Singapore’s Hit Zombie Comedy Zombiepura Graded on DaVinci Resolve

Blackmagic Design’s
DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel was used for color
correction of Singapore’s first zombie comedy, “Zombiepura.” The film, which
gained international distribution, is the first full length feature directed by
internationally known short film filmmaker, Jacen Tan, who also was part of the
post production team grading Zombiepura with DaVinci Resolve.

Set in an army
conscription camp, “Zombiepura” tells the story of a strange virus that
breaks out and causes lazy soldier Corporal Tan Kayu’s camp mates to turn into
ravenous zombies. Completely out of options, the soldiering slacker is forced
to team up with his arch rival, the infamously tough Sergeant Lee Siao On, to
survive the funniest zombie apocalypse.

The film, which was
presented at Cannes in 2018, was recently purchased by Korea’s Contents Panda
and GSC Movies, and was shown in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Cambodia.
It is slated to open in the Philippines in 2019.

Tan began his work as
short filmmaker, gaining international fame after making one of Singapore’s
first global viral sensations with a film called Tak Giu. Since then, he
has continued to create a number of short films and music videos through
his Hosaywood brand, with “Zombiepura” as his first full length film.
In order to get the highest quality look for “Zombiepura” Tan early on
decided to use DaVinci Resolve.

“DaVinci Resolve
has always been the go to system in this region for color grading for the big
screen. For Zombiepura, I was inspired by classic horror and action
films from the 80s. The story is a blend of horror and comedy, so we
had to keep a balance between the post apocalyptic desaturated look, and
the bright colors of a comedy,” said Tan. “I was very pleased when
I watched it for the first time on a cinema screen. I was
especially pleased with how the colors brought out the mood and tone of
the story.”

“We did a one day
test shoot before actual production to see how the zombie makeup will appear on
the actual camera. It was important for me to know what was possible in
camera first and how color grading can enhance the believability of the
zombies. For example, a simple thing like changing the
color/saturation of the fake blood made it look more real,”
he continued.

DaVinci Resolve was
used during pre production to create LUTs and dial in camera looks for the
various horror and comedy looks that Tan envisioned. Following production,
DaVinci Resolve was used for all color correction, conforms.

“Blackmagic Design’s
hardware and software have been reliable and efficient throughout the color
grading process. Because of how intuitive Davinci Resolve was, the test grading
sessions with Jacen Tan and the DP, Amandi Wong, were smooth and productive.
LUTs were easily generated for on set use to ensure we got the right exposure
for the night scenes,” says Khien, colorist, Zombiepura.

He continued: “Grading
a feature film or any other long format project can be tedious, but
Davinci Resolve’s Advance Panel cuts that time down significantly. A repetitive
task that would take more steps or more fingers to press is conveniently
completed by a push of a button. This saves valuable time and I’m
able to spend the bulk of the sessions on creatively crafting and exploring
different looks for the scenes. DaVinci Resolve is definitely my color grading
system of choice during any zombie apocalypse!”

Press Photography

Product photos of
DaVinci Resolve, DaVinci Resolve Advance Panels, and all other Blackmagic
Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design
creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film
cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live
production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film
scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast
industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched
a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the
company’s Emmy award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated
the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground
breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D
and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and
engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and
Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.