Blackmagic Design announced that DaVinci Resolve Studio was used to complete postproduction, including the final DI and online edit, on this year’s French Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, “Mustang.”
Set in a remote village in northern Turkey, “Mustang” tells a gripping coming of age story about five young sisters fighting a conservative upbringing when some innocent fun in the sea with male classmates has life changing repercussions, including being taken out of school, imprisoned in their own home and prepared for an arranged marriage.
“I was instantly interested in working on a story about women’s issues, especially one told from a female perspective as everything is seen through the eyes of the youngest sister, Lale,” said Yov Moor, the independent colorist on the feature. In addition to using DaVinci Resolve Studio on the final grade with tools including Grouping, the tracker, and masks, Moor also made use of Resolve’s editing capabilities to ensure he completed all his post production work on “Mustang” within just five days.
“A very useful aspect of working with DaVinci Resolve was the fact that we could use both it’s editing and grading toolsets, all from the same application,” Moor explained. “I was able to quickly and easily do things like correct fading on a shot, or even simply test new ideas, all without wasting precious time sending scenes to be reedited and waiting to receive the new results.”
When it came to grading, Moor began not with a traditional brief, but instructions on what sensations director of photography David Chizallet and the director, Deniz Gamze Ergüven were aiming to achieve within each shot.
“The girls in Mustang are always moving, bursting with energy. My grading work was really to enhance this vibrancy and life through color,” Moor added. "Five days to work on any film is challenging, but it’s especially difficult when you’re dealing with a topic as delicate as in ‘Mustang.’ Luckily, the whole creative workflow offered by DaVinci Resolve was completely seamless.”