Hugo's Post Production Services

Director Martin Scorsese’s remarkable new 3D theatrical feature, Hugo, at its core is a celebration – of the cinema and how cinema can connect to the human spirit.

The story is told from the point of view of an orphan boy who lives within the private inner sanctum of a Paris train station in 1930. The boy, Hugo, and the other characters he encounters in this children’s adventure share a common trait – they are damaged souls struggling to mend their broken spirits.

Although the story is principally fiction, it resides in the real yet magical world that fell under the influence of one of France’s most revered filmmakers, Georges Melies, the true father of modern visual effects. In the process of making this landmark film, Mr. Scorsese, and his celebrated team have created a cinematic experience of heart and wonder.

Based on author Brian Selznick’s award-winning illustrated children’s novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the film showcases the extraordinary talent of many of the finest below-the-line artists in the industry today. Led by Mr. Scorsese’s longtime editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, cinematographer Robert Richardson, ASC, production designer Dante Ferritti, and visual effects supervisor Rob Legato, it’s quite evident from the finished results that Hugo became something of a passion project for the filmmakers. For Technicolor, the project unified the company in a unique way.

The Technicolor Foundation, was a lead player in the recent globally-acclaimed restoration of Le Voyage Dans La Lune, Melies classic short, originally released in 1902. Technicolor’s Hollywood-based team performed the digital restoration work from source material that was found to be in shocking condition. The team made new prints and digital masters of Le Voyage, and provided the actual footage to Mr. Scorsese to be presented in Hugo. Additionally, Technicolor, through its recent acquisition of Laser Pacific, and the company’s digital cinema team completed many of the film's post production services including: color-science, editorial conform and engineering support for the film’s digital intermediate and film-out; digital cinema mastering and distribution for both 3D and 2D; international versioning; limited international theatrical release printing in key territories; with home entertainment DVD and Blu-ray replication and distribution planned for the future.

Over the past decade Technicolor has worked with Mr. Scorsese on a number of his most celebrated projects including his award-winning theatrical features: Aviator; and Academy Award-winning (Best Director) The Departed; the Rolling Stones’ documentary, Shine a Light; and award-winning HBO series, Boardwalk Empire.