Fotokem Budapest Uses Baselight for Near-Set Grading of "In the Land of Blood and Honey"

Fotokem Budapest recently used FilmLight's Baselight colour grading system to perform near-set colour grading for In the Land of Blood and Honey, Angelina Jolie's new film on the Bosnian War.

Fotokem Budapest processed dailies for the film, which was largely shot in Hungary. It also hosted screening sessions for Jolie and the film's crew. Those screenings were held in the facility's DI grading theatre, with a Baselight EIGHT used to make real-time grading adjustments. Working under the guidance of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Dean Semler, Senior DI Colorist Benedek Kaban refined the look of the dailies and applied special colour treatments.

"The subject matter of the movie is very hard," recalls Kaban. "Dean wanted a stark look. He shot still photographs every day during production and sent them to me as a grading reference."

After grading the dailies every day, Kaban went on the set personally to discuss color related questions with Semler during lunch-time. Equipped with a Baselight on a MacBook Pro, he was able to apply color correction in the video village in real time.

"Dean was particularly concerned about a scene that was shot day-for-night," Kaban recalls. "On Baselight, I was able to achieve the look he wanted with great results—he was impressed. I hadn't worked with Dean before and that was the beginning of our friendship."

After the production wrapped, Kaban spent an additional week with Semler grading a 4-hour rough cut version of the film. That grade allowed them to set a near final look for the film prior to final post production.

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