All of Postales‘ color timing was done at Optimus in Chicago under the master guidance of Ken Wald. After 5 sessions of around 5 hours each, we achieved our first pass. Both Dan Fischer and Evan Smith sat in, lending each other a hand when the tediousness of the work became wearying. “Ken is a magician,” said Fischer, “fantastic at his work. He can get in a groove and move fast while keeping a wonderful eye out for fixes.” While this process puts an undeniable polish on the film, the work is focused on the minute details as much as it is the overall picture…often times these guys would spend 15 minutes staring at a single image and then repeating that process over a 5 hour session.
Ted Sianis, our graphics guy, worked his own magic…much like a super cool, high tech pencil eraser, but with computers! Ted helped to conceal a handful of problem shots: adding mud to a water spicket and removing lights that found their way into the shots. In one instance, he even added a building to the valley skyline in order to cover up a few lights. Not only does his work look excellent, but he was a real trooper, patiently working with Dan who made several return visits as they worked their way through a handful of technical issues (Codec problems, screen ratio, timing). These complications were in part due to the fact that the film was still being tweaked in the editing room while he was working. No sooner would he be done, but a shot length would change and we would find ourselves back on Ted’s doorstep. Dan admitted later that together they probably learned more about new codecs across different platforms than he may ever need to know!
Thanks again to both of these fine gentlemen, Ken Wald and Ted Sianis, for their tremendous work. Be sure to check out the latest photos and webisodes, and keep your eyes peeled for updates regarding Postales at IFP Film Week, coming up next month!
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