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
--
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...
A24's Y2K Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio 
