TEAM Edits/Grades Epic Bullfighting Documentary On EQ

The epic tale of David Fandila's quest to become the world's top-ranked bullfighter, 'The Matador', opens in select theatres starting on October 31 at the Angelika Film Centre in New York.
A gripping story of heart-wrenching set-backs and thrilling successes, the feature documentary was brought to its full potential by the editorial and colour correction talent at Washington D.C.-based TEAM.
Ian Rummer, Team Sr. Editor, said: "David's struggle was beautifully captured by the rich HD cinematography and compelling orchestral score. The edit had to tie it all together and deliver an emotional experience. The audience had to feel the passion, not be told what to feel. This was the guiding editorial principle and what sets the film apart as an epic cinematic triumph rather than a dry traditional documentary."
This philosophy also defined the finishing process, for which Rummer switched hats and assumed online and color correction duties. In a film like this, the color correction becomes as important as the editorial," said Nina Gilden Seavey, Producer/Co-Director of 'The Matador'. "The colors are paramount for something as iconic as a bullfight and the look of that and the feel and the shifting light - you need an extremely experienced colorist and a system that can do the project justice."
Rummer said: "We were really tested in this film because of the high expectations that were put on the final look." Rummer turned to the Quantel eQ system to finish the job. The main reason to bring 'The Matador' into the eQ was the color correction capabilities of QColor.
The other important feature of the eQ was its multi-formatting capability. The primary source was HDCam 23.98PsF material. There were also High Definition 29.97i sources, NTSC, PAL, photos and QuickTime movies. According to Rummer, the eQ not only accommodated the variety of formats, but the conversion and processing quality was extremely high.
One of the reasons the color correction was so challenging is because bullfights start at 5pm, when the light rapidly changes. Continuity was an issue when condensing bullfights over a long period of time into a couple of minutes and, sometimes, harsh shadows and bright sunlight dominate the same scene. Rummer created a balanced contrast that emphasized the detail in the shadows while protecting the brighter areas.
Rummer said: "This is difficult to achieve without crushing the blacks and clipping the highlights, which results in losing significant information. The colour grading tools, combined with the keying, compositing, tracking and animation abilities of the eQ offer a comprehensive toolset you don't get in traditional colour correction suites. Ultimately I think we successfully delivered a stylised finished product that reinforced the artistry and passion of the story because I was able to efficiently tackle the individual challenges of each shot while maintaining consistency."
'The Matador' is distributed to select theatres in North America by City Lights Pictures. It is produced and directed by Stephen Higgins and Nina Gilden Seavey. The executive producers are Scott Dunklee and Kristie Nova. Christopher Jenkins and James Morton-Haworth are the directors of photography. Ian Rummer served as editor. Audio design and mix was provided by Scott Rhame and John Califra composed and orchestrated the film's score.
Further information is available at: www.matadorthefilm.com.
(KMcA)