
Tribeca Film Festival Entry Sealed Off Graded in DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2023
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that the short film Sealed Off, which is in competition at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, was graded by colorist Aaron Peak with DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software.
Set during the late 1930s in Shanghai, Sealed Off depicts a city invaded and controlled by the Japanese government during World War II. Frequent lockdowns, foreshadowing potential air strikes or military actions, could have meant the demise of the city and its residents. During one of these periods, two people share a moment of humanity amongst the encompassing fear around them. Sealed Off was directed by John Jiang and stars Zhenfei Chen and Shijiu Liu.
Shot at Shanghai Chedun Film Park over a period of four days, Jiang found that with limited resources the production had to accept difficult conditions in order to capture the drama within the short window of filming. The most significant challenge was dealing with the continuity of the environment, the constantly changing weather, and the orientation of the sun, said Jiang. We ended up with footage that was very inconsistent. Luckily we had planned a lot of black and white sequences, and we knew that the color sequences set inside a trolley car would be less challenging.
Jiang knew the grading process would be critical, and he used his professional contacts to find colorist Aaron Peak. Aaron and I were introduced by my mentor, director and cinematographer Kees Van Oostrum, added Jiang. I think Aaron and I were immediately on the same page when discussing the aesthetics for the film. Aaron had a vision for the visuals right after he saw the rough cut. So rather than looking for any reference, we let our intuition guide us.
Early discussions between Peak and Jiang involved the complexity of balancing shots with different lighting conditions. The hope was we could balance things in post, said Jiang. Aaron's understanding of DaVinci Resolve really made the difference.
Aaron dove into the black and white sequences and began designing the planned transitions from black and white to color, then back again. I love the velvety black and white sequences, said Peak. We worked the transitions into color multiple times in multiple ways, aiming at different shots to start and finish the transitions based on the emotion of the storyline. In the end, the transitions happen across a series of shots, and colors were individually controlled throughout.
May 31, 2023Senior Colorist Marcy Robinson Grades HBO Max's Reality with DaVinci Resolve StudioBlackmagic Design today announced that HBO Films' docudrama Reality was graded with
May 30, 2023Live Social Media Content for Time Warp Mannheim Powered by Blackmagic DesignBlackmagic Design today announced that production company LiveFRAME deployed a multicamera workflow based
Peak, a longtime DaVinci Resolve Studio user, applied a wide range of tools to the Sealed Off grade, including various VFX shots. I've happily used Resolve for 10 to 12 years now, said Peak. I know that Fusion is powerful, but I was able to accomplish most of what we needed within the color page in Resolve. For example, the overhead shots of an intersection are composites to direct the crowd action in and out. I used glow, selective keying, grain and stabilization throughout. We replaced the colors outside the train windows, and the cross shot animations to color transition were all done in Resolve.
Jiang was pleased with how well the color transitions worked, hoping to use them as critical story elements driving the characters and their journeys. With the first transition from black and white to color, while the interior is colored, the exterior is still monochrome. This is a perfect transitional moment as the story unfolds. For me, some of the iconic shots of the film are when colors are the most vibrant, coinciding with the rising tension between the two characters, described Jiang. Then later, as the connection slowly fades between them, some colors fade away with it too. Taking the story into context, this shot looks even more beautiful with less color. Finally, the moment when we return to black and white from color, implying the eventual closure of their humanity, feels like paint fading away on an oil painting.
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 ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering many of the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced the launch of In-Scene Advertising, a new monetiza...
05/06/2026
Berklee Study Reveals Video Has Become Essential to Music Careers Survey findings show social platforms have become the primary source of music for video cont...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...