Digital Vision Ensures Heroic Color
October 23, 2009 (Burbank, CA) Breaking and reformulating the rules for color management, iO Film has successfully completed a wide range of services and deliveries for the October 23, 2009 Summit Entertainment release of Imagi Studios’ “Astro Boy,” the movie based on the beloved superhero from Japan. The look that “Astro Boy’s” producers desired necessitated a profound change to the current color management process. iO relied upon Digital Vision’s Film Master and their own in-house custom system to create a solution that delivered the project exactly as specified by the clients.
Based upon a globally recognized and well-loved superhero created in the 1950s, “Astro Boy,” the film was directed by David Bowers (“Flushed Away”) produced by Maryann Garger, and features performances from a who’s who cast (including Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, Charlize Theron and Nicolas Cage as “Dr. Tenma.” Beautifully executed, the animated feature has been in production for the past two years; during which time the color palette that resonated for the creative team became a bedrock for the look of the film. That look had been built in 16 bit Tiff, REC 709 color space; previously unavailable as a standard of the post production process. Even though other pieces of the post pipeline (monitors and digital cinema packaging specifically), operate in lower bit rates, the producers wanted to make certain that the look of the film was absolutely true to the 16 bit files, with that look maintained through every deliverable. Those deliverables included high definition, DI and digital cinema packaging (DCP). After substantial research, it became apparent that iO was the only facility that was ready to deliver the movie exactly as the producers desired. It was imperative that each deliverable matched the animation files, exactly.
Kevin Mulligan, CTO of iO Film noted that the Digital Vision Film Master was a mission-critical piece of the pipeline he developed. Since no other facility
was working in 16 bit, Mulligan and the product team from Digital Vision dug in and made sure that the project stayed in 16 bit throughout the color grading process. The custom LUTs and other color management tools were imported into the Film Master. Mulligan stated, “Without the power and the flexibility of the Nucoda platform, I know that this process would have been at risk. But, because of the system and the calibre of support, the process was completely manageable and ultimately completely successful. We could not fail at this, and Film Master made sure of our success.”
Erin Corbett, President of Imagi Studios U.S., said, “We were dedicated to maintaining the vision of the director and the entire artistic team and it was imperative that we attain the look that we were after. The process at iO and the workflow centered on the Film Master were flawless. As a result, we succeeded on every level in creating a great-looking movie.”
Bruno Munger, Product Manager at Digital Vision noted, “We have built our reputation on our ability to develop color management tools that keep our customers, and their customers, completely satisfied. “Astro Boy” helped us to push the boundaries out a little further, and explore the realm of 16 bit color in DI and DCP delivery. We now know exactly how that those building blocks are completely manageable within the Film Master, and look forward to seeing the movie in all its glorious color.”
About iO Film
iO Film is a very nimble high quality boutique facility. It welcomes innovative workflows and offers out of the box resolves. iO Film has a first class team of extraordinarily talented people with a genuine love of motion picture imagery. Fulfilling the requirements Imagi presented with “Astro Boy” was no easy task. Getting a linear 16bit animated source to ring true on 35mm release prints, without altering the linear or DCP color fidelity, was a fine accomplishment. iO Film is located at 1415 N. Cahuenga Boulevard, in the heart of Hollywood. Contact: Richard Jordan at 323-822-4444.
About Imagi
Imagi International Holdings Limited (Stock Code 585, OTCQX: IINHY) is a listed company on the main board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. Imagi’s principal business is the development and production of CG-animated feature films. Imagi’s first theatrical movie TMNT was released in March 2007, opening #1 in U.S. box office revenue, the first time in history that an Asian animated film achieved that honor. Imagi’s CG production studios are located at its Chai Wan (Hong Kong) corporate headquarters with development and marketing operations based in Los Angeles, California, and an office in Tokyo. Imagi’s “Astro Boy” is being released in theaters worldwide in October 2009. For further information, please visit www.imagi.com.hk and www.astroboy-themovie.com
About Digital Vision
Digital Vision provides innovative image restoration, enhancement, color correction and data conforming systems that major movie studios, television networks and post production facilities use to master and deliver feature films, TV programs and commercials. The company’s Nucoda product line provides a strong suite of products for tapeless and non linear grading for HD broadcast and 2k/4k digital intermediate productions. The company’s award-winning products are a standard of the media and entertainment industry and are deployed at top facilities and broadcasters around the world.
Digital Vision AB was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with three wholly owned subsidiaries, Digital Vision (US) in Los Angeles, California; Digital Vision UK in London, England; and Digital Vision in Hong Kong, China. The company maintains its global presence through a network of qualified distributors. Digital Vision is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange. For further information, go to www.digitalvision.se.
All trademarks used herein, whether recognized or not, are the properties of their respective companies.
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