Autodesk Solutions Reign King in New King Kong Film

Autodesk Solutions Reign King in New King Kong Film

Ideas for the Iconic 1930s Adventure Realized Through Autodesk Technology

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Dec 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Color grading for Universal Pictures' King Kong was realized using media and entertainment technology from Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK). Visual effects facility Weta Digital relied upon Autodesk's Discreet Lustre system to digitally color grade the entire film.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO )

Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Letteri summarized Weta Digital's use of the Discreet Lustre system on the film: "Weta Digital used the Discreet Lustre system as part of the entire visual effects color grading process while making King Kong. We used it to grade at the front end, before the computer-generated elements were added, and also at the very end of our pipeline to grade the final images. As the elements came in, the Lustre system helped us work out the look for complex environments like Skull Island and 1933 New York."

Lighting and color are key aspects of King Kong. The Discreet Lustre system influenced the film's creative process. The filmmakers knew they had control and flexibility in the digital grading post-production phase, which gave them more freedom while shooting. For example, when shooting took place at various times of day, the lighting could later be corrected with the Discreet Lustre system to match the preferred lighting and time of day.

With five Discreet Lustre systems installed at Weta Digital in New Zealand, digital colorists were able to explore numerous options for the film's look. "Color Bibles" were created in the Lustre system. These Bibles contained two or three digitally color graded shots from each of the film's scenes, establishing color references for the final color grade. The end result is a stunning, stylized film in which color greatly enhances the viewer's experience.

Supervising Digital Colorist Dave Cole said, "Establishing the right look and feel for King Kong was an essential part of the storytelling. We achieved this with the Discreet Lustre system. This extremely powerful tool made it possible for the film to appear realistic yet stylized. The grading capabilities of Autodesk's Discreet Lustre system have been used extensively, allowing the creative desires of the director, director of photography and visual effects supervisors to be realized."

For further information please visit www.autodesk.com/kingkong.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With over seven million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, media and entertainment and wireless data services fields. Autodesk's solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage by becoming more productive, streamlining project efficiency and maximizing profits.

Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California. For additional information about Autodesk, please visit www.autodesk.com.

NOTE: Autodesk, Discreet and Lustre are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

CONTACT: Roohi Saeed of Autodesk, +1-514-954-7296, or roohi.saeed@autodesk.com.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Autodesk, Inc.

CONTACT: Roohi Saeed of Autodesk, +1-514-954-7296, or
roohi.saeed@autodesk.com

Web site: http://www.autodesk.com/

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