024
Global Telecom & Pay TV Services Market to Slowdown in 2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. The International Data Corporation is predicting that worldwide spending on telecom services and pay TV services will increase by 1.4% in 2024 to...
08/05/2024
Apple Unveils New iPad Live Multicam Production Studio
CUPERTINO, Calif. In a notable development for news and live video production, Apple has unveiled a number of significant upgrades to its Final Cut Pro software...
08/05/2024
Pliant Technologies to Showcase New Smartboom Lite Headset at InfoComm 2024
Pliant Technologies has announced that it will be presenting its new SmartBoom LITE Headset at InfoComm 2024 (Booth C5116). The latest updates include enhanceme...
08/05/2024
Tubi Launches 'Stubios' to Encourage Aspiring Filmmakers
SAN FRANCISCO Fox's ad-supported streaming service Tubi has launched Stubios, a fan-fueled studio for aspiring filmmakers and their fans that the company sa...
08/05/2024
Five More Stations Launch NextGen TV In San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO, Texas Five more stations have launched NextGen TV service, bringing to nine the number of local TV services on-air with ATSC 3.0....
08/05/2024
Tegna Names Greg Retsinas President & GM of KGW in Portland
TYSONS, Va. Tegna Inc. has announced that Greg Retsinas has been named president and general manager at KGW, Tegna's NBC affiliate serving the Portland area...
08/05/2024
Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Star in Sophie Hyde's New Project JIMPA
08 05 2024 - Media release Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Star in Sophie Hyde's New Project JIMPA Olivia Coleman and John Lithgow in JIMPA. Photo credit: ...
08/05/2024
OpenDrives Joins AWS Partner Network
OpenDrives Joins AWS Partner Network Brie Clayton May 7, 2024 0 Comments Atlas software-defined platform now available via AWS trusted partner network...
08/05/2024
Animate AI Matte Paintings in After Effects
Animate AI Matte Paintings in After Effects Graham Quince May 7, 2024 0 Comments Arguably the best video use for AI generated images is Matte Painting...
08/05/2024
Throw Expression in Adobe After Effects
Throw Expression in Adobe After Effects Andy Ford May 7, 2024 0 Comments The Throw expression is a time-saver in After Effects. It allows you to mov...
08/05/2024
Join FilmLight in Toronto: Baselight 6.1, Nara and more
Join FilmLight in Toronto: Baselight 6.1, Nara and more Brie Clayton May 7, 2024 0 Comments Thursday 30th May, from 2:30PM, Hosted by Alter Ego 488 ...
08/05/2024
Gray TV Reports $75 Million in Net Income for Second Quarter
Gray Television reported a first-quarter profit as advertising revenues rebounded to above pre-COVID-19 levels....
08/05/2024
Meghan Trainor, Bleachers, Chance the Rapper Lined Up for Today' Summer Concert Series
The Today show shared the performers on its summer concert series, which feature...
08/05/2024
Lewis Dodley, Spectrum News NY1 Anchor Since Its Launch, Sets Retirement
Lewis Dodley, longtime anchor for Spectrum News NY1, will retire at the end of May. He's been on the air at the Charter Communications-owned local news chan...
08/05/2024
Scripps Sets Studio Shows for Ion's WNBA Friday Nights
Scripps Sports said it plans to air a new studio show when a new season of WNBA Friday Night Spotlight starts May 24....
08/05/2024
NBCUniversal Will Pitch a Combination of Content, Tech in Upfront
Advertisers are looking to reach the right audiences and tell their stories inside compelling content, Karen Kovacs, president of client partnerships at NBCUniv...
08/05/2024
Doireann Garrihy to leave RT 2FM
RT has today announced that Doireann Garrihy has decided to leave RT 2FM after five years. Doireann will present her final 2FM Breakfast with Doireann, Donncha...
08/05/2024
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang to Deliver Keynote Ahead of COMPUTEX 2024
Amid an AI revolution sweeping through trillion-dollar industries worldwide, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang will deliver a keynote address ahead of COMPUTE...
08/05/2024
AI Decoded: New DaVinci Resolve Tools Bring RTX-Accelerated Renaissance to Editors
AI tools accelerated by NVIDIA RTX have made it easier than ever to edit and wor...
08/05/2024
May 07, 2024
Professor emeritus John (Jack) Johnson elected to the National Academy of Sciences Johnson's multi-disciplinary research has been instrumental in shaping ou...
08/05/2024
zweiB updates to latest version of R&SCLIPSTER
zweiB updates to latest version of R&S CLIPSTER Specialist in deliverables for cinema, events and trade shows Rohde & Schwarz, a global leader in broadcast...
07/05/2024
NAB Show 2024
NAB Show 2024 Utah Scientific rocked the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, unveiling two new game-changers in video signal management. Our primary focus this yea...
07/05/2024
Paul Whitehouse takes viewers through The Sketch Show Years in new 4-part series on Gold
7th May 2024 The nations favourite comedy channel Gold has teamed up with the ma...
07/05/2024
Your Guide to Having a Jam-Packed Sundance Institute Summer
There's something special about summer. We're not sure whether it's the warmer weather, the longer days, or something else a bit more magical, but s...
07/05/2024
NITV appoints Michael Rennie as Presenter and Senior Producer for NITV News
NITV appoints Michael Rennie as Presenter and Senior Producer for NITV News Media releases NITV has announced the appointment of Michael Rennie as Presenter...
07/05/2024
Network flexibility: A Vital Consideration for SATCOM Resiliency
The ability for line-of-site tactical voice and data networks to seamlessly traverse over Satellite Communications is an emerging requirement to assure warfight...
07/05/2024
L3Harris Avionics Repair Station Becomes the First in U.S. to Be Awarded European Military Airworthiness Certification
On April 5, 2024, the L3Harris Avionics Products Repair Station (NN2R037L) in Gr...
07/05/2024
Clear-Com Celebrates Theatre Triumphs in Light of 2024 Tony Award Nominations
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......