sderlug

For the past 12 years or more I’ve had a front row seat into what it takes to win two Academy Awards (with three nominations) and well, to use a hoary cliche, there is no secret. Everyone @breakwaterstudios works incredibly hard and in nimble ways; at the bleeding edge of what’s technically possible with just a small crew and the will to make something special over and over again. @thelastrepairshop is a testament to music’s ability to heal, the importance of free public music education (he types as he glances with renewed zeal at his dusty tenor sax🙄) and a demonstration of the power of the short form doc medium itself! I saw many people wiping away tears at the screenings. There’s a lot more I could write, about the 4 year journey of this particular film, or the role of independent color correction in bringing it about🙃, or the extensive camera testing we did with the @arri #alexa35 prior to its maiden voyage. But I have nigh the space on this instagram post! Thank you @bgproudfoot @krisbowersmusic for including me in your vision and to everyone at @breakwaterstudios. Congrats! You’ve more than earned it. Спасибо всем ❤️ !

I have over 10 feature length projects locked up on the festival circuit, so whenever one comes out its a cause for celebration! @samnowmovie is on @criterioncollection channel now to stream! This is a really special film in so many ways: aesthetically, morally and socially. Here’s the pitch: A young camera-obsessed super 8 filmmaker (director @reedharkness ) is living an idyllic childhood in the suburbs of the PNW when one day his brother Sam’s mother suddenly disappears from the family - Without a note, without a trace. This film bears witness to the fallout and psychological turmoil in the most interesting way possible, spanning decades on various media: self processed super 8, stop motion, super 16mm, stan brakhage style experimental film, hi8, dvcam, betacam, canon, @arri alexa and more. I love this film for its dedication to craft, its patience, its restraint, its vulnerability and most of all for its ability to sit compassionately with really difficult (and I would say intractable) problems, without resorting to pat solutions. I can’t remember a film about mental health being so real… well, hardly ever. Working on this was a dream! The further I get in my career the more I want to be involved in vital cinema like this. Films you can live by! It’s truly a filmmaker’s film and I can’t recommend it more highly. This film will be playing at @losfeliz3 on November 28 with director in person. See ya there! ❤️

A good half of the work I do is sadly tied up in the festival circuit and distribution, if not more 🥲, but today is a happy day because “The Alleys” a Jordanian Arabic crime thriller I colored is out in everywhere on @netflix ! Nothing gets me going more than working on vital, interesting cinema and this is a nuanced, complicated film! I did a write up on it on sderlug.com if you want to read about the lensing and the process of color a bit. written and directed by @bghandour Producer: @yousef_abedalnabi Dp: @justinphamilton #color #colorcorrection #narrativefeature #featurefilm #jordan #arabic #davinciresolve #thealleysfilm #colors #colorgrading #filmlook #film #alexa #cookelook #cooke

On a recent trip to the @gettymuseum I was walking around with a friend and noticed that every other room has videos that @mustafa.toby.eck @eitanalmagor_dp and I had worked on! This is the result of years of fruitful collabs! I had just kinda forgotten 🤯🥹 One of my favorite videos we’ve done is for an exhibit currently on display about Van Gogh’s “Irises.” This exhibit is about his famous stay in Saint-Remy-de-Provence in Arles in May 1889 (love to say that name arllll). Van Gogh was recovering from the famous self mutilation incident 👂and was very fragile. He found a gorgeous spot to recover! (If you ever visit the museum with me i will loudly insist to call him “van gock” and correct you on the pronunciation as well!) This is where he painted “starry night.” The Getty put together this amazing exhibit of his study of the Irises that grow on the grounds there. This includes restoration of the fading purple pigments. Fascinating to see! To set the look for the video we even put some of his paintings up with images that @eitanalmagor_dp framed up to match almost exactly with his @sonycine #venice. Amazing way to work!! What an honor 🫡 Of course you can never match them perfectly but it was fun just to inhabit the spirit of his famous palette. I also found in the exhibit a TON of fascinating info about Van Gogh’s approach to color. His approach was not just that of the visceral “impulsive artist” (as i had once thought) but apparently deeply researched and reasoned (photo attached). He was very lucid at the time (in between bouts of paranoia) and wrote some heart breaking letters to his brother Theo. For example, “What I am doing is not by any means an attempt to achieve anything real. It’s an attempt to reach some calm - a kind of religious awe.” I encourage you to read! They are 💔 No wonder he is the king of color 🎨 and so many people’s gateway drug into the art world. So this holiday grab your favorite person and a silicon ear, bandage and head on to the @gettymuseum . It will be so romantic when you gift it to them 😈

