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A Story of collaboration, A Detailed look at The Forge

Announcements, blog Color Grade, mastering and delivery, postproduction, workflow

Case Studies

A Story of collaboration, A Detailed look at The Forge

the Forge poster

The Forge is the next film by Kendrick brothers, creators of War Room, Ovecomer and more. The forge is an inspiring story about a young man’s journey for purpose through faith and discipleship. The Film was set to release in theaters August 22, 2024 and Now on Netflix and others.

Directed by Alex Kendrick, Like many of the previous Kendrick brothers’ films such as War Room and Overcomer, Alex Kendrick wrote the screenplay alongside his brother Stephen Kendrick.

The film was shot on Alexa S35 with Anamorphic lenses in Albany, Georgia, by cinematographer Bob Scott, who has been a key collaborator with the Kendricks, having lensed many of their films over the years.

Color grading was led by Keith Roush in Atlanta at Roush Media’s facility for the HDR and SDR versions. Additional color was provided by Kevin Stratton for the HDR and theatrical releases.

Old Friends, New Journey

“The Forge” marks the 5th official collaboration between Keith and the Kendrick brothers. Keith, having graded many of their projects before, was intimately familiar with their style and the direction they like to go.

“After many films together, I know exactly what Alex likes, and we have a very close bond and collaborate well together to meet that vision. The trust and mutual respect we share for each other is genuine. My clients become my friends, and we share the vision for how the film will impact people and a love of the craft and process. I’m always invited to help kick off production at what the Kendricks call bootcamp. That includes a nice lunch, and then I spend the rest of the day meeting with all my counterparts on the team: DP, DIT, Editor, and some producers to ensure we are ready for the coming battle. My team fully supports the production over the shoot & post with dailies, on-set supervision of VFX and data, and workflow consulting.”

Vision and Look Development

“The film’s look was initially based on the Kendricks’ previous work, ‘War Room’. Since Roush Media had also handled the DI for ‘War Room,’ Keith was able to pull materials from the ‘War Room’ archive to re-familiarize himself with the material. Keith describes the look as follows:

“I would describe ‘The Forge’s’ look as slightly warm, rich, and colorful yet filmic. It features lots of soft highlights with a touch of grit and grain to evoke the urban feel of the story. The film print emulation is rich in contrast without crushing the shadows, allowing dark skin tones to resemble milk chocolate thus keeping the focus on the performances.”

Baselight 6 had recently become available to the in beta, so Keith used a lot of the new tools. From Look Development to subtle Halation, flair and grain texture control. The AI face tracking proved to be an invaluable tool in Keith’s toolbox, enabling quick and precise manipulation of the talent’s faces across the film.

Starting the Grade

Color grading for the film began long before the actual grading process commenced. Keith created a show LUT and then transferred the look into Arri’s ALF4 file format for loading into the camera.

“We discussed the film’s vision early in pre-production, working with Bob Scott (DP) and Alex (Director) to craft the film’s look from a camera test. Developing a look for a project and then having the cinematographer actually use that in-camera during production helps to further refine the process and allows the DP to light the show based on the intended final look, rather than starting with a stock 709 LUT and figuring it out later. This approach ensures that the images maintain consistency across the film and gives us an advantage once color grading begins,” says Keith.

This approach also means that the director, editor & the studio are viewing something closer to the final grade throughout the entire editing process. Once the final grading began, Keith was able to apply the same look he had developed in Baselight to everything, providing a strong starting point for further refining the image.

Workflow

The grade was completed for three versions: HDR, SDR, and Theatrical (P3 48 nits). This presented an interesting technical challenge because Keith aimed for all versions to be virtually identical while maximizing the benefits of each.

“Due to the schedule and how busy Alex Kendrick is, at the start of the DI, we provide a calibrated monitor to the offices of the Kendricks to allow for onsite color grading / remote color review sessions. Sometimes we are in person, and sometimes we do this with remote color sessions. Alex and I like to spot various parts of the film together and set some looks to make sure we are on the same page. I get a feeling for any particular special concerns to look out for as I continue the grade. The foundation of the film was already established before the session, and adjustments were made based on Alex’s feedback.

From HDR to the Theater

While the initial grade was done in HDR in preparation for the film’s eventual release on streaming (svod), “The Forge” is also receiving a large traditional theatrical run. This posed a significant technical challenge for the grading process. The HDR grade was completed at 2000 nits on the new Flanders Scientific XMP650. The decision to master at 2000 nits was made to accommodate the increasing brightness and color accuracy of consumer televisions, enhancing the potential for the future.

Dolby Vision was employed to map the 2000 nit HDR grade down to 100 nits for SDR and 48 nits for theatrical release. Kevin Stratton, Keith’s assistant and an additional colorist on the film, commented, “Going from 2000 nits down to 48 nits, even with Dolby’s smart approach and often excellent image translation across different brightness levels, required more than just a traditional trim pass to maintain the original integrity of the grade.”

The Director Alex Kendrick says “ The team at Roush media truly did excellent work and collaborating with them is always fantastic. They always make our films look stunning and bring the images to life. We are excited to see how audiences around the globe respond to the hard work and care that has gone into the creation of this film.”

Creating CGI shots for film A Christmas Mystery breakdown

Announcements, blog

Creating CGI shots for film is an exciting and challenging process that requires careful planning, attention to detail, and a deep understanding of the technology and tools involved. In this article, we will explore the essential steps involved in creating this CGI shot for the film “a Christmas mystery”, from modeling and animation to the final composite.

Step 1: Concept and Pre-visualization

Before any modeling or animation work begins, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of the desired shot and the story it needs to tell. This involves developing a concept and pre-visualizing the shot. Pre-visualization is the process of creating a rough animation of the shot using basic geometry and motion. This helps to visualize the final product and identify any potential issues that may arise during production.

Step 2: Modeling

Once the concept is established, the next step is to create 3D models of the objects and characters that will be used in the shot. The modeling process can take a significant amount of time, depending on the complexity of the objects and characters involved.

Step 3: Texturing

After the models are created, the next step is to add textures and materials to them. Texturing involves applying digital images or patterns to the models to give them a realistic appearance. This can be done using Photoshop.

Step 4: Rigging

Rigging is the process of creating a digital skeleton for the characters in the shot. This skeleton allows animators to manipulate the characters’ movements in a way that looks natural and realistic. Rigging can be a complex process that requires a deep understanding of anatomy and motion.

Step 5: Animation

With the models, textures, and rigging in place, it is time to animate the characters and objects in the shot. This involves creating keyframe animations, which are a series of poses that define the motion of the characters and objects over time. To help speed up the process we used some motion capture and then clean up in Blender to create these animations.

Step 6: Lighting

Once the animation is complete, the next step is to add lighting to the scene. Lighting can have a significant impact on the overall look and feel of the shot, so it is essential to get it right. Lighting involves adding light sources to the scene and adjusting their intensity, color, and direction to create the desired effect.

Step 7: Rendering

After the lighting is in place, it is time to render the shot. Rendering involves using a specialized render engine called Arnold, to generate high-quality images of the scene. The rendering process can be time-consuming even on our render farm as it involves calculating the appearance of every pixel in the final image.

Step 8: Compositing

The final step in creating the CGI shot is compositing. Compositing involves combining the rendered images with any additional visual effects, such as volumetric fog, haze. This was done using Nuke.

In conclusion, creating a CGI shot for film involves a complex and time-consuming process that requires a deep understanding of modeling, animation, lighting, and compositing. By following these essential steps, we can create stunning visual effects that enhance the story and captivate audiences.