Deidre McClelland, CSI, worked with animator Adam Elliot in Resolve Studio to produce the deliverables and develop looks capturing the distinctive world of this unusual story.
Memoir of a Snail, written and directed by Adam Elliot, is the story of Grace, a lonely collector of ornamental snails, as she grows up and finds her way in the world. It has earned acclaim worldwide, winning the Cristal for Best Animated Feature at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival's Best Film Award.
Adam Elliot is an animator and storyteller who is well recognised for his hand-built stop motion animation and unconventional characters and stories. His short film Harvey Krumpet won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2004.
Humour and Tragedy
This new project, a feature film, combines optimism and humour with tragical moments. Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland, CSI, is responsible for the colour grade. "I had worked with Adam on previous films and it was an honour to have him approach me again to help bring this beautifully crafted world to life," Deidre said.
Working on a DaVinci Resolve Studio finishing system, she worked alongside Adam and director of photography Gerald Thompson to align their ideas on a look that best captured the distinctive characters and their environments. "A tour of the studio, where I was able to see the character models and the props, helped me to understand the direction of the film, along with a comprehensive storyboard and a specific colour palette for each scene and location," she said.
"Each place carried its own unique palette. Paris, for instance, was portrayed as warm and nostalgic. It was created using a soft edged vignette that gives it an almost sepia toned warmth, contrasting with Melbourne's muted, gray tones that reflect a subdued emotional state."
Keeping it Consistent
She noted that the romantic scenes had a specific look that was captured through the lens, but some of these shots didn't show the intended filtration. “I was able to emulate this look by using some of DaVinci Resolve's FX tools,” she said. “While we used the blur tools and soft edged vignettes to get the romantic look, we also enhanced the red items in the shots with some tracking, keying and colour warping."
Consistency was key to managing the look across departments. The post production facility Soundfirm coordinated the colour space to ensure consistency as shots were sent to and received from VFX vendors. The project involved several different deliverables in varying formats as well. With constant updates and close coordination, everything was kept on schedule despite the inevitable last minute changes.
"DaVinci Resolve was invaluable throughout the project. As updates rolled in from other departments, being to handle everything in the same software allowed me to keep working on the grade without interruption, which helped us stay on schedule," Deidre said. "From our P3 DCP final to HDR and SDR Dolby tone mapped versions, Resolve facilitated every deliverable." www.blackmagicdesign.com
