From subtle lighting choices to bold color grading, Colorist Natalia Raguseo discusses her creative process
Fremont, CA, USA – Tuesday, November 5, 2024 – Premiering at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section and winning Best Director in the same category, “The Damned” also screened at the 49th annual Toronto International Film Festival. The latest work by Italian director and screenwriter Roberto Minervini is set in 1862 during the American Civil War. It explores the lives of volunteer soldiers sent to the western frontier, blending deep reflections with stunning visuals.
We spoke with Natalia Raguseo, colorist at Imago VFX in Turin, Italy, who played a key role in crafting the film’s visual style alongside DP Carlos Alfonso Corral. With a background in classical painting and digital media, Raguseo delivered the grade and finished in DaVinci Resolve Studio, with Imago VFX CEO Fabrizio Nastasi overseeing the film’s mastering.
Shot on a large format (LF) digital cinema camera and vintage TLS Canon Rangefinder prime lenses, the film reflects Minervini and Corral’s shared vision, characterized by meticulous composition, a slow narrative pace to highlight the soldiers’ long waits, and lots of close ups of their faces. Wide angle lenses and the bokeh from the vintage optics emphasize the characters’ expressions, creating an immersive atmosphere that highlights their inner struggles rather than the war itself.
“For the film’s color, we opted for a natural palette with cool tones to reflect the inhospitable nature of the setting and convey a raw visual experience, helping audiences to empathize with the protagonist’s inner turmoil,” Raguseo explains.
She adds, “Using primary and secondary color correction tools, including color warper and curves, I refined the natural tones to create a distinctive visual effect that amplified the sense of anguish. We focused on enhancing the feeling of impenetrability in the surrounding environment where the enemy is ever present but unseen, highlighting the dreamlike bokeh from the lenses.”
Minervini’s vision was anchored in historical accuracy and realism. The exclusive use of natural light, constantly shifting in color, intensity, and direction, and shooting during dawn and dusk, contributed to the film’s authenticity.
Raguseo describes an ambush scene as a remarkable example of the artistic use of natural light: “Shot over 15 days, the scene captures the beauty of blue hour. Through the grade, I visually conveyed the light’s progression, culminating in the night’s deep, unsettling darkness.”
The lighting choices were not simply for visual continuity but were a deliberate artistic decision to emphasize the natural fluctuations in light over time. “I carefully monitored the color and exposure using DaVinci Resolve’s printer lights, and the magic mask tool allowed me to isolate and adjust specific elements within the scene, enhancing its evocative quality,” Raguseo notes.
Raguseo also discusses the final snow scene, one of her favorites: “Set in the Montana desert, it shows a military unit splitting up, ending in a poignant moment between the two protagonists who pause in a melancholic, snowy landscape, gazing upwards as snowflakes gently fall on their faces.”
Color grading the snowy scene was a challenge, as snow reflects the environment with subtle variations in color. “The use of vintage lenses added to the complexity, introducing unique reflections,” she says.
Using the DaVinci Color Transform Language (DCTLs), Raguseo gained more precise color control, even on the smallest details, accurately portraying the snow’s natural reflections and the surrounding elements, such as vegetation and the soldiers’ uniforms.
“For this scene, applying the grisaille technique allowed me to deeply study light and shadow, incorporating artistic painting principles to give the film exceptional visual depth,” Raguseo reveals.
The DI grade took place on a seven meter cinema screen in one of IMAGO VFX’s color and 5.1 sound mix suites, equipped with a Barco cinema projector and DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel.
In the suite, DaVinci Resolve Studio’s 4K DCI dual link video outputs are routed via a DeckLink 8K Pro capture and playback card to the Barco projector through a Blackmagic Videohub 40×40 12G router. For 5.1 audio mixes, the outputs are routed through the DeckLink 8K Pro to a Dolby Digital Cinema Processor CP750, with two Mini Converters SDI to Audio 4K transitioning the signal for the room’s 5.1 system.
“During the mastering phase, we used DaVinci Resolve to efficiently create multiple formats for international distribution, including 4K DCI DPX sequences, HD ProRes 4444, and H.264 previews for internal reviews,” explains Nastasi.
“This was a true collaboration of technique, creativity and technology to capture the soul of Minervini’s film,” he concludes.
Director: Roberto Minervini
Produced by: Paolo Benzi, Denise Ping Lee, Roberto Minervini, Paolo Del Brocco
Cinematography: Carlos Alfonso Corral
Production Companies: Okta Film, Pulpa Film, Rai Cinema, Michigan Films, BeTV, Shelter Prod, Stregonia, Moonduckling Films
Post Production: IMAGO VFX
Distributed by: Lucky Red (Italy) and Les Films du Losange (International)
Press Photography
Product photos of DaVinci Resolve, DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel, DeckLink 8K Pro, Blackmagic Videohub 40×40 12G, and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images
About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com
-
Color Grading The Damned to Create Visual Depth in DaVinci Resolve Studio
