Synopsis
The world is facing a water crisis. According to the UN, 5 billion people will experience water shortages by 2050. Given the challenges of population growth, increased pollution, and changes in weather patterns due to global warming - many countries, both wealthy and poor, are at risk of this shortage happening much sooner than predicted.
Day Zero is a feature documentary produced by Keo Films addressing this worldwide issue of impending global water shortage. The film includes exclusive interviews from some of the world’s top scientists and experts, traveling across continents to explore some of the alarming water shortage issues facing our planet today.
Grade
Splice’s Colourist, Mark Slobodian completed the grade in Filmlight’s Baselight.
As the film was captured over a three-year period with many cameras, the focus on the grade was to bring a natural and cinematic tone whilst keeping coherency with all the various camera sources.
Mark made use of Baselight’s new texture equalizer to play on the textures of the landscapes, particularly in Cape Town where some of the biggest droughts occurred in 2018. Also, Mark used curves to maintain a rich yet detailed level to the blacks, and in places pushed print film emulation to enhance the earthy tones of the African landscape.
Online
Online edit was finished by Eddie Nuttall on Avid Symphony. Eddie made extensive use of Boris FX with Mocha integration for any blurring, stabilising, or object removals required. Cleaning up and noise reduction of archive clips was achieved using Neat Video.
The design of on-screen text incorporated a dynamic, modernist-inspired typeface, and a colour scheme complementary to the distinctive look of the grade. Eddie made the title card using Adobe After Effects, with creative use of blending modes and colour correction tools, intended as a breathing space after the pre-titles whilst keeping consistent with the other design elements.
Audio Mix
The film sound mix was completed by Senior Dubbing Mixer Matt Baird. The backbone of the mix was Chiwetel Ejiofor’s beautifully performed voice-over, recorded by Dubbing Mixer Jack Lewis. It didn’t need more from Matt than light sculpting with EQ and compression.
The dialogue came in from locations across the globe and was improved by iZotope RX noise reduction tools.
The sound effects were tracklayed by Michal Maletz and were mixed according to Director Kevin Sim’s taste for texture and dynamics.
In the final version, music flowed in and out of scenes, swelling generously during the film’s many emotive passages.