Blackmagic Design today announced that “The Inventor,” a stop motion feature film that breathes life into the story of Leonardo da Vinci, was edited and graded in DaVinci Resolve Studio with other aspects of post production composited in Fusion Studio.
Co written and directed by Oscar nominated screenwriter Jim Capobianco, “The Inventor” is a blend of stop motion and animation, featuring a star studded cast including Stephen Fry, Daisy Ridley, Marion Cotillard, and Matt Berry.
As the creative mind behind “The Inventor,” Capobianco played a pivotal role in bringing this ambitious project to life. The film's journey began with a deep admiration for Leonardo da Vinci, evolving into a feature film concept. Seeking the perfect partner, Capobianco turned to Foliascope, an independent animation studio in France, recognizing the need for a fresh perspective on the project.
Foliascope CEO Ilan Urroz and his team embarked on an extensive research mission to faithfully recreate da Vinci's legacy. Detailed archives and da Vinci's own drawings were used to build sets, machines and accessories. Puppets, central to the film's unique blend of stop motion and cartoon animation, were meticulously crafted and designed.
“Films of this scale and complexity represent a massive investment in both time and money, with some projects lasting upwards of 24 months, during which multiple stages of production and post are undertaken simultaneously, mixing both offline and online formats. And all that requires us to distribute the work amongst multiple collaborators,” explains Urroz.
He adds, “We mix all sorts of techniques to tell our stories, and in DaVinci Resolve Studio, we have found an ally to help us do just that.”
Foliascope's Float pipeline, based on openEXR and ACES color management, enabled the seamless conversion of raw images from shooting sets to formats compatible with DaVinci Resolve Studio and Fusion Studio, affording greater flexibility in post production.
DaVinci Resolve Studio was the ideal software for managing all aspects of stop motion editing within a single tool, eliminating the need for roundtripping between multiple applications. This allowed Foliascope to carry out editing, VFX, color grading, sound and export tasks in parallel throughout the production, allowing the production to work faster and more efficiently.
“DaVinci Resolve played a big part in crafting the edit. Our ambition was to bring stop motion and cartoon animation together, so we had to draw up a schedule integrating the two shooting techniques and their interdependence,” reveals Nicolas Flory, artistic director and editor at Foliascope.
Furthermore, Foliascope expanded its workflow to encompass audio mixing and mastering with DaVinci Resolve Studio's Fairlight tools. This included dialogue, foley, and the film's original soundtrack, composed by Alex Mandel.
“From the outset, we wanted to depict Leonardo da Vinci's world as handcrafted and drawn, not CG generated. This, to me, felt very da Vinci. However, to use stop motion on our small budget, I had to conceive it in a more economical but still charming and engaging way,” concludes Capobianco. “Our aesthetic felt appropriate and more timeless, much like da Vinci himself is to us.”
Press Photography
Product photos of the DaVinci Resolve Studio, Fusion Studio and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk/media/images
