100% of the post-production of 'Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall', by DaVinci Resolve

Ben DiGiacomo, director of the documentary 'Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall' released in Tribeca, decided to use DaVinci Resolve Studio from Blackmagic Design for the entire post-production phase of the feature film.

Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall celebrates the atmosphere of the Jamaican dance halls that resonated through the decades of the 80s and 90s in Brooklyn and how the impact of music and culture continues to influence today's younger generations. Singer-songwriter and Grammy Award winner Shaggy was in charge of the executive production of the documentary, which featured the participation of various renowned artists, such as Sean Paul and Ding Dong.

DiGiacomo highlights the care and artistic and visual coherence of the entire piece, which could not have been achieved without being able to use DaVinci Resolve “as a comprehensive post-production solution from the beginning, since we had the possibility of accessing the entire film at all times and changing elements of the project from an artistic point of view.”

Beyond directing the documentary, the director was in charge of the editing, color and visual effects. From his insider knowledge of the project, he says: "After processing the prints, I selected all the clips while the shoot was still in mind. I based my decisions on color and, in the meantime, I needed a quick way to match exposure and white balance, particularly for the uncontrolled environments of the documentary. By having those shots already unified, I was able to focus on editing without visual distractions."

Key DaVinci Tools in Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall

DiGiacomo highlights key solutions such as Resolve's montage module, which "was very useful when making selections. Sometimes we focus too much on a single clip, so having a clean interface gives us a feeling of special attention. Plus, I don't think I could work without the tape mode viewer anymore. It's very simple, but it immediately gives me an idea of ​​all the material available."

Facing Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall, The director also frequently used the grouping function in DaVinci Resolve Studio and caching: "Node groups, clip filters, and shared nodes are a great help in the feature editing process. I always create tons of smart filters that allow me to evaluate images in different contexts, for example, seeing all the archive clips without interruptions. It's a great way to get an overview of the project. I also love how the caching processing works, since we sometimes switch from one module to another during editing.

Other favorite tools of DiGiacomo are the adjustment clips, which “incredibly speed up the editing process while testing different tools, such as reframing, effects, chromatic adjustments, dynamic zoom or a combination of all of these.”

Visual effects and sound in DaVinci Resolve

Even though Ben resorts to the module Fusion of DaVinci Resolve Studio for his commercial projects, he has gone much deeper into the use of effects to Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall: “We developed the opening credits sequence in Fusion with a host of ResolveFX effects, such as lens distortion, blurs, reflections, color compressor, watercolor, and grain.”

"I also used character stylization to create the title animations in Fusion, but in separate clips. When I originally created the template, I adjusted some of the node parameters, such as text and placement, using user controls, so I was able to change the names and positions directly from the Edit module, which is very convenient when constantly moving and editing dozens of titles. Like DaVinci Resolve, Fusion's capabilities are based on a holistic approach, as with compositions, three-dimensional images and graphic animations; it brings everything together in a single system,” he adds.

Due to his experience in the musical field, the sound is extremely important to DiGiacomo, who also took advantage of the Fairlight module built into DaVinci Resolve: “Audio requires special attention, and it is difficult to achieve this level of detail in any other non-linear editing program.” He color was also addressed with the Blackmagic Design tool: "Documentaries can be a challenge when grading due to uncontrolled environments. Exposure and temperature can vary, and color stabilizer and chromatic distortion help solve these problems without having to resort to the complex use of keyframes."

"I'm pretty picky about how I want everything to look and feel. Even after I've spent a lot of time grading, I might want to tweak a cut or lower third, or a cold sound effect could affect the warmth I'm trying to achieve in the aesthetic of a shot, and vice versa. I like all of these decisions to evolve together to create the ideal emotions, and DaVinci Resolve gave me that flexibility to Bad Like Brooklyn Dancehall”, concludes the director.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6aBuFnk26o