DaVinci Resolve Studio used to Manage DI Workflow for on Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express

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Blackmagic Design today announced that its DaVinci Resolve Studio was used to manage the color pipeline, including onset dailies and final grade, on Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic, Murder on the Orient Express.

The feature's DI workflow was developed and delivered by Goldcrest Post London, in conjunction with film and digital dailies specialist, Digital Orchard. Director of Photography (DP) Haris Zambarloukos worked with Goldcrest to develop the film's color science and LUTs, which were then integrated into the dailies pipeline.

We eventually arrived at a LUT that would give us an authentic filmic look, reflected Goldcrest Post senior colorist Rob Pizzey. A warm white point really helped to retain the original color and contrast from the scanned film negative. The film has an incredibly rich feeling and so the colors stand out, as such we didn't want to pull back on anything.

Sam Spurgeon was Digital Orchard's dailies colorist on Murder on the Orient Express. He was in charge of a dailies color pipeline which included both simple CDL color work for compatibility with VFX and a framework for Rob Pizzey to be able to import a base grade that reflected the DPs desired look for a given scene.

We worked closely with Goldcrest in creating show LUTs which acted as the base for our dailies color pipeline, he reveals. Using the DCI-P3 version we then graded the dailies onto a calibrated DCI compliant projector, after which the media was then rendered through the Rec709 version of the same LUT.

Murder on the Orient Express was shot on a mixture of digital and film formats and so the dailies pipeline, overseen by Callum Just, had to accommodate both.

Sam continues: We'd scanned the 65mm film to 2K 10 bit DPX sequences averaging between 100GB and 300GB per roll, with between 10 and 20 lab rolls per day. Once scanned that was then graded and transcoded using DaVinci Resolve Studio.

Color values, lab roll, camera roll, keycode and timecode were all vital to the conform, and it was essential that we communicated that information throughout the entire pipeline. We added key metadata into Resolve easily, and included any additional notes required. This all went to editorial and onto the second scan conform.

Image analysis for quality control was also an integral part of the workflow. Some issues with film manifest themselves in specific color channels. Being able to isolate these channels in Resolve to view in black and white helped with diagnosis.

Sam concludes: Blackmagic provides an excellent suite of tools for dailies grades on Hollywood productions, workflows for editorial and post, and more advanced color work. DaVinci Resolve has been the backbone of our workflow since 2011, and its extended feature set has been proved to get the most out of both digital and film-based workflows.

Goldcrest Post's Sin ad Cronin completed the online edit in DaVinci Resolve and the final DI, including Dolby Vision theatrical grade, was delivered by Rob Pizzey.

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About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world's highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design's DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company's Emmy award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

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