Recently premiered on Netflix, ‘Find Me Falling’ is a romantic comedy set against the stunning backdrop of Cyprus. To capture its enchanting visuals, Full Moon Productions relied on Mistika Boutique for color grading, VFX turnaround, and finishing, bringing the film’s magical colors to life.
Directed by Stelana Kliris and shot by DP Stephan Metzne, ‘Find Me Falling’ tells the story of an American rock star, portrayed by Harry Connick Jr., who seeks solace in a remote Cypriot house near a notorious suicide cliff. The post-production process was meticulously managed by Cyprus-based Full Moon Productions, with Mistika Boutique at the heart of their workflow.
Overcoming remote collaboration challenges with Mistika
One of the main challenges in the post-production process was managing the project remotely between Cyprus and the U.S. Panicos Petrides, founder and managing director at Full Moon Productions says that despite the distance, the remote workflow remained smooth and efficient. “The collaborative process involved sharing environments and live session previews in Cyprus. The director and DP reviewed the footage on high-grade FSI monitors, making real-time modifications or preparing notes for the next session.”
Simultaneously, the VFX team worked on clean plates in AP0 linear, which were shared with teams in both locations.
“Mistika’s versioning system for VFX updates, previews, and comments enabled our teams to work flexibly, making adjustments right up to the last minute,” adds Petrides.
Crafting the perfect look
Colorist Ilia Ivanov explains that the project did not come with strict visual guidelines and being a romantic comedy, they quickly decided against any heavy toning. “Set on the picturesque island of Cyprus, with its stunning natural landscapes and vibrant sea colors, we drew inspiration from Kodak Vision aesthetics. This approach resonated well, and we continued to refine the look based on this foundation.”
One of the key requests from the director and the DOP was to ensure the characters’ olive skin tones were captured beautifully, which the creatives incorporated into the film’s overall look.
Significant time was also dedicated to fine-tuning the contrast and adjusting the hues of the sea, grass, and sand to align with Stelana’s vision. “We leveraged the full range of Mistika’s color tools,” Ilia’s notes.
“Personally, I favor working with curves, particularly RGB curves, for their flexibility and precision. Additionally, the Fixed and Hue curves were invaluable in assembling the color palette, delivering excellent results.”
Mistika was essential in managing long shots with changing lighting conditions and integrating blue neon lighting in specific scenes.
Seamless VFX Integration with the ACES Color Pipeline
The ACES pipeline was selected for its predictability and seamless integration with VFX workflows. This approach ensured a consistent visual style and a cohesive final outcome through carefully managed stages:
- RAW Processing and Initial Transformation: The team began by setting the debayer to AP0 linear when working with RAW footage. Otherwise, the first step involved transforming the footage into AP0 linear color space.
- AP0 Linear: Essential adjustments, including exposure correction, white balance, highlight modulation, and selective relighting, were conducted in this stage, leveraging linear gamma for its accuracy in representing physical light.
- ACES CCT: More artistic tasks were carried out here, such as creating atmosphere, applying tonal adjustments, refining local shades, and making non-linear contrast changes. This stage also involved adding textures and grain, as well as handling key global processes that shape the film’s overall visual image.
- Final AP0 Linear adjustments: The team focused on the film’s final appearance by adding texture effects and performing gamut mapping to ensure consistency across different display devices.
- Output Device Transform (ODT): The final step was applying the appropriate ODT to ensure accurate image display on the intended viewing platform, completing the color management process.
Mastering for Netflix with LightBenders in LA
Final reviews and mastering were conducted in Los Angeles with the help of Juan Cabrera from LightBenders. Mistika’s robust workflow facilitated seamless integration of the final VFX, ensuring all deliverables met Netflix’s demanding standards.
‘Find Me Falling’ is a testament to the power of passion, clear vision, collaboration, and advanced technology. As Panicos Petrides concludes, “The film’s journey from concept to screen was made possible by the dedication of the whole team and the advanced capabilities of Mistika.”
