GRADING CRAFT


POST


“Ultimately, it became about


taking our content and making it truthful and not stylised.”


Tim Masick, Colourist, Tár


What were the main challenges in the grade? One of the film’s central elements is that Lydia is the head of the Berlin Philharmonic. Still, they did not shoot in the Berliner Philharmonie, so we had to change the colour of the seats and surroundings for it to match the Berlin concert hall while also not affecting skin tones. Also, since there were so many angles


within the orchestra scenes, it was a challenge to match up all the shots to ensure consistency. Some night scenes at Lydia and


Sharon’s home were particularly challenging in saving enough shadow detail while maintaining a believable night time feeling. It took a decent amount of windows and dynamics to smooth everything together.


What was the final grading process like? We did a grade for the studio in April 2022 ahead of the final grade in June 2022. This was so Todd could have something to show, but it also gave us good insight into areas that needed more work than others regarding matching and cleaning up. We did the final grade in the theatre


in London. I wanted to maximise my time with Todd and Florian in the theatre, so I’d pre-grade each of the different reels in a traditional colour bay once they were conformed by Stuart Nippard at Company 3 London (usually overnight). I would take the existing idea from the set and then build upon it, bringing it to life. I questioned each scene to see what it needed to align with our principles until it felt good to present to them the following day. The film has less than a thousand


shots, which is a little. However, as we continued grading, every shot ended with detailed elements with an accent or clean-up.


How did the grade serve the story? Everything is balanced - all the details are in the shadows and the highlights. It’s how your eye would see it, and that’s something that we leaned on throughout. It is very controlled, like Lydia. The grade also follows the trajectory


of her life. The beginning is slightly more polished; then, it becomes more raw and undone as the film progresses. Without overt stylisation, it allows


the viewer to interpret the story for themselves. The ending, in particular, is wide open for interpretation based on what the viewer brings to it.


Summer 2023 televisual.com 89


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