Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

A24's Y2K Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio

13/12/2024

A24's Y2K Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio

Brie Clayton December 12, 2024

0 Comments

Teen comedy horror emulates a film look using digital tools.

Blackmagic Design today announced that A24's comedy horror film Y2K was graded using DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software.

In Y2K, on the last night of 1999 two high school juniors crash a New Years Eve party, only to find themselves fighting for their lives in this dial up disaster comedy. Directed by Kyle Mooney with cinematography by Bill Pope, the film was color graded by Senior Colorist Charles Bunnag of Light Iron, a Panavision company.

Bunnag, who had worked with Pope as an additional colorist on both Men in Black 3 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, discussed with Pope the style the cinematographer was hoping for on Y2K. It was important to Bill that this movie look as if it were shot in 1999, said Bunnag. He wanted to emulate the look and feel of the raunchy teenage comedies of that era. I want this to look like Superbad'' was not something I expected to hear from Bill, but that was a particularly helpful reference point and a good excuse for me to watch that movie again.

Movies in 1999 were all still shot on film, and the discussion of matching looks turned quickly to the perception of what film negative looked like, and how to create that style in DaVinci Resolve Studio. Bill and I briefly discussed some specifics regarding film stock, but we quickly decided that our memory of what film looked like was more important than the technical details. With that in mind, I created a node tree in the timeline color track which acted like a film emulation LUT. This LUT/node tree gave the image a warmer white point and pushed the reds in the midtones and skin tones.

Bunnag also used the Edge Detect tool across the entire movie to further create a film look. The output of the tool was used as a matte to contain a very subtle blur on any super sharp edges and fine details. Since film is not made up of pixels, there are technically no true, sharp edges, no matter how sharp and in focus the image may be, continued Bunnag. Using the Edge Detect to control a slight blur took away some of the digital feel that can happen in ultra sharp parts of the image, like individual hair wisps or other areas with high frequency detail. Grain was added as the last step in the timeline color track. Halation was also used across the entire movie but in a Group Post Clip track to allow scene by scene adjustments.

The film, a unique combination of comedy, fantasy and science fiction, employed a wide range of visual effects, including practical animatronics, models and computer generated imagery. Bunnag found at times he could help marry the elements in the color grade for a more cohesive look. I'd say that my biggest contribution in terms of VFX was putting in some finishing touches on some comps: adjusting black levels, adding some pop to fire and explosions, and helping to integrate some monitor comps. There was one scene that was particularly challenging, which required a lot of tricky rotoscope and color to help the lighting feel connected to the VFX.

The scene, in which the character Laura (played by Rachel Zegler) hacks into the evil AI, required some extra attention. The practical lighting from the monitor did not match the final comp because of design changes that were made in post. Finding a way to make this mismatch in lighting look believable was a challenge, but I'm glad the tools in DaVinci Resolve helped enable me to find a solution that made the filmmakers happy.

Y2K is now in theaters.

December 17, 2024Maze GmbH's Esport Factory Levels Up with Blackmagic Design Live Production WorkflowFrom charity streams to multi studio events, discover the technology and creativity

December 6, 2024TEDxGenova Outdoor Event Powered by Blackmagic DesignURSA Broadcast G2 and Micro Studio Camera 4K G2's used to capture

Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.

Enter your email address, and your first and last name below!

-- Sign up: * indicates required

Email Address *

Name

--
LINK: https://creativecow.net/a24s-y2k-graded-with-davinci-resolve-studio/...
See more stories from creativecow

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

10/09/2026

Study: NFL Ad Revenue to Hit a Record $6.3 Billion

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Teradek Unveils Bolt 7 With 900MHz RF Pipeline

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Survey: Roku Remains Most Popular Streamer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Sony Unveils Fourth Generation Of DWX Wireless Mics

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Scripps Revamps Local Media Regional Leadership Structure

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Sony Introduces SEL814G Fisheye Zoom G Lens

Sony Electronics has announced the SEL814G, the company's first fisheye zoom G Lens for full-frame Alpha E-mount cameras. The lens will be available in Octo...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Telestream Expands Practical AI Capabilities Across Vantage and UP Platform

Telestream has announced an expansion of its Practical AI capabilities across th...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Chyron and Haivision Announce Camera-to-Cloud Live Production Integration

Haivision and Chyron have announced a technology partnership integrating Haivisi...

