Quote:
Originally Posted by HeKS
DaViD,
The documentary video, posted here a number of times now, was taken from the FOTR EE DVD and shows extensive DIGITAL grading done to FOTR at the time. The documentary video is called "DIGITAL GRADING" and in it Peter says that he did a digital color grade on Fellowship of the Ring and they show many examples of it and show the work being done on the computer.
So I really don't know what you're talking about.
Here's the link to the video:
YouTube - ‪Digital Grading ('From Vision to Reality' documentary)‬‏ |
Here's the thing... if you actually watch that video closely, Jackson says this about the use of digital grading right at the start of the piece: "Even though the movie was shot on some amazing locations, I wanted to somehow just shift it - nudge it sideways from reality. New Zealand has got all this amazing landscape which we obviously used to maximum effect. But nonetheless it's still New Zealand - it's still a real country, a real landscape and I wanted to nudge it just slightly to Middle Earth..."
And at 11:30, Peter says: "You know, I really like playing with the colors, because they do affect you subconsciously. Most people won't notice but they help, just as the performance of the actors or the music helps to create a sort of emotional mood to what you're seeing."
In other words, he never intended it the film to look exactly like reality, where all snow is pure white, all skies are pure blue, etc. When you watch the video, the real water around the Hobbiton set was muddy green/brown, and they made it bright blue. In other words, they altered reality to create a fantastical environment. Since those are his creative decisions, it's hard for us as observers to judge their validity.
At 2:47 in the featurette, Peter also says: "We ultimately did about... you know 70% of Fellowship went through a computer..."
So right there he says that the whole film didn't go through digital grading. Only 70%. And we don't know if he was talking about the theatrical cut or the Extended Edition - it isn't clear. Now consider, as RAH said, that Fellowship was really the first time they'd been able to do Digital Grading. This was in late 2001/early 2002 for the Fellowship: EE, when they were still in the thick of actual production on Two Towers and Return of the King. They later had the opportunity to digitally grade all of Two Towers and Return of the King, including the EEs. So it's quite possible - and based on what Jackson told Harry Knowles (as posted today on AICN), I think likely - that this new 2K remaster of the Fellowship: EE was the first time since late 2001/early 2002 that Jackson and Lesnie really had the chance to go back and fully give the Fellowship: EE a complete digital grading to their satisfaction.
Now, we know they made changes to the color timing. Everyone has said they did, including me in my initial review and virtually every other review as well. The question was, were they an error or deliberate. My sources told me they were deliberate changes, made by the filmmakers themselves. But the assumption was quickly made online that it was all done haphazardly, or it was a technical mistake, based on the early screenshots. But I was told that Jackson and Lesnie were personally involved in the new Fellowship: EE remaster and grading - they made the decisions, they approved the master. Lesnie further approved the check discs. Still, when this controversy erupted online, RAH and I alerted WHV and Wingnut that there might be an issue and they should look into it. It also appears that Harry Knowles e-mailed Jackson directly about it. Wingnut looked into it, confirmed that yes, the discs look as Jackson and Lesnie wanted them to, they reported that back to WHV, and the studio issued their statement yesterday. And Jackson himself told Harry (and Harry has reported) thusly:
"Earlier this month there was some hub-bub about some of the Blu Ray forums that the FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING EE Blu-Ray mastering was completely ****ed with an ugly green hint over everything, oblitering any real whites and messing up the entire gorgeous color palate of the film. I wrote Peter Jackson to alert him to the rumors. Peter had Andrew Lesnie look into it – you see… of the 3 films, FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING EE was the only film of the trilogy that did not go through the extensive and expensive Digital Color Grading process. They did that for this. Peter had seen the new mastering of FELLOWSHIP – in fact anyone that had seen it on HD broadcasts recently was looking at the gorgeous master sans any tinting. In Peter’s opinion the film has simply never looked better – including theatrically, because this new digital color grading was something that Peter wanted from the very beginning."
So yes, there are changes. But is it so hard for people to believe that Jackson and Lesnie weren't just as careful now, when they digitally graded the new remaster, as they were back in 2001? And is it so hard to believe that perhaps they learned things or made choices during the later grading of Two Towers and Return of the King that made them re-think or change some of the grading choices they made originally on Fellowship when they finally had the chance to revisit it? To me, the idea that Jackson would just let shoddy work pass is far-fetched. It was one thing back when the theatrical cuts came to Blu-ray - Jackson wasn't yet committed to working with WHV on The Hobbit, so he was less directly involved. Jackson and Wingnut's previous relationship was with New Line, not Warner. But now, they're all in business together. Warner has a massive investment Jackson's work, and significant incentive to keep Jackson happy, as they're all involved in a project that's going to last probably another 3 years by the time we get past the theatrical releases of both Hobbit films, and the eventual Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D releases, not to mention likely an ultimate box set of all the Rings and Hobbit films.
Still, we all know that mistakes can happen. I too was concerned when I saw the originally posted screenshots. But when I saw the actual discs on a properly calibrated display, it was clear to me that the screenshots just weren't telling the complete story, and that this issue was being greatly overblown. That was also RAH's experience, and many other reviewers have now made similar reports. Yes, there are changes. But all this talk of ugly "fades to green" are overblown. And now that people are actually seeing the discs themselves, that seems to be the prevailing sentiment.
That's not to say that some very fine and smart people still don't like what they see on the actual discs, and they're absolutely entitled to their opinion. But either way, as should surprise no one, a lot of the ugly, nasty personal attacks and debate in the online forums over the last three weeks have been really uncalled for. You know, it's worth remembering that we all share a love of these films - or at least of film in general, and of home theatre. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to discuss this stuff and still be respectful of one another. I hope people take this opportunity to take a deep breath, and realize that a lot of the recent behavior was excessive, and maybe remember why we're all so passionate about this subject in the first place.
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