Colourist Eric Whipp discusses the challenges of creating the look for George Millers epic blockbuster
By Contributor
Published: June 11, 2024 Updated: June 13, 2024
Colourist Eric Whipp discusses the challenges of creating the look for George Miller's epic blockbuster
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Colourist Eric Whipp discusses the challenges of creating the look for George Miller's epic blockbuster
https://www.tvbeurope.com/features/creating-george-millers-graphic-prequel-furiosa-a-mad-max-saga title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a 2024 post-apocalyptic film directed by George Miller and shot by cinematographer Simon Duggan. It is the fifth instalment in the Mad Max series and a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
Responsible for the colour on the latest instalment was Eric Whipp of alter ego, who worked on Baselight 6.0 across three locations: alter ego in LA and Toronto as well as Spectrum Films in Sydney, who handled the workflow supervision, conform, home entertainment mastering and delivery in Baselight.
Whipp, Miller and the Spectrum team worked together previously on Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) and brought a similar workflow to Furiosa. Whipp and Miller also collaborated on Fury Road, but the director-colourist duo has worked together for nearly two decades.
It's been almost 20 years since the first film I did with George, which was Happy Feet, back in 2005, says Whipp. Since then, we've done five films together, and created a kind of shorthand. I have learned what type of image and style he likes, and at the same time, he's challenged me further and further in the grade, knowing that I can most probably achieve whatever he's looking for. Together, we've pushed the boundaries of what Baselight can do and embraced every little toolset we can find to help tell stories.
Developing a workflow: Sydney The work on the film was spread across three different facilities and cities - starting with Spectrum Films, a family-owned and operated business in Sydney, Australia, who handled the conforming in Baselight in the same space as the editorial department.
Left to right: Dan Glass (VFX supervisor for DNEG), Genna McAuliffe (senior producer for alter ego), Eric Whipp and George Miller We started on the workflow for Furiosa while we were completing Three Thousand Years of Longing, comments Michael Messih, technical operations manager at Spectrum. The same on-set VFX supervisor worked on both films, so we were able to bring a lot of what we had developed in Baselight directly over to the Furiosa pipeline.
The Rebel Fleet managed the dailies and all the VFX pulls, and because there were so few shots which didn't require visual effects we decided to do everything via EXR sequences, explains Catherine Armstrong, general manager and head of post-production at Spectrum. At no point did we actually see any of the original camera raw files.
Andrew Cuc , colourist and finishing editor at Spectrum, commented: The best feature we had was Baselight's shot versioning tool. We would typically get up to 100 shots a day, so having the version refresh feature made things so much quicker. Also being able to switch back and compare versions during VFX reviews was amazing.
Spectrum helped to develop a workflow for colour-critical 4K graded streams between LA and Sydney, and maintained a rigorous calibration check procedure - including colour comparisons and render tests - to ensure that everyone was seeing the same images.
George likes to refer to the term rolling DI', implying a tight integration between departments which means that the grading process happens alongside all the VFX work, explains Messih. Having the remote working ability between Spectrum and alter ego meant that Eric didn't have to spend weeks over in Sydney - and George could review everything from the 4K DI theatre at Spectrum.
The Spectrum team worked entirely in ACES and made good use of Baselight's ability to quickly switch between colour spaces to compare colour in different viewing conditions. It also supported quick switching of formats, which they were doing all the time to compare 4K, HD and UHD against the various references.
Supported by a team of additional finishing editors (Affrica Handley and James Cowie) and production experts (Basia A'hern and Sofia Costa), the Spectrum team utilised the Baselight reporting tool, which allowed them to provide daily data reports and enable the VFX supervisor to cross-check versions.
This was essential in Furiosa, as we were doing most of the VFX changes in Baselight rather than waiting for an updated EDL, comments Armstrong. DI was effectively leading the edit in the end, so this reporting tool was critical.
Due to the nature of Eric's stacks, I ended up doing quite a lot of the editorial changes manually in the timeline, adds Cuc . The new Baselight 6.0 timeline editing tools will make this much easier - the addition of tracks and the ability to compress large stacks means managing a complex timeline will be a lot simpler for future projects like this.
Colour: LA and Canada alter ego opened its LA office in September 2023 and knew one of the first projects would be Furiosa.
We ensured we had everything we needed to grade the film while building out the new office, says Whipp. A big part of this was to ensure that our six Baselight suites in Toronto could easily sync with the two new Baselight suites in LA.
We also needed to find a way to sync up the Baselight suites at Spectrum, so we set up a project server here at alter ego in LA, which everyone was connected to, says Whipp. This way, once a reel was conformed in Sydney, it was as easy as opening it in LA and everything was linked up.