09/09/2026

ManningCast Reveals 2026-27 Season Schedule with Heist Mini Movie

Omaha Productions has released ManningCast: Heist, a short film featuring Peyton and Eli Manning attempting to break into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's o...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Imagine Communications to Showcase XVR Updates

Imagine Communications will demonstrate the next evolution of XVR at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14). XVR is Imagine's channel-in-a-b...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: swXtch.io Launches AI Broadcast Orchestration Tool abbe

swXtch.io has announced abbe, an AI-based orchestration layer for live media workflows, making its world premiere at IBC2026 (Meeting Room 5.MR13, Hall 5, Septe...

09/09/2026

Inside the NFL Returns to X for Second Season, Marking 50th Anniversary

NFL Films has announced the second season of Inside the NFL on X as an X Original, premiering Wednesday, September 9. The series marks Inside the NFL's 50th...

09/09/2026

LiveU Expands AP Partnership with LU900Q Fleet and MAM Integration

LiveU has announced an expanded partnership with The Associated Press, deploying the largest fleet of LU900Q intelligent production units in the industry as par...

09/09/2026

Diversified to Consolidate New Jersey Operations into New Newark Facility

Diversified has announced plans to consolidate its four existing New Jersey locations into a new facility in Newark, expected to be fully operational by the end...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Wisycom Showcases MATF Antenna Matrix, PFL RFoF Box, and MPR60 Updates

Wisycom will exhibit new RF products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.D60, September 11-14), including the MATF Wideband Antenna Matrix, PFL Portable RF over Fiber Box, and ...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: G&D and VuWall to Introduce vsNEO KVM-over-IP Platform

Guntermann & Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both Panoptec companies, will introduce vsNEO at IBC2026 (Stand 8.B63, September 11, RAI Amsterdam). Pre-orders open in ea...

09/09/2026

Mo-Sys Completes Restructuring, Promotes Selin Kemal to Managing Director

Mo-Sys has completed a business restructuring and relocated to a new facility in Canada Water, London. As part of the reorganization, Selin Kemal has been promo...

09/09/2026

Aicox and TAG Video Systems Power Monitoring for Telefnicas TSAmediaHUB

Aicox has integrated TAG Video Systems' Core monitoring platform into Telef nica's TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure....

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Blackmagic Design Releases DaVinci Resolve 21.1

Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21.1, a free update available now through the Blackmagic Design website. The release adds new AI tools, workflow ...

09/09/2026

ESPN and Apple Music Collaborate on Monday Night Football Music Curation for 2026-27 Season

ESPN and Apple Music have announced a collaboration on music curation for Monday...

09/09/2026

Sacramento Production Services Deploys Wisycom RF System at Sutter Health Park

Sacramento Production Services has completed a wireless audio overhaul at Sutter Health Park, home of the Athletics during their three-year residency in Sacrame...

09/09/2026

NDI and NVIDIA Collaborate on AI-Powered Multilingual Content Workflows

NDI and NVIDIA have announced a collaboration to develop AI-powered workflows enabling broadcasters to create and distribute multilingual content from a single ...

09/09/2026

Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Announces the Class of 2026

Christopher Chip Adams, Troy Aikman, Jim Dove, Jim Eady, Bucky Gunts, Robert A. Iger, Charlie Jablonski, Robert Kraft, Tom Rinaldi, and Dick Stockton to be ho...

09/09/2026

NBC Sports Opens 21st SNF Season With Expanded Schedule, Traveling Studio Show, and Bulked Up Toolkit

ND2 returns as the primary unit, While FNIA gets SSQC and new flexible Rover...

09/09/2026

Celemony Tonalic gains additional Paul Kleber upright bass

New parts aimed at hip-hop and pop productions The latest update to Celemony's innovative virtual session musician expands the collection of built-in in...

