Technicolor Goes Nuts in 3D for The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature

• Technicolor’s early work on this 3D project made for a smooth transition to final color grading.
• Starting in the pitch stage, Technicolor kept the sound upfront, letting the music drive story and emotion.

After a successful collaboration on The Nut Job, creative synergies between Technicolor and ToonBox were flowing again for the highly-anticipated sequel. Their well-established relationship was noted by producer Harry Linden, who said, “Technicolor is an extremely creative and supportive partner to ToonBox Entertainment in the creation of The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature; they care about our movie as much as we do.”

Technicolor’s work on the project started early, testing various looks and file formats, collaborating with Toonbox on the color pipeline, and providing calibration and support. “They are more than willing to come on site,” said Linden, “which really helps you get set up and functioning to your best technological levels so that your time spent at their facility is maximized.”

Early involvement meant content was already prepped for color grading and QC’d for 3D. According to Colorist Brett Trider, who graded both 2D and 3D versions, “Cal [Brunker, the director] and I got into a great groove. He is very knowledgeable about the color process and knows the capabilities of the room. This allowed us to achieve his vision as a filmmaker more concisely.”

Because Technicolor Toronto offers complete post services in one location, Brunker was able to jump between color suite and mix stage, where Technicolor teamed with local editorial company Sound Dogs. Re-recording Mixers Stephan Carrier and Scott Shepherd mixed the film with Brunker and co-writer Bob Barlen. “We kept the sound upfront for the film, letting the music drive the story and the emotion of the viewer,” said Carrier. “Cal is a very experienced and decisive filmmaker, so it made our job a lot easier and created a really positive environment.”

Watch the nutty trailer as Surly Squirrel and gang try to save their home from the hands of developers.