The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! 3D

Technicolor London proud to have worked with Aardman production on their latest endeavour.

The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! Pirate Captain sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz for the Pirate of the year Award. The quest takes Captain and his crew from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Based on the successful series of ‘Pirates’ books by Gideon Defoe this animated family romp showcases the consummate skill of Oscar winning filmmakers Aardman and takes the medium of stop frame animation to a whole new level.

The creative team of Director, Peter Lord, and DOP Frank Passingham had strong ideas of how they wanted the many locations to look. Extensive grade tests and set visits during the course of shooting enabled the Technicolor team to create ‘looks’ as diverse as the green gas lit fogs of London Town to diamond hard sunshine of South Pacific islands. Further testing ensured that the final feel of the movie translated in all its beauty to the film and 3D versions.

Technicolor supporting services on this feature included, the Online conform on Baselight, as well as the complete feature grade on Baselight four deliverables formats-
P3 3D (DC) / P3 2D (DC) / 2D Log (Film) & HD Rec 709 (HD & DVD’s). This was for UK / US & International (Eng) versions. Not to mention the teaser and trailer grades. With the focus to adhere to the look and feel that Aardman requests.

“Having worked with Aardman on many projects over the last six years it was a privilege to be involved in their latest project. The long lead in time gave plenty of opportunity to fine tune the grade, and certainly gave me a feel as to the painstaking process of making this type of film” Max Horton (Colorist)

As well as using the traditional clay as an animation medium Aardman also used ‘Rapid Prototyping’, a form of 3D printing to make the 8,000 different mouth shapes needed for the movie.

Technicolor feels honoured to have had the opportunity to work on such a labour of love as Aardman’s The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!