DRAMA | THE AERONAUTS
AERONAUTS ARE GO!
PICTURES AMAZON V I DEO
F or the fictionalised account of a historic balloon flight and Steel scaled new heights in design to ground the story in reality. For this, they worked closely with colourist Simone Grattarola, who used DaVinci Resolve to refine the balance of colour and light as the gas-filled craft lifts into the atmosphere. The Amazon Studios feature stars Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne as a daredevil balloon pilot and pioneering meteorologist respectively, and is told in something very close to real time. Grattorola’s relationship with Steel and Harper goes back a number of projects, beginning with the original series of Peaky Blinders as well as BBC drama War & Peace and indie feature Wild Rose . The director and DOP involved Grattorola in prep for camera tests, and tests for makeup or costume, working on-set with the camera company and DIT to bring footage into the grading suite. breakthrough scientific expedition, director Tom Harper and DOP George
“Following tests for The Aeronauts , we designed a more bespoke LUT, not one that was all-singing, all-dancing, but one with an identity that George and Tom wanted for the piece,” he explains. VFX With 666 VFX shots, this look development was going to be useful for monitoring on- set and all the way through the pipeline. “Tom and George wanted something that was quite naturalistic rather than one with a big look to it,” Grattarola explains. “We all felt the look didn’t want to get in the way of selling the VFX. We’re not creating a whole fantasy world. This is based on a real story, so the intention was that the basket and balloon sequences, in particular, feel bedded in reality.” While the flight takes up most of the screen time, there are flashback sequences that show the audience how the characters met and how their mission took shape. To increase the impact of the balloon rising into the open sky, Steel decided to film with a dual aspect ratio. Sequences of
30 DEF I N I T ION | DECEMBER 20 1 9
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