MTI Film colorist provided final post services for three new videos directed by Phillip R. Lopez, including a release from Russian punk band Pussy Riot with the provocative title Straight Outta Vagina. In finalizing the look of the videos, colorist Alex Chernoff collaborated directly with Lopez who’s been garnering a lot of attention for his visually stunning short films and music videos.
A hip-hop feminist anthem, Straight Outta Vagina is set in a church and a tiled bathroom (the actual shooting location was the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles) and includes a cast of children, dancers and female body builders. “It’s about the power of female sexuality,” says producer Matthew McCluggage. “It reminds men where they come from.”
Color is used creatively in the video to set the trippy, celebratory mood, establish locations and reinforce the band’s brand. “We drew out the gold in the classical design of the theater to give it the feel of a Russian Orthodox church,” explains McCluggage. “We played against the green in the tiles of the bathroom scenes and went for a warmer look in the mirrored shots. Overall, we emphasized the blues and the yellows, the band’s signature colors.”
“It’s a strong look,” adds Chernoff. “Phillip and I worked hard on the church scenes and are very happy with how well they turned out. We used a grain tool throughout to give it a filmic look—that’s something I often do with Phillip’s work.”
Chernoff also applied the final grades to Love is Mystical from the Cold War Kids and Burning Man from the rapper Watt (featuring Post Malone). In the former, most scenes are presented in reverse motion and colored in soft, dreamlike tones. “The goal was to capture that feeling of a first kiss, or first falling in love,” Lopez explains, “the way time can stop, move backwards and you get totally lost in that mystical moment.”
Burning Man, meanwhile, casts Watt and Post Malone as deliverymen who lace an office water cooler with LSD igniting (literally, as it turns out) a wild party. Chernoff says that he and Lopez had fun adding a psychedelic cast to scenes of office workers dancing in piles of shredded paper and covered in Post-It notes. The video climaxes with a man running down a hall after he has been set on fire. “We made the fire super-hot to make it feel more real,” Chernoff observes.
McCluggage observes that Alex is a valuable creative partner as he understands intuitively the visual aesthetic Lopez is seeking to achieve. “Alex has really refined his craft,” he says. “And, as a young artist, he relates well to the music and contributes great ideas during post.”
About MTI Film LLC
MTI Film is a leading provider of software and services to the entertainment industry. Its software division delivers ground-breaking tools for dailies processing, digital film restoration and other critical process. They include the CORTEX family of products, which offer comprehensive solutions for dailies processing, media management, deliverables and more, and DRS™ NOVA, the industry standard for digital film restoration.
In Hollywood, MTI Film operates a full-service post-production facility, providing dailies, editorial, visual effects, color correction and assembly for film, television and commercials.
For more information visit www.mtifilm.com.
