The Celestine Prophecy goes DI

Michael Givens
Cinematographer
Latest Project: The Celestine Prophecy
F&V: Why was there a digital intermediate on a low-budget film?
Givens: I suggested a DI partially because we could save money in
special effects. For instance, there’s a scene where supernatural auras
of energy are emanating from plants. I knew that we could create that
effect by filming the plants and painting in warm colors in DI. I also
suggested shooting Super 35 with a three-perf pull-down. That trimmed
25 percent off raw stock and front-end lab costs without compromising
image quality, because you record the timed DI files directly onto
four-perf intermediate film.
F&V: How else did you save costs?
Givens: I was shooting with [Kodak Vision2 500T] 5218 film, frequently
in nature’s light. At one location, we were only allowed to set up
lights in one corner on the floor and we had to move quickly. We
created some broad, soft light and I painted in shadows in DI. It’s
important to keep everyone on the same page. I took digital stills of
each setup and touched them up with Photoshop. I e-mailed those images
to the dailies timer at CineWorks [in Miami ] as a visual reference. I
also used them to show the DI colorist what we had in mind.
F&V: Where was the DI done?
Givens: We chose iO Film in Los Angeles. Adam Hawkey was the colorist.
We scanned and timed the film at 2K with the images projected on a
cinema-sized screen. I’d say things like, "Show me what it looks like
with a bit more yellow in the blacks," or "Crush the blacks, bring the
edge down a little bit and pop the highlights. Now put some blue into
the highlights."