July 23, 2009
Robert Siegel (screenwriter of The Wrestler) recently put the finishing touches on Big Fan, his maiden directorial effort, which he also wrote. Starring Patton Oswalt and shot with a RED camera by Goodbye Solo DP Michael Simmonds, the film received solid notices at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
In prepping Big Fan’s national release in August, Siegel entrusted color correction to NY’s Mega Playground colorist Mike Smollin and his Nucoda DI suite. “Robert is very hands on, and he sat in on many of our sessions,” Smollin says. “Our CTO, Terry Brown, and I developed an efficient workflow process and customized Nucoda noise reduction and image enhancement procedures to maximize the system's ability to insure the sharpest possible screen presentation.”
The project was shot with a RED ONE camera in 2K mode, which required some special image processing. “We’ve been experimenting with RED for some time, and have developed methods for getting the best possible images out of the raw footage,” Brown says. “We initially conformed the 90-minute feature at one-quarter resolution to match it against the offline reference. We then bumped it up to full premium 2K size rendering DPX files. Ultimately we produced a cost-effective high-quality DI that resolved all of Robert’s aesthetic concerns, and it was printed perfectly by our next-door neighbor, Technicolor. The film’s look is perfect for its darkly comic plotline. Siegel is a skilled storyteller, and extremely aware of the value of color correction in heightening his dramatic and comedic plot points,” Brown concludes.
“Sometimes these Mega Playground guys seemed to care more about the film than I did,” Siegel remarked, “I’m an admitted perfectionist, but there were moments when what satisfied me wasn’t good enough for them. Mike Smollin really went the extra nine yards, fixing titles and other elements that weren’t in the initial plan. The final print looked exactly the way it did in DI. I was impressed with their technology, their size and their attitude. I’m not a ‘techie,’” Siegel concludes, “but Mike, Terry Brown and everyone at Mega was easy to talk with and not over-steeped in jargon. This was a great working experience.”
.
|