The color red was isolated to make it stand out in this ballroom sequence from Van Helsing. All Van Helsing images © 2004 Universal Studios. All rights reserved. Credit: Frank Masi.

A Van Helsing Case Study
Meanwhile, a case study of Van Helsing as part of the Digital Cinema Summit (in collaboration with The Entertainment Technology Center at USC) proved to be very enlightening. Bob Ducsay, producer/editor, Allen Daviau, ASC, director of photography, and Steve Scott, digital intermediate colorist, provided a detailed look at how digital tools were used on set and in the post-production of the May 7 tentpole release. The speakers addressed look management, digital mastering, visual effects and digital intermediate (courtesy of EFILM). Apparently Van Helsing was one of the first instances of introducing DI earlier in the process. The filmmakers intentionally did so to allow more time for color timing and vfx interaction (animatics were blended with temps in dailies). This was vital, since there were 1,200 vfx shots and they managed to avoid any vfx fitting problems, saving additional time and money. Although they used film dailies as reference, previews and interactions with ILM and other vfx houses were scanned last November.

Daviau, who was more than happy to work with the DI process from the outset, said he creatively shot what he wanted. DI was used in a real nuts and bolts way. “It is film’s best friend,” the cinematographer asserted. “It brings such dynamic range to films. We pushed back the highlights and brought back images in shadows,” he said of the monster movie involving Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man.

D.P. Allen Daviau (left) spoke at NAB about his work in Van Helsing. On the right, digital intermediate helped get the red out of Hugh Jackman’s nose.

Through a combination of masking and tracking (a compositor’s dream, according to former compositor Scott), the filmmakers demonstrated how they established the look in a number of sequences.

In a complicated ballroom sequence in Dracula’s castle that was shot in a restrictive church in Czechoslovakia, they darkened the ceiling and brightened the floor, recomposing the image to provide a candlelit look. They additionally isolated certain colors such as red to make them more vivid and to avoid a wash of blues and greens and to remove some fringing.

For a farewell at sunset, which took advantage of a background plate, they used an outer mask for warmth and to hide sun flare, and brightened the grass. This is a perfect instance of interaction between vfx artists and the cinematographer, with the latter getting the last word on the look.

During an early glimpse of Hugh Jackman as monster hunter Van Helsing, his nose came out too red during a cold day of filming. Even though they used da Vinci and inferno as part of the DI process, is it considered vfx? No, says Scott, because you’re merely recomposing the original image and not adding any layers to it.

Bill Desowitz is editor of VFXWorld.