(Emerging from presumptive Sundance deadlines ☠️ tryin a new format!) “The Turnaround” @theturnaround_doc from @breakwaterstudios is out on @netflix ! Dirs: @kylethrash @bgproudfoot Dp: @davidbolendp Exec Prod: @barackobama @michelleobama @highergroundmedia Prod: @nickisruff (And many more❤️ forgive me) “The Turnaround” is one of the newest short docs from @breakwaterstudios. It follows Philly super fan Jon McCann as he navigates mental health issues when Trea Turner, the star of the team, starts inexplicably underperforming! It’s a touching film that means a lot to me as I am prettayyyy far from top of the heap mental health wise hah. Rather than just dump some stills I want to write about the color process because I don’t really see a lot of that on this esteemed portal, at least not for doc and not from people who don’t have bad lut packs to sell l8r🙄 So this was shot on a mix @arri alexa 35 and alexa classic with David’s lut that has quite a lot of contrast to it. A great starting point! (Towards the end of the images you can see a bit of this). Our first discussion about the film was on the nature of Philly - how were we going to depict it? I’ve never been to Philly but I’m told it’s a gritty, resilient sort of place. So we landed on this cool green palette. (Theres not room for this pass in my post but in my story “highlights” there is) Later it became apparent that although the green is objectively cool it didnt quite fit with Jon’s story, which is quite heartfelt. The green kind of imparted this sort of sinister quality maybe? So we dialed it back and leveled out some skin tones and basically made it flow, especially with the emotional beats. This is all just to say that grading doc imo is a little different than coloring narrative. You do have ideas but everything is ultra ultra provisional. Im trying to draw a best fit line between various situations, camera systems and number one of course always trying to support the story. It’s a constant balancing act ⚖️ experience helps 🤷🏻‍♂️ I think in the end we did 4 passes? Each time progressively peeling back green and uncovering something new things along the way! Hope you enjoy!

The Turnaround Now available on @netflix Director: @kylethrash Co-Director: @bgproudfoot Executive Producers: @barackobama @michelleobama @highergroundmedia @breakwaterstudios Producers: @nickisruff @rosenbergjosh @bgproudfoot Cinematographer: @davidbolendp Editor: @dillonmhayes Composer: @aribalouzian Colorist: @sderlug Supervising Sound Editor: @seanphiggins Additional Cinematography: @natehurtsellers 1st AC: @jord.scott @thatonedudeq Gaffer: @zachary.vanheel Grip: @comara12 Production Sound: @tom.pie Post Producer: @lauracarlz Post Supervisor: @dillonbrown.89 Co-Producer: @earne100 Music Producer: @_ryanhope Key PA: @seamusandthelonergans +so many others @breakwaterstudios @utaproductionarts @tvturner @netflix @mlb Shot on @arri Alexa 35 w/ Master Primes and @angenieuxlenses zooms.

*Finally getting around to posting. I have some amazing projects coming out in the world finally, but not enough time to post about them in the way that they deserve! I’ve been receiving some very kind DMs which is rare for a colorist!) This week I’ll try to catch up* *** Earlier this year I had the surreal experience of having 5 films screen in the @tribeca film festival 🙏 And now, half a year later, I have the equally surreal pleasure to announce that I have 5 films playing at @docnycfest ! Of these, four have been selected to the prestigious “short list.” Which is a list judged by the festival organizers to be some of the best! The Films are (in alphabetical order): 1. “Cashing Out” by @mattnadel . About the seedy “viatical” insurance claims business during the AIDS crisis. (Or was it a seedy business? 🙃🥲) 2. “Denial” from @newyorkermag dir: @paulmoakley @dlumbo . Shortlisted. A topical and important film About besieged election official Bill Gates during Arizona’s Maricopa County elections during the 2020 Presidential race. 3. “Goodbye, Morganza” from @newyorkermag dir: @devonmarlie prod: @dlumbo . Shortlisted. A touching film about a dubious property dispute that has led to the filmmakers displacement from their ancestral home. 4. “Motorcycle Mary” which premiered @tribeca from @breakwaterstudios and @espn dir: @haleylwatson shortlisted. About “Motorcycle Mary” female moto sport pioneer Mary Mcgee. 5. “The Turnaround” from @breakwaterstudios . Premiering at Telluride. Available now on @netflix . Shortlisted. Dirs: @kylethrash @bgproudfoot dp: @davidbolendp A film that means a lot to me about the importance Mental health and positive mental framing. Produced by @barackobama @michelle.obama44 @highergroundmedia Thanks to all the above for having me as a small but important collaborator on your films. Its takes a village and im super grateful 🙏 More posts soon 🚀

The Turnaround Now available on @netflix Director: @kylethrash Co-Director: @bgproudfoot Executive Producers: @barackobama @michelleobama @highergroundmedia @breakwaterstudios Producers: @nickisruff @rosenbergjosh @bgproudfoot Cinematographer: @davidbolendp Editor: @dillonmhayes Composer: @aribalouzian Colorist: @sderlug Supervising Sound Editor: @seanphiggins Additional Cinematography: @natehurtsellers 1st AC: @jord.scott @thatonedudeq Gaffer: @zachary.vanheel Grip: @comara12 Production Sound: @tom.pie Post Producer: @lauracarlz Post Supervisor: @dillonbrown.89 Co-Producer: @earne100 Music Producer: @_ryanhope Key PA: @seamusandthelonergans +so many others @breakwaterstudios @utaproductionarts @tvturner @netflix @mlb Shot on @arri Alexa 35 w/ Master Primes and @angenieuxlenses zooms.

