Adam Glasman, senior colourist at Goldcrest Post, uses various DaVinci Resolve tools, including the controls for primary and log grading, HSL keyers and rotoscopy forms.
Blackmagic Design has announced that 20th Century Studios’ new action film, and third in the Kingsman spy series, The King’s Man, has deployed DaVinci Resolve Studio throughout its pipeline.
Produced by Marv Studios, the film was directed by Director of Photography Ben Davis, BSC, and directed by Matthew Vaughn. It is about the origin of the Kingsman organisation, the first independent English secret service, and is situated against the background of World War I.
Most of the plot is kept moderate, but the action sequences are reminiscent of the kinetic energy of the film franchise. For these sequences, filmed by second unit director Bradley Allan, Davis tested a whole range of small camera bodies, settling on the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K and Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K.
Davis installed the latter on a Ronin S gimbal with Blackmagic Video Assist 4K. For focusing, he relied on the ARRI WCU-4 wireless iris control system.
“For me, size is what counts,” he begins.”Lightweight, versatile camera technology like this has changed the way we shoot. Nowadays you can set up cameras in places where bigger ones simply can’t go. In addition, cameras of this format can be placed on mini stabilisation rigs. That changes the dynamics of cinematography.”
Adam Glasman, Senior Colorist at Goldcrest Post, led the DI and final grading. Daniel Tomlinson edited the online version. “The two previous films in the Kingsman series are relatively colourful, bold and shiny. But because of the subject, Ben wanted to go in a darker direction with a subtle, desaturated look and feel,” explains Glasman.
A print film emulation LUT that the duo had originally developed for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” served as the basis for the shooting. Using Goldcrest’s internal colour management system, the LUT was used from the set in post-production.
In order to adapt film excerpts from trenches from the First World War to the subdued overall atmosphere, the editorial staff gave them a desaturated, cooler look, according to Blackmagic Design. Glasman uses various DaVinci Resolve tools for this, including the controls for primary and log grading, HSL keyers and rotoscopy forms.
The opening ten minutes of the film take place in a flashback on the South African veldt during the Boer war. “This section was given a dusty yellowish look to separate it from the rich green English countryside scene to which the sequence dissolves,” he explains.
For a major candlelit sequence set at a banquet in the Russian royal palace and featuring Rasputin, Adam refined the grade to enhance the scene’s opulence. “This was achieved by using curves (saturation vs luminance) plus the HSL keyer to select and increase saturation on the gilt and gold decoration,” he stated.
The final deliverables included Dolby Vision HDR for home and cinema editions and SDR Rec. 709.
