Technicolor – PostWorks New York, a Slate Media Group company, provided an array of film laboratory and digital post production services for “Moonrise Kingdom”, the new motion picture from Focus Features and director Wes Anderson that opens the Cannes International Film Festival. The facility handled film processing, dailies production, digital intermediate color grading. DCP production and film recording were done at Technicolor, Los Angeles.
"Moonrise Kingdom", set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, tells the story of two 12-year-olds (screen newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman and Bob Balaban star in the film, which Focus Features releases beginning May 25.
“‘Moonrise Kingdom’ is the type of project we excel at: an independent film from an independent director, one with a great cast and a great story to tell, and one that needs a strong commitment from its post-production partners,” said Technicolor – PostWorks Executive Vice President Domenic Rom.
Technicolor – PostWorks New York, which also provided post production services for Anderson’s 2007 film "The Darjeeling Limited", was involved in "Moonrise Kingdom" for more than ten months, beginning in pre-production. The facility’s film laboratory and color grading department assisted Anderson and cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman, ASC in testing various film stocks and digital camera formats. Anderson and Yeoman eventually chose to shoot the film on Kodak Super 16mm film.
During production, Technicolor-PostWorks processed the film negative and prepared video dailies. The latter included the delivery of streaming dailies to Anderson and his crew while they were working on location in Rhode Island.
Final color grading was performed by colorist Tim Stipan in a DI theater at Technicolor – PostWorks’ New York facility. Anderson, Yeoman and editor Andrew Weisblum (with whom Stipan had previously collaborated on “Black Swan”) attended many of the grading sessions in person. They participated in others remotely by viewing material as Stipan graded it on synchronized and color calibrated projection screens at Technicolor facilities in Los Angeles and London using Technicolor’s Tech-2-Tech service.
“When Wes and Robert were in Los Angeles, they were working on another production, and three time zones away, so the grading sessions happened late at night,” Stipan recalls. “We began at 11:00 PM and often didn’t finish until one or two in the morning. But, it was great to be able to work through the film with them and have them put the finishing touches on it.”
Stipan noted that the filmmakers’ choice to shoot on Super 16mm film helped to create the ambiance of the 1960s. “The film has a Technicolor look; the colors are very lush and saturated,” Stipan observes. “The look of the film solely belongs to Wes Anderson. He is more specific about color correction than any director I have worked with. He made very fine adjustments in color gradation and saturation, sometimes adjusting color by a single point. The result is a very specific look. It works great.”
About Technicolor PostWorks
Technicolor – PostWorks New York, a Slate Media Group company, is the East Coast’s most comprehensive digital motion picture and post-production facility, employing an exceptional team of artists, engineers and project managers to serve our clients through the film and TV finishing process.
Technicolor – PostWorks New York offers one complete source for every post requirement, including data workflows, film processing, telecine/scanning, non-linear editorial and HD picture finishing, digital intermediate and film recording, high-volume encoding and high-speed data transmission, as well as comprehensive film and TV sound services on nine mix stages. For more information, visit www.pwny.com.
About Slate Media Group, LLC.
Slate Media Group is an entertainment technology services company driven to redefine the intersection of technology and creativity. The company provides film and television studios, production companies, independent producers and other content creators with technologies, services and expertise that are crucial to bringing their creative visions to life. At a time when tools and techniques of media production are undergoing revolutionary change, Slate Media Group collaborates with its clients to develop unique solutions to the challenges they face to help them achieve even higher levels of creative excellence and production efficiency.
