Color Cooking

Dado Valentic

Who are you? (about yourself and who you work for)?

I am freelance colourist working mainly in London and LA. I am founder of UK’s first datalab MYTHERAPY. I am also working on behalf of several manufacturers in research and development of colour science for digital film cameras; I am demo artist for Iridas and Master Colourist at ICA international Colourist Academy – responsible for stereoscopic training.

What do you do? What does your company do?

I spend most of my time colour grading feature films, commercials and some tv documentaries. My specialty is finishing of stereoscopic 3D projects where I grade colour but also grade z-depth. I have graded BAFTA award winning ‘Flying with Monsters’, worlds first 3D opera ‘Carmen in 3D’, China’s first 3D feature ‘Don Quixote 3D’, 3D commercials for Panasonic, Red Bull, Nintendo, Royal Mail and have versioned several features for international and 3DTV distribution like ‘Streetdance 3D’ and Bugs! 3D

Tell me a little about your previous experience, what you’ve worked on and with up to your current position?

I started my career in post with job at Apple and than later moved to Sony working on technical development side of the latest post-production tools. Then I have managed Avid Hire department of VMI for some time before finally launching MYTHERAPY, LA style grading boutique, datalab and d-cinema mastering facility here in Soho.

What specific project(s) do you have in the works?

Currently I am working with top Photographers and Directors on implementation of colour grading on set, where I take my grading system to the set and grade, create looks and colour manage monitors. This way I enable clients to see how finished product is going to look like there and then. I have just successfully completed such shoot for Christian Dior with world’s leading fashion photographer David Sims and his DOP John Lynch.

What new technology are you working with?

I am working with Davinci Resolve and I am Beta testing version 8. It is a huge step forward in terms of operational speed, workflow and functionality and frankly the only system out there that gives me exactly those tools that I need for my work. My system was custom build by Jigsaw who have went into great length to design, test, build and support a system that is capable performing 4K stereoscopic in real-time on Mac platform and be fully compatible with its smaller portable brother running on a Macbook pro.

What new products/technology are you looking forward to the most?

I am looking forward thunderbolt interfaces and storage as well as grade I class stereoscopic 3D monitor.

During your career in post what was the biggest “turning point” into new technology?

For the past 12 years I have always been riding the wave of new and latest technology and it is hard to point one turning point. But certainly what had the biggest impact on colour grading technology was successful implementation of colour grading algorithms onto GPU and technologies like CUDA.

What is your favourite / least favourite things about working in post?

My most favorite thing is working with the most inspiring, creative and demanding industry professionals around the world. My least favorite thing is that ‘render progress bar’ that keeps moving very slowly.

What gets you out of bed in the morning to go to work?

Morning run, cold shower and a thought of the finest blend of fair-trade sourced coffee beans, roasted and brewed to perfection into a single cup of macchiato by my favorite coffee shop in Great Portland Street.

Dado Valentic - caffeine

London, 19 April 2010 – Central London post facility Mytherapy D-Cinelab recently beat the clock to complete a stereoscopic 3D commercial for Panasonic Viera 3D full HD TVs.

Panasonic struck an unprecedented deal to sponsor all 3D movies in all VUE and Odeon cinemas in the UK. But because the deal started in April, they had only three weeks to come up with a 3D commercial to announce their arrival in the 3D world with the launch of their VT20 3D TV.

The decision was made to convert an existing 2D spot to 3D. “Having worked with Mytherapy D-Cinema on other projects, including the creation of Panasonic’s idents for their sponsorship of ‘Live At Abbey Road’, he was our first port of call,” says Ash Bendelow, group account director at Panasonic’s agency, Brave. “Our close working relationship with Mytherapy’s MD Dado Valentic meant we already knew he was at the forefront of 3D production in the UK. If he couldn’t do it, no one could.”

Mytherapy used existing 2D-to-3D conversion tools alongside their own proprietary systems. The spot was depth graded and 3D mastered on Iridas Speedgrade. D-Cinema mastering was accomplished using the Mytherapy’s D-Cinema mastering system, and testing was carried out using the Dolby 3D Digital Cinema system.

“Working with Dado is like watching a surgeon at work – he’s precise, honest in terms of what can be achieved and able to produce miracles,” continues Bendelow. “Not only is the client ecstatic with the result, but cinemagoers have been blown away by the spot. It really cements Panasonic’s position as the leader in 3D technology. Going forward, we shall be working closely with Dado and Mytherapy to produce specific 3D content and advertising – because he’s the best in the biz.”