09/09/2026

Sonarworks Autumn Sale

Save up to 40% until 21 September 2026 Sonarworks are currently running their Autumn Sale, with discounts of up to 40% currently available across their rang...

09/09/2026

Bjooks Beat Gems to begin shipping

Upcoming title officially launches in September 2026 Bjooks' celebrations for this year's 909 Day will be welcome news amongst drum machine lovers, ...

09/09/2026

NITV to bring First Nations netball to audiences nationwide

NITV to bring First Nations netball to audiences nationwide 9 September, 2026 Media releases Every match of the 2026 First Nations Tournament will be live ...

09/09/2026

NFVF CALL FOR PROPOSALS: YOUTH FILMMAKER PROJECT FACILITATING COMPANY 2026

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites eligible Tier 1 and 2 South African production companies to submit proposals to serve as the Facilitating ...

09/09/2026

Nielsen launches CTV Ad spend data into its Italian Ad Intel product

Italy launch follows UK and Germany as Nielsen expands product across EMEA Milan, Italy, September 9, 2026 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, ...

09/09/2026

Gracenote Expands AI Product Roadmap with Sports MCP Server, Entertainment SLM and Agents

Planned solutions tackle accuracy, cost and latency barriers to deploying AI at ...

09/09/2026

Dalet Promotes Brian Doheny to CEO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

Studio Technologies Expands StudioComm Monitoring With In...

Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, introduces its new Model 791 Control Console at IBC 2026 (N...

09/09/2026

Maxon Brings Exclusive Preview of Fall Innovations to IBC...

Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects and visualization, is headin...

09/09/2026

NUGEN Audio Leads the Dialog Intelligibility Conversation...

NUGEN Audio unveils DialogCheck v1.2, the latest evolution of its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at IBC 2026 (Pod P27). With a sharpene...

09/09/2026

Trusted Partner Network Launches Fix It or Risk It to Hel...

Trusted Partner Network Launches Fix It or Risk It to Help the Entertainment Industry Tackle Everyday Security Risks Industry-Wide Campaign Launches at IBC2...

09/09/2026

FCC to Vote on Opening Up Spectrum for Satellite, IoT

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

NDI, NVIDIA Collaborate On Real-Time AI Multilingual Content

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

83 percent of UK advertisers are using AI but speed and n...

AI has moved firmly beyond experimentation in UK advertising, with more than eight in ten marketers (83%) now actively using or piloting AI in production, accor...

09/09/2026

Pixitmedia by DataCore to showcase cloud and connected pr...

IBC2026 - Stand 7.D22 At IBC2026, Pixitmedia by DataCore will showcase its latest capabilities designed to simplify distributed production, accelerate workflow...

09/09/2026

Net Insight Showcases Open Live Media for Controlled Live...

Stockholm, Sweden September 9th, 2026 At IBC2026, on booth 1.B47, Net Insight will showcase Open Live Media, its architecture for delivering resilient live ...

09/09/2026

Net Insight and DMC expand repeatable remote production m...

Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway is continuing the use of its Open Live Media technology for premium European football, deploying Nimbra 5...

09/09/2026

Amagi to Showcase Four AI-Native Innovations Built to Pow...

Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, will showcase four new AI-native capabilities at IBC2026, Hall 5, S...

09/09/2026

Limecraft Brings Connected Automated and Intelligent Medi...

Limecraft today announces version 2026.6 of its AI-powered production platform, extending capabilities for connected media operations. An AI-assisted approach t...

09/09/2026

Telestream Advances Practical AI from Content Understandi...

Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the next evolution of its Practical AI strategy, evolving its comprehensive portfoli...

09/09/2026

Dalet Appoints Brian Doheny as Chief Executive Officer

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Brian Doheny as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....

09/09/2026

LiveU Offers Starlink for News and Sports Broadcast as Cl...

LiveU is now a Clarus Integrated Reseller, bringing Starlink's fast, reliable broadband directly into LiveU's cellular bonding EcoSystem through a singl...

09/09/2026

Study: New Streaming TV Series Orders Plumet

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...