Onsight Colour Grades Attenborough's Documentary With Mistika

ONSIGHT has chose SGO Mistika's colour grading and 3D toolsets throughout the entire post production of Atlantic Productions' second David Attenborough 3D natural history documentary titled The Bachelor King 3D with David Attenborough.
The complete post production process took place at ONSIGHT's Soho suites in London, using Mistika systems. The Lab and Post departments at ONSIGHT, backed up and processed offline rushes, followed by the conforming and online stages, which included all the technical stereo 3D adjustments in Mistika. Visual effects were also covered by the team for various fixes and elements. Mistika was also used for all the stereo 3D colour grading in the film where the Colourist perfected the production to enhance the sheer beauty of the stark landscape and its characters. The third dimension in the documentary added depth to the narrative elements bringing a realistic essence to a wilderness encapsulated by breath-taking cinematography.
ONSIGHT's COO, Andrew Shelley said: "Mistika’s extensive grading tools provided us with precise creative control, in order to meet the client’s desired look for the film."
The film was produced by award winning producer Anthony Geffen, CEO of Atlantic Productions, who explained:"While making Flying Monsters 3D, David and I became really excited about the power of 3D. We started talking about other projects that might work brilliantly in 3D – and David thought of filming in South Georgia. This spectacular but little known sub-Antarctic island is home to an amazing collection of wildlife including millions of penguins. 3D allows you to literally step inside the King Penguin’s world."
Inspired by the work of BAFTA-Award winning Flying Monsters 3D, the 75-minute film depicts the life of a King Penguin and its existence in severe and challenging conditions in the Sub-Antarctic. The King Penguin is filmed with dedication and detail, as he grows and takes on the responsibility of a family. The adventure takes the audience to a new world where viewers can share the joys, hardship and the fun that these remarkable animals encounter, in order to survive.
Location filming took place in South Georgia, where ONSIGHT designed a customised workflow to cater for the austere climate. They provided cameras (RED Ones and SI-2Ks), accessories, 3Ality Technica Quasar and Neutron rigs and a professional crew. Combined with Ultra Prime and Optima DP lenses, the penguins’ world was filmed over five months. Based on a boat, the experienced 3D crew, including DoP Paul Williams, were faced with weather changes which entailed having to dismantle equipment, rebuild rigs and adapt to every situation that arose. ONSIGHT's Technician ran through the dailies on the boat each day, observed by an inquisitive audience of millions of penguins and colonies of fur and elephant seals. Their camera department also supplied all of the shooting technology used to capture the millions of penguins and colonies of both fur and elephant seals.
Sir David Attenborough added: "I knew it would be mind-blowing, there are a number of extremely dramatic animals in South Georgia that would look particularly astounding in 3D. The difficulties are huge but the rewards are huge too. With 3D you can convey the reality of what’s in front of the camera in a much more powerful way than ever before. To be at the cutting edge, when you know that you are doing something that no one has done before, is exciting and a great privilege. I feel hugely privileged to have started my life on 405 black and white and now to be working in 3D."
The Bachelor King 3D with David Attenborough aired exclusively on Sky 3D TV on New Year’s Eve as a prelude to its upcoming worldwide theatrical release this year.
www.sgo.es
(LB)