Fremont, CA, USA – Wednesday, July 24, 2024 – Blackmagic today announced that the hit Paramount+ series “Geddy Lee Asks Are Bass Players Human Too?” was graded and online edited by Banger Films using DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, color grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software.
“Geddy Lee Asks Are Bass Players Human Too?” is a docuseries where Geddy Lee, the legendary bassist, vocalist and keyboardist from the band Rush, visits world renowned bass players and explores what makes these musicians stand out. Traveling to the homes of fellow bass players Krist Novoselic of Nirvana, Melissa Auf der Maur of Hole, Robert Trujillo of Metallica and Les Claypool of Primus, the docuseries quickly became a global hit.
Production and post production for the show were done by Banger Films, a Canadian film and television production company that has gained a global following of fans by specializing in documentary films and television series focused on music and culture.
Post production for the series was managed by Banger Film’s Post Production Supervisor Melissa Hore, with color correction done by seasoned colorist, DIT and filmmaker Set Shuter.
“The whole vibe of the show was having the audience feel like you were along for the ride. Everything had to feel approachable and give a sense of ‘fly on the wall’ with these musicians,” Hore explained.
“To accomplish this, there was a ton of footage shot, with most of it captured guerilla style. Too much preparation or planned shots would take away the reality of a natural conversation between musicians. The post process was geared towards emphasizing the experience of Geddy connecting with Les, Robert, Melissa and Krist away from the spotlight and in the comfort of their everyday lives,” she continued.
Shot with a large number of different cameras, all footage was brought into DaVinci Resolve Studio for front end management. Following initial editing, DaVinci Resolve Studio was used for color correction and mastering.
“I have been using Resolve for years and the Resolve workflow is a dream. It takes in and works with everything, regardless of manufacturer or format, and you can work in just a Resolve timeline throughout,” she said. “So much better than the old days when working between editing, color, audio and VFX was a nightmare.”
Set Shuter, a director, DIT, colorist and stand up comedian with dozens of films and shows on her resume, was responsible for all color correction for each of the 30 minute long episodes. Shuter also used DaVinci Resolve Studio’s Fusion page when needed for unplanned VFX work, which was easy to do with DaVinci Resolve Studio including color correction and VFX in the same software tool.
“One of my favorite parts of being a colorist is creating the look and feel of a project and then seeing how that plays out through the entire creative process. With ‘Bass Players,’ one aspect that was different was not trying to make things look cinematic. A cinematic look was too much. We wanted natural and realistic, and the look could not distract. Don’t push the image past what it was meant to be,” Shuter explained.
Shuter has used DaVinci Resolve Studio for a large number of films over the years and knew that she could get the natural look needed from the software. In particular, DaVinci Resolve Studio’s 3D keyer and color warper were used constantly to select, isolate and manipulate specific colors to maintain the look no matter what camera footage came in from.
Shuter explained, “Footage came in with different codecs, color spaces and resolutions, which Resolve processed and interpreted with ease. Matching is, of course, part of a colorist’s M.O., especially in documentary style projects. But there were so many variables at play in ‘Bass Players,’ like varying locations with long takes, and often driving but sometimes flying through all sorts of natural light, as well as eclectic and vibrant spaces.”
Continuing, Shuter said, “With Resolve, I found that once I was able to balance and match with my primaries and curves, the color warper and 3D keyer helped me really hone in on the hue and luminance discrepancies that presented themselves. Also, yellows, blues and reds needed extra attention, as well as skin tones in locations where colorful spaces reflected on faces. I found adding a touch of midtone detail also really helped with my skin tone adjustments, too.”
“Resolve makes so much of the job a seamless process. Like kayaking on glassy water. Seamless,” Shuter finished.
Press Photography
Product photos of DaVinci Resolve Studio 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.
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Geddy Lee Asks Are Bass Players Human Too? Graded Using DaVinci Resolve Studio
