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
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
02/12/2025
The lightweight and highly portable CORVUS-RAVEN, recently demonstrated at the V...
02/12/2025
The lightweight, rugged Panther 2 tri-band VSAT delivers high-speed data communications for Internet, VPN connectivity and video transmission over commercial an...
02/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
02/12/2025
NGID volunteers in the United States
NGID volunteers in Mexico
NGID volunteers in India
NGID volunteers in Spain
NGID volunteers in Australia
NGID voluntee...
02/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has issued a reminder that stations in DMAs 111 through 120 must implement its audio descrip...
02/12/2025
SAN DIEGO Sony Electronics today introduced the Alpha 7 V (ILCE-7M5), the fifth generation of its Alpha 7 full-frame mirrorless lineup, powered by the newly dev...
02/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has opened a docket for comments on Nexstar Media Group's proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna and se...
02/12/2025
WASHINGTON The National Association of Broadcasters has added a trio of media executives, Veronica Rodriguez, Matt Schnaars and Jeff Warshaw, to its board of di...
02/12/2025
MILAN, Italy Brightcove has released seven new features designed to expand global reach, improve audience engagement, enhance live-streaming quality and streaml...
02/12/2025
BCNEXXT, the developers of the advanced playout platform Vipe, today announced a new Service Provider Partner agreement with NPC Media, the Australian managed p...
02/12/2025
DPA Microphones today announces the immediate availability of its new N-Series Digital Wireless Microphone System for customers throughout the U.S. In addition ...
02/12/2025
Hiltron Communications reports a well attended and successful Space Tech Expo exhibition, held at the Messe Bremen from Tuesday November 18 through Thursday Nov...
02/12/2025
The beginning of September saw Riverfire by Australian Retirement Trust, in association with Channel 9 and Triple M, kick off the 2025 Brisbane Festival in spec...
02/12/2025
SGM Lighting is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with ACT Entertainment, under which ACT will serve as the exclusive distributor for SGM's ne...
02/12/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that Telia, the second largest telecom operator in Norway, is modernizing its broadband network with the company's i...
02/12/2025
European cloud data protection specialist Keepit is expanding its sales network in the DACH region and has gained TIM AG, one of the leading value-added distrib...
02/12/2025
Featured products at ISE 2026
This year s ISE 2026 theme "Push Beyond" reflects Calrec s direction of travel. The company is dedicated to supporting the AV an...
02/12/2025
Czech Television, the national public broadcaster, has deployed one of the largest LiveU live production projects in the region for live sports and news coverag...
02/12/2025
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, has announced the release of v8.2 software for its ZEN and ZEN-W Series, bringing advanced cinematic camera se...
02/12/2025
Global provider of video streaming software and services, Accedo, and OTT platform provider, Magine Pro, have signed a binding agreement to carve out and merge ...
02/12/2025
With proven success in broadcast, OTT, and content supply chains, K.S Avinash set to scale Skandha's service-first approach across APAC
Skandha Media Servi...
02/12/2025
AJA Video Systems has joined the RAVENNA community, a network of partners devoted to advancing the RAVENNA standard for distributing real-time audio over intern...
02/12/2025
HUNT VALLEY, Md. Sinclair and its wholly-owned subsidiary One Media Technologies have released a new report focused on how ATSC 3.0, the IP-based NextGen TV sta...
02/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau has issued a reminder that stations in DMAs 111 through 120 must implement its audio descrip...
02/12/2025
WASHINGTON Members of the Advanced Television Systems Committee have elected four industry veterans to three-year terms on the organization's board of direc...
02/12/2025
A new survey from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan highlights how important social media is for younger consumers, with Gen Z spending 5.1 hours a day on so...
02/12/2025
Faculty Notes: Fall/Winter 2025 Recent accomplishments, releases, and events by Berklee faculty.
December 1, 2025
By
Editorial Staff
The cast of Kind of M...
02/12/2025
Back to All News
Made in America: How Stranger Things' Electrified the US Economy
Entertainment
02 December 2025
GlobalUnited States
Link copied to cl...
02/12/2025
Back to All News
Culinary Class Wars' Season 2 Trailer Teases New Rules, R...
02/12/2025
--
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Telecommunication Unio...
02/12/2025
Harmonic's cOS Platform Will Redefine Subscribers' Quality of Experience, Lowering Churn SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 2, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today...
02/12/2025
At AWS re:Invent, NVIDIA and Amazon Web Services expanded their strategic collab...
02/12/2025
S an Nollaig
Hollywood blockbusters The Banshees of Inisherin, Barbie and Oppenheimer make their Irish TV debut
Tune into the classics such as Love Actual...
02/12/2025
Showcasing fresh Irish storytelling and emerging talent Storyland 2025 signals a fantastic time for Irish drama
RT and F s ireann/Screen Ireland are proud to...
01/12/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
01/12/2025
Artemis II is NASA's first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The crew, from left: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Vic...
01/12/2025
IRVINE, Calif. Wooden Camera has introduced its new Accessory Collection for the Canon EOS C50. The new lineup includes a low-profile, gimbal-ready cage, expand...
01/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for its Dec. 18 Open Commission Meeting that will include a vote on a report an...
01/12/2025
In most years, a graph of annual local TV ad spending is about as predictable as an electrocardiogram of a reasonably healthy patient in a doctor's office. ...
01/12/2025
Many industries have seen big-ticket hardware turn into software. Switchers, though, demand a combination of real-time performance and sheer bandwidth that has ...
01/12/2025
GENEVA Shanghai will host the next quadrennial Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-27) and World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27), Oct. 11-Nov. 12, 2027. This...
01/12/2025
NEW YORK Just in time for Giving Tuesday tomorrow (Dec. 2), the Broadcasters Foundation of America is seeking out donations to help television and radio industr...
01/12/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Net Insight CEO Crister Fritzson has informed the company's board that he will retire from the video transport and media cloud technology ...
01/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils Hilarious, Heartwarming Trailer for Upcoming F...
01/12/2025
MANCHESTER, UK - November 2025 - Announced two days before the 30th anniversary of Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe, the Oasis Live '25 tour marks t...
01/12/2025
01 Dec 2025
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Select Go...
01/12/2025
The prequel to the global hit Sky Original mob crime saga, Gomorrah' is a s...
01/12/2025
Featuring Florence Welch, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea, designer Bella Freud...
A24's Y2K Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio 