*edit* reposting this be because i put the sxsw logo here first time. Im massively overworked lol* It’s been a surreal 2024 so far. With “The Last Repair Shop’s” win the Academy Awards, and now even more festival successes which I finally have the go ahead to enumerate publicly. I have four short films playing at @tribecafilmfestival this year! 3 Short docs (in the same block!) and a short narrative film. I’ll be there at the doc screening 05/07 5:30 pm at AMC 19th st. East 8 for shorts block “Personal Best” where all three docs play in the same program!! Please join us if you like. 1. “Motorcycle Mary” from @breakwaterstudios about Mary McGee female motorcyclist. 2. “Out of the Dark: Cal Calamia” - from @redglasspics about trans running legend in the making Cal Calamia 3. “La Roche” - from @heimatfilms @basilschneeb - about Swiss team ski phenom Marc la Roche 4. “Technicians” - a narrative short from @kellyluuluu and Kevin Luu part of the @hillmangrad program from @lenawaithe which screens 05/10 (but tix invite only sadly). Grateful for all of my collaborators and well wishers. Many of the people I’ll be celebrating with have been my collaborators for many years. It’s deeply rewarding to see the seeds one planted years ago finally bear fruit and all at the same time. See ya in there! 🌆🍎

Another day, another person lets me post about work locked up on the festival circuit:) 🚀 “An Autumn Summer” is a feature narrative directed and written by Jared Isaac. DPed by local lebanese legend @brandsomer ! 🎥 Good friend @richard_carlos247 did sound. This is a coming of age film set in Michigan and such a joy to grade. Ultimate nostalgia vibes. Vibrant emerald greens, intense sky blues, whiskey soaked warm interiors. A palette like a vivid dream . The kind of images that linger in your memory as you think of the best times in life (hopefully) when you’re old and grey in your rocking chair . I think for the first time in a long whole i did full on print emulation, which was fun! @chernolyasov.color color assist helped out tremendously and thanks to him! If you like the coming of age genre, kodak greens and reds and blues or even Michigan for that matter, this film is must see! So nostalgic and nice. @arri alexa mini

Heres another one I’ve been sleeping on. On my lunch break here 🙃 “Before I Go” is a short narrative film directed by @andrew_sandler and starring @veronikadash and it is set in the most cinematic places on all of earth: The American Diner. @guillermocameo DP killed it with his @arri alexa35. A camera which im still getting used to in many ways, but which here was perfectly suited to this project. So many light sources in camera and just outside the windows! As you all can see my bread and butter is Doc and branded so it’s always a pleasure to work on scripted narrative and try something different 💪 I love the colors of the diner and especially in the closeups you can see how different very subtle shades of bouncing colored light are reflecting off of the faces. As the actors lean in and out they catch different light. Reminds me of something i read with ed lachman about “Carol” he said hed do that deliberately with gels! Thats that neon palette 😍 The film is still on the festival circuit as well but @andrew_sandler kindly allowed me to share. When it’s out on the web you’ll hear about it here! @veronikadash is amazing in it! Many others helped in this. Local legend @dannypollack_ of @dojohouseco and @itsabiperl vfx mastermind @lucas.rfx editor @shannoncgriffin And many more!

@larochefilm is a short doc I’ve been wanting to post about for a while. Directed by @basilschneeb @rea_rio of @heimatfilms and @nolanbuchi . Edited by @cody.c.wilson . It is about professional Swiss skier @marclaroch 🇨🇭and his difficult journey in professional skiing. I’ve been wanting to talk about this film for a while and Basil kindly agreed to let me share stills. Its still on the festival circuit, but once its off ill being doing a deeper dive on the color process. Not just bland advertisement haha. Dissecting the color choices we made in a video. Anyway, this was shot in the @blackmagicdesignofficial pocket 6k with a shooting lut that i tweaked that privileges the blues. Proof that you do not need the most expensive camera of all time to make STUNNING images. You do need a good operator though ;) Basil was on skis filming a lot of this footage haha. Super nimble setup! Love that. Snow is super hard to color actually. Its super reflective and at times translucent and at others opaque… just depends on the light. For various reasons we decided on a classic blue palette. Nothing else felt right. More on that later too! Lots of archival some of which you can see before and after of later in the album. All sorts of formats stretching back decades. Beta, pal, digi, film! Almost every format. @ten_haken was a wizard in the raw conform for all this weird media. Ill talk more on this later! How we handled that. If you have an opportunity see la Roche in a theater T a festival near you! Love this film 💙