Tag Archive | cream

Moneyball – retro look

Moneyball has a fairly nostalgic look, not one harkening to the time it takes place -the mid 90s- but perhaps the 60s, a time I identify in film by the hue of their greens and blues, fairly dark mid tones, cream highlights, and lowish saturation levels.

This look reminds me of the men in the story who sit at the table as advisers to the Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt). Men who grew up as baseball’s professional format cemented and were part of a generation in awe of Babe Ruth -always looking for that monolithic star communities gather around.

This film takes place in their world. It might be the 90s, but their formative years were in the 60s. This look makes Billy (Brad) feel stuck in that time. And now the Goliaths of economic disparity and a calcifying industry formula have left him little hope for an equal fair shake on the field. He struggles amongst the old guard for a new idea to stay alive, and new direction to make his mark.

Money Ball – Steve Bowen digital intermediate colorist
35 mm Negative (Kodak Vision3 250D 5207, Vision3 500T 5219) to 4K digital intermediate, Kodak Vision 2383 prints

Rock N Rolla – three color palette

Dec6

Rock N Rolla has a few different colors throughout but overall its extreme look has a limited color palette of three main colors: Cream, Sienna, Blue. Some scenes use only two of these hues, some use all three, but almost every shot contains the burnt sienna reds.

Blue/red split with cream highlights.
The mixing board, and everyone’s skin are roughly the same hue, with a sudden jump to blue shadows and cream highlights.

Rock n Rolla – Rob Pizzey digital intermediate colorist
Arriflex D-20 HDV source, digital intermediate post, 35mm anamorphic Kodak and Fuji to print at 2.35 : 1

Rock n Rolla – Rob Pizzey digital intermediate colorist
Arriflex D-20 HDV source, digital intermediate post, 35mm anamorphic Kodak and Fuji to print at 2.35 : 1

Sienna/Cream split.

Children of Men – cream highlights

Nov27

Children of Men’s most consistent feature is the compressed creamy highlights. Be it a high contrast bloom, a shadowy afternoon, or mid day out in the open, the sky and highlights ride very low with no piercing speculars. This ties together war torn chaos and pleasant reprieves under one umbrella of oppressive smog.