March 31, 2014

Post Services on Noah

Technicolor provides post services for Director Darren Aronofsky's Noah.

Director Darren Aronofsky and his celebrated cinematographer, Matthew (“Matty”) Libatique, ASC, have a long creative history together – and with Technicolor.

The director’s two most recent films were Black Swan and earlier The Wrestler – both of which found great commercial and critical success along with major awards around the global film landscape – and both of which were finished at Technicolor.

Their newest project, Noah, was produced for Paramount Pictures and stars Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Winstone, and Emma Watson.  Drawing on source material that explores the dark side of human emotion, the film retells the Old Testament story of Noah, and his quest to survive the biblical epic flood that God had wrought on mankind.

Aronofsky, since his graduation from Harvard University, has always been known for his incredible visual style – but rarely on a scale of presentation like that of Noah.  Photographed on-location against a bleak Icelandic landscape, Technicolor facilities in New York and Los Angeles came together to handle the huge and very complex production and post-production needs for the film’s late March theatrical release in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.

Technicolor-Postwork’s Chris Gennarelli handed the film’s dailies grading, from production photography shot on 35mm, under the supervision of Libatique, with the facility’s Tim Stipan doing the finish digital intermediate grading.  Technicolor’s Hollywood facility handled the film’s 2D and 3D deliverables, include film-out, DCDM mastering for all theatrical exhibition formats.  Technicolor conformed the 3D “dimensionalization” work performed by the films other outside vendors, and delivered home entertainment masters.

Libatique and Stipan oversaw the film’s 3D color-mapping at Technicolor Hollywood, while Technicolor’s Digital Cinema team in Burbank created masters for all North American theatrical engagements. The Hollywood theatrical marketing team finished theatrical trailers for all domestic and international markets.