Europe Stories
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
18/07/2025
Friday 18 July 2025
Credit: Marc Sethi
The Sky Arts Awards will return on 16 September, once again taking place at the iconic Roundhouse in London. Produced b...
18/07/2025
This month, players can dive into special crossover events featuring SpongeBob SquarePants in Snake.io+ and Crossy Road Castle, available exclusively on Apple A...
18/07/2025
Up for the Match brings the fun, the passion-and a bit of Riverdance- tomorrow n...
17/07/2025
Spotify's goal with audiobooks is to help grow the publishing industry and create the best possible experience for booklovers, which is why we're launch...
17/07/2025
Luxembourg, 14 July 2025 - SES received the final regulatory approvals for the SES-Intelsat transaction, including the US Federal Communications Commission.
O...
17/07/2025
Wuppertal July 17, 2025
Riedel Communications Powers Handa Opera on Sydney Har...
17/07/2025
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2025 F...
17/07/2025
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, w...
17/07/2025
The summer is here and RT Radio 1 has unveiled a lively seasonal lineup, packed...
16/07/2025
Spotify's podcast editorial team is always on the hunt for shows and episodes that spark conversation, push boundaries, and keep us coming back for more. As...
16/07/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
16/07/2025
Join us at IBC this September and take control of your content. Discover how we're bringing a new level of purpose and precision to the application of AI in...
16/07/2025
Wednesday 16 July 2025
Sky and ITV today announced an extension of their long-standing partnership, which will see ITV's content and services remain seamle...
16/07/2025
Sky Sports lifts the lid on Lions life with hilarious behind-the-scenes mockumentaryWednesday 16 July 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cooki...
16/07/2025
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA Apple TV+ today earned a record-breaking 81 Emmy Award nominations across 14 hit Apple Original titles for this year's 77th Emmy Awa...
15/07/2025
Independent media outlets in Brazil and Colombia are invited to apply for a new programme aimed at strengthening the long-term resilience of journalism in the f...
15/07/2025
Spotify une fuerzas con DiDi, la app l der en servicios de movilidad, delivery y...
15/07/2025
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN THE UNIT...
15/07/2025
U&GOLD has acquired the broadcast rights for Fawlty Towers: The Play (1x120'). Recorded during the show's run at the West End with its original cast, Fa...
15/07/2025
TV SIM builds for the future with high efficiency transmitter from Rohde & Schwa...
15/07/2025
Harmonic's Hybrid, AI-Powered and Live Sports Streaming Innovations are Key ...
15/07/2025
The well-known and well-loved 4099 has been completely revamped. It features amazing CORE+ technology, which eliminates distortion and extends dynamic range, a ...
15/07/2025
Comscore Partners with HyphaMetrics to Launch Advanced Person-Level Audience Mea...
15/07/2025
Peak audiences of over half a million tune into both Kerry v Tyrone and Donegal ...
15/07/2025
PROTON Announces Production Facility Expansion Ahead of IBC2025 posted: 15/07/2025
Proton Announces Production Facility Expansion Ahead of IBC2025
Alongs...
14/07/2025
Enhancing Public Service Broadcasting with
Innovation, Accuracy & Sustainability
New regional detail and local towns featured...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
Thursday 10 July 2025
The Very Small Creatures
Jaime's Treetop Tales
Emerald
BooSnoo! Christmas Mashup
Pip & Posy's Spooktacular Party
The Very Sm...
10/07/2025
Thursday 10 July 2025
Brand new rewards are coming to Sky customers, with free ...
10/07/2025
Comscore Achieves Full JIC Certification for National TV Measurement Including...
09/07/2025
Wednesday 9 July 2025
Sky Broadband now has the UK's fastest broadband spee...
09/07/2025
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced Jeff Williams will transition his role as chief operating officer later this month to Sabih Khan, Apple's senior...
08/07/2025
In an era where digital threats to journalists are becoming increasingly aggressive and widespread, MediaSafe Africa launches as a vital online resource to help...
08/07/2025
This summer, as the energy builds for one of the biggest moments in women's ...
08/07/2025
UKTV today announces that Richard Watsham, Chief Creative Officer at UKTV and Global Director of Acquisitions for BBC Studios/UKTV, has decided to step down fro...
08/07/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - July 8, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a reco...
08/07/2025
Arvato Systems Optimizes Customer Communication with AOK Niedersachsen
New project in the statutory health insurance sector
Arvato Systems and AOK Niedersach...
Colourist Eric Whipp discusses the challenges of creating the look for George Millers epic blockbuster
