DCP 134: Gabe Cheifetz of Koji Color - Motion Picture Film Color LUTs
Gabe Cheifetz returns to the Digital Convergence Podcast to talk about his new venture–Koji Color–a project that's several years in the making. I work really hard to get Gabe to reveal his secrets in creating Koji Color. Alas, the man could stand up to months of CIA rendition and not even blink an eye. Still, it's a fascinating story of how Koji came to life.
In this episode you will hear Gabe relate the harrowing account of how several 35mm film stocks were almost lost forever. His team was able to retrieve a few remaining rare reels of unexposed motion picture film that were used to create Koji Color.
So what is Koji Color? According to Koji Color's press release:
"Koji Color... [is] a suite of highly accurate 35mm film emulation tools for digital filmmakers. Led by acclaimed film color timer Dale Grahn (Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator, Apocalypse Now Redux), Koji brings the striking color of true 35mm film to digital filmmakers for the first time.
Seeing that film as a medium was facing possible extinction, the Koji team began in 2011 to attempt the accurate preservation of film color. Working with experts around the world and the top film labs in Hollywood, the team was able to preserve six 35mm print stocks, sometimes rescuing film cans from stock rooms at the last possible moment. These recovered film stocks were painstakingly preserved digitally, and are now available for use by digital filmmakers."
Koji works with Davinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro X, After Effects, and Autodesk Smoke.
