Research Proposal
The influence of colour correction in modern digital film productions.
Within my research assignment, I want to do research into the colour
grading work done by the production company Molinare. I want to do my research
on colour grading, because it is an aspect of the postproduction process that
really interests me. I have previously done a lot of postproduction myself, but
in different editing programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects
and Davinci Resolve. The reason why I want to do my research on colour grading
is because I have formerly done a lot of colour editing as a photographer, and
the aspect of how a picture can change with the use of different colours
fascinates me.
Editing has gone into a new paradigm with the introduction of digital
film, and therefore I want to research the meaning of colour grading in digital
film, and how it influences the final film result. Colour grading is an aspect
of the post production phase, which has developed a lot in the years of
analogue to digital film. In the digital age, colour grading is associated with
different types of software. The workflow aspects of the colour grading phase,
depends on the software you are using, and this aspect is linked very closely
with the editors perception of the final result. The time and effort you put
into a colour grading session, will in some variation depend on what software you
are using for your edit. This aspect of post production is very interesting, as
the colours define the directors stylistic choices of the final film, so the
meaning of the shots come to their right mind. Using different colour in film
will also have a subliminal meaning to the receiver. Therefore I have chosen a
production company, who have worked on a lot of different projects, and in different
aspects of the film world. By choosing a company with a diverse post-production
experience (Molinare
TV & Film Ltd , 2013), I expect to
compare the workspaces and hardware, as well as software and workflows. In my
research I want to explore the different aspects of the workflows used in
colour grading software, and how the different aspects of colour comes to life
through the editing software. I want to research how the industry works in
terms of colour grading, and how important decisions are made in terms of that
aspect.
I want to do research on a company called Molinare, which is a film and
broadcast post production facility based in Soho, London (Molinare TV
& Film Ltd (2013). For my research I want to conduct
an interview with one or several applicable persons working within the sector
of colour grading. From here, I want to do a semi-structured interview (Deacon,
2007), to get an in-depth view on how the company is handling colour grading
tasks, set by other companies. Molinare is a relevant company to do research
on, since its popularity has grown since its been awarded Best Post-Production
House in 2012 (“Best
Post-Production House,” 2012).
Molinare, as a post-production house, relaunced in june 2011, bringing £7m
worth of net equipment and production tools (ibid.). In terms of this modern
post-production house, I find it interesting to explore the colour spaces of
digital video, and how Molinare uses them in terms of different video formats
with different colour spaces, to promote their work in different situations.
For this part I plan to ask questions about the different chroma subsamplings
4:4:4, 4:2:2 and 4:2:0 colour spaces, difference between YCbCr and sRGB and how
it affects the film and videos for different outputs. Furthermore I would like
to explore the different aspects of film exporting, and how the different
colourspaces changes with different codec and quality.
From my studies on colour grading, I hope to achieve a closer look into
the semiotics of colour in film, and a general use of colour. Through relevant
literature and interviews, I want to take a closer look into the meaning of
different colours used in films, and how this will affect the viewers’ perception
of the film. I hope to achieve a deeper knowledge, through in depth interviews,
explaining the differences of colour being used in the different work Molinare
produce. I expect to gain a deeper knowledge of how colour is being used to
convey film style or meaning, and why Molinare as a media house has, gained
influence and recognition. For my research I intend to use some, or all of the
following references listed below.
Bibliography
Webpages
Molinare TV & Film Ltd
(2013). Avalible at: http://molinare.co.uk/. (accessed at
4. December 2013)
Articles
ProQuest
LLC. Best Post-Production House,
2012. . Broadcast np.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1027077596?accountid=13607 (accessed at 4.
December 2013)
Books
Böck, A., 2009. Video compression
systems, IET telecommunications series. Institution of Engineering and
Technology, Stevenage.
Case, D., 2001. Film technology in post
production, 2nd ed. ed. Focal Press, Oxford ; Boston.
Chandler, G., 2012. Cut by cut: editing
your film or video, 2nd ed. ed. Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City, CA.
Deacon, D., 2007. Researching
communications : a practical guide to methods in media and cultural analysis.
Hodder Arnold ; Distributed in the U.S.A. by Oxford University Press, London;
New York.
Hirsch, R., 2011. Exploring color
photography: from film to pixels, 5th ed. ed. Elsevier Focal Press, Oxford ;
Burlington, MA.
Hullfish, S., ScienceDirect (Online
service), 2012. The art and technique of digital color correction. Focal Press,
[United States].
Van Hurkman, A., 2011. Color correction
handbook: professional techniques for video and cinema. Peachpit Press,
Berkeley, CA.
Wheeler, P., 2001. Digital
cinematography. Focal Press, Oxford, [England] ; Boston, MA.
