Cineground's Simon Allard and Nguyen Anh Nguyen reveal how they used Kowa lenses and an atypical approach to grading to give their new sci-fi cyberpunk thriller, "Temple" a unique vintage look.
Created by the same indie team behind "The Akira Project," a viral trailer which garnered more than three million views online in 2014, "Temple" is a new science fiction cyberpunk thriller that many have been very excited about.
Set in 2085, the short tells the story of Oz, a health services employee who must find a way to survive in a world where a genetic virus and cybernetic beings are threatening to extinguish the human population.
Postproduction supervisor Simon Allard and director Nguyen Anh Nguyen used DaVinci Resolve Studio to grade the final film. Together, they made a surprising choice for the final result: deciding to steer clear of the typical cold blue and green tones found in many science fiction feature films, they opted for a warmer color palette, tungsten lighting and a vintage aesthetic instead.
Humanizing Science Fiction
"I watched every sci-fi movie out there to prepare myself for this project, and realized that most were very clean, shot with these gorgeous super expensive master anamorphics, which leaves everything looking sterile," begins director Nguyen Anh Nguyen. "I wanted the film we made to buck that trend. I wanted to give science fiction a makeover, combining an old vintage look with a high tech world."
One of the main influences for the look came from the decision to shoot "Temple" with anamorphic vintage Kowa lenses from the early seventies, the same Nguyen had used to great effect on the trailer for "Akira".
"Anh actually pushed the shoot back twice just to make sure that he could have those lenses," remembers Allard. "They're really highly appreciated because they're not that sharp, and enhance the vintage, seventies look we'd wanted to give the film."
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