Amazon Original Documentary I Am: Celine Dion Graded by Goldcrest Post Using DaVinci Resolve Studio
Image credit – Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios © Amazon Content Services LLC
Blackmagic Design today announced that Amazon Prime original documentary “I Am: Celine Dion” was graded by Colorist Evan Anthony of Goldcrest Post using DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, color grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software.
The film provides a behind the scenes look at the singer’s struggle with a serious illness, shown alongside her illustrious career in music. The inspirational documentary is not only a love letter to Celine Dion’s fans but also a demonstration of her strength.
Anthony began his process by sitting down with Director, Academy Award nominee and longtime collaborator Irene Taylor, as well as DP Nick Midwig, to talk about the film and its feelings and intentions.
“Evan has graded several projects I’ve shot, and he’s incredible when it comes to creating an organic filmic look but still holding onto the authenticity of an intimate verité documentary,” noted Midwig. “The entire film was shot with natural lighting, which was important to me to portray Celine in a non manufactured way typically seen in celebrity music documentaries, so I had to lean on Evan quite a bit to help shape the visuals. What I love most about working with him is the fact that he is truly engaged with the subjects and uses the grade to help elevate the story.”
“We talked about Celine’s struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome and being respectful of the physical demands it has put on her,” Anthony said. “One of the first scenes we used to help design the overall look featured Irene interviewing Celine after her physical therapy, and you can feel a raw and vulnerable side to her. In a lot of ways, this set the mood for the rest of the film.”
“To achieve the overall look of the film, I used a film color density DCTL (DaVinci Color Transform Language) in combination with color warper, HDR wheels, and film emulation DCTLs, which I also used to create a custom LUT,” Anthony explained. “I generally spend time creating three to six color design options to start, and with this film, we focused on a blue, green and turquoise color palette.”
According to Anthony, a memorable scene featured Dion walking the audience through her storage building. “It was important to keep the look we wanted of Celine and also show the memorabilia in its true colors,” he noted. “I used DaVinci Resolve’s color warper a good amount to maintain her skin tone, really finetuning hue for specific saturation against the vibrant reds, golds, silvers and the glitter of dresses made by legendary worldwide designers.”
As with many documentaries, the film includes a variety of footage sources, such as early family videos, clips of performances when Dion was very young, and segments from mega concerts. “Utilizing the extensive tools within DaVinci Resolve Studio, including edge detection and noise reduction, was crucial for cleaning up and enhancing this footage,” said Anthony.
“I really love the story Irene told and how she told it,” Anthony concluded. “This is not a typical celebrity documentary as it really shows Celine Dion in a very raw and vulnerable state. It’s a very personal look into a very public life.”
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