JMR Electronics, Inc., the leading value provider of scalable storage systems for video and data intensive applications, announced today that UK based Mytherapy D-Cinelab has purchased their Bluestor™ Extender EXTN-8 PCIe based RAID storage system.

Click the link for more info.

Click the link to find out more

Check out Samuel Maoz’s new movie Lebanon. This movie tells the tale of a lone tank and a platoon of paratroopers during the Lebanon War. The movie is based on Maoz’ own experience during the war. He was a “twenty-year-old novice soldier in the initial days of the first Lebanon War. Traumatized by his time in combat,… h…e for years manifested his distress as outbursts of anger and long stretches of depression.” Maoz’ personal demons caused him to take almost 30 years to adapt his story to a fictionalized tale.

Click here to watch the trailer we mastered for Metrodome.

An enthrawling insight into Benito Mussolini’s private life, a feature about the mistress that stole his heart. We recently completed this trailer for Artificial Eye.

Who knew Mussolini was a ladies man?

Click here to watch the trailer

we recieved an email from Sue Gibson, President of the The British Society of Cinematographers thanking us for our contributuion.

Sue wrote, “On behalf of the BSC, thank you for your wonderful contribution to the event at BAFTA last friday. I would like to thank Dado for all the work he did supplying the DCPs for other companies, and am heartened by the way your presentation was in entirely the right spirit. I do hope to see you both at the BSC Show later this week and look forward to future collaboration with Mytherapy and the BSC. This may have been the last big presentation we give of the Evaluation material, and it’s time now to look forward to the future and the new innovations coming along to test us all. Many, many thanks, Sue Gibson”

http://www.bscine.com

Directed by Jessica Hausner, It received the 2009 Vienna International Film Festival’s Vienna Film Prize for best film. Christine, a wheelchair-using woman, in order to escape her isolation, makes a journey to Lourdes, the iconic site of pilgrimage in the Pyrenees Mountains. During her stay she suddenly does not need her wheelchair anymore, she can walk again, with a stick. Everybody considers this a miracle, but some wonder why God grants her this, and not any other. Within days, however, while still in Lourdes, she relapses.

Click here to check out the trailer.

We have just finished versioning Bugs! 3D for 3D television and created the Blu Ray masters for release.

Highlighting the extraordinary world of insects, Bugs! focuses on the life cycles of a praying mantis and a butterfly from their birth to their inevitable demise in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. More than 40 tropical insects are featured, captured in minute detail for the first time in 3D Large Format; see a caterpillar hatch from a single tiny egg to metamorphose into a butterfly, and watch as a praying mantis snaps up a fly for its dinner. mmm..

Click here to check out the trailer..

Sky has stated it will not accept any 2D to 3D conversions for any content submitted for Sky 3D, writes Adrian Pennington.

In the first release of its specifications for 3D production the broadcaster has ruled that no more than 10% of any programme can be 2D HD.

“To enable the 3D programme to retain the highest quality throughout, a minimum of 90% must be native 3D footage,” Sky states. “Where non-HD footage is utilised, it should sit within the editorial context of the programme. The 2D originated footage must be HD, be of segments not exceeding one minute, converted in a suitable manner to fit the 3D content and be of shots where there is minimal benefit from a true dual camera 3D acquisition.”

To avoid any doubt Sky declares that conversions of 2D HD content to 3D is “not acceptable and may only be proposed by prior agreement with understanding of the editorial techniques and conversion process involved.”

It rules out the use of automated 2D to 3D conversion systems completely.

The technical criteria for 3D content acquisition and storage are detailed and differ in some elements from the basic needs for HD categorisation. This is due to the additional image processing necessary to deliver the dual images within the existing 1080i25 transmission format although audio requirements remain unchanged.

In terms of depth budget, the parameters of 3D behind or in front of the TV screen plane, Sky says the majority of Positive Parallax (into the screen) shots should not exceed 2%.

“Negative disparity (out of the screen) at close points should be used with care and not exceed 1%,” it specifies.

These guidelines it says are intended to deliver managed and comfortable stereoscopic viewing and can be exceeded for specific editorial needs such as graphic content or short-term visual impact.

“Such instances should be constrained to 4% Positive and 2.5% Negative,” Sky says.

The ideal recording format for Sky 3D is on HDCAM SR 4:2:2 x 2 dual link synchronous record (440MB/s) or HDCAM SR individual Left Eye tape, Right Eye tape with synchronised identical timecode.

http://www.tvbeurope.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2084&Itemid=1