By Elina Shatkin, January 27, 2004
FilmLight Ltd. announced that its complete suite of Digital Intermediate products, Northlight, Baselight and Truelight, were all used at Framestore CFC on the critically acclaimed feature "Cold Mountain." The film was scanned on the Northlight, the digital mastergrade was achieved using Baselight colour-grading software and the Truelight colour calibration system used for accurate preview throughout the project.
Director Anthony Minghella made the decision to work with Framestore CFC following discussions with Director of Photography John Seale, who was embarking on his first full digital mastergrade largely because of the flexibility that digital technology affords for examining and tweaking every shot. Work began in the summer of 2003, when the company scanned the film on their Northlight film scanners
. Seale attended grading sessions over a three-week period, before his schedule took him on to another project, and work continued under Minghella throughout the following two months.
Throughout the digital process, Framestore CFC lead colorist Adam Glasman used the Baselight grading tools to subtly affect the appearance and feel of individual scenes. In one exemplary scene where Ada (Nicole Kidman) and Ruby (Renée Zellweger) are lying in bed, reading, Seale and Glasman put highlights into Ada's hair, applying a blurred oval vignette and bringing the edges of the scene down and almost mimicking an old fashioned camera lens.
From Glasman's point of view, one of the most challenging sequences involved building on the practical on-location effects work to create the opening battle scene. He and Seale used the Baselight colour-correction software to apply grads to sections of the battlefield where they did not already exist, to place a heavy pall of smoke over the scene. They also lifted up shots and added contrast and other elements to create an overall effect.
Another of FilmLight's products, the Truelight colour management system, was essential to the process.
.
|