Goldcrest Post Delivers Jason Bourne Post Production with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Fremont, CA – August 3, 2016 – Blackmagic Design today announced that Goldcrest Post London used DaVinci Resolve Studio to complete the edit, color grade and HDR finishing for Universal Pictures’ “Jason Bourne,” in which Matt Damon returns to his most iconic role. The film is currently in cinemas.
For the feature, the Goldcrest team provided full post production services for director Paul Greengrass, with Sinéad Cronin and Rob Pizzey, respectively, delivering the online edit and grade. “Working on the project together in DaVinci Resolve Studio allowed us a great deal of fluidity, and we were able to collaborate closely throughout,” reveals Cronin. “I could conform and work on the online edit in Resolve’s Media and Edit pages, whilst Rob could render a grade on the Color page at the same time.”
Cronin explains that the seamless DaVinci Resolve Studio workflow was critical. “There’s so many action-packed scenes, with extended chase sequences and set pieces, so the scale of postproduction was huge; for example, one of the reels had more than 1,000 cuts. Timescales were tight, and I would work on a section of the online edit, knowing that Rob would be in the theater ready to grade with the client. Everything we did in Resolve was in real time, which really helped us to work to a tight deadline.”
Having previously collaborated with Greengrass and cinematographer Barry Ackroyd on a number of films, colorist Pizzey already had an extensive understanding of how the team wanted to use the grade to enhance the action. “In ‘Jason Bourne,’ there are sequences in Las Vegas, Athens and Berlin and an important part of the grade was to differentiate the mood and feel between these locations…but to ensure the overall aesthetic of the series remained in evidence,” he explains.
“Barry and I worked during preproduction to produce templates in Resolve from test footage, which would then act as a base for Barry to check his lighting on set, and for processing the rushes. Deploying Resolve at the preproduction stage meant that when we came back together to do the final grade, the sessions were extremely smooth and productive.”
The grade was also used to enhance the film’s editing, particularly in the action sequences. “One of my favorite sequences in the film to grade takes place in Athens, which was shot entirely at night. As the action is on the streets, which are filled with layers of smoke, and a fire unfolds, the edit intercuts scenes from a CIA control room,” explains Pizzey. “I kept the CIA room very cool and clinical, with a blue palette to differentiate from the warm, realistic riot scenes. Using Resolve’s grading toolset with some shape work, I was able to reflect some of the warmer tones from the screens in the control room back onto the actors’ faces. It was a very subtle, but extremely effective contrast within a key sequence.”
The Goldcrest team worked in full 4K throughout the project, and also deployed DaVinci Resolve Studio’s new high dynamic range capabilities to deliver the film in HDR for the first time. “HDR isn’t just a new delivery format, it’s a fantastic creative playground for production teams to deliver a completely new experience to audiences. These capabilities, combined with the NLE toolset and grading capabilities, make DaVinci Resolve a complete story telling device,” concludes Pizzey.