Horror Film Shelby Oaks Completed with DaVinci Resolve Studio
DaVinci Resolve Studio used from preproduction through post by film’s DP and Colorist Andrew Scott Baird.
Blackmagic Design today announced that the upcoming NEON film “Shelby Oaks” used DaVinci Resolve Studio in all facets of the film, from camera tests and look development in preproduction, dailies development in production and final color correction and finishing in post.
“Shelby Oaks” follows a woman’s desperate search for her long lost sister, a famous YouTuber who investigated paranormal happenings, who falls into obsession upon realizing that an imaginary demon from their childhood may have been real. Recently bought by American independent film production and distribution company NEON, “Shelby Oaks” is the first film by popular YouTuber and film critic Chris Stuckmann and stars Camille Sullivan, Keith David, Brendan Sexton III and Michael Beach.
Andrew Scott Baird, who was both the DP and colorist on the film, knew going into preproduction that DaVinci Resolve Studio would be part of every part of creating the film. Baird worked closely with editors Patrick Lawrence and Brett W. Bachman, ACE, who used DaVinci Resolve Studio for proxy workflow and onlining.
Baird explained how he used DaVinci Resolve Studio for both his DP and colorist tasks: “Before preproduction, I knew we were going to do the final grade in Resolve, so I wanted to use the software from the very start to build the look we all wanted. It was an ever evolving process, but having those tools so easily available throughout preproduction and production allowed us to see how far we could push the image in certain environments to maximize our output with whatever limitations we were dealing with.”
Following production, Baird used DaVinci Resolve Studio for extensive color correction, conforming and preparing the film for international audiences.
He explained: “Grading the film was a pleasure, and Resolve has many tools that helped us to elevate our looks. Chris and I spent time with Resolve dialing in the global look for the film, which was a customized 2383 inspired powergrade. We had done most of the development work during production, but we had to make a handful of adjustments to really dial it in in post with Resolve when all of the scenes were laid out in front of us.
“As soon as the picture was locked, we moved to Resolve to bring the edit online and conform the film. We knew we wanted to finish in Resolve, so taking the time to conform before color work began was time well spent.”
Throughout post, Baird used DaVinci Resolve Studio to easily jump between various formats and standards.
He explained: “Our proxies were all HD Rec.709, but we had decided to move to ACES when we brought the project online. As the VFX shots started coming in, we used Resolve to transform the VFX to Rec.709.
“At the time, we didn’t know if we were ever going to finish the film in HDR, so we focused our resources on the 4K 709 version of the film. After NEON picked us up, we knew we would need to do an HDR trim, so I continued in ACES for the HDR pass. But when the reels were locked for HDR color, I moved over to DaVinci Wide Gamut for the delivery. All of these changes are very simple in DaVinci Resolve.”
“Shelby Oaks” hit theaters October 24th, 2025.
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