BURBANK, Calif. – Roush Media completed the color grading on the feature film “The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone”, which opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, March 1, 2013.
“The Lost Medallion” was written, directed and produced by best-selling author Bill Muir (“The Crossing”, “Invisible Enemies”) and was shot on a Red One by cinematographer Brian Baugh (The Ultimate Gift, To Save a Life). Senior Colorist Keith Roush and the full team at Roush Media were brought onto the project after Bill and Brian were not satisfied from the first color grade they received from their initial Colorist.
The edit was cut in FCP7 using QuickTime Dailies and the conform done in the Nucoda. Starting over from scratch and deciding to work with the R3D files in Log, the color grade was done in Roush Media’s DI theater, optimal for theatrical releases. After adjusting the metadata to create a clean slate for the grade, Roush was ready to bring to life Bill and Brian’s vision. “Working with RED cameras is great since you have the ability to adjust the color metadata settings to give you the full range of what the camera riginally captured,” says senior colorist Keith, “Color grading the film from the RAW files and in Log was ideal since most of the film was shot exterior and required a number of dynamic looks thus giving me more control over the image.”
Filmed primarily in Thailand, Roush enhanced the beauty of the locations’ warm tones, vibrant greens, while adding a hint of saturated colors, all to enhance the natural beauty of the lush tropical oasis. From a color perspective, the reproduction of the naturally vibrant and beautiful colors of the beach presented a challenge. The look that was created was achieved through layer work and secondaries, allowing the audience to experience the natural beauty of the stunning scenery, while creating a hyper-real postcard image to complement the fantasy-based nature of the story.
As the film progresses and moves to the world of the antagonist, we are introduced to an underworld lit by fire and a color palette filled with red, yellow and orange to create the feeling of an evil environment. “Color acts as a subconscious communication tool and can be used to affect feelings and moods. Using color creates emotion visually to create a dynamic story to captivate the audience into this fictional world.,” Keith continues, “We visit many scenes were we enter the world of the antagonist, we wanted to deliver the feeling of fire and evil to the audience using a warm palette. The rich golden skin tones complemented the scene and worked very well with the actors complexion enhancing the warmth of the scene.”
All this subtle color work enhanced the costume and sound design to create the feeling of evil that surrounds the antagonist kingdom. The looks that were created for this film, the vibrant tropical oasis and the dark fire lavished caves, clash against each other to visually present the battle of good versus evil. “It was great to work with Bill and Brian and learning how to paint the big picture by hearing the story from their point of view. At the final review the color palette we choose really pushed the film to the next level,” says Keith.
Roush Media also provided Digital Cinema Mastering for the films theatrical deliverables. They created Digital Cinema Packages (DCP, a digital film print) for both the trailer and feature. Since the film’s DI was also done at Roush, the film’s colorist managed the color and quality of the DCPs so that the audience will see exactly what the filmmakers vision originally was in a theater environment.
Archaeologist Dr. Michael Stone looked for the lost medallion his entire life, and now his son Billy (Billy Unger; Disney XD’s “Lab Rats”, “National Treasure”, “You Again”) has taken up the search in “The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone”. After the medallion ends up in Billy’s hands, a spontaneous wish in a precarious situation takes Billy and his bet friend Allie (Sammi Hanratty; “American Girl”, “A Christmas Carol”), back 200 years to what they realize is a very different Aumakua Island. When Billy and Allie are not jumping off waterfalls, avoiding animal traps, crossing the ocean, sneaking through caves or escaping a prison, they’re facing their nemesis Cobra (Mark Dacascos; “Iron Chef” “Hawaii Five-O”), who wants nothing more than for them all to disappear. With no other way to get home, and the wellbeing of the entire island resting on his shoulders, Billy must discover the key to reclaiming the medallion and its tremendous power. One way or another, this adventure will change Billy, and life on the island, forever.
Roush Media is a boutique post-production company providing finishing services for Film, TV, and Commercials. Catering to the needs of the smaller production company and the independent filmmaker; Among the services offered are Finishing & Editing, DI Color Grading, Digital Cinema Mastering & Deliverables.
For more information, please contact Nicole Garcia at (818) 559-8648, or nicole@roush-media.com.
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