ADVERTI SEMENT FEATURE | TECHN I COLOR
IMAGES The Souvenir is a film heavy on naturalism, but it was a true collaboration of shoot aesthetic and grading from Technicolor’s Jodie Davidson that sealed the look
THE SOUVENIR Technicolor’s Jodie Davidson describes her creative grade for the film The Souvenir, a mixture of 8mm, 16mm and cropped-sensor digital
THE SOUVENIR was written, produced and directed by Joanna Hogg and is loosely based on her time at film school in eighties Britain. The film, which won a Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, places its emphasis on a naturalistic look, and was shot by DOP David Raedeker on a mixture of formats, including Super 8mm film, 16/S16mm film, 35mm digital and reversal slides, and the 16mm HD centre cropped-sensor mode on the Arri Alexa camera (to simulate a 16mm film field of view). Technicolor colourist, Jodie Davidson, sought to support this look through her grade, but also to blend the formats together. “I’m a big fan of the natural look,” she explains. “We didn’t want the grade to distract from that, but to gently enhance it.” Naturalness is, of course, a look that (ironically) can take a lot of work to achieve in the shoot and the grade. It is a theme within the film, as the actors used improvisation to also ground the movie. “Sometimes it’s the hardest thing to do – to keep things looking natural,” continues Davidson. “We needed to keep it authentic to the time, and to the director for her own memory. We were always shaping the image in a subtle way, maybe bringing down the exposure on one side of the frame a little, or
using a light, blurry vignette. We do have a lot going on, even though it might not look like it – and if that’s the case, then I’ve done my job.” If there is shaping in the frame, “then maybe it’s just drawing your eye to what you need to be looking at”. One thing that Davidson did concentrate on specifically was a particular ashtray, which appears throughout the film. “It was the eighties when everyone smoked indoors. The ashtray was a memorable shade of yellow and we had to make sure the hue stayed consistent throughout the film and digital footage” recalls Davidson. GRADING FILM Davidson is hugely experienced. Previous films have included working with director and cinematographer Paul Thomas Anderson on Phantom Thread , which was shot 35mm. Davidson explains: “I’ve had many years of working on film – on dailies especially. So I think grading film and being able to make it feel cohesive with the digital is really my forte. I’ve handled millions of feet of it.” She continues: “If you’re trying to match 500 hours of footage in the dailies world, you become really good at getting the feel for film. You’ve got to be gentle
with it as it can break really quickly if you’re too heavy-handed.” FORMAT CHOICE For parts of the movie, the changing formats helped drive the narrative and move through different stages of the story. For example, the 8mm and 16mm used in the beginning of the film represents the feeling of youth and freedom. By the time you’re are into the 35mm digital, the character is in a much darker place in her relationship. The 35mm digital was used to achieve a ‘crisper’ look. Moving through the formats helped create the mood and show the characters’ journey emotionally. Projecting 35mm slides and
42 DEF I N I T ION | SEPTEMBER 20 1 9
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