Deconstruction
The realisation of insanity:
The cognitive struggle of a character
For my deconstruction, I have selected the two films
Fight Club (1999) by David Fincher, and The Machinist (2004) by Brad Anderson.
Both movies are within the same drama/thriller genre, and narrative intent, as
both films raise the subject of cognitive disabilities and also both have a
radically changing plot development throughout the film.
I wanted to deconstruct Fight Club and The Machinist,
because of their narrative structure. The characters in the film experience
similar psychological predispositions, which in both films is expressed through
insomnia and skitzofrenia. The development of the characters through the movies
interests me, as we as viewers are kept in the dark through most of the film.
At the right moment, the viewer realises what has been going on throughtout the
movie, and that the main character is in fact an antihero. This is
caracteristic for the neo-noir genre, and leaves us as viewers in the
unknown.
The two sequences I have chosen to compare, both
relate to the point in the films where the main character realizes that things
are not as they should be. In both films, the main character deals with
schizophrenia prior to having experienced something that changed him. As a
consequence the main character experiences himself being projected on to
another human being; a being that is in fact himself. The Characters in both films
experiences life-changing events, which cause them to develop insanity and
paranoia, and this development raises an interesting problematic, since both
the scenes and the way the movie is crated, should reflect back on the
cognitive development of the character. Furthermore I would like to examine the
visual language used in the two sequences I have chosen, and do a
deconstruction on the creation of schizophrenia and paranoia through filmic
effects.
The two sequences I choose to compare, both relate to
a specific turning point in the film, where the characters becomes aware of
their illness, right before they try to make up for their misdeeds. This
particular moment is reflected in both films as a one-on-one confrontation with
another character.
In Fight Club the realization is illustrated through
the main Characters confrontation with himself. In the scene the main
character, and the audience is being made aware, that the two characters are
the same person. This happens through a sequence of cut scenes, showing the
main character interacting in different scenarios similar to earlier shots
where the main character is Tyler Durden. This effect is used to illustrate a
cognitive change happening to the main character, and to make the viewer more
aware of what is happening in the scene.
In The Machinist, the change is illustrated through a
photograph of the character Ivan on a fishing trip with the character Reynolds. The main character Trevor Reznik finds the
picture at the female character Stevies flat, and blames her for the events
that have happened to him earlier in the movie. At this point Rezniks level of
paranoia peaks, and he starts to yell at Stevie and blame her for the bad
things that has been happening to him, before rushing out the door.
The main reason why I want to deconstruct Fight Club
and The Machinist is because of their narrative structure. The characters in
the film experience similar psychological predispositions, which in both films is expressed through
insomnia and skitzofrenia. The development of the characters through the movies
interests me, since we as viewers are kept in the dark through most of the
film. At the right moment, the viewer realise what has been going on throughtout
the movie, and that the main character is in fact an antihero. This is
caracteristic for the neo-noir genre, and leaves the viewers in the unknown.
I found the realisation scenes particularly
interesting, due to the level of cognitive disturbance presented in both
scenes. The scenarios play out well with the rest of the movie, and the
colours, light and camera angles makes the whole scene come together on a
higher level. I primarily choose these scenes based on the effect they have on
the viewer. The cutting rhythm, colours and camera angles together creates a
specific sad and chaotic mood that the viewer picks up. What really interests
me about the two movies is how they approach the realisation differently. In
The Machinist, Reznik reacts to the realization with anger and blame, as if he
can’t cope with the fact that Ivan is a manifest of himself. In Fight Club, the
main character finds out that he himself is Tyler Durden, but instead of rage
he expresses confusion and concern for his actions.
For my deconstruction I plan to use various relevant
sources to reinforce my points, and I plan to use some or all of the sources
listed below.
Bibliography
Books
Alton, J., 1995. Painting with light.
University of California Press, Berkeley.
Brown, B., 2012. Cinematography: theory
and practice: imagemaking for cinematographers and directors, 2nd ed. ed.
Elsevier/Focal Press, Amsterdam ; Boston.
Browning, M., 2010. David Fincher:
films that scar. Praeger, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Chamberlain, M., Thompson, P.R., 1998.
Narrative and genre. Routledge, London; New York.
Bordwell, D., Thompson, K.M., 2012.
Film Art: An Introduction, 10th ed. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Conard, M., 2007. The philosophy of
neo-noir, The philosophy of popular culture. University Press of Kentucky,
Lexington, Ky.
Jackman, J., 2004. Lighting for digital
video & television, 2nd ed. ed, DV expert series. CMP Books ; Distributed
to the book trade in the U.S. by Publishers Group West, San Francisco, CA :
Berkeley, Calif.
Persson, P., 2003. Understanding cinema
a psychological theory of moving imagery. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge; New York.
Tosi, V., 2005. Cinema before cinema:
the origins of scientific cinematography. British Universities Film & Video
Council, London.
