Happy Feet Colour Graded Down Under

Digital Vision, a leading developer of advanced digital media applications specialising in film and video solutions, have announced that the highly anticipated Warner Bros. feature film 'Happy Feet' was graded on the Nucoda Film Master at Animal Logic in Sydney.
The first fully animated feature produced in Australia was released on November 17.
Happy Feet follows the trials and tribulations of Mumble the penguin – events which created a few trials of their own for the Animal Logic team as the film is set entirely on ice and snow. The team’s priority was to achieve a vibrant, colourful look by ensuring accurate, crisp detail in the whites and blacks of the penguins. Rather than approaching the film as a traditional animated project, Animal Logic instead treated it like live action, and the Nucoda Film Master played a major role in this process.
Eric Whipp, Animal Logic’s Head Colorist elaborated: “All the things you do in a live action film such as vignettes, and keys and little spots of light, were all used in the grade as well as other effects, like blurs, diffusion, sharpening etc. George Miller, the director, was able to sit in real time and grade the film to get the required look. Without the Film Master, that process may have taken longer, or have been put in the ‘too hard – not enough time’ basket at the compositing/lighting stage.”
Adding to the grading challenge on Happy Feet is that Mumble is grey, which made the basic balance of a shot very complicated.
“For this reason, we delved into the original compositing mattes for the grade,” Whipp added. “In the end, we used over 2000 mattes in the grading process, right down to individual character mattes, eye iris mattes and eye white mattes. Being able to separate and isolate elements of a shot was crucial to the grading process of this film and we were able to produce and correct in the grade in a matter of minutes and not weeks.”
Xavier Desdoigts, Director of Technical Operations also praised Nucoda: “Film Master helps provide us with the creative and interactive solutions we need. It is also helping us become more efficient in the finishing stages of our projects by giving us fast interactive options with Nucoda rather than spending more time in lighting/compositing. Also, Digital Vision has a very good understanding of our industry which meant that critical issues were treated with the utmost attention.”
One of the world's most highly respected digital production companies, Animal Logic produces award-winning design, animation and visual effects solutions for the film, television and advertising industries. The company has a studio in Sydney, Australia and a production office in Los Angeles.
(DS)