by FilmInk Staff
Colorist Sam Daley created authentic ‘90s kids’show and modern horror looks for new creature film.
Blackmagic Design announce that the hit horror film Buddy was graded by Picture Shop Senior Colorist and ASC Associate Member Sam Daley using DaVinci Resolve Studio. The software helped create a modern day look as well as pay homage to the Technicolor three-strip process, while recreating the iconic look and feel of 1990s kids’ shows like “Barney.”
Buddy is a film about a classic TV show hosted by an orange unicorn named Buddy. Once a beloved character, the film reveals Buddy as a dark and violent force of nature who terrorises children.
Daley worked closely with Zach Kuperstein, the award winning DP of films such as Barbarian, The Eyes of My Mother and Woman of the Hour, to move between the worlds of Buddy, while capturing the unique look and feel that people immediately recognise as a ‘90s kids’ show.
Daley explained: “There are three distinct worlds within the film that we called Park, Strange and Real. The look of the Park world emulates a ‘90s kids’ TV show. The Strange world has a classic Technicolor three-striplook, and the Real world has a modern filmic look. Zach created the Park and Strange looks in DaVinci Resolve for the dailies, then we improved upon them when we got into the DI theater. We created the Real world look together in the theater.”
For matching the ‘90s kids’ show look, Daley and Kuperstein were tasked with taking footage shot on modern day cameras and making it appear like it was shot on CCD cameras.
“Zach tested ‘90s era video cameras, but they were impractical to use for the production, so those tests became our references for the Park world look. Still, there is a feeling of nostalgia that goes with this look. We can emulate the look technically, but it has to feel like a ‘90s kids’ TV show. Zach, director Casper Kelly and I took great care crafting this look.”
Daley and Kuperstein relied on a variety of DaVinci Resolve Studio’s features and OpenFX plug ins to perfect a ‘90s look. This included use of the software’s Analog Damage filter to introduce signal noise and chroma misalignment, as well as a subtle scan line effect to mimic CRT televisions. DaVinci Resolve Studio’s JPEG Damage OFX created blocky compression flaws, and the Sharpen Edges plug in added an analog video edge to the subjects.
“The order of operations was key to creating our ‘90s TV show look. We knew the effects we needed, but we had to experiment with their order in the pipeline to get the best results,” Daley explained.
DaVinci Resolve Studio’s Film Look Creator effect was employed to shape the look for the Real world, while a complicated node structure of RGB and CYM channel isolation was used to simulate the Technicolor three-strip process for the Strange world.
“It was important that these looks enhance the ride for the audience without overpowering the story, and I feel we hit the bullseye,” Daley said. “DaVinci Resolve provided all the tools we needed to create three unique looks for a truly unique film.”
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/au.
